C++ Standard Library, The: A Tutorial and Reference

by Nicolai M. Josuttis

Publisher: Addison Wesley 

832 pages













C++ became a de facto standard in object-oriented programming. This led to the goal of standardization. Only by having a standard, could programs be written that would run on different platforms — from PCs to mainframes. Furthermore, a standard library would enable programmers to use general components and a higher level of abstraction without losing portability, rather than having to develop all code from scratch.
The standardization process was started in 1989 by an international ANSI/ISO committee. It developed the standard based on Bjarne Stroustrup's books The C++ Programming Language and The Annotated C++ Reference Manual. After the standard was completed in 1997, several formal motions by different countries made it an international ISO and ANSI standard in 1998. The standardization process included the development of a C++ standard library. The library extends the core language to provide some general components. By using C++'s ability to program new abstract and generic types, the library provides a set of common classes and interfaces. This gives programmers a higher level of abstraction. The library provides the ability to use

• String types
  
• Different data structures (such as dynamic arrays, linked lists, and binary trees)
  
• Different algorithms (such as different sorting algorithms)
  
• Numeric classes
  
• Input/output (I/O) classes
  
• Classes for internationalization support

All of these are supported by a fairly simple programming interface. These components are very important for many programs. These days, data processing often means inputting, computing, processing, and outputting large amounts of data, which are often strings.
The library is not self-explanatory. To use these components and to benefit from their power, you need a good introduction that explains the concepts and the important details instead of simply listing the classes and their functions. This book is written exactly for that purpose. First, it introduces the library and all of its components from a conceptional point of view. Next, it describes the details needed for practical programming. Examples are included to demonstrate the exact usage of the components. Thus, this book is a detailed introduction to the C++ library for both the beginner and the practical programmer. Armed with the data provided herein, you should be able to take full advantage of the C++ standard library.

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