C++ has been used for 30 years, and during that time, many new languages have come and gone, but C++ has endured. The big question behind this book is: Why? Why use C++? The answer lies in the ten chapters you see in front of you but, as a spoiler, it is the flexibility and power of the language and the rich, broad Standard Library.
C++ has always been a powerful language, giving you direct access to memory while providing high-level features such as the ability to create new types—classes—and to override operators to suit your needs. However, the more modern C++ standards added to this, generic programming through templates, and functional programming through function objects and lambda expressions. You can use as much or as little of these features as you want; you can write event-driven code with abstract interface pointers, or C-like procedural code.
In this book, we will take you through the features of the 2011 standard of C++ and the Standard Library provided with the language. The text explains how to use these features with short code snippets, and each chapter has a worked example illustrating the concepts. At the end of this book, you will be aware of all the features of the language and what can be possible with the C++ Standard Library. You will start this book as a beginner, and finish it informed and equipped to use C++.
