Effective STL: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your Use of the Standard Template Library

Scott Meyersis one of the world's foremost authorities on C++, providing training and consulting services to clients worldwide. He is the author of the best-sellingEffective C++series of books (Effective C++,More Effective C++, andEffective STL) and of the innovativeEffective C++CD. He is consulting editor for Addison Wesley's Effective Software Development Series and serves on the Advisory Board for The C++ Source (more >>

Scott Meyersis one of the world's foremost authorities on C++, providing training and consulting services to clients worldwide. He is the author of the best-sellingEffective C++series of books (Effective C++,More Effective C++, andEffective STL) and of the innovativeEffective C++CD. He is consulting editor for Addison Wesley's Effective Software Development Series and serves on the Advisory Board for The C++ Source (http://www.artima.com/cppsource). He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Brown University. His web site ishttp://www.aristeia.com.

“This isEffective C++volume three – it’s really that good.”
– Herb Sutter, independent consultant and secretary of the ISO/ANSI C++ standards committee

“There are very few books which all C++ programmersmusthave. AddEffective STLto that list.”
– Thomas Becker, Senior Software Engineer, Zephyr Associates, Inc., and columnist,C/C++ Users Journal

C++’s Standard Template Library is revolutionary, but learning to use it well has always been a challenge. Until now. In this book, best-selling author Scott Meyers (Effective C++, andMore Effective C++) reveals the critical rules of thumb employed by the experts – the things they almost always do or almost always avoid doing – to get the most out of the library.

Other books describewhat’s inthe STL.Effective STLshows youhow to use it. Each of the book’s 50 guidelines is backed by Meyers’ legendary analysis and incisive examples, so you’ll learn not only what to do, but alsowhento do it – andwhy.

Highlights ofEffective STLinclude:

• Advice on choosing among standard STL containers (like vector and list), nonstandard STL containers (like hash_set and hash_map), and non-STL containers (like bitset).
• Techniques to maximize the efficiency of the STL and the programs that use it.
• Insights into the behavior of iterators, function objects, and allocators, including things you shouldnotdo.
• Guidance for the proper use of algorithms and member functions whose names are the same (e.g., find), but whose actions differ in subtle (but important) ways.
• Discussions of potential portability problems, including straightforward ways to avoid them.

Like Meyers’ previous books,Effective STLis filled with proven wisdom that comes only from experience. Its clear, concise, penetrating style makes it an essential resource for every STL programmer.

It came without ribbons!
It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!
— Dr. Seuss,How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Random House, 1957

I first wrote about the Standard Template Library in 1995, when I concluded the final Item ofMore Effective C++with a brief STL overview. I should have known better. Shortly thereafter, I began receiving mail asking when I’d writeEffective STL.

I resisted the idea for several years. At first, I wasn’t familiar enough with the STL to offer advice on it, but as time went on and my experience with it grew, this concern gave way to other reservations. There was never any question that the library represented a breakthrough in efficient and extensible design, but when it came tousingthe STL, there were practical problems I couldn’t overlook. Porting all but the << less