endl

endl flushes cout's stream buffer.

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2004, p. 7.

snprintf()

snprintf() is a standard C function as of C99. Although, it is not a standard C++ function, most compilers add it as an extension.

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2004

Typedefs

You can define the same typedef multiple times in the same source file, but they must always be the same.

Arrays and Pointers

The following code is valid:
int *pMyInt = new int[10];
9[pMyInt] = 1;

Because, pMyInt[9] equals *(pMyInt + 9) which equals *(9 + pMyInt) which equals 9[pMyInt].

Nonvirtual Interface (NVI)

The Nonvirtual Interface (NVI), has two interfaces, a non-virtual interface for the clients, and virtual interfaces for its derived classes.

The author of the following referenced book recommends this idiom over exposing virtual functions to clients.

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2004, p. 132.

Compiler Declared Operators

The compiler implicitly declares the following:
default constructors
copy constructors
copy assignment operators
destructors
They are also implicitly declared inlined.

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2004, p. 143-145.

Deques

Deques are not required to be implemented as C-style arrays whereas vectors are.

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2004, p. 159.

Inline Functions

A compiler can inline functions you did not declare inline (i.e. using 'inline' in the declaration or providing the body in the class declaration).

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2005, p. 193.

Inline Functions

A compiler can refuse to inline a function that you declared inline.

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2005, p. 193.

Inline Functions

A compiler can inline a function in one place and not in other places.

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2005, p. 193.

Source Files Ending in Newline

All C++ source files are required by the C++ standard to end with a newline (and not immediately preceded by a backslash).

Reference: Exceptional C++ Style: 40 New Engineering Puzzles, Programming Problems, and Solutions by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2005.,p. 284.

Vectors

For a vector, v: v.push_back(x) is functionally equivalent to v.insert(v.end(), x).

Reference: "Exceptional C++ Style" by Herb Sutter, Addison-Wesley, 2005., p. 303.

Returning a Pointer to Local Variable from a Function

It is bad to return a pointer to a local variable from a function, because the pointer will be dangling when the function returns.

It is ok to return a const reference to a const defined in a function, because the compiler will ensure the lifetime of the const will be at least as long as the lifetime of the const reference.

Static Variables

For a static class member variable, there is one copy of the variable in the whole program.

If you have member function with a static variable, there is only one copy of the variable in the whole program.

Visitor Design Pattern

In the Visitor Pattern: Visitor implements visit() and Element implements accept().

Reference: Pattern Hatching by John Vlissides, Addison-Wesley, 1998., p. 33.