Public Inheritance

If you are deriving from three classes publically, you must specify the keyword 'public' each time (i.e. 3 times); or else the inheritance will default back to private inheritance.

String Insert Ambiguity

If s is a string, then the following code may not compile:

    s.insert(0,1,' ');

because there is an ambiguity between the following two member functions:

    insert(size_type idx, size_type num, charT c);
    insert(iterator  pos, size_type num, charT c);

when iterator is implemented as char*.
Note that 0 is a valid size_type and a valid char*.

    s.insert(static_cast(0),1,' ');

would fix the ambiguity.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999, p. 491.

Koenig Lookup

Given the following code: getline(std::cin,s); You don't have to prefix getline with std:: because of Koenig lookup.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999., p. 493.

size_type

It is important to use string::size_type instead of int for return values string member functions; otherwise, it is not portable.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis, Addison-Wesley, 1999 p. 495.

std::string::npos

std::string::npos is defined as '-1', even if string::size_type is 'unsigned int'.

For example:

    unsigned char npos = -1;

is valid a valid statement.

std::string::npos could be a different type, such as int. It depends on the compiler.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis, Addison-Wesley, 1999., p. 495.

Dereferenced this pointer

When a ClassA member function returns *this, the following could be the return value type: ClassA& and ClassA.

Allocators

DOS Memory Models (tiny, small, medium, large, huge, or flat) were the initial reason allocators were invented.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999., p. 31.

Binary Strings

As long as a binary file is not larger than a string can hold, it can be read into a string without any corruption of data, by using the manipulator noskipws.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999., p. 626.

Stream's failbit

If a stream's failbit is set, every operation on that stream is a no-op until the failbit is cleared.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999, p. 599.

Exceptions

After catching an exception with catch (...){}, you can get the what() data if you rethrow the exception and catch it with an exception type.

cin

The following are member functions of cin: get(), getline(), read() and readsome().

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis Addison-Wesley, 1999, p. 607.

Argument Dependent Lookup (ADL)

The following code compiles:

#include <iostream> 
int main() {endl(std::cout);}

Note that there is no 'std::' in front of endl and endl is being called like a function. Since the parameter to endl specifies the namespace, ADL (Argument Dependent Lookup aka Koenig Look) looks first for the function in the namespace of the parameter, which in this case is std. It is nicer to specify the 'std::' though.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999, p. 613.

Stream's imbue() member function

A stream's imbue() member function sets the locale object.

Reference: "The C++ Standard Library" by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999, p. 626.

ios_base flags

ios_base flags to the C Mode flags mapping: in->"r", out or out|trunc->"w", out|app->"a",in|out->"r+",in|out|trunc->"w+"

Reference: C++ Standard Library, The: A Tutorial and Reference, MobiPocket by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999, p. 632.

Streams

If you close then re-open a stream, the stream's state flags are not cleared.

Reference: The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference by Nicolai M. Josuttis. Addison-Wesley, 1999, p. 634.