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Lecture Slides for Programming in C++

[The C++ Language, Libraries, Tools, and Other Topics]

(Version: 2018-02-15)
Current with the C++17 Standard

Michael D. Adams

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

For additional information and resources related to these lecture slides (including errata and lecture
videos covering the material on many of these slides), please visit:
http://www.ece.uvic.ca/˜mdadams/cppbook
If you like these lecture slides, please show your support by posting a review of them on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Michael%20D%20Adams%20C%2B%2B&c=books
The author has taken care in the preparation of this document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no
responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use
of the information or programs contained herein.

Copyright
c 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Michael D. Adams
Published by the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) License. A copy
of this license can be found on page iii of this document. For a simple explanation of the rights granted by this license, see:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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1 M. D. Adams, Multiresolution Signal and Geometry Processing: Filter

Banks, Wavelets, and Subdivision (Version 2013-09-26), University of
Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, Sept. 2013, xxxviii + 538 pages, ISBN
978-1-55058-507-0 (print), ISBN 978-1-55058-508-7 (PDF). Available
from Google Books, Google Play Books, University of Victoria Bookstore,
and author’s web site http://www.ece.uvic.ca/˜mdadams/
waveletbook.
2 M. D. Adams, Lecture Slides for Multiresolution Signal and Geometry
Processing (Version 2015-02-03), University of Victoria, Victoria, BC,
Canada, Feb. 2015, xi + 587 slides, ISBN 978-1-55058-535-3 (print),
ISBN 978-1-55058-536-0 (PDF). Available from Google Books, Google
Play Books, University of Victoria Bookstore, and author’s web site
http://www.ece.uvic.ca/˜mdadams/waveletbook.

3 M. D. Adams, Continuous-Time Signals and Systems (Version

2013-09-11), University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, Sept. 2013, xxx
+ 308 pages, ISBN 978-1-55058-495-0 (print), ISBN 978-1-55058-506-3
(PDF). Available from Google Books, Google Play Books, University of
Victoria Bookstore, and author’s web site http://www.ece.uvic.ca/
˜mdadams/sigsysbook.
4 M. D. Adams, Lecture Slides for Continuous-Time Signals and Systems
(Version 2013-09-11), University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, Dec.
2013, 286 slides, ISBN 978-1-55058-517-9 (print), ISBN
978-1-55058-518-6 (PDF). Available from Google Books, Google Play
Books, University of Victoria Bookstore, and author’s web site http://
www.ece.uvic.ca/˜mdadams/sigsysbook.

5 M. D. Adams, Lecture Slides for Signals and Systems (Version

2016-01-25), University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, Jan. 2016, xvi +
481 slides, ISBN 978-1-55058-584-1 (print), ISBN 978-1-55058-585-8
(PDF). Available from Google Books, Google Play Books, University of
Victoria Bookstore, and author’s web site http://www.ece.uvic.ca/
˜mdadams/sigsysbook.

Preface

This document constitutes a detailed set of lecture slides on the C++

programming language and is current with the C++17 standard.
Many aspects of the C++ language are covered from introductory to more
advanced.
Some aspects of the C++ standard library are also introduced.
In addition, various general programming-related topics are considered.

The author would like to thank Robert Leahy for reviewing various drafts of
many of these slides and providing many useful comments that allowed
the quality of these materials to be improved significantly.

Many code examples are included throughout these slides.

Often, in order to make an example short enough to fit on a slide,
compromises had to be made in terms of good programming style.
These deviations from good style include (but are not limited to) such
things as:
1 frequently formatting source code in unusual ways to conserve vertical
space in listings;
2 not fully documenting source code with comments;
3 using short meaningless identifier names; and
4 engaging other evil behavior such as using many global variables and
employing constructs like “using namespace std;”.

In a definition, the term being defined is often typeset in a font like this.
To emphasize particular words, the words are typeset in a font like this.

Software

almost all electronic devices run some software

automobile engine control system, implantable medical devices, remote
controls, office machines (e.g., photocopiers), appliances (e.g.,
televisions, refrigerators, washers/dryers, dishwashers, air conditioner),
power tools, toys, mobile phones, media players, computers, printers,
photocopies, disk drives, scanners, webcams, MRI machines

more cost effective to implement functionality in software than hardware

software bugs easy to fix, give customer new software upgrade
hardware bugs extremely costly to repair, customer sends in old device
and manufacturer sends replacement
systems increasingly complex, bugs unavoidable
allows new features to be added later
implement only absolute minimal functionality in hardware, do the rest in
software

many more software jobs than hardware jobs

relatively small team of hardware designers produce platform like iPhone
thousands of companies develop applications for platform
only implement directly in hardware when absolutely necessary (e.g., for
performance reasons)

C, C++, Fortran, Java, MATLAB, C#, Objective C

programming language popularity
http://www.tiobe.com/ TIOBE Software Programming Community
Index Jan 2011 all in top four: Java, C, C++ MATLAB (23rd) Fortran (27th)
Programming Language Popularity Normalized Comparison http://
www.langpop.com/ top three languages: C, Java, C++
international standard
vendor neutral

created by Dennis Ritchie, AT&T Bell Labs in 1970s

international standard ISO/IEC 9899:2011 (informally known as “C11”)
available on wide range of platforms, from microcontrollers to
supercomputers; very few platforms for which C compiler not available
procedural, provides language constructs that map efficiently to machine
instructions
does not directly support object-oriented or generic programming
application domains: system software, device drivers, embedded
applications, application software
greatly influenced development of C++
when something lasts in computer industry for more than 40 years
(outliving its creator), must be good

created by Bjarne Stroustrup, Bell Labs

originally C with Classes, renamed as C++ in 1983
most recent specification of language in ISO/IEC 14882:2017 (informally
known as “C++17”)
procedural
loosely speaking is superset of C
directly supports object-oriented and generic programming
maintains efficiency of C
application domains: systems software, application software, device
drivers, embedded software, high-performance server and client
applications, entertainment software such as video games, native code for
Android applications
greatly influenced development of C# and Java

developed in 1990s by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems (later bought

by Oracle Corporation)
de facto standard but not international standard
usually less efficient than C and C++
simplified memory management (with garbage collection)
direct support for object-oriented programming
application domains: web applications, Android applications

proprietary language, developed by The MathWorks

not general-purpose programming language
application domain: numerical computing
used to design and simulate systems
not used to implement real-world systems

designed by John Backus, IBM, in 1950s

international standard ISO/IEC 1539-1:2010 (informally known as ”Fortran
2008”)
application domain: scientific and engineering applications, intensive
supercomputing tasks such as weather and climate modelling, finite
element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, computational physics,
computational chemistry

developed by Microsoft, team led by Anders Hejlsberg

ECMA-334 and ISO/IEC 23270:2006
most recent language specifications not standardized by ECMA or
ISO/IEC
intellectual property concerns over Microsoft patents
object oriented

developed by Tom Love and Brad Cox of Stepstone (later bought by NeXT
and subsequently Apple)
used primarily on Apple Mac OS X and iOS
strict superset of C
no official standard that describes Objective C
authoritative manual on Objective-C 2.0 available from Apple

vendor neutral
international standard
general purpose
powerful yet efficient
loosely speaking, includes C as subset; so can learn two languages (C++
and C) for price of one
easy to move from C++ to other languages but often not in other direction
many other popular languages inspired by C++

C++

History of C++

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 15
Motivation
developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Computing Science
Research Center of Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, USA
doctoral work in Computing Laboratory of University of Cambridge,
Cambridge, UK
study alternatives for organization of system software for distributed
systems
required development of relatively large and detailed simulator
dissertation:
B. Stroustrup. Communication and Control in Distributed Computer
Systems.
PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, 1979.
in 1979, joined Bell Laboratories after having finished doctorate
work started with attempt to analyze UNIX kernel to determine to what
extent it could be distributed over network of computers connected by LAN
needed way to model module structure of system and pattern of
communication between modules
no suitable tools available
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 16
Objectives

had bad experiences writing simulator during Ph.D. studies; originally

used Simula for simulator; later forced to rewrite in BCPL for speed; more
low level than C; BCPL was horrible to use
notion of what properties good tool would have motivated by these
experiences
suitable tool for projects like simulator, operating system, other systems
programming tasks should:
support for effective program organization (like in Simula) (i.e., classes,
some form of class hierarchies, some form of support for concurrency,
strong checking of type system based on classes)
produce programs that run fast (like with BCPL)
be able to easily combine separately compilable units into program (like
with BCPL)
have simple linkage convention, essential for combining units written in
languages such as C, Algol68, Fortran, BCPL, assembler into single
program
allow highly portable implementations (only very limited ties to operating
system)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 17
Timeline for C with Classes (1979–1983) I

May 1979 work on C with Classes starts

Oct 1979 initial version of Cpre, preprocessor that added Simula-like
classes to C; language accepted by preprocessor later started
being referred to as C with Classes
Mar 1980 Cpre supported one real project and several experiments (used
on about 16 systems)
Apr 1980 first internal Bell Labs paper on C with Classes published (later
to appear in ACM SIGPLAN Notices in Jan. 1982)

B. Stroustrup. Classes: An abstract data type facility for the

C language.
Bell Laboratories Computer Science Technical Report
CSTR-84, Apr. 1980.

1980 initial 1980 implementation had following features:

classes
derived classes
public/private access control
constructors and destructors
call and return functions (call function implicitly called before
every call of every member function; return function implicitly
called after every return from every member function; can be
used for synchronization)
friend classes
type checking and conversion of function arguments

1981 in 1981, added:

inline functions
default arguments
overloading of assignment operator

Jan 1982 first external paper on C with Classes published

B. Stroustrup. Classes: An abstract data type facility for the

C language.
ACM SIGPLAN Notices, 17(1):42–51, Jan. 1982.
Feb 1983 more detailed paper on C with Classes published

B. Stroustrup. Adding classes to the C language: An

exercise in language evolution.
Software: Practice and Experience, 13(2):139–161, Feb.
1983.

C with Classes proved very successful; generated considerable interest

first real application of C with Classes was network simulators

started to work on cleaned up and extended successor to C with Classes,

initially called C84 and later renamed C++

Spring 1982 started work on Cfront compiler front-end for C84;

initially written in C with Classes and then transcribed to C84;
traditional compiler front-end performing complete check of
syntax and semantics of language, building internal
representation of input, analyzing and rearranging
representation, and finally producing output for some code
generator;
generated C code as output;
difficult to bootstrap on machine without C84 compiler; Cfront
software included special “half-processed” version of C code
resulting from compiling Cfront, which could be compiled with
native C compiler and resulting executable then used to compile
Cfront
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 21
Timeline for C84 to C++98 (1982–1998) II
Dec 1983 C84 (C with Classes) renamed C++;
name used in following paper prepared in Dec. 1983

B. Stroustrup. Data abstraction in C.

Bell Labs Technical Journal, 63(8):1701–1732, Oct. 1984.
(name C++ suggested by Rick Mascitti)
1983 virtual functions added
Note: going from C with Classes to C84 added: virtual functions,
function name and operator overloading, references, constants
(const), user-controlled free-store memory control, improved
type checking
Jan 1984 first C++ manual
B. Stroustrup. The C++ reference manual.
AT&T Bell Labs Computer Science Technical Report No.
108, Jan. 1984.
Sep 1984 paper describing operator overloading published
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Timeline for C84 to C++98 (1982–1998) III

B. Stroustrup. Operator overloading in C++.

In Proc. IFIP WG2.4 Conference on System Implementation
Languages: Experience & Assessment, Sept. 1984.
1984 stream I/O library first implemented and later presented in

B. Stroustrup. An extensible I/O facility for C++.

In Proc. of Summer 1985 USENIX Conference, pages
57–70, June 1985.
Feb 1985 Cfront Release E (first external release); “E” for “Educational”;
available to universities
Oct 1985 Cfront Release 1.0 (first commercial release)
Oct 1985 first edition of C++PL written
B. Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language.
Addison Wesley, 1986.

(Cfront Release 1.0 corresponded to language as defined in this

book)
Oct 1985 tutorial paper on C++

B. Stroustrup. A C++ tutorial.

In Proceedings of the ACM annual conference on the range
of computing: mid-80’s perspective, pages 56–64, Oct.
1985.
Jun 1986 Cfront Release 1.1; mainly bug fix release
Aug 1986 first exposition of set of techniques for which C++ was aiming to
provide support (rather than what features are already
implemented and in use)

B. Stroustrup. What is object-oriented programming?

In Proc. of 14th Association of Simula Users Conference,
Stockholm, Sweden, Aug. 1986.

Sep 1986 first Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages, and

Applications (OOPSLA) conference (start of OO hype centered
on Smalltalk)
Nov 1986 first commercial Cfront PC port (Cfront 1.1, Glockenspiel [in
Ireland])
Feb 1987 Cfront Release 1.2; primarily bug fixes but also added:
pointers to members
protected members

Nov 1987 first conference devoted to C++:

USENIX C++ conference (Santa Fe, NM, USA)
Dec 1987 first GNU C++ release (1.13)
Jan 1988 first Oregon Software (a.k.a. TauMetric) C++ release
Jun 1988 first Zortech C++ release
Oct 1988 first presented templates at USENIX C++ conference (Denver,
CO, USA) in paper:

B. Stroustrup. Parameterized types for C++.

In Proc. of USENIX C++ Conference, pages 1–18, Denver,
CO, USA, Oct. 1988.
Oct 1988 first USENIX C++ implementers workshop (Estes Park, CO,
USA)
Jan 1989 first C++ journal “The C++ Report” (from SIGS publications)
started publishing
Jun 1989 Cfront Release 2.0 major cleanup; new features included:
multiple inheritance
type-safe linkage
better resolution of overloaded functions
recursive definition of assignment and initialization
better facilities for user-defined memory management
abstract classes
static member functions
const member functions

protected member functions (first provided in release 1.2)

overloading of operator ->
pointers to members (first provided in release 1.2)

1989 main features of Cfront 2.0 summarized in

B. Stroustrup. The evolution of C++: 1985–1989.
USENIX Computer Systems, 2(3), Summer 1989.
first presented in

B. Stroustrup. The evolution of C++: 1985–1987.

In Proc. of USENIX C++ Conference, pages 1–22, Santa
Fe, NM, USA, Nov. 1987.
Nov 1989 paper describing exceptions published

A. Koenig and B. Stroustrup. Exception handling for C++.

In Proc. of “C++ at Work” Conference, Nov. 1989.
followed up by

A. Koenig and B. Stroustrup. Exception handling for C++.

In Proc. of USENIX C++ Conference, Apr. 1990.
Dec 1989 ANSI X3J16 organizational meeting (Washington, DC, USA)
Mar 1990 first ANSI X3J16 technical meeting (Somerset, NJ, USA)
Apr 1990 Cfront Release 2.1; bug fix release to bring Cfront mostly into
line with ARM
May 1990 annotated reference manual (ARM) published

M. A. Ellis and B. Stroustrup. The Annotated C++

Reference Manual.
Addison Wesley, May 1990.
(formed basis for ANSI standardization)
May 1990 first Borland C++ release
Jul 1990 templates accepted (Seattle, WA, USA)
Nov 1990 exceptions accepted (Palo Alto, CA, USA)

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Timeline for C84 to C++98 (1982–1998) IX
Jun 1991 second edition of C++PL published

B. Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language.

Addison Wesley, 2nd edition, June 1991.
Jun 1991 first ISO WG21 meeting (Lund, Sweden)
Sep 1991 Cfront Release 3.0; added templates (as specified in ARM)
Oct 1991 estimated number of C++ users 400,000
Feb 1992 first DEC C++ release (including templates and exceptions)
Mar 1992 run-time type identification (RTTI) described in

B. Stroustrup and D. Lenkov. Run-time type identification for

C++.
The C++ Report, Mar. 1992.
(RTTI in C++ based on this paper)
Mar 1992 first Microsoft C++ release (did not support templates or
exceptions)

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Timeline for C84 to C++98 (1982–1998) X
May 1992 first IBM C++ release (including templates and exceptions)
Mar 1993 RTTI accepted (Portland, OR, USA)
Jul 1993 namespaces accepted (Munich, Germany)
1993 further work on Cfront Release 4.0 abandoned after failed
attempt to add exception support
Aug 1994 ANSI/ISO Committee Draft registered
Aug 1994 Standard Template Library (STL) accepted (Waterloo, ON, CA);
described in
A. Stepanov and M. Lee. The standard template library.
Technical Report HPL-94-34 (R.1), HP Labs, Aug. 1994.
Aug 1996 export accepted (Stockholm, Sweden)
1997 third edition of C++PL published

B. Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language.

Addison Wesley Longman, Reading, MA, USA, 3rd edition,
1997.
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Timeline for C84 to C++98 (1982–1998) XI

Nov 1997 final committee vote on complete standard (Morristown, NJ,

USA)
Jul 1998 Microsoft releases VC++ 6.0, first Microsoft compiler to provide
close-to-complete set of ISO C++
Sep 1998 ISO/IEC 14882:1998 (informally known as C++98) published
ISO/IEC 14882:1998 — programming languages — C++,
Sept. 1998.
1998 Beman Dawes starts Boost (provides peer-reviewed portable
C++ source libraries)
Feb 2000 special edition of C++PL published

B. Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language.

Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, USA, special edition, Feb.
2000.

Apr 2001 motion passed to request new work item: technical report on
libraries (Copenhagen, Denmark); later to become ISO/IEC TR
19768:2007
Oct 2003 ISO/IEC 14882:2003 (informally known as C++03) published;
essentially bug fix release; no changes to language from
programmer’s point of view
ISO/IEC 14882:2003 — programming languages — C++,
Oct. 2003.
2003 work on C++0x (now known as C++11) starts
Oct 2004 estimated number of C++ users 3,270,000
Apr 2005 first votes on features for C++0x (Lillehammer, Norway)
2005 auto, static_assert, and rvalue references accepted in
principle
Apr 2006 first full committee (official) votes on features for C++0x (Berlin,
Germany)
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Timeline After C++98 (1998–Present) II
Sep 2006 performance technical report (TR 18015) published:
ISO/IEC TR 18015:2006 — information technology —
programming languages, their environments and system
software interfaces — technical report on C++
performance, Sept. 2006.
work spurred by earlier proposal to standardize subset of C++
for embedded systems called Embedded C++ (or just EC++);
EC++ motivated by performance concerns
Apr 2006 decision to move special mathematical functions to separate ISO
standard (Berlin, Germany); deemed too specialized for most
programmers
Nov 2007 ISO/IEC TR 19768:2007 (informally known as C++TR1)
published;
ISO/IEC TR 19768:2007 — information technology —
programming languages — technical report on C++ library
extensions, Nov. 2007.
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Timeline After C++98 (1998–Present) III
specifies series of library extensions to be considered for
adoption later in C++
2009 another particularly notable book on C++ published

B. Stroustrup. Programming: Principles and Practice Using

C++.
Addison Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2009.
Aug 2011 ISO/IEC 14882:2011 (informally known as C++11) ratified
ISO/IEC 14882:2011 — information technology —
programming languages — C++, Sept. 2011.
2013 fourth edition of C++PL published

B. Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language.

Addison Wesley, 4th edition, 2013.
2014 ISO/IEC 14882:2014 (informally known as C++14) ratified
ISO/IEC 14882:2014 — information technology —
programming languages — C++, Dec. 2014.
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Timeline After C++98 (1998–Present) IV

2017 ISO/IEC 14882:2017 (informally known as C++17) ratified

ISO/IEC 14882:2017 — information technology —
programming languages — C++, Dec. 2017.

reasons for using C as starting point:

flexibility (can be used for most application areas)
efficiency
availability (C compilers available for most platforms)
portability (source code relatively portable from one platform to another)
main sources for ideas for C++ (aside from C) were Simula, Algol68,
BCPL, Ada, Clu, ML; in particular:
Simula gave classes
Algol68 gave operator overloading, references, ability to declare variables
anywhere in block
BCPL gave // comments
exceptions influenced by ML
templates influenced by generics in Ada and parameterized modules in Clu

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C++ User Population
Time Estimated Number of Users
Oct 1979 1
Oct 1980 16
Oct 1981 38
Oct 1982 85
Oct 1983 ??+2 (no Cpre count)
Oct 1984 ??+50 (no Cpre count)
Oct 1985 500
Oct 1986 2,000
Oct 1987 4,000
Oct 1988 15,000
Oct 1989 50,000
Oct 1990 150,000
Oct 1991 400,000
Oct 2004 over 3,270,000
above numbers are conservative
1979 to 1991: C++ user population doubled approximately every 7.5
months
stable growth thereafter
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Success of C++

C++ very successful programming language

not luck or solely because based on C
efficient, provides low-level access to hardware, but also supports
abstraction
non-proprietary: in 1989, all rights to language transferred to standards
bodies (first ANSI and later ISO) from AT&T
multi-paradigm language, supporting procedural, object-oriented, generic,
and functional (e.g., lambda functions) programming
does not force particular programming style
reasonably portable
has continued to evolve, incorporating new ideas (e.g., templates,
exceptions, STL)
stable: high degree of compatibility with earlier versions of language
very strong bias towards providing general-purpose facilities rather than
more application-specific ones
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Application Areas

banking and financial (funds transfer, financial modelling, teller machines)

classical systems programming (compilers, operating systems, device
drivers, network layers, editors, database systems)
small business applications (inventory systems)
desktop publishing (document viewers/editors, image editing)
embedded systems (cameras, cell phones, airplanes, medical systems,
appliances)
entertainment (games)
GUI
hardware design and verification
scientific and numeric computation (physics, engineering, simulations,
data analysis, geometry processing)
servers (web servers, billing systems)
telecommunication systems (phones, networking, monitoring, billing,
operations systems)
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Section 2.1.1

References

B. Stroustrup. A history of C++: 1979–1991.

In Proc. of ACM History of Programming Languages Conference, pages
271–298, Mar. 1993
B. Stroustrup. The Design and Evolution of C++.
Addison Wesley, Mar. 1994.
B. Stroustrup. Evolving a language in and for the real world: C++
1991–2006.
In Proc. of the ACM SIGPLAN Conference on History of Programming
Languages, pages 4–1–4–59, 2007.
Cfront software available from Computer History Museum’s Software
Preservation Group http://www.softwarepreservation.org.
(See http://www.softwarepreservation.org/projects/c_plus_plus/cfront).

ISO JTC1/SC22/WG21 web site. http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/

sc22/wg21/.

ISO/IEC 14882:1998 — programming languages — C++, Sept. 1998.

ISO/IEC 14882:2003 — programming languages — C++, Oct. 2003.
ISO/IEC TR 18015:2006 — information technology — programming
languages, their environments and system software interfaces —
technical report on C++ performance, Sept. 2006.
ISO/IEC TR 19768:2007 — information technology — programming
languages — technical report on C++ library extensions, Nov. 2007.
ISO/IEC 14882:2011 — information technology — programming
languages — C++, Sept. 2011.
ISO/IEC 14882:2014 — information technology — programming
languages — C++, Dec. 2014.
ISO/IEC TS 18822:2015 — programming languages — C++ — file system
technical specification, July 2015.

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Standards Documents II
ISO/IEC TS 19570:2015 — programming languages — technical
specification for C++ extensions for parallelism, July 2015.
ISO/IEC TS 19841:2015 — technical specification for C++ extensions for
transactional memory, Oct. 2015.
ISO/IEC TS 19217:2015 — programming languages — C++ extensions
for concepts, Nov. 2015.
ISO/IEC TS 19571:2016 — programming languages — technical
specification for C++ extensions for concurrency, Feb. 2016.
ISO/IEC TS 19568:2017 — programming languages — C++ extensions
for library fundamentals, Mar. 2017.
ISO/IEC TS 21425:2017 — programming languages — C++ extensions
for ranges, Nov. 2017.
ISO/IEC 14882:2017 — information technology — programming
languages — C++, Dec. 2017.
ISO JTC1/SC22/WG21 web site. http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/
sc22/wg21/.
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Section 2.2

Getting Started

1 #include <iostream>
2

3 int main()
4 {
5 std::cout << "Hello, world!\n";
6 }

program prints message “Hello, world!” and then exits

starting point for execution of C++ program is function called main; every
C++ program must define function called main
#include preprocessor directive to include complete contents of file
iostream standard header file that defines various types and variables
related to I/O
std::cout is standard output stream (defaults to user’s terminal)
operator << is used for output

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Software Build Process
Source Code Compile Link
Object File Executable
File
(.o) Program
(.cpp, .hpp)

Source Code Compile Object File

File
(.o)
(.cpp, .hpp)

.. .. .. ..
. . . .

Source Code Compile Object File

File
(.o)
(.cpp, .hpp)

start with C++ source code files (.cpp, .hpp)

compile: convert source code to object code
object code stored in object file (.o)
link: combine contents of one or more object files (and possibly some
libraries) to produce executable program
executable program can then be run directly
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GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) C++ Compiler

g++ command provides both compiling and linking functionality

command-line usage:
g++ [options] input file . . .
many command-line options are supported
some particularly useful command-line options listed on next slide
compile C++ source file file.cpp to produce object code file file.o:
g++ -c file.cpp
link object files file 1.o, file 2.o, . . . to produce executable file executable:
g++ -o executable file 1.o file 2.o . . .
web site:
http://www.gnu.org/software/gcc
C++ standards support in GCC:
https://gcc.gnu.org/projects/cxx-status.html

-c
compile only (i.e., do not link)
-o file
use file file for output
-g
include debugging information
-On
set optimization level to n (0 almost none; 3 full)
-std=c++17
conform to C++17 standard
-Idir
specify additional directory dir to search for include files
-Ldir
specify additional directory dir to search for libraries
-llib
link with library lib
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Common g++ Command-Line Options (Continued 1)

-pthread
enable concurrency support (via pthreads library)
-pedantic-errors
strictly enforce compliance with standard
-Wall
enable most warning messages
-Wextra
enable some extra warning messages not enabled by -Wall
-Wpedantic
warn about deviations from strict standard compliance
-Werror
treat all warnings as errors
-fno-elide-constructors
in contexts where standard allows (but does not require) optimization that
omits creation of temporary, do not attempt to perform this optimization

-fconstexpr-loop-limit=n
set maximum number of iterations for loop in constexpr functions to n
-fconstexpr-depth=n
set maximum nested evaluation depth for constexpr functions to n

clang++ command provides both compiling and linking functionality

command-line usage:
clang++ [options] input file . . .
many command-line options are supported
command-line interface is largely compatible with that of GCC g++
command
web site:
http://clang.llvm.org
C++ standards support in Clang:
http://clang.llvm.org/cxx_status.html

many of more frequently used command-line options for clang++

identical to those for g++
consequently, only small number of clang++ options given below
-fconstexpr-steps=n
sets maximum number of computation steps in constexpr functions to n
-fconstexpr-depth=n
sets maximum nested evaluation depth for constexpr functions to n

numerous ways in which hello program could be built

often advantageous to compile each source file separately
can compile and link as follows:
1 compile source code file hello.cpp to produce object file hello.o:

g++ -c hello.cpp
2 link object file hello.o to produce executable program hello:
g++ -o hello hello.o
generally, manual building of program is quite tedious, especially when
program consists of multiple source files and additional compiler options
need to be specified
in practice, we use tools to automate build process (e.g., CMake and
Make)

C++ Basics

created by Bjarne Stroustrup of Bell Labs

originally known as C with Classes; renamed as C++ in 1983
most recent specification of language in ISO/IEC 14882:2017 (informally
known as “C++17”)
next version of standard expected in approximately 2020 (informally
known as “C++20”)
procedural
loosely speaking is superset of C
directly supports object-oriented and generic programming
maintains efficiency of C
application domains: systems software, application software, device
drivers, embedded software, high-performance server and client
applications, entertainment software such as video games, native code for
Android applications
greatly influenced development of C# and Java
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Comments

two styles of comments provided

comment starts with // and proceeds to end of line
comment starts with /* and proceeds to first */
// This is an example of a comment.
/* This is another example of a comment. */
/* This is an example of a comment that
spans
multiple lines. */

comments of /* · · · */ style do not nest

/*
/* This sentence is part of a comment. */
This sentence is not part of any comment and
will probably cause a compile error.
*/

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Identifiers
identifiers used to name entities such as: types, objects (i.e., variables),
and functions
valid identifier is sequence of one or more letters, digits, and underscore
characters that does not begin with a digit
identifiers that begin with underscore (in many cases) or contain double
underscores are reserved for use by C++ implementation and should be
avoided
examples of valid identifiers:
event_counter
eventCounter

sqrt_2
f_o_o_b_a_r_4_2

identifiers are case sensitive (e.g., counter and cOuNtEr are distinct
identifiers)
identifiers cannot be any of reserved keywords (see next slide)
scope of identifier is context in which identifier is valid (e.g., block,
function, global)
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Reserved Keywords
alignas default noexcept this
alignof delete not thread_local
and do not_eq throw
and_eq double nullptr true
asm dynamic_cast operator try
auto else or typedef
bitand enum or_eq typeid
bitor explicit private typename
bool export protected union
break extern public unsigned
case false register using
catch float reinterpret_cast virtual
char for return void
char16_t friend short volatile
char32_t goto signed wchar_t
class if sizeof while
compl inline static xor
const int static_assert xor_eq
constexpr long static_cast override∗
const_cast mutable struct final∗
continue namespace switch
decltype new template
∗ Note: context sensitive

Preprocessor

prior to compliation, source code transformed by preprocessor

preprocessor output then passed to compiler for compilation
preprocessor behavior can be controlled by preprocessor directives
preprocessor directive occupies single line and consists of:
1 hash character (i.e., “#”)

2 preprocessor instruction (i.e., define, undef, include, if, ifdef,

ifndef, else, elif, endif, line, error, and pragma)

3 arguments (depending on instruction)
4 line break
preprocessor can be used to:
conditionally compile parts of source file
define macros and perform macro expansion
include other files
force error to be generated

can include contents of another file in source using preprocessor

#include directive
syntax:
#include <path specifier>
or
#include "path specifier"
path specifier is pathname (which may include directory) identifying file
whose content is to be substituted in place of include directive
typically, angle brackets used for system header files and double quotes
used otherwise
example:
#include <iostream>
#include <boost/tokenizer.hpp>
#include "my_header_file.hpp"
#include "some_directory/my_header_file.hpp"

can define macros using #define directive

syntax:
#define name value
name is name of macro and value is value of macro
example:
#define DEBUG_LEVEL 10

macros can also take arguments

generally, macros should be avoided when possible (i.e., when other
better mechanisms are avaliable to achieve desired effect)
for example, although macros can be used as way to accomplish inlining
of functions, such usage should be avoided since language mechanism
exists for specifying inline functions

can conditionally include code through use of if-elif-else construct

conditional preprocessing block consists of following (in order)
1 #if, #ifdef, or #ifndef directive

2 optionally any number of #elif directives

3 at most one #else directive

4 #endif directive

code in taken branch of if-elif-else construct passed to compiler, while

code in other branches discarded
example:
#if DEBUG_LEVEL == 1
// ...
#elif DEBUG_LEVEL == 2
// ...
#else
// ...
#endif

preprocessor predicate __has_include can be used in expressions for

preprocessor to test for existence of header files
example:
#ifdef __has_include
# if __has_include(<optional>)
# include <optional>
# define have_optional 1
# elif __has_include(<experimental/optional>)
# include <experimental/optional>
# define have_optional 1
# define experimental_optional
# else
# define have_optional 0
# endif
#endif

Objects, Types, and Values

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Fundamental Types
boolean type: bool
character types:
char (may be signed or unsigned)
signed char
unsigned char
char16_t
char32_t
wchar_t

char is distinct type from signed char and unsigned char

standard signed integer types:
signed char
signed short int
signed int
signed long int
signed long long int

standard unsigned integer types:

unsigned char
unsigned short int
unsigned int
unsigned long int
unsigned long long int

“int” may be omitted from names of (non-character) integer types (e.g.,

“unsigned” equivalent to “unsigned int” and “signed” equivalent
to “signed int”)
“signed” may be omitted from names of signed integer types, excluding
signed char (e.g., “int” equivalent to “signed int”)
boolean, character, and (signed and unsigned) integer types collectively
called integral types
integral types must use binary positional representation; two’s
complement, one’s complement, and sign magnitude representations
permitted
floating-point types:
float
double
long double

void (i.e., incomplete/valueless) type: void

null pointer type: std::nullptr_t (defined in header file cstddef)
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Literals

literal (a.k.a. literal constant) is value written exactly as it is meant to be

interpreted
examples of literals:
"Hello, world"
"Bjarne"
’a’
’A’
123
123U
1’000’000’000
3.1415
1.0L
1.23456789e-10

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Character Literals
character literal consists of optional prefix followed by one or more
characters enclosed in single quotes
type of character literal determined by prefix (or lack thereof) as follows:
Prefix Literal Type
None ordinary normally char (in special cases int)
u8 UTF-8 char
u UCS-2 char16_t
U UCS-4 char32_t
L wide wchar_t
special characters can be represented by escape sequence:
Escape
Escape
Character Sequence
Character Sequence
newline (LF) \n
question mark (?) \?
horizontal tab (HT) \t
single quote (’) \’
vertical tab (VT) \v
double quote (") \"
backspace (BS) \b
octal number ooo \ooo
carriage return (CR) \r
hex number hhh \xhhh
form feed (FF) \f
code point nnnn \unnnn
alert (BEL) \a
code point nnnnnnnn \Unnnnnnnn
backslash (\) \\
examples of character literals:
’a’ ’1’ ’!’ ’\n’ u’a’ U’a’ L’a’ u8’a’
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Character Literals (Continued)

decimal digit characters guaranteed to be consecutive in value (e.g., ’1’

must equal ’0’ + 1)
in case of ordinary character literals, alphabetic characters are not
guaranteed to be consecutive in value (e.g., ’b’ is not necessarily
’a’ + 1)

(non-raw) string literal consists of optional prefix followed by zero or more

characters enclosed in double quotes
string literal has character array type
type of string literal determined by prefix (or lack thereof) as follows:
Prefix Literal Type
None narrow const char[]
u8 UTF-8 const char[]
u UTF-16 const char16_t[]
U UTF-32 const char32_t[]
L wide const wchar_t[]
examples of string literals:
"Hello, World!\n"
"123"
"ABCDEFG"
adjacent string literals are concatenated (e.g., "Hel" "lo" equivalent to
"Hello")
string literals implicitly terminated by null character (i.e., ’\0’)
so, for example, "Hi" means ’H’ followed by ’i’ followed by ’\0’
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Raw String Literals

interpretation of escape sequences (e.g., “\n”) inside string literal can be

avoided by using raw literal
raw literal has form:
prefix R"delimiter(raw characters)delimiter"

optional prefix is string-literal prefix (e.g., u8)

optional delimiter is sequence of characters used to assist in delimiting
string
raw characters is sequence of characters comprising string
escape sequences not processed inside raw literal
raw literal can also contain newline characters
examples of raw string literals:
R"(He said, "No.")"
u8R"(He said, "No.")"
R"foo(The answer is 42.)foo"
R"((+|-)?[[:digit:]]+)"

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Integer Literals
can be specified in decimal, binary, hexadecimal, and octal
number base indicated by prefix (or lack thereof) as follows:
Prefix Number Base
None decimal
Leading 0 octal
0b or 0B binary
0x or 0X hexadecimal
various suffixes can be specified to control type of literal:
u or U

l or L
both u or U and l or L

ll or LL
both u or U and ll or LL

can use single quote as digit separator (e.g., 1’000’000)

examples of integer literals:
42
1’000’000’000’000ULL
0xdeadU
integer literal always nonnegative; so, for example, -1 is integer literal 1
with negation operation applied
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Integer Literals (Continued)

Suffix Decimal Literal Non-Decimal Literal

None int int
long int unsigned int
long long int long int
unsigned long int
long long int
unsigned long long int
u or U unsigned int unsigned int
unsigned long int unsigned long int
unsigned long long int unsigned long long int
l or L long int long int
long long int unsigned long int
long long int
unsigned long long int
Both u or U unsigned long int unsigned long int
and l or L unsigned long long int unsigned long long int
ll or LL long long int long long int
unsigned long long int
Both u or U unsigned long long int unsigned long long int
and ll or LL

type of literal indicated by suffix (or lack thereof) as follows:

Suffix Type
None double
f or F float
l or L long double
examples of double literals:
1.414
1.25e-8
examples of float literals:
1.414f
1.25e-8f
examples of long double literals:
1.5L
1.25e-20L
floating-point literals always nonnegative; so, for example, -1.0 is literal
1.0 with negation operator applied

hexadecimal floating-point literal has general form:

1 prefix 0x or 0X

2 hexadecimal digits for integer part of number (optional if at least one digit
after radix point)
3 period character (i.e., radix point)
4 hexadecimal digits for fractional part of number (optional if at least one digit
before radix point)
5 p character (which designates exponent to follow)
6 one or more decimal digits for base-16 exponent
7 optional floating-point literal suffix (e.g., f or l)
examples of hexadecimal floating-point literals:
Literal Type Value (Decimal)
0x.8p0 double 0.5
0x10.cp0 double 16.75
0x.8p0f float 0.5
0xf.fp0f float 15.9375
0x1p10L long double 1024

boolean literals:
true
false
pointer literal:
nullptr

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Declarations and Definitions
declaration introduces identifier for type, object (i.e., variable), or function
(without necessarily providing full information about identifier)
in case of object, specifies type (of object)
in case of function, specifies number of parameters, type of each
parameter, and type of return value (if not automatically deduced)
each identifier must be declared before it can be used (i.e., referenced)
definition provides full information about identifier and causes entity
associated with identifier (if any) to be created
in case of type, provides full details about type
in case of object, causes storage to be allocated for object and object to be
created
in case of function, provides code for function body
in case of objects, in most (but not all) contexts, declaring object also
defines it
can declare identifier multiple times but can define only once
above terminology often abused, with “declaration” and “definition” being
used interchangeably
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Examples of Declarations and Definitions

int count; // declare and define count

extern double alpha; // (only) declare alpha
void func() { // declare and define func
int n; // declare and define n
double x = 1.0; // declare and define x
// ...
}
bool isOdd(int); // declare isOdd
bool isOdd(int x); // declare isOdd (x ignored)
bool isOdd(int x) { // declare and define isOdd
return x % 2;
}
struct Thing; // declare Thing
struct Vector2 { // declare and define Vector2
double x;
double y;
};

variable declaration (a.k.a. object declaration) introduces identifier that

names object and specifies type of object
variable definition (a.k.a. object definition) provides all information
included in variable declaration and also causes object to be created (e.g.,
storage allocated for object)
example:
int count;
// declare and define count
double alpha;
// declare and define alpha
extern double gamma;
// declare (but do not define) gamma

array is collection of one or more objects of same type that are stored
contiguously in memory
each element in array identified by (unique) integer index, with indices
starting from zero
array denoted by []
example:
double x[10]; // array of 10 doubles
int data[512][512]; // 512 by 512 array of ints
elements of array accessed using subscripting operator []
example:
int x[10];
// elements of arrays are x[0], x[1], ..., x[9]
often preferable to use user-defined type for representing array instead of
array type
for example, std::array and std::vector types (to be discussed later)
have numerous practical advantages over array types
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Array Example

code:
int a[4] = {1, 2, 3, 4};
assumptions (for some completely fictitious C++ language
implementation):
sizeof(int) is 4

array a starts at address 1000

memory layout:

Address Name
1000 1 a[0]
1004 2 a[1]
1008 3 a[2]
1012 4 a[3]

pointer is object whose value is address in memory where another object

is stored
pointer to object of type T denoted by T*
null pointer is special pointer value that does not refer to any valid
memory location
null pointer value provided by nullptr keyword
accessing object to which pointer refers called dereferencing
dereferencing pointer performed by indirection operator (i.e., “*”)
if p is pointer, *p is object to which pointer refers
if x is object of type T, &x is (normally) address of object, which has type
T*
example:
char c;
char* cp = nullptr; // cp is pointer to char
char* cp2 = &c; // cp2 is pointer to char

code:
int i = 42;
int* p = &i;
assert(*p == 42);
assumptions (for some completely fictitious C++ language
implementation):
sizeof(int) is 4

sizeof(int*) is 4
&i is ((int*)1000)

&p is ((int*)1004)

memory layout:

Address Name
1000 42 i
1004 1000 p

reference is alias (i.e., nickname) for already existing object

two kinds of references:
1 lvalue reference
2 rvalue reference
lvalue reference to object of type T denoted by T&
rvalue reference to object of type T denoted by T&&
initializing reference called reference binding
lvalue and rvalue references differ in their binding properties (i.e., to what
kinds of objects reference can be bound)
in most contexts, lvalue references usually needed
rvalue references used in context of move constructors and move
assignment operators (to be discussed later)
example:
int x;
int& y = x; // y is lvalue reference to int
int&& tmp = 3; // tmp is rvalue reference to int
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References Example

code:
int i = 42;
int& j = i;
assert(j == 42);
assumptions (for some completely fictitious C++ language
implementation):
sizeof(int) is 4
&i is ((int*)1000)

memory layout:

Address Name
1000 42 i, j

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References Versus Pointers
references and pointers similar in that both can be used to refer to some
other entity (e.g., object or function)
two key differences between references and pointers:
1 reference must refer to something, while pointer can have null value
(nullptr)
2 references cannot be rebound, while pointers can be changed to point to
different entity
references have cleaner syntax than pointers, since pointers must be
dereferenced upon each use (and dereference operations tend to clutter
code)
use of pointers often implies need for memory management (i.e., memory
allocation, deallocation, etc.), and memory management can introduce
numerous kinds of bugs when done incorrectly
often faced with decision of using pointer or reference in code
generally advisable to prefer use of references over use of pointers unless
compelling reason to do otherwise, such as:
must be able to handle case of referring to nothing
must be able to change entity being referred to
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Unscoped Enumerations
enumerated type provides way to describe range of values that are
represented by named constants called enumerators
object of enumerated type can take any one of enumerators as value
enumerator values represented by some integral type
enumerator can be assigned specific value (which may be negative)
if enumerator not assigned specific value, value defaults to zero if first
enumerator in enumeration and one greater than value for previous
enumerator otherwise
example:
enum Suit {
Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades
};
Suit suit = Clubs;
example:
enum Suit {
Clubs = 1, Diamonds = 2, Hearts = 4, Spades = 8
};

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Scoped Enumerations
scoped enumeration similar to unscoped enumeration, except
all enumerators are placed in scope of enumeration itself
integral type to used to hold enumerator values can be explicitly specified
conversions involving scoped enumerations are stricter (i.e., more type
safe)
class or struct added after enum keyword to make enumeration
scoped
scope resolution operator (i.e., “::”) used to access enumerators
scoped enumerations should probably be preferred to unscoped ones
example:
enum struct Season {
spring, summer, fall, winter
};
enum struct Suit : unsigned char {
clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades
};
Season season = Season::summer;
Suit suit = Suit::spades;

typedef keyword used to create alias for existing type

example:
typedef long long BigInt;
BigInt i; // i has type long long
typedef char* CharPtr;
CharPtr p; // p has type char*

using statement can be used to create alias for existing type

probably preferable to use using statement over typedef
example:
using BigInt = long long;
BigInt i; // i has type long long
using CharPtr = char*;
CharPtr p; // p has type char*

translation unit: basic unit of compilation in C++ (i.e., single source code
file plus all of its directly and indirectly included header files)
extern keyword used to declare object/function in separate translation
unit
example:
extern int evil_global_variable;
// declaration only
// actual definition in another file

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The const Qualifier
const qualifier specifies that object has value that is constant (i.e.,
cannot be changed)
qualifier that applies to object itself said to be top level
following defines x as int with value 42 that cannot be modified:
const int x = 42;
example:
const int x = 42;
x = 13; // ERROR: x is const
const int& x1 = x; // OK
const int* p1 = &x; // OK
int& x2 = x; // ERROR: x const, x2 not const
int* p2 = &x; // ERROR: x const, *p2 not const
example:
int x = 0;
const int& y = x;
x = 42; // OK
// y also changed to 42 since y refers to x
// y cannot be used to change x, however
// i.e., the following would cause compile error:
// y = 24; // ERROR: y is const
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Example: const Qualifier and Non-Pointer/Non-Reference
Types

// with types that are not pointer or reference types, const

// can only be applied to object itself (i.e., top level)
// object itself may be const or non-const
int i = 0; // non-const int object
const int ci = 0; // const int object
i = 42; // OK: can modify non-const object
ci = 42; // ERROR: cannot modify const object
i = ci; // OK: can modify non-const object
ci = i; // ERROR: cannot modify const object

every pointer is associated with two objects: pointer itself and pointee
(i.e., object to which pointer points)
const qualifier can be applied to each of pointer (i.e., top-level qualifier)
and pointee
Address
..
int i = 42; // pointee .
1000 (pointer)
// p is pointer to int i 2000
// for example: (&p)
// int* p = &i; ..
// const int* p = &i; .
// int* const p = &i;
// const int* const p = &i; 2000 42
(&i) (pointee)
..
.

// with pointer types, const can be applied to each of:

// pointer and pointee
// pointer itself may be const or non-const (top-level)
// pointee may be const or non-const
int i = 0;
int j = 0;
int* pi = &i; // non-const pointer to a non-const int
pi = &j; // OK: can modify non-const pointer
*pi = 42; // OK: can modify non-const pointee
const int* pci = &i; // non-const pointer to a const int
// equivalently: int const* pci = &i;
pci = &j; // OK: can modify non-const pointer
*pci = 42; // ERROR: cannot modify const pointee
int* const cpi = &i; // const pointer to a non-const int
cpi = &j; // ERROR: cannot modify const pointer
*cpi = 42; // OK: can modify non-const pointee
const int* const cpci = &i; // const pointer to a const int
// equivalently: int const* const cpci = &i;
cpci = &j; // ERROR: cannot modify const pointer
*cpci = 42; // ERROR: cannot modify const pointee
pci = pi; // OK: adds const to pointee
pi = pci; // ERROR: discards const from pointee

reference is name that refers to object (i.e., referee)

in principle, const qualifier can be applied to reference itself (i.e.,
top-level qualifier) or referee
since reference cannot be rebound, reference itself is effectively always
constant
for this reason, does not make sense to explicitly apply const as
top-level qualifier for reference type and language disallows this
const qualifier can only be applied to referee

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Example: const Qualifier and Reference Types
// with reference types, const can only be applied to referee
// reference itself cannot be rebound (i.e., is constant)
// referee may be const or non-const
int i = 0; const int ci = 0;
int i1 = 0; const int ci1 = 0;
// reference to non-const int
int& ri = i;
ri = ci; // OK: can modify non-const referee
int& ri = i1; // ERROR: cannot redefine/rebind reference
// reference to const int
const int& rci = ci;
rci = i; // ERROR: cannot modify const referee
const int& rci = ci1;
// ERROR: cannot redefine/rebind reference
// ERROR: reference itself cannot be const qualified
int& const cri = i; // ERROR: invalid const qualifier
// ERROR: reference itself cannot be const qualified
const int& const crci = ci; // ERROR: invalid const qualifier
// also: int const& const crci = ci; // ERROR
const int& r1 = ci; // OK: adds const to referee
int& r2 = ci; // ERROR: discards const from referee

for given type T, cannot implicitly convert T to const T

although such conversion looks okay at first glance, actually would create
backdoor for changing const objects
can, however, implicitly convert T** to const T* const*
for example, code like that shown below could be used to change const
objects if T** to const T** were valid conversion:
const int i = 42;
int* p;
const int** q = &p;
// Fortunately, this line is not valid code.
// ERROR: cannot convert int** to const int**
*q = &i;
// Change p (to which q points) to point to i.
// OK: *q is not const (only **q is const)
*p = 0;
// Set i (to which p points) to 0.
// OK: *p is not const
// This line would change i, which is const.

volatile qualifier used to indicate that object can change due to agent
external to program (e.g., memory-mapped device, signal handler)
compiler cannot optimize away read and write operations on volatile
objects (e.g., repeated reads without intervening writes cannot be
optimized away)
volatile qualifier typically used when object:
corresponds to register of memory-mapped device
may be modified by signal handler (namely, object of type
volatile std::sig_atomic_t)
example:
volatile int x;
volatile unsigned char* deviceStatus;

in various contexts, auto keyword can be used as place holder for type
in such contexts, implication is that compiler must deduce type
example:
auto i = 3; // i has type int
auto j = i; // j has type int
auto& k = i; // k has type int&
const auto& n = i; // n has type const int&
auto x = 3.14; // x has type double
very useful in generic programming (covered later) when types not always
easy to determine
can potentially save typing long type names
can lead to more readable code (if well used)
if overused, can lead to bugs (sometimes very subtle ones) and difficult to
read code

inline variable: variable that may be defined in multiple translation units

as long as all definitions are identical
potential for multiple definitions avoided by having linker simply choose
one of identical definitions and discard others (if more than one exists)
can request that variable be made inline by including inline qualifier in
variable declaration
inline variable must have static storage duration (e.g., static class member
or namespace-scope variable)
inline variable typically used to allow definition of variable to be placed in
header file without danger of multiple definitions
inline variable has same address in all translation units

inline_variable_1_1.hpp
1 inline int magic = 42;

main.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "inline_variable_1_1.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << magic << "\n";
5 }

other.cpp
1 #include "inline_variable_1_1.hpp"
2 void func() {/* ... */}

Operators and Expressions

Arithmetic Operators
Operator Name Syntax
addition a + b Bitwise Operators
subtraction a - b
Operator Name Syntax
unary plus +a
bitwise NOT ˜a
unary minus -a
bitwise AND a & b
multiplication a * b
bitwise OR a | b
division a / b
bitwise XOR a ˆ b
modulo (i.e., remainder) a % b
arithmetic left shift a << b
pre-increment ++a
arithmetic right shift a >> b
post-increment a++
pre-decrement --a
post-decrement a--

Assignment and
Compound-Assignment Operators
Operator Name Syntax
assignment a = b
addition assignment a += b
subtraction assignment a -= b
multiplication assignment a *= b
division assignment a /= b
modulo assignment a %= b
bitwise AND assignment a &= b
bitwise OR assignment a |= b
bitwise XOR assignment a ˆ= b
arithmetic left shift assignment a <<= b
arithmetic right shift assignment a >>= b

Logical/Relational Operators
Operator Name Syntax Member and Pointer Operators
equal a == b Operator Name Syntax
not equal a != b array subscript a[b]
greater than a > b indirection *a
less than a < b address of &a
greater than or equal a >= b member selection a.b
less than or equal a <= b member selection a->b
logical negation !a member selection a.*b
logical AND a && b member selection a->*b
logical OR a || b

Other Operators
Operator Name Syntax
function call a(...)
comma a, b
ternary conditional a ? b : c
scope resolution a::b
sizeof sizeof(a)
parameter-pack sizeof sizeof...(a)
alignof alignof(T)
allocate storage new T
allocate storage (array) new T[a]
deallocate storage delete a
deallocate storage (array) delete[] a

Other Operators (Continued)

Operator Name Syntax
type ID typeid(a)
type cast (T) a
const cast const_cast<T>(a)
static cast static_cast<T>(a)
dynamic cast dynamic_cast<T>(a)
reinterpret cast reinterpret_cast<T>(a)
throw throw a
noexcept noexcept(e)

Precedence Operator Name Associativity

1 :: scope resolution none
2 . member selection (object) left to right
-> member selection (pointer)
[] subscripting
() function call
++ postfix increment
-- postfix decrement

Precedence Operator Name Associativity

3 sizeof size of object/type right to left
++ prefix increment
-- prefix decrement
˜ bitwise NOT
! logical NOT
- unary minus
+ unary plus
& address of
* indirection
new allocate storage
new[] allocate storage (array)
delete deallocate storage
delete[] deallocate storage (array)
() cast

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Operator Precedence (Continued 2)
Precedence Operator Name Associativity
4 .* member selection (objects) left to right
->* member selection (pointers)
5 * multiplication left to right
/ division
% modulus
6 + addition left to right
- subtraction
7 << left shift left to right
>> right shift
8 < less than left to right
<= less than or equal
> greater than
>= greater than or equal
9 == equality left to right
!= inequality

Precedence Operator Name Associativity

10 & bitwise AND left to right
11 ˆ bitwise XOR left to right
12 | bitwise OR left to right
13 && logical AND left to right
14 || logical OR left to right
15 ? : ternary conditional right to left

Precedence Operator Name Associativity

16 = assignment right to left
*= multiplication assignment
/= division assignment
%= modulus assignment
+= addition assignment
-= subtraction assignment
<<= left shift assignment
>>= right shift assignment
&= bitwise AND assignment
|= bitwise OR assignment
ˆ= bitwise XOR assignment
17 throw throw exception right to left
18 , comma left to right

Alternative Primary
and &&
bitor |
or ||
xor ˆ
compl ˜
bitand &
and_eq &=
or_eq |=
xor_eq ˆ=
not !
not_eq !=
alternative tokens above probably best avoided as they lead to more
verbose code

An expression is a sequence of operators and operands that specifies a

computation.
An expression has a type and, if the type is not void, a value.
A constant expression is an expression that can be evaluated at compile
time (e.g., 1 + 1).
Example:
Expression Type Value
x int 0
int x = 0; y = x int& reference to y
int y = 0; x + 1 int 1
int* p = &x; x * x + 2 * x int 0
double d = 0.0; y = x * x int& reference to y
// Evaluate some x == 42 bool false
// expressions here. *p int& reference to x
p == &x bool true
x > 2 * y bool false
std::sin(d) double 0.0

Expression Fully-Parenthesized Expression

a + b + c ((a + b) + c)
a = b = c (a = (b = c))
c = a + b (c = (a + b))
d = a && !b || c (d = ((a && (!b)) || c))
++*p++ (++(*(p++)))
a | ˜b & c ˆ d (a | (((˜b) & c) ˆ d))
a[0]++ + a[1]++ (((a[0])++) + ((a[1])++))
a + b * c / d % - g (a + (((b * c) / d) % (-g)))
++p[i] (++(p[i]))
--*++p (--(*(++p)))
a += b += c += d (a += (b += (c += d)))
z = a == b ? ++c : --d (z = ((a == b) ? (++c) : (--d)))

logical-and operator (i.e., &&):

groups left-to-right
result true if both operands are true, and false otherwise
second operand is not evaluated if first operand is false (in case of built-in
logical-and operator)
logical-or operator (i.e., ||):
groups left-to-right
result is true if either operand is true, and false otherwise
second operand is not evaluated if first operand is true (in case of built-in
logical-or operator)
example:
int x = 0;
bool b = (x == 0 || ++x == 1);
// b equals true; x equals 0
b = (x != 0 && ++x == 1);
// b equals false; x equals 0

above behavior referred to as short circuit evaluation

static_assert allows testing of boolean condition at compile time

used to test sanity of code or test validity of assumptions made by code
static_assert has two arguments:
1 boolean constant expression (condition to test)
2 string literal for error message to print if boolean expression not true
second argument is optional
failed static assertion results in compile error
example:
static_assert(sizeof(int) >= 4, "int is too small");
static_assert(1 + 1 == 2, "compiler is buggy");

sizeof operator is used to query size of object or object type (i.e.,

amount of storage required)
for object type T, sizeof(T) yields size of T in bytes (e.g.,
sizeof(int), sizeof(int[10]))
for expression e, sizeof e yields size of object required to hold result of
e in bytes (e.g., sizeof(&x) where x is some object)
sizeof(char), sizeof(signed char), and
sizeof(unsigned char) guaranteed to be 1
byte is at least 8 bits (usually exactly 8 bits except on more exotic
platforms)

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The alignof Operator
object type can have restriction on address at which object of type can
start called alignment requirement
for given object type T, starting address for objects of type T must be
integer multiple of N bytes, where integer N is called alignment of type
alignment of 1 corresponds to no restriction on alignment (since starting
address of object can be any address in memory)
alignment of 2 restricts starting address of object to be even (i.e., integer
multiple of 2)
for efficiency reasons and due to restrictions imposed by hardware,
alignment of particular type may be greater than 1
alignof operator is used to query alignment of type
for object type T, alignof(T) yields alignment used for objects of this
type
alignof(char), alignof(signed char), and
alignof(unsigned char) guaranteed to be 1
fundamental types of size greater than 1 often have alignment greater
than 1
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The alignas Specifier

when declaring variable, can specify its alignment in memory with

alignas specifier
example:
alignas(4096) static char x[8192];
static_assert(alignof(x) == 4096);
// x is aligned on 4096-byte boundary
alignas(double) float f;
static_assert(alignof(f) == alignof(double));
// f has same alignment as double

constexpr qualifier indicates object has value that is constant

expression (i.e., can be evaluated at compile time)
constexpr implies const (but converse not necessarily true)
following defines x as constant expression with type const int and
value 42:
constexpr int x = 42;
example:
constexpr int x = 42;
int y = 1;
x = 0; // ERROR: x is const
const int& x1 = x; // OK
const int* p1 = &x; // OK
int& x2 = x; // ERROR: x const, x2 not const
int* p2 = &x; // ERROR: x const, *p2 not const
int a1[x]; // OK: x is constexpr
int a2[y]; // ERROR: y is not constexpr

Control-Flow Constructs: Selection and Looping

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The if Statement
allows conditional execution of code
syntax has form:
if (expression)
statement1
else
statement2
if expression expression is true, execute statement statement1 ; otherwise,
execute statement statement2
else clause can be omitted leading to simpler form:
if (expression)
statement1
conditional execution based on more than one condition can be achieved
using construct like:
if (expression1 )
statement1
else if (expression2 )
statement2
...
else
statementn
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The if Statement (Continued 1)

to include multiple statements in branch of if, must group statements

into single statement using brace brackets
if (expression) {
statement1,1
statement1,2
statement1,3
...
} else {
statement2,1
statement2,2
statement2,3
...
}

advisable to always include brace brackets even when not necessary, as

this avoids potential bugs caused by forgetting to include brackets later
when more statements added to branch of if

if statement may include initializer:

if (initializer; expression)
statement1 ;
else
statement2 ;
above construct equivalent to:
{
initializer;
if (expression)
statement1 ;
else
statement2 ;
}
if condition in if statement is constant expression, constexpr keyword
can be added after if keyword to yield what is called constexpr-if
statement
constexpr-if statement is evaluated at compile time and branch of if
statement that is not taken is discarded
Copyright
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The if Statement: Example
example with else clause:
int x = someValue;
if (x % 2 == 0) {
std::cout << "x is even\n";
} else {
std::cout << "x is odd\n";
}
example without else clause:
int x = someValue;
if (x % 2 == 0) {
std::cout << "x is divisible by 2\n";
}
example that tests for more than one condition:
int x = someValue;
if (x > 0) {
std::cout << "x is positive\n";
} else if (x < 0) {
std::cout << "x is negative\n";
} else {
std::cout << "x is zero\n";
}
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The if Statement: Example

example with initializer:

int execute_command();
if (int ret = execute_command(); ret == 0) {
std::cout << "command successful\n";
} else {
std::cout << "command failed with status " <<
ret << ’\n’;
}

example constexpr-if statement:

constexpr int x = 10;
if constexpr (x < 0) {
std::cout << "negative\n";
} else if constexpr(x > 0) {
std::cout << "positive\n";
} else {
std::cout << "zero\n";
}

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The switch Statement
allows conditional execution of code based on integral/enumeration value
syntax has form:
switch (expression) {
case const expr1 :
statements1
case const expr2 :
statements2
...
case const exprn :
statementsn
default:
statements
}
expression is expression of integral or enumeration type or implicitly
convertible to such type; const expri is constant expression of same type
as expression after conversions/promotions
if expression expression equals const expri , jump to beginning of
statements statementsi ; if expression expr does not equal const expri for
any i, jump to beginning of statements statements
then, continue executing statements until break statement is
encountered
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The switch Statement (Continued)

switch statement can also include initializer:

switch (initializer; expression)
statement

above construct equivalent to:

{
initializer;
switch (expression)
statement
}

example without initializer:

int x = someValue;
switch (x) {
case 0:
// Note that there is no break here.
case 1:
std::cout << "x is 0 or 1\n";
break;
case 2:
std::cout << "x is 2\n";
break;
default:
std::cout << "x is not 0, 1, or 2\n";
break;
}

example with initializer:

int get_value();
switch (int x = get_value(); x) {
case 0:
case 1:
std::cout << "x is 0 or 1\n";
break;
case 2:
std::cout << "x is 2\n";
break;
default:
std::cout << "x is not 0, 1, or 2\n";
break;
}

looping construct
syntax has form:
while (expression)
statement

if expression expression is true, statement statement is executed; this

process repeats until expression expression becomes false
to allow multiple statements to be executed in loop body, must group
multiple statements into single statement with brace brackets
while (expression) {
statement1
statement2
statement3
...
}

advisable to always use brace brackets, even when loop body consists of
only one statement

// print hello 10 times

int n = 10;
while (n > 0) {
std::cout << "hello\n";
--n;
}

// loop forever, printing hello

while (true) {
std::cout << "hello\n";
}

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The for Statement
looping construct
has following syntax:
for (statement1 ; expression; statement2 )
statement3
first, execute statement statement1 ; then, while expression expression is
true, execute statement statement3 followed by statement statement2
statement1 and statement2 may be omitted; expression treated as true if
omitted
to include multiple statements in loop body, must group multiple
statements into single statement using brace brackets; advisable to always
use brace brackets, even when loop body consists of only one statement:
for (statement1 ; expression; statement2 ) {
statement3,1
statement3,2
...
}
any objects declared in statement1 go out of scope as soon as for loop
ends
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The for Statement (Continued)

consider for loop:

for (statement1 ; expression; statement2 )
statement3
above for loop can be equivalently expressed in terms of while loop
as follows (except for behavior of continue statement, yet to be
discussed):
{
statement1 ;
while (expression) {
statement3
statement2 ;
}
}

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The for Statement: Example
example with single statement in loop body:
// Print the integers from 0 to 9 inclusive.
for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
std::cout << i << ’\n’;
example with multiple statements in loop body:
int values[10];
// ...
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
// Stop if value is negative.
if (values[i] < 0) {
break;
}
sum += values[i];
}
example with error in assumption about scoping rules:
for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
std::cout << i << ’\n’;
}
++i; // ERROR: i no longer exists
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Range-Based for Statement

variant of for loop for iterating over elements in range

example:
int array[4] = {1, 2, 3, 4};
// Triple the value of each element in the array.
for (auto&& x : array) {
x *= 3;
}

range-based for loop nice in that it clearly expresses programmer intent

(i.e., iterate over each element of collection)

looping construct
has following general syntax:
do
statement
while (expression);
statement statement executed;
then, expression expression evaluated;
if expression expression is true, entire process repeats from beginning
to execute multiple statements in body of loop, must group multiple
statements into single statement using brace brackets
do {
statement1
statement2
...
} while (expression);
advisable to always use brace brackets, even when loop body consists of
only one statement
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The do Statement: Example

example with single statement in loop body:

// delay by looping 10000 times
int n = 0;
do
++n;
while (n < 10000);

example with multiple statements in loop body:

// print integers from 0 to 9 inclusive
int n = 0;
do {
std::cout << n << ’\n’;
++n;
} while (n < 10);

break statement causes enclosing loop or switch to be terminated

immediately
example:
// Read integers from standard input until an
// error or end-of-file is encountered or a
// negative integer is read.
int x;
while (std::cin >> x) {
if (x < 0) {
break;
}
std::cout << x << ’\n’;
}

continue statement causes next iteration of enclosing loop to be

started immediately
example:
int values[10];
...
// Print the nonzero elements of the array.
for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
if (values[i] == 0) {
// Skip over zero elements.
continue;
}
// Print the (nonzero) element.
std::cout << values[i] << ’\n’;
}

goto statement transfers control to another statement specified by label

should generally try to avoid use of goto statement
well written code rarely has legitimate use for goto statement
example:
int i = 0;
loop: // label for goto statement
do {
if (i == 3) {
++i;
goto loop;
}
std::cout << i << ’\n’;
++i;
} while (i < 10);

some restrictions on use of goto (e.g., cannot jump over initialization in

same block as goto)
goto skip; // ERROR
int i = 0;
skip:
++i;

Functions

argument (a.k.a. actual parameter): argument is value supplied to

function by caller; appears in parentheses of function-call operator
parameter (a.k.a. formal parameter): parameter is object/reference
declared as part of function that acquires value on entry to function;
appears in function definition/declaration
although abuse of terminology, parameter and argument often used
interchangeably
return value: result passed from function back to caller
int square(int i) { // i is parameter
return i * i; // return value is i * i
}
void compute() {
int i = 3;
int j = square(i); // i is argument
}

function declaration introduces identifier that names function and

specifies following properties of function:
number of parameters
type of each parameter
type of return value (if not automatically deduced)
example:
bool isOdd(int); // declare isOdd
bool isOdd(int x); // declare isOdd (x ignored)

function definition provides all information included in function

declaration as well as code for body of function
example:
bool isOdd(int x) { // declare and define isOdd
return x % 2;
}

most basic syntax for function declarations and definitions places return
type at start (i.e., leading return-type syntax)
basic syntax for function declaration:
return type function name(parameter declarations);

examples of function declarations:

int min(int, int);
double square(double);

basic syntax for function definition:

return type function name(parameter declarations)
{
statements
}

examples of function definitions:

int min(int x, int y) {return x < y ? x : y;}
double square(double x) {return x * x;}

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Trailing Return-Type Syntax
with trailing return-type syntax, return type comes after parameter
declarations and auto used as placeholder for where return type would
normally be placed
trailing return-type syntax for function declaration:
auto function name(parameter declarations) -> return type;
examples of function declarations:
auto min(int, int) -> int;
auto square(double) -> double;
trailing return-type syntax for function definition:
auto function name(parameter declarations) -> return type
{
statements
}
examples of function definitions:
auto min(int x, int y) -> int
{return x < y ? x : y;}
auto square(double x) -> double {return x * x;}

return statement used to exit function, passing specified return value (if
any) back to caller
code in function executes until return statement is reached or execution
falls off end of function
if function return type is not void, return statement takes single
parameter indicating value to be returned
if function return type is void, function does not return any value and
return statement takes either no parameter or expression of type void
falling off end of function equivalent to executing return statement with
no value
example:
double unit_step(double x) {
if (x >= 0.0) {
return 1.0; // exit with return value 1.0
}
return 0.0; // exit with return value 0.0
}

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Automatic Return-Type Deduction
with both leading and trailing return-type syntax, can specify return type
as auto
in this case, return type of function will be automatically deduced
if function definition has no return statement, return type deduced to be
void
otherwise, return type deduced to match type in expression of return
statement or, if return statement has no expression, as void
if multiple return statements, must use same type for all return
expressions
when return-type deduction used, function definition must be visible in
order to call function (since return type cannot be determined otherwise)
example:
auto square(double x) {
return x * x;
// x * x has type double
// deduced return type is double
}
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The main Function

entry point to program is always function called main

has return type of int
can be declared to take either no arguments or two arguments as follows
(although other possibilities may also be supported by implementation):
int main();
int main(int argc, char* argv[]);
two-argument variant allows arbitrary number of C-style strings to be
passed to program from environment in which program run
argc: number of C-style strings provided to program
argv: array of pointers to C-style strings
argv[0] is name by which program invoked
argv[argc] is guaranteed to be 0 (i.e., null pointer)
argv[1], argv[2], . . ., argv[argc - 1] typically correspond to
command line options

suppose that following command line given to shell:

program one two three

main function would be invoked as follows:

int argc = 4;
char* argv[] = {
"program", "one", "two", "three", 0
};
main(argc, argv);

return value of main typically passed back to operating system

can also use function void exit(int) to terminate program, passing
integer return value back to operating system
return statement in main is optional
if control reaches end of main without encountering return statement,
effect is that of executing “return 0;”

lifetime of object is period of time in which object exists (e.g., block,

function, global)
int x;
void wasteTime()
{
int j = 10000;
while (j > 0) {
--j;
}
for (int i = 0; i < 10000; ++i) {
}
}

in above example: x global scope and lifetime; j function scope and

lifetime; i block scope and lifetime

function parameter can be passed by value or by reference

pass by value: function given copy of object from caller
pass by reference: function given reference to object from caller
to pass parameter by reference, use reference type for parameter
example:
void increment(int& x)
// x is passed by reference
{
++x;
}
double square(double x)
// x is passed by value
{
return x * x;
}

if function needs to change value of object in caller, must pass by

reference
for example:
void increment(int& x)
// x refers to object in caller
{
++x;
}

if object being passed to function is expensive to copy (e.g., a very large

data type), always faster to pass by reference
for example:
double compute(const std::vector<double>& x)
// x refers to object in caller
// object is not copied
{
double result;
// ... (initialize result with value computed from x)
return result;
}

consider code:
1 void increment(int x) {
2 ++x;
3 }
4
5 void func() {
6 int i = 0;
7 increment(i); // i is not modified
8 // i is still 0
9 }
when func calls increment, parameter passing copies value of i in func
to local variable x in increment:
i in Copy x in
func increment
Value
0 0
when code in increment executes, local variable x is incremented (not i
in func):
i in x in
func increment
0 1
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Increment Example: Correctly Using Pass By Reference
consider code:
1 void increment(int& x) {
2 ++x;
3 }
4
5 void func() {
6 int i = 0;
7 increment(i); // i is incremented
8 // i is now 1
9 }
when func calls increment, reference x in increment is bound to object
i in func (i.e., x becomes alias for i):
i in func
and
x in increment
0
when code in increment executes, x is incremented, which is alias for i
in func:
i in func
and
x in increment
1
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The const Qualifier and Functions
const qualifier can be used in function declaration to make promises
about what non-local objects will not be modified by function
for function parameter of pointer type, const-ness of pointed-to object (i.e.,
pointee) extremely important
if pointee is const, function promises not to change pointee; for example:
int strlen(const char*); // get string length
for function parameter of reference type, const-ness of referred-to object
(i.e., referee) extremely important
if referee is const, function promises not to change referee; for example:
std::complex<double>
square(const std::complex<double>&);
// compute square of number
not making appropriate choice of const-ness for pointed-to or referred-to
object will result in fundamentally incorrect code
if function will never modify pointee/referee associated with function
parameter, parameter type should be made pointer/reference to const
object
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String Length Example: Not Const Correct

1 // ERROR: parameter type should be const char*

2 int string_length(char* s) {
3 int n = 0;
4 while (*s++ != ’\0’) {++n;}
5 return n;
6 }
7
8 int main() {
9 char buf[] = "Goodbye";
10 const char* const m1 = "Hello";
11 char* const m2 = &buf[0];
12 int n1 = string_length(m1);
13 // must copy argument m1 to parameter s:
14 // char* s = m1;
15 // convert from const char* const to char*
16 // ERROR: must discard const from pointee
17 int n2 = string_length(m2);
18 // must copy argument m2 to parameter s:
19 // char* s = m2;
20 // convert from char* const to char*
21 // OK: constness of pointee unchanged
22 }

1 // OK: pointee is const

2 int string_length(const char* s) {
3 int n = 0;
4 while (*s++ != ’\0’) {++n;}
5 return n;
6 }
7
8 int main() {
9 char buf[] = "Goodbye";
10 const char* const m1 = "Hello";
11 char* const m2 = &buf[0];
12 int n1 = string_length(m1);
13 // must copy argument m1 to parameter s:
14 // const char* s = m1;
15 // convert from const char* const to const char*
16 // OK: constness of pointee unchanged
17 int n2 = string_length(m2);
18 // must copy argument m2 to parameter s:
19 // const char* s = m2;
20 // convert from char* const to const char*
21 // OK: can add const to pointee
22 }

1 #include <complex>
2
3 using Complex = std::complex<long double>;
4
5 // ERROR: parameter type should be reference to const
6 Complex square(Complex& z) {
7 return z * z;
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 const Complex c1(1.0, 2.0);
12 Complex c2(1.0, 2.0);
13 Complex r1 = square(c1);
14 // must bind parameter z to argument c1
15 // Complex& z = c1;
16 // convert from const Complex to Complex&
17 // ERROR: must discard const from referee
18 Complex r2 = square(c2);
19 // must bind parameter z to argument c2
20 // Complex& z = c2;
21 // convert from Complex to Complex&
22 // OK: constness of referee unchanged
23 }

1 #include <complex>
2
3 using Complex = std::complex<long double>;
4
5 // OK: parameter type is reference to const
6 Complex square(const Complex& z) {
7 return z * z;
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 const Complex c1(1.0, 2.0);
12 Complex c2(1.0, 2.0);
13 Complex r1 = square(c1);
14 // must bind parameter z to argument c1
15 // const Complex& z = c1;
16 // convert from const Complex to const Complex&
17 // OK: constness of referee not discarded
18 Complex r2 = square(c2);
19 // must bind parameter z to argument c2
20 // const Complex& z = c2;
21 // convert from Complex to const Complex&
22 // OK: can add const to referee
23 }

1 // top-level qualifiers of parameter types are

2 // not part of function type and should be omitted
3 // from function declaration
4
5 // BAD: const not part of function type
6 // (nothing here to which const can refer)
7 bool is_even(const unsigned int);
8
9 // OK
10 bool is_odd(unsigned int);
11
12 // OK: parameter with top-level const qualifier
13 // is ok in function definition
14 bool is_even(const unsigned int x) {
15 // cannot change x in function
16 return x % 2 == 0;
17 }
18
19 // OK
20 bool is_odd(unsigned int x) {
21 // x can be changed if desired
22 return x % 2 != 0;
23 }

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Inline Functions
in general programming sense, inline function is function for which
compiler copies code from function definition directly into code of calling
function rather than creating separate set of instructions in memory
since code copied directly into calling function, no need to transfer control
to separate piece of code and back again to caller, eliminating
performance overhead of function call
inline typically used for very short functions (where overhead of calling
function is large relative to cost of executing code within function itself)
can request function be made inline by including inline qualifier along
with function return type (but compiler may ignore request)
inline function must be defined in each translation unit in which function is
used and all definitions must be identical; this is exception to
one-definition rule
example:
inline bool isEven(int x) {
return x % 2 == 0;
}

inlining of isEven function transforms code fragment 1 into code

fragment 2
Code fragment 1:
inline bool isEven(int x) {
return x % 2 == 0;
}
void myFunction() {
int i = 3;
bool result = isEven(i);
}

Code fragment 2:
void myFunction() {
int i = 3;
bool result = (i % 2 == 0);
}

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The constexpr Qualifier for Functions
constexpr qualifier indicates return value of function is constant
expression (i.e., can be evaluated at compile time) provided that all
arguments to function are constant expressions
constexpr function required to be evaluated at compile time if all
arguments are constant expressions and return value used in constant
expression
constexpr functions are implicitly inline
constexpr function very restricted in what it can do (e.g., no external state,
can only call constexpr functions, variables must be initialized)
example:
constexpr int factorial(int n) {
return n >= 2 ? (n * factorial(n - 1)) : 1;
}
int u[factorial(5)];
// OK: factorial(5) is constant expression
int x = 5;
int v[factorial(x)];
// ERROR: factorial(x) is not constant
// expression
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Constexpr Function Example: square

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 constexpr double square(double x) {
4 return x * x;
5 }
6
7 int main() {
8 constexpr double a = square(2.0);
9 // must be computed at compile time
10
11 double b = square(0.5);
12 // might be computed at compile time
13
14 double t;
15 if (!(std::cin >> t)) {
16 return 1;
17 }
18 const double c = square(t);
19 // must be computed at run time
20
21 std::cout << a << ’ ’ << b << ’ ’ << c << ’\n’;
22 }

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 constexpr double power_int_helper(double x, int n) {
4 return (n > 0) ? x * power_int_helper(x, n - 1) : 1;
5 }
6
7 constexpr double power_int(double x, int n) {
8 return (n < 0) ? power_int_helper(1.0 / x, -n) :
9 power_int_helper(x, n);
10 }
11
12 int main() {
13 constexpr double a = power_int(0.5, 8);
14 // must be computed at compile time
15
16 double b = power_int(0.5, 8);
17 // might be computed at compile time
18
19 double x;
20 if (!(std::cin >> x)) {return 1;}
21 const double c = power_int(x, 2);
22 // must be computed at run time
23
24 std::cout << a << ’ ’ << b << ’ ’ << c << ’\n’;
25 }

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Constexpr Function Example: power_int (Iterative)
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 constexpr double power_int(double x, int n) {
4 double result = 1.0;
5 if (n < 0) {
6 x = 1.0 / x;
7 n = -n;
8 }
9 while (--n >= 0) {
10 result *= x;
11 }
12 return result;
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 constexpr double a = power_int(0.5, 8);
17 // must be computed at compile time
18
19 double b = power_int(0.5, 8);
20 // might be computed at compile time
21
22 double x;
23 if (!(std::cin >> x)) {return 1;}
24 const double c = power_int(x, 2);
25 // must be computed at run time
26
27 std::cout << a << ’ ’ << b << ’ ’ << c << ’\n’;
28 }

constexpr variables and constexpr functions provide mechanism for

moving computation from run time to compile time
benefits of compile-time computation include:
1 no execution-time cost at run-time
2 can facilitate compiler optimization (e.g., eliminate conditional branch if
condition always true/false)
3 can reduce code size since code used only for compile-time computation
does not need to be included in executable
4 can find errors at compile-time and link-time instead of at run time
5 no concerns about order of initialization (which is not necessarily true for
const objects)
6 no synchronization concerns (e.g., multiple threads trying to initialize object)
when floating point is involved, compile-time and run-time computations
can yield different results, due to differences in such things as
rounding mode in effect
processor architecture used for computation (when cross compiling)

function overloading: multiple functions can have same name as long as

they differ in number/type of their arguments
example:
void print(int x) {
std::cout << "int has value " << x << ’\n’;
}
void print(double x) {
std::cout << "double has value " << x << ’\n’;
}
void demo() {
int i = 5;
double d = 1.414;
print(i); // calls print(int)
print(d); // calls print(double)
print(42); // calls print(int)
print(3.14); // calls print(double)
}

can specify default values for arguments to functions

example:
// Compute log base b of x.
double logarithm(double x, double b) {
return std::log(x) / std::log(b);
}
// Declaration of logarithm with a default argument.
double logarithm(double, double = 10.0);
void demo() {
double x =
logarithm(100.0); // calls logarithm(100.0, 10.0)
double y =
logarithm(4.0, 2.0); // calls logarithm(4.0, 2.0)
}

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Argument Matching
call of given function name chooses function that best matches actual
arguments
consider all functions in scope for which set of conversions exists so
function could possibly be called
best match is intersection of sets of functions that best match on each
argument
matches attempted in following order:
1 exact match with zero or more trivial conversions (e.g., T to T&, T& to T,

adding const and/or volatile); of these, those that do not add const
and/or volatile to pointer/reference better than those that do
2 match with promotions (e.g., int to long, float to double)

3 match with standard conversions (e.g., float to int, double to int)

4 match with user-defined conversions

5 match with ellipsis
if set of best matches contains exactly one element, this element chosen
as function to call
if set of best matches is either empty or contains more than one element,
function call is invalid (since either no matches found or multiple
equally-good matches found)
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Argument Matching: Example

int max(int, int);

double max(double, double);
int i, j, k;
double a, b, c;
// ...
k = max(i, j);
// best match on first argument: max(int, int)
// best match on second argument: max(int, int)
// best match: max(int, int)
// OK: calls max(int, int)
c = max(a, b);
// best match on first argument: max(double, double)
// best match on second argument: max(double, double)
// best match: max(double, double)
// OK: calls max(double, double)
c = max(i, b);
// best match on first argument: max(int, int)
// best match on second argument: max(double, double)
// best match: empty set
// ERROR: ambiguous function call

assert macro allows testing of boolean condition at run time

typically used to test sanity of code (e.g., test preconditions,
postconditions, or other invariants) or test validity of assumptions made by
code
defined in header file cassert
macro takes single argument: boolean expression
if assertion fails, program is terminated by calling std::abort
if NDEBUG preprocessor symbol is defined at time cassert header file
included, all assertions are disabled (i.e., not checked)
example:
#include <cassert>
double sqrt(double x) {
assert(x >= 0);
// ...
}

Input/Output (I/O)

relevant declarations and such in header file iostream

std::istream: stream from which characters/data can be read (i.e.,
input stream)
std::ostream: stream to which characters/data can be written (i.e.,
output stream)
std::istream std::cin standard input stream
std::ostream std::cout standard output stream
std::ostream std::cerr standard error stream
in most environments, above three streams refer to user’s terminal by
default
output operator (inserter) <<
input operator (extractor) >>
stream can be used as bool expression; converts to true if stream has
not encountered any errors and false otherwise (e.g., if invalid data
read or I/O error occurred)
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Basic I/O Example

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << "Enter an integer: ";
5 int x;
6 std::cin >> x;
7 if (std::cin) {
8 std::cout << "The integer entered was "
9 << x << ".\n";
10 } else {
11 std::cerr <<
12 "End-of-file reached or I/O error.\n";
13 }
14 }

manipulators provide way to control formatting of data values written to

streams as well as parsing of data values read from streams
declarations related information for manipulators can be found in header
files: ios, iomanip, istream, and ostream
most manipulators used to control output formatting
focus here on manipulators as they pertain to output
manipulator may have immediate effect (e.g., endl), only affect next data
value output (e.g., setw), or affect all subsequent data values output (e.g.,
setprecision)

Name Description
setw set field width
setfill set fill character
endl insert newline and flush
flush flush stream
dec use decimal
hex use hexadecimal
oct use octal
showpos show positive sign
noshowpos do not show positive sign
left left align
right right align
fixed write floating-point values in fixed-point notation
scientific write floating-point values in scientific notation
setprecision for default notation, specify maximum number of mean-
ingful digits to display before and after decimal point; for
fixed and scientific notations, specify exactly how many
digits to display after decimal point (padding with trail-
ing zeros if necessary)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <ios>
3 #include <iomanip>
4
5 int main() {
6 constexpr double pi = 3.1415926535;
7 constexpr double big = 123456789.0;
8 // default notation
9 std::cout << pi << ’ ’ << big << ’\n’;
10 // fixed-point notation
11 std::cout << std::fixed << pi << ’ ’ << big << ’\n’;
12 // scientific notation
13 std::cout << std::scientific << pi << ’ ’ << big << ’\n’;
14 // fixed-point notation with 7 digits after decimal point
15 std::cout << std::fixed << std::setprecision(7) << pi << ’ ’
16 << big << ’\n’;
17 // fixed-point notation with precision and width specified
18 std::cout << std::setw(8) << std::fixed << std::setprecision(2)
19 << pi << ’ ’ << std::setw(20) << big << ’\n’;
20 // fixed-point notation with precision, width, and fill specified
21 std::cout << std::setw(8) << std::setfill(’x’) << std::fixed
22 << std::setprecision(2) << pi << ’ ’ << std::setw(20) << big << ’\n’;
23 }
24
25 /* This program produces the following output:
26 3.14159 1.23457e+08
27 3.141593 123456789.000000
28 3.141593e+00 1.234568e+08
29 3.1415927 123456789.0000000
30 3.14 123456789.00
31 xxxx3.14 xxxxxxxx123456789.00
32 */

Miscellany

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Namespaces
namespace is region that provides scope for identifiers declared inside
namespace provides mechanism for reducing likelihood of naming
conflicts
syntax for namespace has general form:
namespace name {
body
}
name: identifier that names namespace
body: body of namespace (i.e., code)
all identifiers (e.g., names of variables, functions, and types) declared in
body made to belong to scope associated with namespace name
same identifier can be re-used in different namespaces, since each
namespace is separate scope
scope-resolution operator (i.e., ::) can be used to explicitly specify
namespace to which particular identifier belongs
using statement can be used to bring identifiers from other namespaces
into current scope
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Namespaces: Example
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 using std::cout; // bring std::cout into current scope
4
5 namespace mike {
6 int someValue;
7 void initialize() {
8 cout << "mike::initialize called\n";
9 someValue = 0;
10 }
11 }
12
13 namespace fred {
14 double someValue;
15 void initialize() {
16 cout << "fred::initialize called\n";
17 someValue = 1.0;
18 }
19 }
20
21 void func() {
22 mike::initialize(); // call initialize in namespace mike
23 fred::initialize(); // call initialize in namespace fred
24 using mike::initialize;
25 // bring mike::initialize into current scope
26 initialize(); // call mike::initialize
27 }

name given in namespace declaration can be qualified name in order to

succinctly specify nested namespace
consider following namespace declaration:
namespace foo {
namespace bar {
namespace impl {
// ...
}
}
}

preceding declaration can be written more succinctly as:

namespace foo::bar::impl {
// ...
}

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Namespace Aliases
identifier can be introduced as alias for namespace
syntax has following form:
namespace alias name = ns name;
identifier alias name is alias for namespace ns name
namespace aliases particularly useful for creating short names for
deeply-nested namespaces or namespaces with long names
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 namespace foobar {
4 namespace miscellany {
5 namespace experimental {
6 int get_meaning_of_life() {return 42;}
7 void greet() {std::cout << "hello\n";};
8 }
9 }
10 }
11
12 int main() {
13 namespace n = foobar::miscellany::experimental;
14 n::greet();
15 std::cout << n::get_meaning_of_life() << ’\n’;
16 }

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Inline Namespaces
namespace can be made inline, in which case all identifiers in namespace
also visible in enclosing namespace
inline namespaces useful, for example, for library versioning
example:
1 #include <cassert>
2
3 // some awesome library
4 namespace awesome {
5 // version 1
6 namespace v1 {
7 int meaning_of_life() {return 41;}
8 }
9 // new and improved version 2
10 // which should be default for library users
11 inline namespace v2 {
12 int meaning_of_life() {return 42;}
13 }
14 }
15
16 int main() {
17 assert(awesome::v1::meaning_of_life() == 41);
18 assert(awesome::v2::meaning_of_life() == 42);
19 assert(awesome::meaning_of_life() == 42);
20 }

can create unnamed namespace (i.e., namespace without name)

unnamed namespace often referred to as anonymous namespace
each translation unit may contain its own unique unnamed namespace
entities defined in unnamed namespace only visible in its associated
translation unit (i.e., has internal linkage)
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 namespace {
4 const int forty_two = 42;
5 int x;
6 }
7
8 int main() {
9 x = forty_two;
10 std::cout << x << ’\n’;
11 }

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Memory Allocation: new and delete
to allocate memory, use new statement
to deallocate memory allocated with new statement, use delete
statement
similar to malloc and free in C
two forms of allocation: 1) single object (i.e., nonarray case) and 2) array
of objects
array version of new/delete distinguished by []
example:
char* buffer = new char[64]; // allocate
// array of 64 chars
delete [] buffer; // deallocate array
double* x = new double; // allocate single double
delete x; // deallocate single object
important to match nonarray and array versions of new and delete:
char* buffer = new char[64]; // allocate
delete buffer; // ERROR: nonarray delete to
// delete array
// may compile fine, but crash

C++ has several categories of literals (e.g., character, integer,

floating-point, string, boolean, and pointer)
can define additional literals based on these categories
identifier used as suffix for user-defined literal must begin with underscore
suffixes that do not begin with underscore are reserved for use by
standard library
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <complex>
3
4 std::complex<long double> operator "" _i(long double d) {
5 return std::complex<long double>(0.0, d);
6 }
7
8 int main() {
9 auto z = 3.14_i;
10 std::cout << z << ’\n’;
11 }
12
13 // Program output:
14 // (0,3.14)

attributes provide unified syntax for implementation-defined language

extensions
attribute can be used almost anywhere in source code and can be applied
to almost anything (e.g., types, variables, functions, names, code blocks,
and translation units)
specific types of entities to which attribute can be applied depends on
particular attribute in question
attribute specifiers start with two consecutive left brackets and continue to
two consecutive right brackets
example:
[[deprecated]]
void some_very_old_function() {/* ... */};

Name Description
noreturn function does not return
deprecated use of entity is deprecated (i.e., allowed but
discouraged)
fallthrough fall through in switch statement is deliberate
maybe_unused entity (e.g., variable) may be unused
nodiscard used to indicate that return value of function
should not be ignored

GCC C++ Compiler

Name Description
gnu::noinline do not inline function
gnu::no_sanitize_address do not instrument function for address
sanitizer
gnu::no_sanitize_undefined do not instrument function for undefined-
behavior sanitizer

Clang C++ Compiler

Name Description
gnu::noinline do not inline function
clang::no_sanitize do not instrument function for sanitizer

References

1 D. Saks. Placing const in declarations.

Embedded Systems Programming, pages 19–20, June 1998.

2 D. Saks. What const really means.

Embedded Systems Programming, pages 11–14, Aug. 1998.

3 D. Saks. const T vs. T const.

Embedded Systems Programming, pages 13–16, Feb. 1999.

4 D. Saks. Top-level cv-qualifiers in function parameters.

Embedded Systems Programming, pages 63–65, Feb. 2000.

Classes

since fundamental types provided by language are quite limiting, language

provides mechanism for defining new (i.e., user-defined) types
class is user-defined type
class specifies:
1 how objects of class are represented
2 operations that can be performed on objects of class
not all parts of class are directly accessible to all code
interface is part of class that is directly accessible to its users
implementation is part of class that its users access only indirectly
through interface

Members and Access Specifiers

class consists of zero or more members

three basic kinds of members (excluding enumerators):
1 data member
2 function member
3 type member
data members define representation of class object
function members (also called member functions) provide operations on
such objects
type members specify any types associated with class

can control level of access that users of class have to its members
three levels of access:
1 public
2 protected
3 private
public: member can be accessed by any code
private: member can only be accessed by other members of class and
friends of class (to be discussed shortly)
protected: relates to inheritance (discussion deferred until later)
public members constitute class interface
private members constitute class implementation

class typically has form:

class Widget // The class is named Widget.
{
public:
// public members
// (i.e., the interface to users)
// usually functions and types (but not data)
private:
// private members
// (i.e., the implementation details only
// accessible by members of class)
// usually functions, types, and data
};

class members are private by default

two code examples below are exactly equivalent:

class Widget {
// ...
};

class Widget {
private:
// ...
};

struct is class where members public by default

two code examples below are exactly equivalent:

struct Widget {
// ...
};

class Widget {
public:
// ...
};

class example:
class Vector_2 { // Two-dimensional vector class.
public:
double x; // The x component of the vector.
double y; // The y component of the vector.
};
void func() {
Vector_2 v;
v.x = 1.0; // Set data member x to 1.0
v.y = 2.0; // Set data member y to 2.0
}

above class has data members x and y

members accessed by member-selection operator (i.e., “.”)

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Function Members
class example:
class Vector_2 { // Two-dimensional vector class.
public:
void initialize(double newX, double newY);
double x; // The x component of the vector.
double y; // The y component of the vector.
};
void Vector_2::initialize(double newX, double newY) {
x = newX; // "x" means "this->x"
y = newY; // "y" means "this->y"
}
void func() {
Vector_2 v; // Create Vector_2 called v.
v.initialize(1.0, 2.0); // Initialize v to (1.0, 2.0).
}
above class has member function initialize
to refer to member of class outside of class body must use
scope-resolution operator (i.e., ::)
for example, in case of initialize function, we use
Vector_2::initialize
member function always has implicit parameter referring to class object
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The this Keyword
member function always has implicit parameter referring to class object
implicit parameter accessible inside member function via this keyword
this is pointer to object for which member function is being invoked
data members can be accessed through this pointer
since data members can also be referred to directly by their names,
explicit use of this often not needed and normally avoided
example:
class Widget {
public:
int updateValue(int newValue) {
int oldValue = value; // "value" means "this->value"
value = newValue; // "value" means "this->value"
return oldValue;
}
private:
int value;
};
void func() {
Widget x;
x.updateValue(5);
// in Widget::updateValue, variable this equals &x
}
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const Member Functions
member function has reference to object of class as implicit parameter
(i.e., object pointed to by this)
need way to indicate if member function can change value of object
const member function cannot change value of object
1 class Counter {
2 public:
3 int getCount() const
4 {return count;} // count means this->count
5 void setCount(int newCount)
6 {count = newCount;} // count means this->count
7 void incrementCount()
8 {++count;} // count means this->count
9 private:
10 int count; // counter value
11 };
12
13 void func() {
14 Counter ctr;
15 ctr.setCount(0);
16 int count = ctr.getCount();
17 const Counter& ctr2 = ctr;
18 count = ctr2.getCount(); // getCount better be const!
19 }
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Definition of Function Members in Class Body

member function whose definition is provided in body of class is

automatically inline
two code examples below are exactly equivalent:
class MyInteger {
public:
// Set the value of the integer and return the old value.
int setValue(int newValue) {
int oldValue = value;
value = newValue;
return oldValue;
}
private:
int value;
};

class MyInteger {
public:
// Set the value of the integer and return the old value.
int setValue(int newValue);
private:
int value;
};
inline int MyInteger::setValue(int newValue) {
int oldValue = value;
value = newValue;
return oldValue;
}

example:
class Point_2 { // Two-dimensional point class.
public:
using Coordinate = double; // Coordinate type.
Coordinate x; // The x coordinate of the point.
Coordinate y; // The y coordinate of the point.
};
void func() {
Point_2 p;
// ...
Point_2::Coordinate x = p.x;
// Point_2::Coordinate same as double
}

above class has type member Coordinate

to refer to type member outside of class body, we must use
scope-resolution operator (i.e., ::)

normally, only class has access to its private members

sometimes, necessary to allow another class or function to have access to
private members of class
friend of class is function/class that is allowed to access private members
of class
to make function or class friend of another class, use friend statement
example:
class Gadget; // forward declaration of Gadget
class Widget {
// ...
friend void myFunc();
// function myFunc is friend of Widget
friend class Gadget;
// class Gadget is friend of Widget
// ...
};
generally, use of friends should be avoided except when absolutely
necessary
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Class Example
1 class Widget {
2 public:
3 int setValue(int newValue) { // member function
4 int oldValue = value; // save old value
5 value = newValue; // change value to new value
6 return oldValue; // return old value
7 }
8 private:
9 friend void wasteTime();
10 void doNothing() {}
11 int value; // data member
12 };
13
14 void wasteTime() {
15 Widget x;
16 x.doNothing(); // OK: friend
17 x.value = 5; // OK: friend
18 }
19
20 void func() {
21 Widget x; // x is object of type Widget
22 x.setValue(5); // call Widget’s setValue member
23 // sets x.value to 5
24 x.value = 5; // ERROR: value is private
25 x.doNothing(); // ERROR: doNothing is private
26 }

Constructors and Destructors

Suppose that we have two objects of the same type and we want to
propagate the value of one object (i.e., the source) to the other object (i.e.,
the destination).
This can be accomplished in one of two ways: 1) copying or 2) moving.
Copying propagates the value of the source object to the destination
object without modifying the source object.
Moving propagates the value of the source object to the destination
object and is permitted to modify the source object.
Moving is always at least as efficient as copying, and for many types,
moving is more efficient than copying.
For some types, copying does not make sense, while moving does (e.g.,
std::ostream, std::istream).

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Copying and Moving
Copy operation. Propagating the value of the source object source to the
destination object destination by copying.
source destination source destination
a b a a

Before Copy After Copy

A copy operation does not modify the value of the source object.

Move operation. Propagating the value of the source object source to

the destination object destination by moving.
source destination source destination
a b ? a

Before Move After Move

A move operation is not guaranteed to preserve the value of the source
object. After the move operation, the value of the source object is
unknown (i.e., unspecified but valid).
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Constructors

when new object created usually desirable to immediately initialize it to

some known state
prevents object from accidentally being used before it is initialized
constructor is member function that is called automatically when object
created in order to initialize its value
constructor has same name as class (i.e., constructor for class T is
function T::T)
constructor has no return type (not even void)
constructor cannot be called directly (although placement new provides
mechanism for achieving similar effect, in rare cases when needed)
constructor can be overloaded
before constructor body is entered, all data members of class type are first
constructed
in certain circumstances, constructors may be automatically provided
sometimes, automatically provided constructors will not have correct
behavior
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Default Constructor

constructor that can be called with no arguments known as default

constructor
if no constructors specified, default constructor automatically provided
that calls default constructor for each data member of class type (does
nothing for data member of built-in type)

class Vector { // Two-dimensional vector class.

public:
Vector() // Default constructor.
{x_ = 0.0; y_ = 0.0;}
// ...
private:
double x_; // The x component of the vector.
double y_; // The y component of the vector.
};
Vector v; // calls Vector::Vector(); v set to (0,0)
Vector x(); // declares function x that returns Vector

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Copy Constructor
for class T, constructor taking lvalue reference to T as first parameter that
can be called with one argument known as copy constructor
used to create object by copying from already-existing object
copy constructor for class T typically is of form T(const T&)
if no copy constructor specified (and no move constructor or move
assignment operator specified), copy constructor is automatically
provided that copies each data member (using copy constructor for class
and bitwise copy for built-in type)
class Vector { // Two-dimensional vector class.
public:
Vector() {x_ = 0.0; y_ = 0.0;} // Default constructor
Vector(const Vector& v) // Copy constructor.
{x_ = v.x_; y_ = v.y_;}
// ...
private:
double x_; // The x component of the vector.
double y_; // The y component of the vector.
};
Vector v;
Vector w(v); // calls Vector::Vector(const Vector&)
Vector u = v; // calls Vector::Vector(const Vector&)
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Move Constructor
for class T, constructor taking rvalue reference to T as first parameter that
can be called with one argument known as move constructor
used to create object by moving from already-existing object
move constructor for class T typically is of form T(T&&)
if no move constructor specified (and no destructor, copy constructor, or
copy/move assignment operator specified), move constructor is
automatically provided that moves each data member (using move for
class and bitwise copy for built-in type)
class Vector { // Two-dimensional vector class.
public:
Vector() {x_ = 0.0; y_ = 0.0;} // Default constructor
Vector(Vector&& v) {x_ = v.x_; y_ = v.y_;} // Move constructor.
// ...
private:
double x_; // The x component of the vector.
double y_; // The y component of the vector.
};
#include <utility>
Vector v;
Vector w(std::move(v)); // calls Vector::Vector(Vector&&)
Vector x = std::move(w); // calls Vector::Vector(Vector&&)
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Constructor Example

1 class Vector { // Two-dimensional vector class.

2 public:
3 // Default constructor.
4 Vector() {x_ = 0.0; y_ = 0.0;}
5 // Copy constructor.
6 Vector(const Vector& v) {x_ = v.x_; y_ = v.y_;}
7 // Move constructor.
8 Vector(Vector&& v) {x_ = v.x_; y_ = v.y_;}
9 // Another constructor.
10 Vector(double x, double y) {x_ = x; y_ = y;}
11 // ...
12 private:
13 double x_; // The x component of the vector.
14 double y_; // The y component of the vector.
15 };

four constructors provided

1 // include definition of Vector class here

2
3 int main() {
4 Vector u;
5 // calls default constructor
6 Vector v(1.0, 2.0);
7 // calls Vector::Vector(double, double)
8 Vector w(v);
9 // calls copy constructor
10 Vector x = u;
11 // calls copy constructor
12 Vector y = Vector(1.0, 0.0);
13 // guaranteed copy/move elision
14 // calls Vector::Vector(double, double), directly
15 // constructing new object in y
16 // does not call move constructor
17 Vector z(Vector());
18 // guaranteed copy/move elision
19 // calls default constructor, directly constructing
20 // new object in z
21 // does not call move constructor
22 Vector f();
23 // declares function f that returns Vector
24 }

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Constructor Example (Continued 2)
1 #include <utility>
2 #include <cstdlib>
3 // include definition of Vector class here
4
5 // named RVO not possible
6 Vector func1() {
7 Vector a(1.0, 0.0);
8 Vector b(0.0, 1.0);
9 if (std::rand() % 2) {return a;}
10 else {return b;}
11 }
12
13 // RVO required
14 Vector func2() {return Vector(1.0, 1.0);}
15
16 int main() {
17 Vector u(1.0, 1.0);
18 Vector v(std::move(u));
19 // move constructor invoked to propagate value from u
20 // to v
21 Vector w = func1();
22 // move constructor invoked to propagate value of object
23 // in return statement of func1 to object w in main
24 // (named RVO not possible)
25 Vector x = func2();
26 // move constructor not invoked, due to guaranteed
27 // copy/move elision (return value of func2 directly
28 // constructed in object x in main)
29 }
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Initializer Lists

in constructor of class, often we want to control which constructor is used

to initialize each data member
since all data members are constructed before body of constructor is
entered, this cannot be controlled inside body of constructor
to allow control over which constructors are used to initialize individual
data members, mechanism called initializer lists provided
initializer list forces specific constructors to be used to initialize individual
data members before body of constructor is entered
data members always initialized in order of declaration, regardless of
order in initializer list

1 class ArrayDouble { // array of doubles class

2 public:
3 ArrayDouble(); // create empty array
4 ArrayDouble(int size); // create array of specified size
5 // ...
6 private:
7 // ...
8 };
9
10 class Vector { // n-dimensional real vector class
11 public:
12 Vector(int size) : data_(size) {}
13 // force data_ to be constructed with
14 // ArrayDouble::ArrayDouble(int)
15 // ...
16 private:
17 ArrayDouble data_; // elements of vector
18 };

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Destructors
when object reaches end of lifetime, typically some cleanup required
before object passes out of existence
destructor is member function that is automatically called when object
reaches end of lifetime in order to perform any necessary cleanup
often object may have allocated resources associated with it (e.g.,
memory, files, devices, network connections, processes/threads)
when object destroyed, must ensure that any resources associated with
object are released
destructors often serve to release resources associated with object
destructor for class T always has name T::˜T
destructor has no return type (not even void)
destructor cannot be overloaded
destructor always takes no parameters
if no destructor is specified, destructor automatically provided that calls
destructor for each data member of class type
sometimes, automatically provided destructor will not have correct
behavior
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Destructor Example

example:
class Widget {
public:
Widget(int bufferSize) { // Constructor.
// allocate some memory for buffer
bufferPtr_ = new char[bufferSize];
}
˜Widget() { // Destructor.
// free memory previously allocated
delete [] bufferPtr_;
}
// copy constructor, assignment operator, ...
private:
char* bufferPtr_; // pointer to start of buffer
};

without explicitly-provided destructor (i.e., with destructor automatically

provided by compiler), memory associated with bufferPtr_ would not be
freed

Operator Overloading

can specify meaning of operator whose operands are one or more

user-defined types through process known as operator overloading
operators that can be overloaded:
arithmetic + - * / %
bitwise ˆ & | ˜ << >>
logical ! && ||
relational < > <= >= == !=
assignment =
compound assignment += -= *= /= %= ˆ= &= |= <<= >>=
increment/decrement ++ --
subscript []
function call ()
address, indirection & *
others ->* , -> new delete
not possible to change precedence/associativity or syntax of operators
meaning of operator specified by specially named function

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Operator Overloading (Continued 1)
operator @ overloaded via special function named operator@
with some exceptions, operator can be overloaded as member function or
nonmember function
if operator overloaded as member function, first operand provided as
*this and remaining operands, if any, provided as function parameters
if operator overloaded as nonmember function, all operands provided as
function parameters
postfix unary (increment/decrement) operators take additional dummy
parameter of type int in order to distinguish from prefix case
expressions involving overloaded operators interpreted as follows:
Interpretation As
Type Expression Member Function Nonmember Function
Binary a@b a.operator@(b) operator@(a, b)
Prefix unary @a a.operator@() operator@(a)
Postfix unary a@ a.operator@(i) operator@(a, i)
i is dummy parameter of type int

assignment, function-call, subscript, and member-selection operators

must be overloaded as member functions
if member and nonmember functions both defined, argument matching
rules determine which is called
if first operand of overloaded operator not object of class type, must use
nonmember function
for most part, operators can be defined quite arbitrarily for user-defined
types
for example, no requirement that “++x”, “x += 1”, and “x = x + 1” be
equivalent
of course, probably not advisable to define operators in very
counterintuitive ways, as will inevitably lead to bugs in code

some examples showing how expressions translated into function calls

are as follows:
Expression Member Function Nonmember Function
y = x y.operator=(x) —
y += x y.operator+=(x) operator+=(y, x)
x + y x.operator+(y) operator+(x, y)
++x x.operator++() operator++(x)
x++ x.operator++(int) operator++(x, int)
x == y x.operator==(y) operator==(x, y)
x < y x.operator<(y) operator<(x, y)

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Operator Overloading Example: Vector
1 class Vector { // Two-dimensional vector class
2 public:
3 Vector() : x_(0.0), y_(0.0) {}
4 Vector(double x, double y) : x_(x), y_(y) {}
5 double x() const { return x_; }
6 double y() const { return y_; }
7 private:
8 double x_; // The x component
9 double y_; // The y component
10 };
11
12 // Vector addition
13 Vector operator+(const Vector& u, const Vector& v)
14 {return Vector(u.x() + v.x(), u.y() + v.y());}
15
16 // Dot product
17 double operator*(const Vector& u, const Vector& v)
18 {return u.x() * v.x() + u.y() * v.y();}
19
20 void func() {
21 Vector u(1.0, 2.0);
22 Vector v(u);
23 Vector w;
24 w = u + v; // w.operator=(operator+(u, v))
25 double c = u * v; // calls operator*(u, v)
26 // since c is built-in type, assignment operator
27 // does not require function call
28 }
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Operator Overloading Example: Array10

1 class Array10 { // Ten-element real array class

2 public:
3 Array10() {
4 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) { // Zero array
5 data_[i] = 0;
6 }
7 }
8 const double& operator[](int index) const {
9 return data_[index];
10 }
11 double& operator[](int index) {
12 return data_[index];
13 }
14 private:
15 double data_[10]; // array data
16 };
17
18 void func() {
19 Array10 v;
20 v[1] = 3.5; // calls Array10::operator[](int)
21 double c = v[1]; // calls Array10::operator[](int)
22 const Array10 u;
23 u[1] = 2.5; // ERROR: u[1] is const
24 double d = u[1]; // calls Array10::operator[](int) const
25 }

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Operator Overloading: Member vs. Nonmember Functions
some considerations: access to private members; whether first operand
has class type
1 class Complex { // Complex number type.
2 public:
3 Complex(double x, double y) : x_(x), y_(y) {}
4 double real() const {return x_;}
5 double imag() const {return y_;}
6
7 // Alternatively, overload as a member function.
8 // Complex operator+(double b) const
9 // {return Complex(real() + b, imag());}
10 private:
11 double x_; // The real part.
12 double y_; // The imaginary part.
13 };
14
15 // Overload as a nonmember function.
16 // (A member function could instead be used. See above.)
17 Complex operator+(const Complex& a, double b)
18 {return Complex(a.real() + b, a.imag());}
19
20 // This can only be accomplished with a nonmember function.
21 Complex operator+(double b, const Complex& a)
22 {return Complex(b + a.real(), a.imag());}
23
24 void myFunc() {
25 Complex a(1.0, 2.0);
26 Complex b(1.0, -2.0);
27 double r = 2.0;
28 Complex c = a + r; // could use nonmember or member function
29 // operator+(a, r) or a.operator+(r)
30 Complex d = r + a; // must use nonmember function
31 // operator+(r, a)
32 // since r.operator+(a) will not work
33 }

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Copy Assignment Operator
for class T, T::operator= having exactly one parameter that is lvalue
reference to T known as copy assignment operator
used to assign, to already-existing object, value of another object by
copying
if no copy assignment operator specified (and no move constructor or
move assignment operator specified), copy assignment operator
automatically provided that copy assigns to each data member (using data
member’s copy assignment operator for class and bitwise copy for built-in type)

copy assignment operator for class T typically is of form

T& operator=(const T&) (returning reference to *this)
copy assignment operator returns (nonconstant) reference in order to
allow for statements like following to be valid (where x, y, and z are of
type T and T::modify is a non-const member function):
x = y = z; // x.operator=(y.operator=(z))
(x = y) = z; // (x.operator=(y)).operator=(z)
(x = y).modify(); // (x.operator=(y)).modify()
be careful to correctly consider case of self-assignment
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Self-Assignment Example

in practice, self assignment typically occurs when references (or pointers)

are involved
example:
void doSomething(SomeType& x, SomeType& y) {
x = y; // self assignment if &x == &y
// ...
}
void myFunc() {
SomeType z;
// ...
doSomething(z, z); // results in self assignment
// ...
}

for class T, T::operator= having exactly one parameter that is rvalue

reference to T known as move assignment operator
used to assign, to already-existing object, value of another object by
moving
if no move assignment operator specified (and no destructor, copy/move
constructor, or copy assignment operator specified), move assignment
operator automatically provided that move assigns to each data member
(using move for class and bitwise copy for built-in type)
move assignment operator for class T typically is of form
T& operator=(T&&) (returning reference to *this)
move assignment operator returns (nonconstant) reference for same
reason as in case of copy assignment operator
self-assignment should probably not occur in move case (but might be
prudent to protect against “insane” code with assertion) (library effectively
forbids self-assignment for move )

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Copy/Move Assignment Operator Example: Complex
1 class Complex {
2 public:
3 Complex(double x = 0.0, double y = 0.0) :
4 x_(x), y_(y) {}
5 Complex(const Complex& a) : x_(a.x_), y_(a.y_) {}
6 Complex(Complex&& a) : x_(a.x_), y_(a.y_) {}
7 Complex& operator=(const Complex& a) { // Copy assign
8 if (this != &a) {
9 x_ = a.x_; y_ = a.y_;
10 }
11 return *this;
12 }
13 Complex& operator=(Complex&& a) { // Move assign
14 x_ = a.x_; y_ = a.y_;
15 return *this;
16 }
17 private:
18 double x_; // The real part.
19 double y_; // The imaginary part.
20 };
21
22 int main() {
23 Complex z(1.0, 2.0);
24 Complex v(1.5, 2.5);
25 v = z; // v.operator=(z)
26 v = Complex(0.0, 1.0); // v.operator=(Complex(0.0, 1.0))
27 }

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Assignment Operator Example: Buffer
1 class Buffer { // Character buffer class.
2 public:
3 Buffer(int bufferSize) { // Constructor.
4 bufSize_ = bufferSize;
5 bufPtr_ = new char[bufferSize];
6 }
7 Buffer(const Buffer& buffer) { // Copy constructor.
8 bufSize_ = buffer.bufSize_;
9 bufPtr_ = new char[bufSize_];
10 for (int i = 0; i < bufSize_; ++i)
11 bufPtr_[i] = buffer.bufPtr_[i];
12 }
13 ˜Buffer() { // Destructor.
14 delete [] bufPtr_;
15 }
16 Buffer& operator=(const Buffer& buffer) { // Copy assignment operator.
17 if (this != &buffer) {
18 delete [] bufPtr_;
19 bufSize_ = buffer.bufSize_;
20 bufPtr_ = new char[bufSize_];
21 for (int i = 0; i < bufSize_; ++i)
22 bufPtr_[i] = buffer.bufPtr_[i];
23 }
24 return *this;
25 }
26 // ...
27 private:
28 int bufSize_; // buffer size
29 char* bufPtr_; // pointer to start of buffer
30 };

without explicitly-provided assignment operator (i.e., with assignment

operator automatically provided by compiler), memory leaks and memory
corruption would result
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Section 2.4.4

Miscellany

class template std::initializer_list provides lightweight list type

in order to use initializer_list, need to include header file
initializer_list
declaration:
template <class T> initializer_list;

T is type of elements in list

initializer_list is very lightweight
can query number of elements in list and obtain iterators to access these
elements
initializer_list often useful as parameter type for constructor

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3
4 class Sequence {
5 public:
6 Sequence(std::initializer_list<int> list) {
7 for (std::initializer_list<int>::const_iterator i =
8 list.begin(); i != list.end(); ++i)
9 elements_.push_back(*i);
10 }
11 void print() const {
12 for (std::vector<int>::const_iterator i =
13 elements_.begin(); i != elements_.end(); ++i)
14 std::cout << *i << ’\n’;
15 }
16 private:
17 std::vector<int> elements_;
18 };
19
20 int main() {
21 Sequence seq = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6};
22 seq.print();
23 }

constructor callable with single argument can be used in implicit

conversions (e.g., when attempting to obtain matching type for function
parameter in function call)
often, desirable to prevent constructor from being used for implicit
conversions
to accommodate this, constructor can be marked as explicit
explicit constructor is constructor that cannot be used to perform implicit
conversions
prefixing constructor declaration with explicit keyword makes
constructor explicit
example:
class Widget {
public:
explicit Widget(int); // explicit constructor
// ...
};

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Example Without Explicit Constructor
1 #include <cstdlib>
2
3 // one-dimensional integer array class
4 class IntArray {
5 public:
6 // create array of int with size elements
7 IntArray(std::size_t size) { /* ... */ };
8 // ...
9 };
10
11 void processArray(const IntArray& x) {
12 // ...
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 // following lines of code almost certain to be
17 // incorrect, but valid due to implicit type
18 // conversion provided by
19 // IntArray::IntArray(std::size_t)
20 IntArray a = 42;
21 // probably incorrect
22 // implicit conversion effectively yields code:
23 // IntArray a = IntArray(42);
24 processArray(42);
25 // probably incorrect
26 // implicit conversion effectively yields code:
27 // processArray(IntArray(42));
28 }
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Example With Explicit Constructor

1 #include <cstdlib>
2
3 // one-dimensional integer array class
4 class IntArray {
5 public:
6 // create array of int with size elements
7 explicit IntArray(std::size_t size) { /* ... */ };
8 // ...
9 };
10
11 void processArray(const IntArray& x) {
12 // ...
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 IntArray a = 42; // ERROR: cannot convert
17 processArray(42); // ERROR: cannot convert
18 }

can explicitly default or delete special member functions (i.e., default

constructor, copy constructor, move constructor, destructor, copy
assignment operator, and move assignment operator)
can also delete non-special member functions
example:
class Thing {
public:
Thing() = default;
// Prevent copying.
Thing(const Thing&) = delete;
Thing& operator=(const Thing&) = delete;
Thing(Thing&&) = default;
Thing& operator=(Thing&&) = default;
˜Thing() = default;
// ...
};
// Thing is movable but not copyable.

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Delegating Constructors
sometimes, one constructor of class needs to performs all work of another
constructor followed by some additional work
rather than duplicate common code in both constructors, one constructor
can use its initializer list to invoke other constructor (which must be only
one in initializer list)
constructor that invokes another constructor via initializer list called
delegating constructor
example:
class Widget {
public:
Widget(char c, int i) : c_(c), i_(i) {}
Widget(int i) : Widget(’a’, i) {}
// delegating constructor
// ...
private:
char c_;
int i_;
};
int main() {
Widget w(’A’, 42);
Widget v(42);
}
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Static Data Members
sometimes want to have object that is shared by all objects of class
data member that is shared by all objects of class is called static data
member
to make data member static, declare using static qualifier
static data member must (in most cases) be defined outside body of class
example:
class Widget {
public:
Widget() {++count_;}
Widget(const Widget&) {++count_;}
Widget(Widget&&) {++count_;}
˜Widget() {--count_;}
// ...
private:
static int count_; // total number of Widget
// objects in existence
};
// Define (and initialize) count member.
int Widget::count_ = 0;

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Static Member Functions
sometimes want to have member function that does not operate on
objects of class
member function of class that does not operate on object of class (i.e.,
has no this variable) called static member function
to make member function static, declare using static qualifier
example:
class Widget {
public:
// ...
// convert degrees to radians
static double degToRad(double deg)
{return (M_PI / 180.0) * deg;}
private:
// ...
};
void func() {
Widget x; double rad;
rad = Widget::degToRad(45.0);
rad = x.degToRad(45.0); // x is ignored
}
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constexpr Member Functions

like non-member functions, member functions can also be qualified as

constexpr to indicate function can be computed at compile time
provided that all arguments to function are constant expressions
some additional restrictions on constexpr member functions relative to
nonmember case (e.g., cannot be virtual)
constexpr member function implicitly inline
constexpr member function not implicitly const (as of C++14)

constructors can also be qualified as constexpr to indicate object

construction can be performed at compile time provided that all
arguments to constructor are constant expressions
constexpr constructor implicitly inline

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Example: Constexpr Constructors and Member Functions
1 #include <cmath>
2 #include <iostream>
3
4 // Two-dimensional vector class.
5 class Vector {
6 public:
7 constexpr Vector() : x_(0), y_(0) {}
8 constexpr Vector(double x, double y) : x_(x), y_(y) {}
9 constexpr Vector(const Vector& v) : x_(v.x_), y_(v.y_) {}
10 constexpr Vector& operator=(const Vector& v)
11 {x_ = v.x_; y_ = v.y_; return *this;}
12 constexpr double x() const {return x_;}
13 constexpr double y() const {return y_;}
14 constexpr double norm() const
15 {return std::sqrt(x_ * x_ + y_ * y_);}
16 // ...
17 private:
18 double x_; // The x component of the vector.
19 double y_; // The y component of the vector.
20 };
21
22 int main() {
23 constexpr Vector v(3.0, 4.0);
24 static_assert(v.x() == 3.0 && v.y() == 4.0);
25 constexpr double d = v.norm();
26 std::cout << d << ’\n’;
27 }

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Why Constexpr Member Functions Not Implicitly Const
class Widget {
public:
constexpr Widget() : i_(42) {}
constexpr const int& get() const {return i_;}
constexpr int& get() /* what if implicitly const? */
{return i_;}
// ...
private:
int i_;
};
constexpr int i = ++Widget().get();
static_assert(i == 43);

in above code example, we want to have const and non-const overloads of get
member function that can each be used in constant expressions
so both overloads of get need to be constexpr
if constexpr member functions were implicitly const, it would be impossible to
overload on const in manner we wish to do here, since second overload of get
would automatically become const member function (resulting in multiple
conflicting definitions of const member function get)

type for data member can be qualified as mutable meaning that

member does not affect externally visible state of class
mutable data member can be modified in const member function
mutable qualifier often used for mutexes, condition variables, cached
values, statistical information for performance analysis or debugging

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Example: Mutable Qualifier for Statistical Information
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 class Employee {
5 public:
6 Employee(int id, std::string& name, double salary) :
7 id_(id), name_(name), salary_(salary), accessCount_(0) {}
8 int getId() const {
9 ++accessCount_; return id_;
10 }
11 std::string getName() const {
12 ++accessCount_; return name_;
13 }
14 double getSalary() const {
15 ++accessCount_; return salary_;
16 }
17 // ...
18 // for debugging
19 void outputDebugInfo(std::ostream& out) const {
20 out << accessCount_ << ’\n’;
21 }
22 private:
23 int id_; // employee ID
24 std::string name_; // employee name
25 double salary_; // employee salary
26 mutable unsigned long accessCount_; // for debugging
27 };
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Pointers to Members

pointer to member is offset-like construct that provides means to indirectly

refer to member of class
type corresponding to pointer to member of class T written as T::*
pointer to member m in class T can be obtained by applying address-of
operator to T::m (i.e., using expression &T::m)
given object x of type T, can access member through pointer to member
ptm by applying member-selection operator .* to x using expression
x.*ptm
given pointer p to object of type T, can access member through pointer to
member ptm by applying member-selection operator ->* to p using
expression p->*ptm
null pointer can be assigned to pointer to member to represent no member
one can approximately think of pointer to member as offset from start of
object to particular member
pointer to member needs to be used in conjunction with object
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Pointers to Members: Example
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Widget {
4 public:
5 Widget(bool flag) {
6 op_ = flag ? &Widget::op_2 : &Widget::op_1;
7 }
8 void modify() {
9 // ...
10 (this->*op_)(); // invoke member function
11 // ...
12 }
13 // ...
14 private:
15 void op_1() {std::cout << "op_1 called\n";}
16 void op_2() {std::cout << "op_2 called\n";}
17 void (Widget::*op_)();
18 // pointer to member function of Widget class that
19 // takes no parameters and returns no value
20 // ...
21 };
22
23 int main() {
24 Widget u(false);
25 Widget v(true);
26 u.modify(); // modify invokes op_1
27 v.modify(); // modify invokes op_2
28 }
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Stream Inserters

stream inserters write data to output stream

overload operator<<
have general form
std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream&, T) where type T is
typically const lvalue reference type
example:
std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& outStream,
const Complex& a)
{
outStream << a.real() << ’ ’ << a.imag();
return outStream;
}

inserter and extractor should use compatible formats (i.e., what is written
by inserter should be readable by extractor)

stream extractors read data from input stream

overload operator>>
have general form
std::istream& operator>>(std::istream&, T) where type T is
typically non-const lvalue reference type
example:
std::istream& operator>>(std::istream& inStream,
Complex& a)
{
double real = 0.0;
double imag = 0.0;
inStream >> real >> imag;
a = Complex(real, imag);
return inStream;
}

structured bindings allow, with single statement, multiple variables to be

declared and initialized with values from pair, tuple, array, or struct
declaration uses auto keyword
variables enclosed in brackets
multiple variables separated by commas

1 #include <tuple>
2 #include <array>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 int main() {
6 int a[3] = {1, 2, 3};
7 auto [a0, a1, a2] = a;
8 assert(a0 == a[0] && a1 == a[1] && a2 == a[2]);
9
10 int b[3] = {0, 2, 3};
11 auto& [b0, b1, b2] = b;
12 ++b0;
13 assert(b[0] == 1);
14
15 std::array<int, 3> c = {1, 2, 3};
16 auto [c0, c1, c2] = c;
17 assert(c0 == c[0] && c1 == c[1] && c2 == c[2]);
18
19 auto t = std::make_tuple(true, 42, ’A’);
20 auto [tb, ti, tc] = t;
21 assert(tb == true && ti == 42 && tc == ’A’);
22 }

1 #include <map>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 int main() {
6 std::map<std::string, int> m = {
7 {"apple", 1},
8 {"banana", 2},
9 {"orange", 3},
10 };
11 for (auto&& [key, value] : m) {
12 std::cout << key << ’ ’ << value << ’\n’;
13 }
14 }

each of following types said to be literal type:

void
scalar type (e.g., integral, floating point, pointer, enumeration, pointer to
member)
reference type
class type that has all of following properties:
has trivial destructor
is either: aggregate type; or type with at least one constexpr constructor that
is not copy or move constructor; or closure type
all nonstatic data members and base classes are of nonvolatile literal types
array of literal type
examples of literal types:
int, double[16], and std::complex<double>

examples of types that are not literal types:

std::vector<int> and std::string

literal types important in context of constexpr variables, functions, and

constructors
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Constexpr Variable Requirements

constexpr variable must satisfy following requirements:

its type must be literal type
it must be immediately initialized
full expression of its initialization must be constant expression (including all
implicit conversions and constructor calls)

constexpr function must satisfy following requirements:

must not be virtual
its return type must be literal type
each of its parameters must be of literal type
function body must be either deleted or defaulted or contain any statements
except:
asm declaration
goto statement
statement with label other than case and default
try block
definition of variable of non-literal type
definition of variable of static or thread storage duration
definition of variable for which no initialization is performed
if function is defaulted copy/move assignment, class of which it is member
must not have mutable member

constexpr constructor must satisfy following requirements:

each of its parameters must be of literal type
class must not have any virtual base classes
constructor must not have function try block
constructor body must be either deleted or defaulted or satisfy following
constraints:
compound statement of constructor body must satisfy constraints for body of
constexpr function
every base class sub-object and every non-static data member must be
initialized
every constructor selected to initialize non-static members and base class
must be constexpr constructor
if constructor is defaulted copy/move constructor, class of which it is
member must not have mutable member

Temporary Objects

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Temporary Objects
A temporary object is an unnamed object introduced by the compiler.
Temporary objects are used during:
evaluation of expressions
argument passing
function returns (that return by value)
reference initialization
It is important to understand when temporary objects can be introduced,
since the introduction of temporaries impacts performance.
Evaluation of expression:
std::string s1("Hello ");
std::string s2("World");
std::string s;
s = s1 + s2; // must create temporary
// std::string _tmp(s1 + s2);
// s = _tmp;
Argument passing:
double func(const double& x);
func(3); // must create temporary
// double _tmp = 3;
// func(_tmp);

Reference initialization:
int i = 2;
const double& d = i; // must create temporary
// double _tmp = i;
// const double& d = _tmp;

Function return:
std::string getMessage();
std::string s;
s = getMessage(); // must create temporary
// std::string _tmp(getMessage());
// s = _tmp;

In most (but not all) circumstances, a temporary object is destroyed as the

last step in evaluating the full expression that contains the point where the
temporary object was created.

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Temporary Objects Example
1 class Complex {
2 public:
3 Complex(double re = 0.0, double im = 0.0) : re_(re),
4 im_(im) {}
5 Complex(const Complex& a) = default;
6 Complex(Complex&& a) = default;
7 Complex& operator=(const Complex& a) = default;
8 Complex& operator=(Complex&& a) = default;
9 ˜Complex() = default;
10 double real() const {return re_;}
11 double imag() const {return im_;}
12 private:
13 double re_; // The real part.
14 double im_; // The imaginary part.
15 };
16
17 Complex operator+(const Complex& a, const Complex& b) {
18 return Complex(a.real() + b.real(), a.imag() + b.imag());
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 Complex a(1.0, 2.0);
23 Complex b(1.0, 1.0);
24 Complex c;
25 // ...
26 c = a + b;
27 }

Original code:
int main() {
Complex a(1.0, 2.0);
Complex b(1.0, 1.0);
Complex c;
// ...
c = a + b;
}

Code showing temporaries:

int main() {
Complex a(1.0, 2.0);
Complex b(1.0, 1.0);
Complex c;
// ...
Complex _tmp(a + b);
c = _tmp;
}

1 class Counter {
2 public:
3 Counter() : count_(0) {}
4 int getCount() const {return count_;}
5 Counter& operator++() { // prefix increment
6 ++count_;
7 return *this;
8 }
9 Counter operator++(int) { // postfix increment
10 Counter old(*this);
11 ++count_;
12 return old;
13 }
14 private:
15 int count_; // counter value
16 };
17
18 int main() {
19 Counter x;
20 Counter y;
21 y = ++x; // no temporaries, int increment, operator=
22 y = x++; // 1 temporary, 1 named, 2 constructors,
23 // 2 destructors, int increment, operator=
24 }

1 #include <complex>
2 using std::complex;
3
4 int main() {
5 complex<double> a(1.0, 1.0);
6 complex<double> b(1.0, -1.0);
7 complex<double> z(0.0, 0.0);
8
9 // 2 temporary objects
10 // 2 constructors, 2 destructors
11 // 1 operator=, 1 operator+, 1 operator*
12 z = b * (z + a);
13
14 // no temporary objects
15 // only 1 operator+= and 1 operator*=
16 z += a;
17 z *= b;
18 }

Normally, a temporary object is destroyed as the last step in evaluating the

full expression that contains point where temporary object was created.
First exception: When a default constructor with one or more default
arguments is called to initialize an element of an array.
Second exception: When a reference is bound to a temporary (or a
subobject of a temporary), the lifetime of the temporary is extended to
match the lifetime of the reference, with following exceptions:
A temporary bound to a reference member in a constructor initializer list
persists until the constructor exits.
A temporary bound to a reference parameter in a function call persists until
the completion of the full expression containing the call.
A temporary bound to the return value of a function in a return statement is
not extended, and is destroyed at end of the full expression in the return
statement.
A temporary bound to a reference in an initializer used in a new-expression
persists until the end of the full expression containing that new-expression.

Example:
void func() {
std::string s1("Hello");
std::string s2(" ");
std::string s3("World!\n");
const std::string& s = s1 + s2 + s3;
std::cout << s; // OK?
}

Example:
const std::string& getString() {
return std::string("Hello");
}
void func() {
std::cout << getString(); // OK?
}

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Return Value Optimization (RVO)
return value optimization (RVO) is compiler optimization technique that
eliminates copy of return value from unnamed local object in function to object in
caller
example:
SomeType function() {
return SomeType(); // returns temporary object
}
void caller() {
SomeType x = function();
}

without RVO: return value of function (which is local to function) is copied to new
temporary object in caller (so return value not lost when function returns); then,
value of new temporary object copied to object that is to hold return value
with RVO: return value of function is placed directly in object (in caller) that is to
hold return value
by avoiding need for temporary object to hold return value, eliminates move/copy
constructor and destructor call
as will be seen later, C++ requires this type of optimization to be performed

named return value optimization (NRVO) is variation on RVO where

return value is named object (i.e., not temporary object)
example:
SomeType function() {
SomeType result;
// ...
return result; // returns named object
}
void caller() {
SomeType x = function();
}

compiler optimizes away result in function and return value

constructed directly in x
effectively, result becomes reference to x
code with NRVO more efficient (i.e., move/copy constructor and destructor
calls eliminated)

normally, compiler forbidden from applying optimizations to code that

would change its observable behavior (i.e., so called “as if” rule)
one important exception to as-if rule is copy elision
copy elision is code transformation that omits copy/move operation by
constructing object in place to which it would later be copied/moved
copy elision allows copy/move operations to be eliminated (thus, avoiding
cost of copy/move constructors)
copy elision either allowed or required in several contexts, which relate to:
returning by value
passing by value
throwing and catching exceptions by value

if prvalue used as initializer of object with same type, object must be

initialized directly
in constant expression and constant initialization, all copy elision is
guaranteed
guaranteed copy elision enables more flexibility in dealing with
non-copyable non-movable types

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Copy Elision and Returning by Value
in return statement of function with class return type, when expression is name of
non-volatile automatic object (other than function or catch-clause parameter) with
same cv-unqualified type as function return type, automatic object can be
constructed directly in function’s return value
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Widget {
4 public:
5 Widget() {}
6 Widget(const Widget&) {std::cout << "copy\n";}
7 Widget(Widget&&) {std::cout << "move\n";}
8 // ...
9 };
10
11 Widget func1() {return Widget();}
12 Widget func2() {Widget w; return w;}
13
14 int main() {
15 Widget w = func1(); // required copy elision
16 Widget x = func2(); // possible copy elision
17 }

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Copy Elision and Passing by Value
in function call, when temporary class object not bound to reference would be
copied/moved to class object with same cv-unqualified type, temporary object
can be constructed directly in target of omitted copy/move
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Widget {
4 public:
5 Widget() : x_(42) {}
6 Widget(const Widget&) {std::cout << "copy\n";}
7 Widget(Widget&&) {std::cout << "move\n";}
8 int get() const {return x_;}
9 // ...
10 private:
11 int x_;
12 };
13
14 void func(Widget w) {std::cout << w.get() << ’\n’;}
15
16 int main() {
17 func(Widget()); // required copy elision
18 }

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Copy Elision and Throwing by Value
in throw expression, when operand is name of non-volatile automatic object
(other than function or catch-clause parameter) whose scope does not extend
beyond end of innermost enclosing try block (if there is one), copy/move
operation from operand to exception object can be omitted by constructing
automatic object directly into exception object
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Widget {
4 public:
5 Widget() {}
6 Widget(const Widget &) {std::cout << "copy\n";}
7 Widget(Widget&&) {std::cout << "move\n";}
8 // ...
9 };
10
11 void f(){
12 throw Widget(); // required copy elision
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 try {f();}
17 catch (Widget foo) {std::cout << "catch\n";}
18 }
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Copy Elision and Catching by Value
when exception declaration of exception handler declares object of same type
(except for cv-qualification) as exception object, copy/move operation can be
omitted by treating exception declaration as alias for exception object if meaning
of program will be unchanged except for execution of constructors and
destructors for object declared by exception declaration
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Widget {
4 public:
5 Widget() {}
6 Widget(const Widget &) {std::cout << "copy\n";}
7 Widget(Widget&&) {std::cout << "move\n";}
8 // ...
9 };
10
11 void f(){throw Widget();}
12
13 int main() {
14 try {f();}
15 catch (Widget foo) { // possible copy elision
16 std::cout << "catch\n";
17 }
18 }
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Mandatory Copy Elision Example: Factory Function

1 class Widget {
2 public:
3 Widget() {/* ... */}
4 // not copyable
5 Widget(const Widget&) = delete;
6 Widget& operator=(const Widget&) = delete;
7 // not movable
8 Widget(Widget&&) = delete;
9 Widget& operator=(Widget&&) = delete;
10 // ...
11 };
12
13 Widget make_widget() {
14 return Widget();
15 }
16
17 int main() {
18 Widget w(make_widget());
19 // OK: copy elision required
20 Widget v(Widget());
21 // OK: copy elision required
22 }

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 struct Widget {
4 Widget *p;
5 constexpr Widget() : p(this) {}
6 };
7
8 constexpr Widget func() {
9 Widget w;
10 return w; // NOTE: returning named object
11 }
12
13 constexpr Widget a;
14 static_assert(a.p == &a);
15
16 constexpr Widget b = func();
17 static_assert(b.p == &b);
18 // OK: required copy elision (NVRO guaranteed here)
19
20 int main() {
21 Widget c = func();
22 // c.p may point to c or to a temporary
23 std::cout << (c.p == &c) << ’\n’;
24 }

Functors

function object (also known as functor) is object that can be invoked or

called as if it were ordinary function
class that provides member function that overloads operator() is
called functor class and object of that class is functor
functors more flexible than functions as functors are objects and can
therefore carry arbitrary state information
functors are extremely useful, especially in generic programming
as we will see later, standard library makes heavy use of functors

1 struct LessThan { // Functor class

2 bool operator()(double x, double y) const {
3 return x < y;
4 }
5 };
6
7 void myFunc() {
8 double a = 1.0;
9 double b = 2.0;
10 LessThan lessThan; // Functor
11 bool result = lessThan(a, b);
12 // calls LessThan::operator()(double, double)
13 // lessThan is functor, not function
14 // result == true
15 }

1 class IsGreater { // Functor class

2 public:
3 IsGreater(int threshold) : threshold_(threshold) {}
4 bool operator()(int x) const {
5 return x > threshold_;
6 }
7 private:
8 // state information for functor
9 int threshold_; // threshold for comparison
10 };
11
12 void myFunc() {
13 IsGreater isGreater(5); // functor
14 int x = 3;
15 bool result = isGreater(x);
16 // calls IsGreater::operator()(int)
17 // result == false
18 }

Templates

generic programming: algorithms written in terms of types to be

specified later (i.e., algorithms are generic in sense of being applicable to
any type that meets only some very basic constraints)
templates facilitate generic programming
extremely important language feature
avoids code duplication
leads to highly efficient and customizable code
promotes code reuse
C++ standard library makes very heavy use of templates (actually, most of
standard library consists of templates)
many other libraries make heavy use of templates (e.g., CGAL, Boost)

Function Templates

consider following functions:

int max(int x, int y)
{return x > y ? x : y;}
double max(double x, double y)
{return x > y ? x : y;}
// more similar-looking max functions...

each of above functions has same general form; that is, for some type T,
we have:
T max(T x, T y)
{return x > y ? x : y;}

would be nice if we did not have to repeatedly type, debug, test, and
maintain nearly identical code
in effect, would like code to be parameterized on type T

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Function Templates
function template is family of functions parameterized by one or
parameters
each template parameter can be: non-type (e.g., integral constant), type,
template, or parameter pack (in case of variadic template)
syntax for template function has general form:
template <parameter list> function declaration
parameter list: parameters on which template function depends
function declaration: function declaration or definition
type parameter designated by class or typename keyword
template parameter designated by template keyword
template template parameter must use class keyword
non-type parameter designed by its type (e.g., bool, int)
example:
// declaration of function template
template <class T> T max(T x, T y);
// definition of function template
template <class T> T max(T x, T y)
{return x > y ? x : y;}
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Function Templates (Continued)

to explicitly identify particular instance of template, use syntax:

function<parameters>
example:
for function template declaration:
template <class T> T max(T x, T y);
max<int> refers to int max(int, int)
max<double> refers to double max(double, double)
compiler only creates code for function template when it is instantiated
(i.e., used)
therefore, definition of function template must be visible in place where it
is instantiated
consequently, function template definitions usually appear in header file
template code only needs to pass basic syntax checks, unless actually
instantiated

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Function Template Examples
1 // compute minimum of two values
2 template <class T>
3 T min(T x, T y) {
4 return x < y ? x : y;
5 }
6
7 // compute square of value
8 template <typename T>
9 T sqr(T x) {
10 return x * x;
11 }
12
13 // swap two values
14 template <class T>
15 void swap(T& x, T& y) {
16 T tmp = x;
17 x = y;
18 y = tmp;
19 }
20
21 // invoke function/functor multiple times
22 template <int N = 1, typename F, typename T>
23 void invoke(F func, const T& value) {
24 for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i) {
25 func(value);
26 }
27 }

overload resolution proceeds (in order) as follows:

1 look for an exact match with zero or more trivial conversions on
(nontemplate) functions; if found call it
2 look for function template from which function that can be called with exact
match with zero or more trivial conversions can be generated; if found, call it
3 try ordinary overload resolution for functions; if function found, call it;
otherwise, call is error
in each step, if more than one match found, call is ambiguous and is error
template function only used in case of exact match, unless explicitly forced
example:
template <class T>
T max(T x, T y) {return x > y ? x : y;}
void func(int i, int j, double x, double y) {
double z = max(x, y); // calls max<double>
int k = max(i, j); // calls max<int>
z = max(i, x); // ERROR: no match
z = max<double>(i, x); // calls max<double>
}

qualified name is name that specifies scope

example:
#include <iostream>
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
std::cout << "Hello, world!" << std::endl;
}
}

in above example, names std::cout and std::endl are qualified, while

names main, argc, argv, and i, are not qualified

dependent name is name that depends on template parameter

example:
template <class T>
void func(const T& x) {
int i = T::magicValue;
// ...
}

name T::magicValue is dependent

to avoid any potential ambiguities, compiler will automatically assume

qualified dependent name does not name type unless typename
keyword is used
must precede qualified dependent name that names type by typename
in following example, note use of typename keyword:
1 #include <vector>
2
3 template <class T>
4 void func(const T& x) {
5 std::vector<T> v(42, x);
6 // std::vector<T>::const_iterator is
7 // qualified dependent name
8 for (typename std::vector<T>::const_iterator i =
9 v.begin(); i != v.end(); ++i) {
10 // std::vector<T>::value_type is
11 // qualified dependent name
12 typename std::vector<T>::value_type x = *i;
13 // ...
14 }
15 // ...
16 }

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Why typename is Needed
1 int x = 42;
2
3 template <class T> void func() {
4 // The compiler must be able to check syntactic
5 // correctness of this template code without
6 // knowing T. Without knowing T, however, the
7 // meaning of following line of code is ambiguous.
8 // Is it a declaration of a variable x or an
9 // expression consisting of a binary operator*
10 // with operands T::foo and x?
11 T::foo* x; // Does T::foo name a type or an object?
12 // ...
13 }
14
15 struct ContainsType {
16 using foo = int; // foo is type
17 // ...
18 };
19
20 struct ContainsValue {
21 static int foo; // foo is value
22 // ...
23 };
24
25 int main() {
26 // Only one of the following lines should be valid.
27 func<ContainsValue>();
28 func<ContainsType>();
29 }
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Example: What is wrong with this code?

1 // templates_1_0.cpp
2
3 #include <iostream>
4 #include <complex>
5 #include "templates_1_1.hpp"
6
7 int main() {
8 std::complex a(0.0, 1.0);
9 auto b = square(a);
10 std::cout << b << ’\n’;
11 }

1 // templates_1_1.hpp
2
3 template <class T>
4 T square(const T&);

1 // templates_1_1.cpp
2
3 #include "templates_1_1.hpp"
4
5 template <class T>
6 T square(const T& x) {
7 return x * x;
8 }

Class Templates

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Motivation for Class Templates
consider almost identical complex number classes:
1 class ComplexDouble {
2 public:
3 ComplexDouble(double x = 0.0, double y = 0.0) : x_(x), y_(y) {}
4 double real() const { return x_; }
5 double imag() const { return y_; }
6 // ...
7 private:
8 double x_, y_; // real and imaginary parts
9 };
10
11 class ComplexFloat {
12 public:
13 ComplexFloat(float x = 0.0f, float y = 0.0f) : x_(x), y_(y) {}
14 float real() const { return x_; }
15 float imag() const { return y_; }
16 // ...
17 private:
18 float x_, y_; // real and imaginary parts
19 };

both of above classes are special cases of following class parameterized

on type T:
1 class Complex {
2 public:
3 Complex(T x = T(0), T y = T(0)) : x_(x), y_(y) {}
4 T real() const { return x_; }
5 T imag() const { return y_; }
6 // ...
7 private:
8 T x_, y_; // real and imaginary parts
9 };

again, would be nice if we did not have to repeatedly type, debug, test,
and maintain nearly identical code
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Class Templates
class template is family of classes parameterized on one or more
parameters
each template parameter can be: non-type (e.g., integral constant), type,
template, or parameter pack (in case of variadic template)
syntax has general form:
template <parameter list> class declaration
parameter list: parameter list for class
class declaration: class/struct declaration or definition
example:
// declaration of class template
template <class T, unsigned int size>
class MyArray;
// definition of class template
template <class T, unsigned int size>
class MyArray {
// ...
T array_[size];
};
MyArray<double, 100> x;
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Class Templates (Continued)

compiler only generates code for class template when it is instantiated

(i.e., used)
since compiler only generates code for class template when it is
instantiated, definition of template must be visible at point where
instantiated
consequently, class template code usually placed in header file
template code only needs to pass basic syntax checks, unless actually
instantiated
compile errors related to class templates can often be very long and
difficult to parse (especially, when template class has parameters that are
template classes which, in turn, have parameters that are template
classes, and so on)

1 // complex number class template

2 template <class T>
3 class Complex {
4 public:
5 Complex(T x = T(0), T y = T(0)) :
6 x_(x), y_(y) {}
7 T real() const {
8 return x_;
9 }
10 T imag() const {
11 return y_;
12 }
13 // ...
14 private:
15 T x_; // real part
16 T y_; // imaginary part
17 };
18
19 Complex<int> zi;
20 Complex<double> zd;

class template parameters can have default values

example:
template <class T = int, unsigned int size = 2>
struct MyArray {
T data[size];
};
MyArray<> a; // MyArray<int, 2>
MyArray<double> b; // MyArray<double, 2>
MyArray<double, 10> b; // MyArray<double, 10>

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Qualified Dependent Names
qualified dependent name assumed not to name type, unless preceded by
typename keyword
in following example, note use of typename keyword:
1 #include <vector>
2
3 template <class T> class Vector {
4 public:
5 using Coordinate = typename T::Coordinate;
6 using Distance = typename T::Distance;
7 Vector(const std::vector<Coordinate>& coords) :
8 coords_(coords) {}
9 Distance squaredLength() const {
10 Distance d = Distance(0);
11 for (typename
12 std::vector<Coordinate>::const_iterator i =
13 coords_.begin(); i != coords_.end(); ++i) {
14 typename std::vector<Coordinate>::value_type
15 x = *i;
16 d += x * x;
17 }
18 return d;
19 }
20 // ...
21 private:
22 std::vector<Coordinate> coords_;
23 };
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Template Template Parameter Example

1 #include <vector>
2 #include <list>
3 #include <deque>
4 #include <memory>
5
6 template <template <class, class> class Container, class Value>
7 class Stack {
8 public:
9 // ...
10 private:
11 Container<Value, std::allocator<Value>> data_;
12 };
13
14 int main() {
15 Stack<std::vector, int> s1;
16 Stack<std::list, int> s2;
17 Stack<std::deque, int> s3;
18 }

template parameters for class template can be deduced based on

arguments passed to constructor
example:
std::tuple t(42, ’A’);
// OK: deduced as tuple<int, char>
deduction only performed if no template arguments provided
example:
std::tuple<int> t(1, 2);
// ERROR: missing template parameter, as
// no template parameter deduction takes place

1 #include <vector>
2 #include <tuple>
3 #include <set>
4 #include <string>
5
6 using namespace std::string_literals;
7
8 auto get_tuple() {
9 return std::tuple("Zaphod"s, 42);
10 // deduces tuple<std::string, int>
11 }
12
13 int main() {
14 std::vector v{1, 2, 3};
15 // deduces vector<int>
16 std::tuple t(true, ’A’, 42);
17 // deduces tuple<bool, char, int>
18 std::pair p(42, "Hello"s);
19 // deduces pair<int, std::string>
20 std::set s{0.5, 0.25};
21 // deduces set<double>
22 //auto ptr = new std::tuple(true, 42);
23 // should deduce tuple<bool, int>?
24 // fails to compile with GCC 7.1.0
25 }

can provide additional rules to be used to determine how class template

parameters should be deduced when not provided
such rules called deduction guides
deduction guide itself can be either template or non-template
deduction guides must be introduced in same scope as class template
example:
// class definition
template <class T> smart_ptr {/* ... */};
// deduction guide
template <class T>
smart_ptr(T*) -> smart_ptr<T>;
example:
/// class definition
template <class T> name {/* ... */};
// deduction guide
name(const char*) -> name<std::string>;

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Template Deduction Guide Example
1 #include <string>
2 #include <type_traits>
3
4 using namespace std::string_literals;
5
6 template <class T>
7 class Name {
8 public:
9 Name(T first, T last) : first_(first), last_(last) {}
10 // ...
11 private:
12 T first_;
13 T last_;
14 };
15
16 // deduction guide
17 Name(const char*, const char*) -> Name<std::string>;
18
19 int main() {
20 Name n("Zaphod", "Beeblebrox");
21 // deduces Name<std::string> via deduction guide
22 static_assert(std::is_same_v<decltype(n), Name<std::string>>);
23 Name n2("Jane"s, "Doe"s);
24 // deduces Name<std::string> (without deduction guide)
25 static_assert(std::is_same_v<decltype(n2), Name<std::string>>);
26 }

can use auto keyword for non-type template parameter

in such case, type of non-type template parameter will be deduced
example:
template <auto v>
struct constant {
static constexpr decltype(v) value = v;
};
using forty_two_type = constant<42>;
// template parameter v deduced to have type int
non-type template parameter type deduction probably most useful for
template metaprogramming

1 #include <cstdlib>
2 #include <iostream>
3
4 template<class T, T v>
5 struct integral_constant {
6 using value_type = T;
7 static constexpr value_type value = v;
8 using type = integral_constant;
9 constexpr operator value_type() const noexcept
10 {return value;}
11 constexpr value_type operator()() const noexcept
12 {return value;}
13 };
14
15 using forty_two_type = integral_constant<int, 42>;
16
17 int main() {
18 constexpr forty_two_type x;
19 constexpr auto v = x.value;
20 std::cout << v << ’\n’;
21 }

1 #include <cstdlib>
2 #include <iostream>
3
4 template<auto v>
5 struct integral_constant {
6 using value_type = decltype(v);
7 static constexpr value_type value = v;
8 using type = integral_constant;
9 constexpr operator value_type() const noexcept
10 {return value;}
11 constexpr value_type operator()() const noexcept
12 {return value;}
13 };
14
15 using forty_two_type = integral_constant<42>;
16
17 int main() {
18 constexpr forty_two_type x;
19 constexpr auto v = x.value;
20 std::cout << v << ’\n’;
21 }

Variable Templates

variable template is family of variables parameterized on one or more

parameters
each template parameter can be: non-type (e.g., integral constant), type,
template, or parameter pack (in case of variadic templates)
although less frequently used than function and class templates, variable
templates quite useful in some situations
syntax has general form:
template <parameter list> variable declaration

parameter list: parameter list for variable template

variable declaration: variable declaration or definition
example:
template <class T>
T meaning_of_life = T(42);
int x = meaning_of_life<int>;

1 #include <limits>
2 #include <complex>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 template <typename T>
6 constexpr T pi =
7 T(3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510L);
8
9 int main() {
10 std::cout.precision(
11 std::numeric_limits<long double>::max_digits10);
12 std::cout
13 << pi<int> << ’\n’
14 << pi<float> << ’\n’
15 << pi<double> << ’\n’
16 << pi<long double> << ’\n’
17 << pi<std::complex<float>> << ’\n’
18 << pi<std::complex<double>> << ’\n’
19 << pi<std::complex<long double>> << ’\n’;
20 }

Alias Templates

alias template is family of types parameterized on one or more

parameters
each template parameter can be: non-type (e.g., integral constant), type,
template, or parameter pack (in case of variadic templates)
syntax has general form:
template <parameter list> alias declaration

parameter list: parameter list for class

alias declaration: alias declaration (i.e., with using)
example:
template <class Value,
class Alloc = std::allocator<Value>>
using GreaterMultiSet =
std::multiset<Value, std::greater<Value>, Alloc>;
GreaterMultiSet<int> x{4, 1, 3, 2};

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <set>
3
4 // alias template for set that employs std::greater for
5 // comparison
6 template <typename Value,
7 typename Alloc = std::allocator<Value>>
8 using GreaterSet = std::set<Value,
9 std::greater<Value>, Alloc>;
10
11 int main() {
12 std::set x{1, 4, 3, 2};
13 GreaterSet<int> y{1, 4, 3, 2};
14 for (auto i : x) {
15 std::cout << i << ’\n’;
16 }
17 std::cout << ’\n’;
18 for (auto i : y) {
19 std::cout << i << ’\n’;
20 }
21 }

Variadic Templates

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Variadic Templates
language provides ability to specify template that can take variable
number of arguments
template that can take variable number of arguments called variadic
template
alias templates, class templates, function templates, and variable
templates may be variadic
variable number of arguments specified by using what is called parameter
pack
parameter pack is parameter that accepts (i.e., is placeholder for) zero or
more arguments (of same kind)
parameter pack used in parameter list of template to allow to variable
number of template parameters
ellipsis (i.e., “...”) is used in various contexts relating to parameter packs
ellipsis after designator for kind of template argument in template
parameter list designates argument is parameter pack
ellipsis after parameter pack parameter expands parameter pack in
context-sensitive manner
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Parameter Packs

syntax for non-type template parameter pack named Args and containing
elements of type type (e.g., bool, int, unsigned int):
type... Args
example:
template <int... Is> /* ... */
Is is (non-type) template parameter pack that corresponds to zero or
more (compile-time constant) values of type int
syntax for type template parameter pack named Args:
typename... Args
or equivalently
class... Args
examples:
template <typename... Ts> /* ... */
template <class... Ts> /* ... */
Ts is (type) template parameter pack that corresponds to zero or more
types
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Parameter Packs (Continued 1)
syntax for template template parameter pack named Args:
template <parameter list> typename... Args
or equivalently
template <parameter list> class... Args
example:
template <template <class T> class... Ts>
/* ... */
Ts is (template) template parameter pack that corresponds to zero or
more templates
syntax for function parameter pack named args whose elements have
types corresponding to elements of type template parameter pack Args:
Args... args
example:
template <class... Ts> void func(Ts... args);
args is (function) parameter pack that correponds to zero or more
function parameters whose types correspond to elements of type
parameter pack Ts
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Parameter Packs (Continued 2)
in context where template arguments cannot be deduced (e.g., primary
class templates), only last template parameter can be parameter pack
in context where template arguments can be deduced (e.g., function
templates and class template partial specializations), template parameter
pack need not be last template parameter
example:
1 template <class U, class... Ts> class C1 { /* ... */ };
2 // OK: Ts is last template parameter
3
4 template <class... Ts, class U> class C2 { /* ... */ };
5 // ERROR: Ts not last and U not deduced
6
7 template <class... Ts, class U> void f1(Ts... ts)
8 { /* ... */ } // NOT OK: Ts not last and U not deduced
9
10 template <class... Ts, class U> void f2(Ts... ts, U u)
11 { /* ... */ } // OK: Ts not last but U is deduced
12
13 int main() {
14 f1<int, int, bool>(1, 2, true);
15 // ERROR: no matching function call
16 f2<int, int>(1, 2, true); // OK
17 f2(1, 2, true); // ERROR: one argument expected
18 }
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Parameter Pack Expansion

parameter pack expansion: expands pack into its constituent elements

syntax for parameter pack expansion of expression pattern, which must
contain parameter pack:
pattern...
example:
1 template <class... Ts> void f(Ts... t) { /* ... */ }
2
3 template <class... Us> void g(Us... u) {
4 f(u...);
5 // u... is pack expansion
6 // when g is called by main,
7 // u... expands to 1, 2.0, 3.0f
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 g(1, 2.0, 3.0f);
12 }

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Variadic Template Examples
1 #include <tuple>
2
3 // variadic alias template
4 template <class... T>
5 using My_tuple = std::tuple<bool, T...>;
6
7 // variadic class template
8 template <int... Values>
9 class Integer_sequence {
10 // ...
11 };
12
13 // variadic function template
14 template <class... Ts>
15 void print(const Ts&... values) {
16 // ...
17 }
18
19 // variadic variable template
20 template <typename T, T... Values>
21 constexpr T array[] = {Values...};
22
23 int main() {
24 Integer_sequence<1, 3, 4, 2> x;
25 auto a = array<int, 1, 2, 4, 8>;
26 My_tuple<int, double> t(true, 42, 42.0);
27 print(1’000’000, 1, 43.2, "Hello");
28 }
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Parameter Pack Expansion

parameter pack expansion allowed in following contexts:

inside parentheses of function call operator
in template argument list
in function parameter list
in template parameter list
base class specifiers in class declaration
member initializer lists
braced initializer lists
lambda captures
fold expressions
in using declarations

sizeof... operator yields number of elements in parameter pack

example:
template <int... Values>
constexpr int num_parms = sizeof...(Values);
static_assert(num_parms<1, 2, 3> == 3, "");
static_assert(num_parms<> == 0, "");

example:
#include <cassert>
template <typename... Ts>
int number_of_arguments(const Ts&... args) {
return sizeof...(args);
}
int main() {
assert(number_of_arguments(1, 2, 3) == 3);
assert(number_of_arguments() == 0);
}

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 using namespace std::string_literals;
5
6 template <class T>
7 auto sum(T x) {
8 return x;
9 }
10
11 template <class T, class... Args>
12 auto sum(T x, Args... args) {
13 return x + sum(args...);
14 }
15
16 int main() {
17 auto x = sum(42.5, -1.0, 0.5f);
18 auto y = sum("The "s, "answer "s, "is "s);
19 std::cout << y << x << ".\n";
20 // sum(); // ERROR: no matching function call
21 }
22
23 /* Output:
24 The answer is 42.
25 */

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 333
Variadic Function Template: maximum
1 #include <type_traits>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 using namespace std::string_literals;
6
7 template <typename T>
8 T maximum(const T& a) {return a;}
9
10 template <typename T1, typename T2>
11 typename std::common_type_t<const T1&, const T2&>
12 maximum(const T1 &a, const T2 &b) {
13 return a > b ? a : b;
14 }
15
16 template <typename T1, typename T2, typename... Args>
17 typename std::common_type_t<const T1&, const T2&,
18 const Args&...>
19 maximum(const T1& a, const T2& b, const Args&... args) {
20 return maximum(maximum(a, b), args...);
21 }
22
23 int main() {
24 assert(maximum(1) == 1);
25 assert(maximum(1, 2, 3, 4, -1.4) == 4);
26 assert(maximum(-1’000’000L, -42L, 10, 42.42) == 42.42);
27 assert(maximum("apple"s, "zebra"s, "c++"s) == "zebra"s);
28 }

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 334
Variadic Function Template With Template Template
Parameter: print_container
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <string>
4 #include <set>
5
6 template <template <class, class...>
7 class ContainerType, class ValueType, class... Args>
8 bool print_container(const ContainerType<ValueType, Args...>&
9 c) {
10 for (auto i = c.begin(); i != c.end();) {
11 std::cout << *i;
12 if (++i != c.end()) {std::cout << ’ ’;}
13 }
14 std::cout << ’\n’;
15 return bool(std::cout);
16 }
17
18 int main() {
19 using namespace std::string_literals;
20 std::vector vi{1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
21 std::set si{5, 4, 3, 2, 1};
22 std::set ss{"world"s, "hello"s};
23 print_container(vi);
24 print_container(si);
25 print_container(ss);
26 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 335
Variadic Class Template: Integer_sequence
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cstdlib>
3
4 template <class T, T... Values>
5 class Integer_sequence {
6 public:
7 using value_type = T;
8 using const_iterator = const T*;
9 constexpr std::size_t size() const
10 {return sizeof...(Values);}
11 constexpr T operator[](int i) const {return values_[i];}
12 constexpr const_iterator begin() const
13 {return &values_[0];}
14 constexpr const_iterator end() const
15 {return &values_[size()];}
16 private:
17 static constexpr T values_[sizeof...(Values)] =
18 {Values...};
19 };
20
21 template <class T, T... Values>
22 constexpr T
23 Integer_sequence<T, Values...>::values_[sizeof...(Values)];
24
25 int main() {
26 Integer_sequence<std::size_t, 1, 2, 4, 8> seq;
27 std::cout << seq.size() << ’\n’ << seq[0] << ’\n’;
28 for (auto i : seq) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;}
29 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 336
Variadic Variable Template: int_array

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 template <int... Args>
4 constexpr int int_array[] = {Args...};
5
6 int main() {
7 for (auto i : int_array<1,2,4,8>) {
8 std::cout << i << ’\n’;
9 }
10 }
11
12 /* Output:
13 1
14 2
15 4
16 8
17 */

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <tuple>
4
5 template <class... Ts>
6 using My_tuple = std::tuple<bool, Ts...>;
7
8 int main() {
9 My_tuple<int, std::string> t(true, 42,
10 "meaning of life");
11 std::cout << std::get<0>(t) << ’ ’
12 << std::get<1>(t) << ’ ’
13 << std::get<2>(t) << ’\n’;
14 }
15
16 /* Output:
17 1 42 meaning of life
18 */

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 338
Fold Expressions
may want to apply binary operator (such as +) across all elements in
parameter pack
fold expression reduces (i.e., folds) parameter pack over binary operator
op: binary operator
E : expression that contains unexpanded parameter pack
I : expression that does not contain unexpanded parameter pack
Fold Syntax Expansion
unary left (... op E) ((E1 op E2 ) op ...) op EN
unary right (E op . . . ) E1 op (... op (EN−1 op EN ))
binary left (I op ... op E) (((I op E1 ) op E2 ) op ...) op EN
binary right (E op ... op I) E1 op (... op (EN−1 op (EN op I)))
unary fold of empty parameter pack:
Operator Value for Empty Parameter Pack
&& true
|| false
, void()
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 339
Sum Example Without Fold Expression

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 using namespace std::string_literals;
5
6 template <class T, class... Args>
7 auto sum(T x, Args... args) {
8 return x + (... + args);
9 }
10
11 int main() {
12 auto x = sum(42.5, -1.0, 0.5f);
13 auto y = sum("The "s, "answer "s, "is "s);
14 std::cout << y << x << ".\n";
15 // sum(); // ERROR: no matching function call
16 }
17
18 /* Output:
19 The answer is 42.
20 */

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 341
Print Example Without Fold Expression
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 using namespace std::string_literals;
5
6 std::ostream& print() {return std::cout;}
7
8 template <class T>
9 std::ostream& print(const T& value) {
10 return std::cout << value;
11 }
12
13 template <class T, class... Args>
14 std::ostream& print(const T& value, const Args&... args) {
15 if (!(std::cout << value)) {
16 return std::cout;
17 }
18 return print(args...);
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 print("The "s, "answer "s, "is "s, 42, ".\n"s);
23 print(); // OK: no-op
24 }
25
26 /* Output:
27 The answer is 42.
28 */

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 using namespace std::string_literals;
5
6 template <class... Args>
7 std::ostream& print(const Args&... args) {
8 return (std::cout << ... << args);
9 }
10
11 int main() {
12 print("The "s, "answer "s, "is "s, 42, ".\n"s);
13 print(); // OK: no-op
14 }
15
16 /* Output:
17 The answer is 42.
18 */

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 343
Fold Expression Example: All/Any/One/Even
1 #include <cassert>
2
3 template <class... Args>
4 bool all(Args... args)
5 {return (... && args);}
6
7 template <class... Args>
8 bool any(Args... args)
9 {return (... || args);}
10
11 template <class... Args>
12 bool one(Args... args)
13 {return (0 + ... + args) == 1;}
14
15 template <class... Args>
16 bool even(Args... args)
17 {return (1 + ... + args) % 2;}
18
19 int main() {
20 assert(all(false, true, true) == false);
21 assert(all(true, true, true) == true);
22 assert(any(false, false, true) == true);
23 assert(any(false, false, false) == false);
24 assert(one(true, false, false) == true);
25 assert(one(true, true, false) == false);
26 assert(even(true, true, false) == true);
27 assert(even(true, false, false) == false);
28 assert(even() == true && one() == false);
29 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 344
Constexpr-Friendly Heterogeneous List Example

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <tuple>
3
4 // heterogeneous list of constant values
5 template <auto... vs> class value_list {
6 public:
7 constexpr value_list() : v_(vs...) {}
8 template <int n> constexpr auto get() const
9 {return std::get<n>(v_);}
10 constexpr int size() const {return sizeof...(vs);}
11 private:
12 std::tuple<decltype(vs)...> v_;
13 };
14
15 int main() {
16 constexpr value_list<42, true, ’A’> v;
17 constexpr auto n = v.size();
18 constexpr auto a = v.get<0>();
19 constexpr auto b = v.get<1>();
20 constexpr auto c = v.get<2>();
21 std::cout << n << ’ ’ << a << ’ ’ << b << ’ ’ << c << ’\n’;
22 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <tuple>
3
4 // homogeneous list of constant values
5 template <auto v1, decltype(v1)... vs> class value_list {
6 public:
7 constexpr value_list() : v_(v1, vs...) {}
8 template <int n> constexpr auto get() const
9 {return std::get<n>(v_);}
10 constexpr int size() const {return 1 + sizeof...(vs);}
11 private:
12 std::tuple<decltype(v1), decltype(vs)...> v_;
13 };
14
15 int main() {
16 constexpr value_list<1, 2, 3> v;
17 constexpr auto n = v.size();
18 constexpr auto a = v.get<0>();
19 constexpr auto b = v.get<1>();
20 constexpr auto c = v.get<2>();
21 std::cout << n << ’ ’ << a << ’ ’ << b << ’ ’ << c << ’\n’;
22 }

Template Specialization

sometimes can be desirable to provide customized version of template for

certain choices of template parameters
customized version of templates can be specified through language
feature known as template specialization
two kinds of specialization: explicit and partial
explicit specialization (less formally known as full specialization):
customized version of template where all template parameters are fixed
partial specialization: customized version of template where only some
of template parameters are fixed
class templates, function templates, and variable templates can all be
specialized
alias templates cannot be specialized
class templates and variable templates can be partially or explicitly
specialized
function templates can only be explicitly specialized (not partially)
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Explicit Specialization

syntax for explicit specialization:

template <> declaration

declaration: declaration of templated entity (e.g., function, class, variable)

example:
// unspecialized template
template <class T, class U>
void func(T x, U y) { /* ... */ }
// explicit specialization of template
// (for when template parameters are bool, bool)
template <>
void func<bool, bool>(bool x, bool y) { /* ... */ }

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 349
Partial Specialization
syntax for partial specialization of class template:
template <parameter list> class key
class name <argument list> declaration
syntax for partial specialization of variable template:
template <parameter list> type name
variable name <argument list> declaration
class key: class or struct keyword (for class template)
class name: class being specialized (for class template)
type name: type of variable (for variable template)
variable name: variable being specialized (for variable template)
argument list: template argument list
declaration: declaration of templated entity (e.g., class, variable)
example:
// unspecialized template
template <class T, int N> class Widget { /* ... */ };
// partial specialization of template
// (for when first template parameter is bool)
template <int N> class Widget<bool, N> { /* ... */ };

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 350
Explicitly-Specialized Function Template: printPointee
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 // unspecialized version
4 template <class T>
5 typename std::ostream& printPointee(
6 typename std::ostream& out, const T* p)
7 {return out << *p << ’\n’;}
8
9 // specialization
10 template <>
11 typename std::ostream& printPointee<void>(
12 typename std::ostream& out, const void* p)
13 {return out << *static_cast<const char*>(p) << ’\n’;}
14
15 int main() {
16 int i = 42;
17 const int* ip = &i;
18 char c = ’A’;
19 const void* vp = &c;
20 printPointee(std::cout, ip);
21 printPointee(std::cout, vp);
22 }
23
24 /* Output:
25 42
26 A
27 */

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 351
Explicitly-Specialized Class Template: is_void
1 template <class T>
2 struct is_void
3 {static constexpr bool value = false;};
4
5 template <>
6 struct is_void<void>
7 {static constexpr bool value = true;};
8
9 template <>
10 struct is_void<const void>
11 {static constexpr bool value = true;};
12
13 template <>
14 struct is_void<volatile void>
15 {static constexpr bool value = true;};
16
17 template <>
18 struct is_void<const volatile void>
19 {static constexpr bool value = true;};
20
21 static_assert(is_void<int>::value == false, "");
22 static_assert(is_void<double*>::value == false, "");
23 static_assert(is_void<void>::value == true, "");
24 static_assert(is_void<const void>::value == true, "");
25 static_assert(is_void<volatile void>::value == true , "");
26 static_assert(is_void<const volatile void>::value == true,
27 "");
28
29 int main() {}
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 352
Partially-Specialized Class Template

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 // unspecialized version
4 template <typename T, typename V>
5 struct Widget {
6 Widget() {std::cout << "unspecialized\n";}
7 };
8
9 // partial specialization
10 template <typename T>
11 struct Widget<int, T> {
12 Widget() {std::cout << "partial\n";}
13 };
14
15 // explicit specialization
16 template <>
17 struct Widget<int, int> {
18 Widget() {std::cout << "explicit\n";}
19 };
20
21 int main() {
22 Widget<double, int> w1; // unspecialized verion
23 Widget<int, double> w2; // partial specialization
24 Widget<int, int> w3; // explicit specialization
25 }

std::vector class employs specialization

consider vector of elements of type T
most natural way to store elements is as array of T
if T is bool, such an approach makes very inefficient use of memory,
since each bool object requires one byte of storage
if T is bool, would be much more memory-efficient to use array of, say,
unsigned char and pack multiple bool objects in each byte
std::vector accomplishes this by providing (partial) specialization for
case that T is bool
declaration of base template for std::vector and its partial
specialization for case when T is bool are as follows:
template <class T, class Alloc = allocator<T>>
class vector; // unspecialized version
template <class Alloc>
class vector<bool, Alloc>; // partial specialization

1 template <class T>

2 constexpr bool is_void_v = false;
3
4 template <>
5 constexpr bool is_void_v<void> = true;
6
7 template <>
8 constexpr bool is_void_v<const void> = true;
9
10 template <>
11 constexpr bool is_void_v<volatile void> = true;
12
13 template <>
14 constexpr bool is_void_v<const volatile void> = true;
15
16 static_assert(is_void_v<int> == false, "");
17 static_assert(is_void_v<double*> == false, "");
18 static_assert(is_void_v<void> == true, "");
19 static_assert(is_void_v<const void> == true, "");
20 static_assert(is_void_v<volatile void> == true , "");
21 static_assert(is_void_v<const volatile void> == true, "");
22
23 int main() {}

1 template <unsigned long long N>

2 constexpr unsigned long long
3 factorial = N * factorial<N - 1>;
4
5 template <>
6 constexpr unsigned long long
7 factorial<0> = 1;
8
9 int main() {
10 static_assert(factorial<5> == 120,
11 "factorial<5> failed");
12 static_assert(factorial<12> == 479’001’600,
13 "factorial<12> failed");
14 }

1 #include <limits>
2
3 // unspecialized version
4 template <int X, int Y>
5 constexpr int quotient = X / Y;
6
7 // partial specialization (which prevents division by zero)
8 template <int X>
9 constexpr int quotient<X, 0> = (X < 0) ?
10 std::numeric_limits<int>::min() :
11 std::numeric_limits<int>::max();
12
13 static_assert(quotient<4, 2> == 2, "");
14 static_assert(quotient<5, 3> == 1, "");
15 static_assert(quotient<4, 0> ==
16 std::numeric_limits<int>::max(), "");
17 static_assert(quotient<-4, 0> ==
18 std::numeric_limits<int>::min(), "");
19
20 int main() {}

Miscellany

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 358
Overload Resolution and Substitution Failure
when creating candidate set (of functions) for overload resolution, some or
all candidates of that set may be result of instantiated templates with
template arguments substituted for corresponding template parameters
process of substituting template arguments for corresponding template
parameters can lead to invalid code
if certain types of invalid code result from substitution in any of following,
substitution failure said to occur:
all types used in function type (i.e., return type and types of all parameters)
all types used in template parameter declarations
all expressions used in function type
all expressions used in template parameter declaration
substitution failure not treated as error
instead, substitution failure simply causes overload to be removed from
candidate set
this behavior often referred to by term “substitution failure is not an error
(SFINAE)”
SFINAE behavior often exploited in template metaprogramming
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 359
Some Kinds of Substitution Failures

attempting to instantiate pack expansion containing multiple parameter

packs of differing lengths
attempting to create array with element type that is void, function type,
reference type, or abstract class type
attempting to create array with size that is zero or negative
attempting to use type that is not class or enumeration type in qualified
name
attempting to use type in nested name specifier of qualified ID, when type
does not contain specified member, or
specified member is not type where type is required
specified member is not template where template is required
specified member is not non-type where non-type is required
attempting to create pointer to reference type
attempting to create reference to void

attempting to create pointer to member of T when T is not class type

attempting to give invalid type to non-type template parameter
attempting to perform invalid conversion in either template argument
expression, or expression used in function declaration
attempting to create function type in which parameter has type of void,
or in which return type is function type or array type
attempting to create function type in which parameter type or return type
is abstract class

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SFINAE Example: Truncate
1 class Real {
2 public:
3 using rounded_type = long long;
4 rounded_type truncate() const {
5 rounded_type result;
6 // ...
7 return result;
8 }
9 // ...
10 };
11
12 // function 1
13 template <class T>
14 typename T::rounded_type truncate(const T& x) {return x.truncate();}
15 // NOTE: example would not compile if return type specified as auto
16
17 // function 2
18 int truncate(double x) {return x;}
19
20 int main() {
21 Real r;
22 float f = 3.14f;
23 auto rounded_r = truncate(r);
24 // calls function 1 (only trivial conversions)
25 auto rounded_f = truncate(f);
26 // function 2 requires nontrivial conversions
27 // function 1 would only require trivial conversions but
28 // substitution failure occurs
29 // calls function 2 (with conversions)
30 }
[link: overload resolution]
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SFINAE Example: Truncate Revisited
1 class Real {
2 public:
3 using rounded_type = long long;
4 rounded_type truncate() const {
5 rounded_type result;
6 // ...
7 return result;
8 }
9 // ...
10 };
11
12 // function 1
13 template <class T, class = typename T::rounded_type>
14 auto truncate(const T& x) {return x.truncate();}
15
16 // function 2
17 int truncate(double x) {return x;}
18
19 int main() {
20 Real r;
21 float f = 3.14f;
22 auto rounded_r = truncate(r);
23 // calls function 1 (only trivial conversions)
24 auto rounded_f = truncate(f);
25 // function 2 requires nontrivial conversions
26 // function 1 would only require trivial conversions but
27 // substitution failure occurs
28 // calls function 2 (with conversions)
29 }

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std::enable_if and std::enable_if_t
to make SFINAE more convenient to exploit, class template
std::enable_if and alias template std::enable_if_t are provided
declaration of class template enable_if:
template <bool B, class T = void>
struct enable_if;
if B is true, class has member type type defined as T; otherwise, class
has no type member
possible implementation of enable_if:
1 template <bool B, class T = void>
2 struct enable_if {};
3
4 template <class T>
5 struct enable_if<true, T> {
6 using type = T;
7 };
declaration of alias template enable_if_t:
template <bool B, class T = void>
using enable_if_t = typename enable_if<B, T>::type;
if enable_if_t is used with its first parameter as false, substitution
failure will result
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SFINAE Example: Modulo
1 #include <type_traits>
2 #include <cassert>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 // ISO-Pascal modulo operator for signed integral types
6 template <class T> inline
7 std::enable_if_t<std::is_integral_v<T> && std::is_signed_v<T>, T>
8 mod(T x, T y) {
9 assert(y > 0);
10 if (x < 0) {x += (((-x) / y) + 1) * y;}
11 return x % y;
12 }
13
14 // ISO-Pascal modulo operator for unsigned integral types
15 template <class T> inline
16 std::enable_if_t<std::is_integral_v<T> && std::is_unsigned_v<T>, T>
17 mod(T x, T y)
18 {return x % y;}
19
20 int main() {
21 auto si = mod(-4, 3); // uses signed version
22 auto ui = mod(5u, 3u); // uses unsigned version
23 auto slli = mod(-5ll, 3ll); // uses signed version
24 auto ulli = mod(4ull, 3ull); // uses unsigned version
25 // auto f = mod(3.0, 4.0);
26 // ERROR: no matching function call
27 std::cout << si << ’ ’ << ui << ’ ’ << slli << ’ ’ << ulli << ’\n’;
28 }
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Detection Idiom Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <experimental/type_traits>
3
4 class Widget {
5 public:
6 void foo() const {}
7 // ...
8 };
9
10 class Gadget {
11 public:
12 void foo() {}
13 // ...
14 };
15
16 // helper template for testing if class has member function called
17 // foo that can be invoked on const object with no arguments.
18 template <class T>
19 using has_usable_foo_t = decltype(std::declval<const T&>().foo());
20
21 int main() {
22 std::cout
23 << "Widget "
24 << std::experimental::is_detected_v<has_usable_foo_t, Widget>
25 << ’\n’
26 << "Gadget "
27 << std::experimental::is_detected_v<has_usable_foo_t, Gadget>
28 << ’\n’;
29 }
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Section 2.5.8

References

1 D. Vandevoorde and N. M. Josuttis. C++ Templates: The Complete Guide.

Addison Wesley, 2002.

2 P. Sommerlad. Variadic and variable templates.

Overload, 126:14–17, Apr. 2015.
Available online at http://accu.org/index.php/journals/2087.
3 A. Sutton. Introducing concepts.
Overload, 129:4–8, Oct. 2015.
Available online at http://accu.org/index.php/journals/2157.
4 A. Sutton. Defining concepts.
Overload, 131:4–8, Feb. 2016.
Available online at http://accu.org/index.php/journals/2198.

1 Peter Sommerlad. Variadic Templates in C++11/C++14: An Introduction,

CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 21, 2015. Available online at
https://youtu.be/R1G3P5SRXCw.
2 Arthur O’Dwyer. Template Normal Programming. CppCon, Bellevue, WA,
USA, Sept. 19, 2016. Available online at https://youtu.be/
vwrXHznaYLA and https://youtu.be/VIz6xBvwYd8. (This talk is split
into two parts.)
3 Arthur O’Dwyer, A Soupcon of SFINAE, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA,
Sept. 27, 2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/ybaE9qlhHvw.
4 Marshall Clow, The Detection Idiom: A Better Way to SFINAE, C++Now,
Aspen, CO, USA, May 19, 2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/
U3jGdnRL3KI.
Notwithstanding the talk’s title, this talk is actually about the functionality in the
Library Fundamentals TS related to is_detected, detected_or,
is_detected_exact, and is_detected_convertible.

5 Walter E. Brown, Modern Template Metaprogramming: A Compendium,

Part I, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 9, 2014. Available online at
https://youtu.be/Am2is2QCvxY.
6 Walter E. Brown, Modern Template Metaprogramming: A Compendium,
Part II, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 9, 2014. Available online at
https://youtu.be/a0FliKwcwXE.

Lambda Expressions

functor classes extremely useful, especially for generic programming

writing definitions of functor classes somewhat tedious, especially if many
such classes
functor classes all have same general structure (i.e., constructor,
function-call operator, zero or more data members)
would be nice if functor could be created without need to explicitly write
functor-class definition
lambda expressions provide compact notation for creating functors
convenience feature (not fundamentally anything new that can be done
with lambda expressions that could not already have been done without
them)

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Lambda Expressions
lambda expression consists of:
1 introducer: capture list in square brackets

2 declarator: parameter list in parentheses followed by return type using

trailing return-type syntax

3 compound statement in brace brackets
capture list specifies objects to be captured as data members
declarator specifies parameter list and return type of function-call operator
compound statement specifies body of function-call operator
if no declarator specified, defaults to ()
if no return type specified, defaults to type of expression in return
statement, or void if no return statement
when evaluated, lambda expression yields object called closure (which is
essentially a functor)
examples:
[](double x)->int{return floor(x);}
[](int x, int y){return x < y;}
[]{std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";}
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Lambda Expressions (Continued)

closure object is unnamed (temporary object)

closure type is unnamed
operator() is always inline
operator() is const member function unless mutable keyword used
if closure type is literal type, all members of closure type automatically
constexpr
if no capture, closure type provides conversion function to pointer to
function having same parameter and return types as closure type’s
function call operator; value returned is address of function that, when
invoked, has same effect as invoking closure type’s function call operator
(function pointer not tied to lifetime of closure object)
although operator() in closure very similar to case of normal functor,
not everything same (e.g., operator() member in closure type cannot
access this pointer for closure type)

1 #include <iostream>
2

3 int main() {
4 []{std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";}();
5 }

1 #include <iostream>
2

3 struct Hello {
4 void operator()() const {
5 std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";
6 }
7 };
8

9 int main() {
10 Hello hello;
11 hello();
12 }

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Comparison Functor Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <algorithm>
3 #include <cstdlib>
4 #include <vector>
5
6 int main() {
7 std::vector<int> v{-3, 3, 4, 0, -2, -1, 2, 1, -4};
8 std::sort(v.begin(), v.end(),
9 [](int x, int y) {return std::abs(x) < std::abs(y);});
10 for (auto x : v) std::cout << x << ’\n’;
11 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <algorithm>
3 #include <cstdlib>
4 #include <vector>
5
6 struct abs_less {
7 bool operator()(int x, int y) const
8 {return std::abs(x) < std::abs(y);}
9 };
10
11 int main() {
12 std::vector<int> v{-3, 3, 4, 0, -2, -1, 2, 1, -4};
13 std::sort(v.begin(), v.end(), abs_less());
14 for (auto x : v) std::cout << x << ’\n’;
15 }
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Capturing Objects

locals only available if captured; non-locals always available

can capture by value or by reference
different locals can be captured differently
can specify default capture mode
can explicitly list objects to be captured or not
might be wise to explicitly list all objects to be captured (when practical) to
avoid capturing objects accidentally (e.g., due to typos)
in member function, to capture class object by value, capture *this
in member function, can also capture this
this must be captured by value

(unary version of) std::transform applies given (unary) operator to

each element in range specified by pair of iterators and writes result to
location specified by another iterator
definition of std::transform would typically resemble:
template <class InputIterator, class OutputIterator,
class UnaryOperator>
OutputIterator transform(InputIterator first,
InputIterator last, OutputIterator result,
UnaryOperator op) {
while (first != last) {
*result = op(*first);
++result;
++first;
}
return result;
}

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 378
Modulus Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 int main() {
6 int m = 2;
7 std::vector<int> v{0, 1, 2, 3};
8 std::transform(v.begin(), v.end(), v.begin(),
9 [m](int x){return x % m;});
10 for (auto x : v) std::cout << x << ’\n’;
11 }
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 class mod {
6 public:
7 mod(int m_) : m(m_) {}
8 int operator()(int x) const {return x % m;}
9 private:
10 int m;
11 };
12
13 int main() {
14 int m = 2;
15 std::vector<int> v{0, 1, 2, 3};
16 std::transform(v.begin(), v.end(), v.begin(), mod(m));
17 for (auto x : v) std::cout << x << ’\n’;
18 }
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Modulus Example: Without Lambda Expression

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 class mod {
6 public:
7 mod(int m_) : m(m_) {}
8 int operator()(int x) const {return x % m;}
9 private:
10 int m;
11 };
12
13 int main() {
14 int m = 2;
15 std::vector<int> v{0, 1, 2, 3};
16 std::transform(v.begin(), v.end(), v.begin(), mod(m));
17 for (auto x : v) std::cout << x << ’\n’;
18 }

approximately 8.5 lines of code to generate functor

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 int main() {
6 int m = 2;
7 std::vector<int> v{0, 1, 2, 3};
8 std::transform(v.begin(), v.end(), v.begin(),
9 [m](int x){return x % m;});
10 for (auto x : v) std::cout << x << ’\n’;
11 }

m captured by value
approximately 0.5 lines of code to generate functor

std::for_each applies given function/functor to each element in range

specified by pair of iterators
definition of std::for_each would typically resemble:
template<class InputIterator, class Function>
Function for_each(InputIterator first,
InputIterator last, Function func) {
while (first != last) {
func(*first);
++first;
}
return move(func);
}

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 382
Product Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 int main() {
6 std::vector<int> v{2, 3, 4};
7 int prod = 1;
8 std::for_each(v.begin(), v.end(),
9 [&prod](int x)->void{prod *= x;});
10 std::cout << prod << ’\n’;
11 }
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 class cum_prod {
6 public:
7 cum_prod(int& prod_) : prod(prod_) {}
8 void operator()(int x) const {prod *= x;}
9 private:
10 int& prod;
11 };
12
13 int main() {
14 std::vector<int> v{2, 3, 4};
15 int prod = 1;
16 std::for_each(v.begin(), v.end(), cum_prod(prod));
17 std::cout << prod << ’\n’;
18 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 383
Product Example: Without Lambda Expression

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 class cum_prod {
6 public:
7 cum_prod(int& prod_) : prod(prod_) {}
8 void operator()(int x) const {prod *= x;}
9 private:
10 int& prod;
11 };
12
13 int main() {
14 std::vector<int> v{2, 3, 4};
15 int prod = 1;
16 std::for_each(v.begin(), v.end(), cum_prod(prod));
17 std::cout << prod << ’\n’;
18 }

approximately 8.5 lines of code to generate functor

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 int main() {
6 std::vector<int> v{2, 3, 4};
7 int prod = 1;
8 std::for_each(v.begin(), v.end(),
9 [&prod](int x)->void{prod *= x;});
10 std::cout << prod << ’\n’;
11 }

prod captured by reference

approximately 1 line of code to generate functor

double a = 2.14;
double b = 3.14;
double c = 42.0;

// capture all objects by reference (i.e., a, b, and c)

[&](double x, double y){return a * x + b * y + c;}

// capture all objects by value (i.e., a, b, and c)

[=](double x, double y){return a * x + b * y + c;}

// capture all objects by value, except a

// which is captured by reference
[=,&a](double x, double y){return a * x + b * y + c;}

// capture all objects by reference, except a

// which is captured by value
[&,a](double x, double y){return a * x + b * y + c;}

can specify name for captured object in closure type

int a = 1;
auto f = [x = a]() {return x;};

can capture result of expression (e.g., to perform move instead of copy or

to add arbitrary new state to closure type)
std::vector<int> v(1000, 1);
auto f = [v = std::move(v)]() ->
const std::vector<int>& {return v;};

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 int main() {
4 int x = 0;
5 int y = 1;
6 auto f = [&count = x, inc = y + 1](){
7 return count += inc;
8 };
9 std::cout << f() << ’ ’;
10 std::cout << f() << ’\n’;
11 }
12
13 // output: 2 4

can allow compiler to deduce type of lambda function parameters

generates closure type with templated function-call operator
one template type parameter for each occurrence of auto in lambda
expression’s parameter declaration clause

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Generic Lambda Expression Example [Generic]
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <complex>
3 #include <string>
4
5 int main() {
6 using namespace std::literals;
7 auto add = [](auto x, auto y) {return x + y;};
8 std::cout << add(1, 2) << ’ ’ << add(1.0, 2.0) << ’ ’
9 << add(1.0, 2.0i) << ’ ’ << add("Jell"s, "o"s) << ’\n’;
10 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <complex>
3 #include <string>
4
5 struct Add {
6 template <class T, class U>
7 auto operator()(T x, U y) {return x + y;};
8 };
9
10 int main() {
11 using namespace std::literals;
12 Add add;
13 std::cout << add(1, 2) << ’ ’ << add(1.0, 2.0) << ’ ’
14 << add(1.0, 2.0i) << ’ ’ << add("Jell"s, "o"s) << ’\n’;
15 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 int main() {
6 std::vector<int> v{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7};
7 // sort elements of vector in descending order
8 std::sort(v.begin(), v.end(),
9 [](auto i, auto j) {return i > j;});
10 std::for_each(v.begin(), v.end(),
11 [](auto i) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;});
12 }

fact that closure types unnamed causes complications when need arises
to refer to closure type
helpful language features: auto, decltype
helpful library features: std::function
closures can be stored using auto or std::function
closures that do not capture can be “stored” by assigning to function
pointer

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 392
Using auto, decltype, and std::function
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <functional>
3
4 std::function<double(double)> linear(double a, double b) {
5 return [=](double x){return a * x + b;};
6 }
7
8 int main() {
9 // type of f is std::function<double(double)>
10 auto f = linear(2.0, -1.0);
11 // g has closure type
12 auto g = [](double x){return 2.0 * x - 1.0;};
13 double (*u)(double) = [](double x){return 2.0 * x - 1.0;};
14 // h has same type as g
15 decltype(g) h = g;
16 for (double x = 0.0; x < 10.0; x += 1.0) {
17 std::cout << x << ’ ’ << f(x) << ’ ’ << g(x) <<
18 ’ ’ << h(x) << (*u)(x) << ’\n’;
19 }
20 }
applying function-call operator to f much slower than in case of g and h
when std::function used, inlining of called function probably not
possible
when functor used directly (via function-call operator) inlining is very likely
prefer auto over std::function for storing closures

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 int main()
4 {
5 int count = 5;
6 // Must use mutable in order to be able to
7 // modify count member.
8 auto get_count = [count]() mutable -> int {
9 return count++;
10 };
11
12 int c;
13 while ((c = get_count()) < 10) {
14 std::cout << c << ’\n’;
15 }
16 }

operator() is declared as const member function unless mutable

keyword used
const member function cannot change (non-static) data members

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <array>
3
4 template <typename T>
5 constexpr auto multiply_by(T i) {
6 return [i](auto j) {return i * j;};
7 // OK: lambda is literal type so members
8 // are automatically constexpr
9 }
10
11 int main() {
12 constexpr auto mult_by_2 = multiply_by(2);
13 std::array<int, mult_by_2(8)> a;
14 std::cout << a.size() << ’\n’;
15 }

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 395
Comparison Functors for Containers
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <set>
4
5 int main() {
6 // The following two lines are the only important ones:
7 auto cmp = [](int* x, int* y){return *x < *y;};
8 std::set<int*, decltype(cmp)> s(cmp);
9
10 // Just for something to do:
11 // Print the elements of v in sorted order with
12 // duplicates removed.
13 std::vector<int> v = {4, 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1};
14 for (auto& x : v) {
15 s.insert(&x);
16 }
17 for (auto x : s) {
18 std::cout << *x << ’\n’;
19 }
20 }
note that s is not default constructed
since closure types not default constructible, following would fail:
std::set<int*, decltype(cmp)> s;
note use of decltype in order to specify type of functor
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 396
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <functional>
4
5 std::vector<int> vec{2000, 4000, 6000, 8000, 10000};
6 std::function<int(int)> func;
7
8 void do_stuff()
9 {
10 int modulus = 10000;
11 func = [&](int x){return x % modulus;};
12 for (auto x : vec) {
13 std::cout << func(x) << ’\n’;
14 }
15 }
16
17 int main()
18 {
19 do_stuff();
20 for (auto x : vec) {
21 std::cout << func(x) << ’\n’;
22 }
23 }

above code has very serious bug; what is it?

if some objects captured by reference, closure can hold dangling

references
responsibility of programmer to avoid such problems
if will not cause performance issues, may be advisable to capture by value
(to avoid problem of dangling references)
dangling-reference example:
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <functional>
3
4 std::function<double(double)> linear(double a, double b) {
5 return [&](double x){return a * x + b;};
6 }
7
8 int main() {
9 auto f = linear(2.0, -1.0);
10 // bad things will happen here
11 std::cout << f(1.0) << ’\n’;
12 }

References

1 Herb Sutter. Lambdas, Lambdas Everywhere, Professional Developers

Conference (PDC), Redmond, WA, USA, Oct. 27–29, 2010. Available
online at https://youtu.be/rcgRY7sOA58.
2 Herb Sutter. C++0x Lambda Functions, Northwest C++ Users’ Group
(NWCPP), Redmond, WA, USA, May 18, 2011. Available online at
https://vimeo.com/23975522.

Classes and Inheritance

Derived Classes and Class Hierarchies

sometimes, want to express commonality between classes

want to create new class from existing class by adding new members or
replacing (i.e., hiding/overriding) existing members
can be achieved through language feature known as inheritance
generate new class with all members of already existing class, excluding
special member functions (i.e., constructors, assignment operators, and
destructor)
new class called derived class and original class called base class
derived class said to inherit from base class
can add new members (not in base class) to derived class
can hide or override member functions from base class with new version
syntax for specifying derived class:
class derived class : base class specifiers
derived class is name of derived class; base class specifiers provide
base-class information
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Derived Classes (Continued)

can more clearly express intent by explicitly identifying relationship

between classes
can facilitate code reuse by leverage existing code
interface inheritance: allow different derived classes to be used
interchangeably through interface provided by common base class
implementation inheritance: save implementation effort by sharing
capabilities provided by base class

1 #include <string>
2
3 class Person {
4 public:
5 Person(const std::string& family_name,
6 const std::string& given_name) :
7 family_name_(family_name), given_name_(given_name) {}
8 std::string family_name() const {return family_name_;}
9 std::string given_name() const {return given_name_;}
10 std::string full_name() const
11 {return family_name_ + ", " + given_name_;}
12 // ...
13 private:
14 std::string family_name_;
15 std::string given_name_;
16 };

1 #include <string>
2
3 class Student {
4 public:
5 Student(const std::string& family_name,
6 const std::string& given_name) :
7 family_name_(family_name), given_name_(given_name) {}
8 // NEW
9 std::string family_name() const {return family_name_;}
10 std::string given_name() const {return given_name_;}
11 std::string full_name() const
12 {return family_name_ + ", " + given_name_;}
13 std::string student_id() {return student_id_;} // NEW
14 private:
15 std::string family_name_;
16 std::string given_name_;
17 std::string student_id_; // NEW
18 };

1 // include definition of Person class here

2
3 class Student : public Person {
4 public:
5 Student(const std::string& family_name,
6 const std::string& given_name,
7 const std::string& student_id) :
8 Person(family_name, given_name),
9 student_id_(student_id) {}
10 std::string student_id() {return student_id_;}
11 private:
12 std::string student_id_;
13 };

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 407
Complete Inheritance Example
1 #include <string>
2
3 class Person {
4 public:
5 Person(const std::string& family_name,
6 const std::string& given_name) :
7 family_name_(family_name), given_name_(given_name) {}
8 std::string family_name() const {return family_name_;}
9 std::string given_name() const {return given_name_;}
10 std::string full_name() const
11 {return family_name_ + ", " + given_name_;}
12 // ... (including virtual destructor)
13 private:
14 std::string family_name_;
15 std::string given_name_;
16 };
17
18 class Student : public Person {
19 public:
20 Student(const std::string& family_name,
21 const std::string& given_name,
22 const std::string& student_id) :
23 Person(family_name, given_name),
24 student_id_(student_id) {}
25 std::string student_id() {return student_id_;}
26 private:
27 std::string student_id_;
28 };
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 408
Class Hierarchies

inheritance relationships between classes form what is called class

hierarchy
often class hierarchy represented by directed (acyclic) graph, where nodes
correspond to classes and edges correspond to inheritance relationships
class definitions:
class A { /* ... */ };
class B : public A { /* ... */ };
class C : public A { /* ... */ };
class D : public B { /* ... */ };
class E : public B { /* ... */ };
inheritance diagram:
A

B C

D E

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 409
Class Hierarchy Example
class definitions:
class Person { /* ... */ };
class Employee : public Person { /* ... */ };
class Student : public Person { /* ... */ };
class Alumnus : public Person { /* ... */ };
class Faculty : public Employee { /* ... */ };
class Staff : public Employee { /* ... */ };
class Grad : public Student { /* ... */ };
class Undergrad : public Student { /* ... */ };
inheritance diagram:
Person

Employee Student Alumnus

Faculty Staff Undergrad Grad

each of Employee, Student, and Alumnus is a Person; each of Faculty

and Staff is an Employee; each of Undergrad and Grad is a Student
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 410
Member Access Specifiers: protected

earlier, introduced public and private access specifiers for class

members
in context of inheritance, another access specifier becomes relevant,
namely, protected
member declared in protected section of class can only be accessed by
member functions and friends of that class; and
by member functions and friends of derived classes
protected members used to provide developers of derived classes access
to some inner workings of base class without exposing such inner
workings to everyone
usually, bad idea to use protected access for data members (for similar
reasons that using public access for data members is usually bad)
protected access usually employed for function members

three types of inheritance with respect to access protection: public,

protected, and private
these three types of inheritance differ in terms of accessibility, in derived
class, of members inherited from base class
private parts of base class are always inaccessible in derived class,
regardless of whether public, protected, or private inheritance used
if this were not case, all access protection could simply be bypassed by
using inheritance
access specifiers for members accessible in derived class chosen as
follows:
Access Specifier in Derived Class
Access Specifier in Public Protected Private
Base Class Inheritance Inheritance Inheritance
public public protected private
protected protected protected private

for struct, defaults to public inheritance

for class, defaults to private inheritance
public and protected/private inheritance have different use cases, as we
will see later

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 413
Inheritance and Member Access Example
1 class Base {
2 public:
3 void f();
4 protected:
5 void g();
6 private:
7 int x;
8 };
9
10 class Derived_1 : public Base {
11 // f is public
12 // g is protected
13 // x is not accessible from Derived_1
14 };
15
16 class Derived_2 : protected Base {
17 // f is protected
18 // g is protected
19 // x is not accessible from Derived_2
20 };
21
22 class Derived_3 : private Base {
23 // f is private
24 // g is private
25 // x is not accessible from Derived_3
26 };

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 414
Public Inheritance Example
1 class Base {
2 public:
3 void func_1();
4 protected:
5 void func_2();
6 private:
7 int x_;
8 };
9
10 class Derived : public Base {
11 public:
12 void func_3() {
13 func_1(); // OK
14 func_2(); // OK
15 x_ = 0; // ERROR: inaccessible
16 }
17 };
18
19 struct Widget : public Derived {
20 void func_4() { func_2(); } // OK
21 };
22
23 int main() {
24 Derived d;
25 d.func_1(); // OK
26 d.func_2(); // ERROR: inaccessible
27 d.x_ = 0; // ERROR: inaccessible
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 415
Protected Inheritance Example
1 class Base {
2 public:
3 void func_1();
4 protected:
5 void func_2();
6 private:
7 int x_;
8 };
9
10 class Derived : protected Base {
11 public:
12 void func_3() {
13 func_1(); // OK
14 func_2(); // OK
15 x_ = 0; // ERROR: inaccessible
16 }
17 };
18
19 struct Widget : public Derived {
20 void func_4() { func_2(); } // OK
21 };
22
23 int main() {
24 Derived d; // OK: defaulted constructor is public
25 d.func_1(); // ERROR: inaccessible
26 d.func_2(); // ERROR: inaccessible
27 d.x_ = 0; // ERROR: inaccessible
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 416
Private Inheritance Example
1 class Base {
2 public:
3 void func_1();
4 protected:
5 void func_2();
6 private:
7 int x_;
8 };
9
10 class Derived : private Base {
11 public:
12 void func_3() {
13 func_1(); // OK
14 func_2(); // OK
15 x_ = 0; // ERROR: inaccessible
16 }
17 };
18
19 struct Widget : public Derived {
20 void func_4() { func_2(); } // ERROR: inaccessible
21 };
22
23 int main() {
24 Derived d; // OK: defaulted constructor is public
25 d.func_1(); // ERROR: inaccessible
26 d.func_2(); // ERROR: inaccessible
27 d.x_ = 0; // ERROR: inaccessible
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 417
Public Inheritance

public inheritance is inheritance in traditional object-oriented programming

sense
public inheritance models an is-a relationship (i.e., derived class object is
a base class object)
most common form of inheritance
inheritance relationship visible to all code

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 418
Public Inheritance Example
1 #include <string>
2
3 class Person {
4 public:
5 Person(const std::string& family_name, const std::string&
6 given_name) : family_name_(family_name),
7 given_name_(given_name) {}
8 std::string family_name() const
9 {return family_name_;}
10 std::string given_name() const
11 {return given_name_;}
12 std::string full_name() const
13 {return family_name_ + ", " + given_name_;}
14 private:
15 std::string family_name_;
16 std::string given_name_;
17 };
18
19 class Student : public Person {
20 public:
21 Student(const std::string& family_name, const std::string&
22 given_name, const std::string& student_id) :
23 Person(family_name, given_name), student_id_(student_id) {}
24 std::string student_id()
25 {return student_id_;}
26 private:
27 std::string student_id_;
28 };
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 419
Protected and Private Inheritance

protected and private inheritance not inheritance in traditional

object-oriented programming sense (i.e., no is-a relationship)
form of implementation inheritance
implemented-in-terms-of relationship (i.e., derived class object
implemented in terms of a base class object)
in case of protected inheritance, inheritance relationship only seen by
derived classes and their friends and class itself and its friends
in case of private inheritance, inheritance relationship only seen by class
itself and its friends (not derived classes and their friends)
except in special circumstances, normally bad idea to use inheritance for
composition
one good use case for private/protected inheritance is in policy-based
design, which exploits empty base optimization (EBO)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 420
Policy-Based Design Example: Inefficient Memory Usage
1 #include <mutex>
2
3 class ThreadSafePolicy {
4 public:
5 void lock() {mutex_.lock();}
6 void unlock() {mutex_.unlock();}
7 private:
8 std::mutex mutex_;
9 };
10
11 class ThreadUnsafePolicy {
12 public:
13 void lock() {} // no-op
14 void unlock() {} // no-op
15 };
16
17 template<class ThreadSafetyPolicy>
18 class Widget {
19 ThreadSafetyPolicy policy_;
20 // ...
21 };
22
23 int main() {
24 Widget<ThreadUnsafePolicy> w;
25 // w.policy_ has no data members, but
26 // sizeof(w.policy_) >= 1
27 // inefficient use of memory
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 421
Policy-Based Design Example: Private Inheritance and EBO

1 #include <mutex>
2
3 class ThreadSafePolicy {
4 public:
5 void lock() {mutex_.lock();}
6 void unlock() {mutex_.unlock();}
7 private:
8 std::mutex mutex_;
9 };
10
11 class ThreadUnsafePolicy {
12 public:
13 void lock() {} // no-op
14 void unlock() {} // no-op
15 };
16
17 template<class ThreadSafetyPolicy>
18 class Widget : ThreadSafetyPolicy {
19 // ...
20 };
21
22 int main() {
23 Widget<ThreadUnsafePolicy> w;
24 // empty-base optimization (EBO) can be applied
25 // no memory overhead for no-op thread-safety policy
26 }

by default, constructors not inherited

often, derived class introduces new data members not in base class
since base-class constructors cannot initialize derived-class data
members, inheriting constructors from base class by default would be bad
idea (e.g., could lead to uninitialized data members)
in some cases, however, base-class constructors may be sufficient to
initialize derived-class objects
in such cases, can inherit all non-special base-class constructors with
using statement
special constructors (i.e., default, copy, and move constructors) cannot be
inherited
constructors to be inherited with using statement may still be hidden by
constructors in derived class

1 class Base {
2 public:
3 Base() : i_(0.0), j_(0) {}
4 Base(int i) : i_(i), j_(0) {}
5 Base(int i, int j) : i_(i), j_(j) {}
6 // ... (other non-constructor members)
7 private:
8 int i_, j_;
9 };
10
11 class Derived : public Base {
12 public:
13 // inherit non-special constructors from Base
14 // (default constructor not inherited)
15 using Base::Base;
16 // default constructor is implicitly declared and
17 // not inherited
18 };
19
20 int main() {
21 Derived a;
22 // invokes non-inherited Derived::Derived()
23 Derived b(42, 42);
24 // invokes inherited Base::Base(int, int)
25 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 424
Inheriting Constructors Example
1 class Base {
2 public:
3 Base() : i_(0), j_(0), k_(0) {}
4 Base(int i, int j) : i_(i), j_(j), k_(0) {}
5 Base(int i, int j, int k) : i_(i), j_(j), k_(k) {}
6 // ... (other non-constructor members)
7 private:
8 int i_, j_, k_;
9 };
10
11 class Derived : public Base {
12 public:
13 // inherit non-special constructors from Base
14 // (default constructor not inherited)
15 using Base::Base;
16 // following constructor hides inherited constructor
17 Derived(int i, int j, int k) : Base(-i, -j, -k) {}
18 // no implicitly-generated default constructor
19 };
20
21 int main() {
22 Derived b(1, 2);
23 // invokes inherited Base::Base(int, int)
24 Derived c(1, 2, 3);
25 // invokes Derived::Derived(int, int, int)
26 // following would produce compile-time error:
27 // Derived a; // ERROR: no default constructor
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 425
Inheritance, Assignment Operators, and Destructors

by default, assignment operators not inherited (for similar reasons as in

case of constructors)
can inherit all non-special base-class assignment operators with using
statement
copy and move assignment operators cannot be inherited
assignment operators to be inherited with using statement may still be
hidden by assignment operators in derived class
cannot inherit destructor

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 426
Inheriting Assignment Operators Example
1 class Base {
2 public:
3 explicit Base(int i) : i_(i) {}
4 Base& operator=(int i) {
5 i_ = i;
6 return *this;
7 }
8 // ...
9 private:
10 int i_;
11 };
12
13 class Derived : public Base {
14 public:
15 // inherit non-special constructors
16 using Base::Base;
17 // inherit non-special assignment operators
18 using Base::operator=;
19 // ...
20 };
21
22 int main() {
23 Derived d(0);
24 // invokes inherited Base::Base(int)
25 d = 42;
26 // invokes inherited Base::operator=(int)
27 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 427
Construction and Destruction Order

during construction of object, all of its base class objects constructed first
order of construction:
1 base class objects as listed in type definition left to right

2 data members as listed in type definition top to bottom

3 constructor body
order of destruction is exact reverse of order of construction, namely:
1 destructor body
2 data members as listed in type definition bottom to top
3 base class objects as listed in type definition right to left

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 428
Order of Construction
1 #include <vector>
2 #include <string>
3
4 class Base {
5 public:
6 Base(int n) : v_(n, 0) {}
7 // ...
8 private:
9 std::vector<char> v_;
10 };
11
12 class Derived : public Base {
13 public:
14 Derived(const std::string& s) : Base(1024), s_(s)
15 { i_ = 0; }
16 // ...
17 private:
18 std::string s_;
19 int i_;
20 };
21
22 int main() {
23 Derived d("hello");
24 }
construction order for Derived constructor: 1) Base class object, 2) data
member s_, 3) Derived constructor body (initializes data member i_)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 429
Hiding Base-Class Member Functions in Derived Class
can provide new versions of member functions in derived class to hide
original functions in base class
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Fruit {
4 public:
5 void print() const {std::cout << "fruit\n";}
6 };
7
8 class Apple : public Fruit {
9 public:
10 void print() const {std::cout << "apple\n";}
11 };
12
13 class Banana : public Fruit {
14 public:
15 void print() const {std::cout << "banana\n";}
16 };
17
18 int main() {
19 Fruit f;
20 Apple a;
21 Banana b;
22 f.print(); // calls Fruit::print
23 a.print(); // calls Apple::print
24 b.print(); // calls Banana::print
25 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 430
Upcasting
derived-class object always has base-class subobject
given reference or pointer to derived-class object, may want to find
reference or pointer to corresponding base-class object
upcasting: converting derived-class pointer or reference to base-class
pointer or reference
upcasting allows us to treat derived-class object as base-class object
upcasting always safe in sense that cannot result in incorrect type (since
every derived-class object is also a base-class object)
can upcast without explicit type-cast operator as long as casted-to type is
accessible; C-style cast can used to bypass access protection (although
not recommended)
example:
class Base { /* ... */ };
class Derived : public Base { /* ... */ };
void func() {
Derived d;
Base* bp = &d;
}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 431
Downcasting
downcasting: converting base-class pointer or reference to derived-class
pointer or reference
downcasting allows us to force base-class object to be treated as
derived-class object
downcasting is not always safe (since not every base-class object is
necessarily also derived-class object)
must only downcast when known that object actually has derived type
(except in case of dynamic_cast)
downcasting always requires explicit cast (e.g., static_cast,
dynamic_cast for dynamically-checked cast in polymorphic case, or
C-style cast)
example:
class Base { /* ... (nonpolymorphic) */ };
class Derived : public Base { /* ... */ };
void func() {
Derived d;
Base* bp = &d;
Derived* dp = static_cast<Derived*>(bp);
}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 432
Upcasting/Downcasting Example
1 class Base { /* ... (nonpolymorphic) */ };
2
3 class Derived : public Base { /* ... */ };
4
5 int main() {
6 Base b;
7 Derived d;
8 Base* bp = nullptr;
9 Derived* dp = nullptr;
10 bp = &d;
11 // OK: upcast does not require explicit cast
12 dp = bp;
13 // ERROR: downcast requires explicit cast
14 dp = static_cast<Derived*>(bp);
15 // OK: downcast with explicit cast and
16 // pointer (bp) refers to Derived object
17 Base& br = d;
18 // OK: upcast does not require explicit cast
19 Derived& dr1 = *bp;
20 // ERROR: downcast requires explicit cast
21 Derived& dr2 = *static_cast<Derived*>(bp);
22 // OK: downcast with explicit cast and
23 // object (*bp) is of Derived type
24 dp = static_cast<Derived*>(&b);
25 // BUG: pointer (&b) does not refer to Derived object
26 }

1 class Base { /* ... */ };

2
3 class Derived : public Base { /* ... */ };
4
5 void func_1(Base& b) { /* ... */ }
6
7 void func_2(Base* b) { /* ... */ }
8
9 int main() {
10 Base b;
11 Derived d;
12 func_1(b);
13 func_1(d); // OK: Derived& upcast to Base&
14 func_2(&b);
15 func_2(&d); // OK: Derived* upcast to Base*
16 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 434
Nonpolymorphic Behavior
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 class Person {
5 public:
6 Person(const std::string& family, const std::string& given) :
7 family_(family), given_(given) {}
8 void print() const {std::cout << "person: " << family_ << ’,’ << given_ << ’\n’;}
9 protected:
10 std::string family_; // family name
11 std::string given_; // given name
12 };
13
14 class Student : public Person {
15 public:
16 Student(const std::string& family, const std::string& given,
17 const std::string& id) : Person(family, given), id_(id) {}
18 void print() const {
19 std::cout << "student: " << family_ << ’,’ << given_ << ’,’ << id_ << ’\n’;
20 }
21 private:
22 std::string id_; // student ID
23 };
24
25 void processPerson(const Person& p) {
26 p.print(); // always calls Person::print
27 // ...
28 }
29
30 int main() {
31 Person p("Ritchie", "Dennis");
32 Student s("Doe", "John", "12345678");
33 processPerson(p); // invokes Person::print
34 processPerson(s); // invokes Person::print
35 }

would be nice if processPerson called version of print that corresponds

to actual type of object referenced by function parameter p
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 435
Slicing
slicing: copying or moving object of derived class to object of base class
(e.g., during construction or assignment), losing part of information in so
doing
example:
1 class Base {
2 // ...
3 int x_;
4 };
5
6 class Derived : public Base {
7 // ...
8 int y_;
9 };
10
11 int main() {
12 Derived d1, d2;
13 Base b = d1;
14 // slicing occurs
15 Base& r = d1;
16 r = d2;
17 // more treacherous case of slicing
18 // slicing occurs
19 // d1 now contains mixture of d1 and d2
20 // (i.e., base part of d2 and derived part of d1)
21 }

functions do not overload across scopes

can employ using statement to bring base members into scope for
overloading

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 437
Inheritance and Overloading Example
1 #include<iostream>
2
3 class Base {
4 public:
5 double f(double d) const {return d;}
6 // ...
7 };
8
9 class Derived : public Base {
10 public:
11 int f(int i) const {return i;}
12 // ...
13 };
14
15 int main()
16 {
17 Derived d;
18 std::cout << d.f(0) << ’\n’;
19 // calls Derived::f(int) const
20 std::cout << d.f(0.5) << ’\n’;
21 // calls Derived::f(int) const; probably not intended
22 Derived* dp = &d;
23 std::cout << dp->f(0) << ’\n’;
24 // calls Derived::f(int) const
25 std::cout << dp->f(0.5) << ’\n’;
26 // calls Derived::f(int) const; probably not intended
27 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 438
Using Base Members Example
1 #include<iostream>
2
3 class Base {
4 public:
5 double f(double d) const {return d;}
6 // ...
7 };
8
9 class Derived : public Base {
10 public:
11 using Base::f; // bring Base::f into scope
12 int f(int i) const {return i;}
13 // ...
14 };
15
16 int main()
17 {
18 Derived d;
19 std::cout << d.f(0) << ’\n’;
20 // calls Derived::f(int) const
21 std::cout << d.f(0.5) << ’\n’;
22 // calls Base::f(double) const
23 Derived* dp = &d;
24 std::cout << dp->f(0) << ’\n’;
25 // calls Derived::f(int) const
26 std::cout << dp->f(0.5) << ’\n’;
27 // calls Base::f(double) const
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 439
Inheritance, Templates, and Name Lookup
name lookup in templates takes place in two phases:
1 at template definition time
2 at template instantiation time
at template definition time, compiler parses template and looks up any
nondependent names
result of nondependent name lookup must be identical in all instantiations
of template (since, by definition, nondependent name does not depend on
template parameter)
at template instantiation time, compiler looks up any dependent names
results of dependent name lookup can differ from one template
instantiation to another (since, by definition, dependent name depends on
template parameters)
two-phase name lookup can interact with inheritance in ways that can
sometimes lead to unexpected problems in code
may need to add “this->” or employ using statement to make name
dependent (when it would otherwise be nondependent)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 440
Name Lookup Example (Incorrect Code)
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 template <class T>
4 struct Base {
5 using Real = T;
6 Base(Real x_ = Real()) : x(x_) {}
7 void f() {std::cout << x << "\n";};
8 Real x;
9 };
10
11 template <class T>
12 struct Derived : Base<T> {
13 Derived(Real y_ = Real()) : y(y_) {}
14 // ERROR: Real (which is nondependent and looked up at
15 // template definition time) is assumed to be defined
16 // outside class
17 void g() {
18 x = y;
19 // ERROR: x assumed to be object outside class
20 f();
21 // ERROR: f assumed to be function outside class
22 }
23 Real y;
24 };
25
26 int main() {
27 Derived<double> w(0.0);
28 w.g();
29 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 441
Name Lookup Example (Correct Code)

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 template <class T>
4 struct Base {
5 using Real = T;
6 Base(Real x_ = Real()) : x(x_) {}
7 void f() {std::cout << x << "\n";};
8 Real x;
9 };
10
11 template <class T>
12 struct Derived : Base<T> {
13 using Real = typename Base<T>::Real;
14 // OK: Base<T>::Real dependent
15 Derived(Real y_ = Real()) : y(y_) {}
16 void g() {
17 this->x = y; // OK: this->x dependent
18 this->f(); // OK: this->f() dependent
19 }
20 Real y;
21 };
22
23 int main() {
24 Derived<double> w(0.0);
25 w.g();
26 }

Virtual Functions and Run-Time Polymorphism

polymorphism is characteristic of being able to assign different meaning

to something in different contexts
polymorphism that occurs at run time called run-time polymorphism
(also known as dynamic polymorphism)
in context of inheritance, key type of run-time polymorphism is
polymorphic function call (also known as dynamic dispatch)
when inheritance relationship exists between two classes, type of
reference or pointer to object may not correspond to actual dynamic (i.e.,
run-time) type of object referenced by reference or pointer
that is, reference or pointer to type T may, in fact, refer to object of type D,
where D is either directly or indirectly derived from T
when calling member function through pointer or reference, may want
actual function invoked to be determined by dynamic type of object
referenced by pointer or reference
function call with this property said to be polymorphic
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Virtual Functions

in context of class hierarchies, polymorphic function calls achieved

through use of virtual functions
virtual function is member function with polymorphic behavior
when call made to virtual function through reference or pointer, actual
function invoked will be determined by dynamic type of referenced object
to make member function virtual, add keyword virtual to function
declaration
example:
class Base {
public:
virtual void func(); // virtual function
// ...
};

once function made virtual, it will automatically be virtual in all derived

classes, regardless of whether virtual keyword is used in derived
classes
therefore, not necessary to repeat virtual qualifier in derived classes
(and perhaps preferable not to do so)
virtual function must be defined in class where first declared unless pure
virtual function (to be discussed shortly)
derived class inherits definition of each virtual function from its base class,
but may override each virtual function with new definition
function in derived class with same name and same set of argument types
as virtual function in base class overrides base class version of virtual
function

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Virtual Function Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 class Person {
5 public:
6 Person(const std::string& family, const std::string& given) :
7 family_(family), given_(given) {}
8 virtual void print() const
9 {std::cout << "person: " << family_ << ’,’ << given_ << ’\n’;}
10 protected:
11 std::string family_; // family name
12 std::string given_; // given name
13 };
14
15 class Student : public Person {
16 public:
17 Student(const std::string& family, const std::string& given,
18 const std::string& id) : Person(family, given), id_(id) {}
19 void print() const {
20 std::cout << "student: " << family_ << ’,’ << given_ << ’,’ << id_ << ’\n’;
21 }
22 private:
23 std::string id_; // student ID
24 };
25
26 void processPerson(const Person& p) {
27 p.print(); // polymorphic function call
28 // ...
29 }
30
31 int main() {
32 Person p("Ritchie", "Dennis");
33 Student s("Doe", "John", "12345678");
34 processPerson(p); // invokes Person::print
35 processPerson(s); // invokes Student::print
36 }

when looking at code for derived class, often not possible to determine if
member function intended to override virtual function in base class (or one
of its base classes)
can sometimes lead to bugs where programmer expects member function
to override virtual function when function not virtual
override qualifier used to indicate that member function is expected to
override virtual function in parent class; must come at end of function
declaration
example:
class Person {
public:
virtual void print() const;
// ...
};
class Employee : public Person {
public:
void print() const override; // must be virtual
// ...
};

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Override Control: The final Qualifier
sometimes, may want to prevent any further overriding of virtual function
in any subsequent derived classes
adding final qualifier to declaration of virtual function prevents function
from being overridden in any subsequent derived classes
preventing further overriding can sometimes allow for better optimization
by compiler (e.g., via devirtualization)
example:
class A {
public:
virtual void doStuff();
// ...
};
class B : public A {
public:
void doStuff() final; // prevent further overriding
// ...
};
class C : public B {
public:
void doStuff(); // ERROR: cannot override
// ...
};
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final Qualifier Example

1 class Worker {
2 public:
3 virtual void prepareEnvelope();
4 // ...
5 };
6
7 class SpecialWorker : public Worker {
8 public:
9 // prevent overriding function responsible for
10 // overall envelope preparation process
11 // but allow functions for individual steps in
12 // process to be overridden
13 void prepareEnvelope() final {
14 stuffEnvelope(); // step 1
15 lickEnvelope(); // step 2
16 sealEnvelope(); // step 3
17 }
18 virtual void stuffEnvelope();
19 virtual void lickEnvelope();
20 virtual void sealEnvelope();
21 // ...
22 };

except in very rare cases, destructors in class hierarchy need to be virtual

otherwise, invoking destructor through base-class pointer/reference would
only destroy base-class part of object, leaving remainder of derived-class
object untouched
normally, bad idea to call virtual function inside constructor or destructor
dynamic type of object changes during construction and changes again
during destruction
final overrider of virtual function will change depending where in hierarchy
virtual function call is made
when constructor/destructor being executed, object is of exactly that type,
never type derived from it
although semantics of virtual function calls during construction and
destruction well defined, easy to write code where actual overrider not
what expected (and might even be pure virtual)

1 class Base {
2 public:
3 Base() {}
4 ˜Base() {} // non-virtual destructor
5 // ...
6 };
7
8 class Derived : public Base {
9 public:
10 Derived() : buffer_(new char[10’000]) {}
11 ˜Derived() {delete[] buffer_;}
12 // ...
13 private:
14 char* buffer_;
15 };
16
17 void process(Base* bp) {
18 // ...
19 delete bp; // always invokes only Base::˜Base
20 }
21
22 int main() {
23 process(new Base);
24 process(new Derived); // leaks memory
25 }

1 class Base {
2 public:
3 Base() {}
4 virtual ˜Base() {} // virtual destructor
5 // ...
6 };
7
8 class Derived : public Base {
9 public:
10 Derived() : buffer_(new char[10’000]) {}
11 ˜Derived() {delete[] buffer_;}
12 // ...
13 private:
14 char* buffer_;
15 };
16
17 void process(Base* bp) {
18 // ...
19 delete bp; // invokes destructor polymorphically
20 }
21
22 int main() {
23 process(new Base);
24 process(new Derived);
25 }

in some situations, may want to prevent deriving from class

language provides means for accomplishing this
in class/struct declaration, after name of class can add keyword final to
prevent deriving from class
example:
class Widget final { /* ... */ };
class Gadget : public Widget { /* ... */ };
// ERROR: cannot derive from Widget

might want to prevent deriving from class with destructor that is not virtual
preventing derivation can sometimes also facilitate better compiler
optimization (e.g., via devirtualization)
might want to prevent derivation so that objects can be copied safely
without fear of slicing

in some special cases, language allows relaxation of rule that type of

overriding function f must be same as type of virtual function f overrides
in particular, requirement that return type be same is relaxed
return type of derived-class function is permitted to be type derived
(directly or indirectly) from return type of base-class function
this relaxation of return type more formally known as covariant return
type
case of pointer return type: if original return type B*, return type of
overriding function may be D*, provided B is public base of D (i.e., may
return pointer to more derived type)
case of reference return type: if original return type B& (or B&&), return
type of overriding function may be D& (or D&&), provided B is public base of
D (i.e., may return reference to more derived type)
covariant return type can sometimes be exploited in order to avoid need
for type casts
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Covariant Return Type Example: Cloning

1 class Base {
2 public:
3 virtual Base* clone() const {
4 return new Base(*this);
5 }
6 // ...
7 };
8
9 class Derived : public Base {
10 public:
11 // use covariant return type
12 Derived* clone() const override {
13 return new Derived(*this);
14 }
15 // ...
16 };
17
18 int main() {
19 Derived* d = new Derived;
20 Derived* d2 = d->clone();
21 // OK: return type is Derived*
22 // without covariant return type, would need cast:
23 // Derived* d2 = static_cast<Derived*>(d->clone());
24 }

sometimes desirable to require derived class to override virtual function

pure virtual function: virtual function that must be overridden in every
derived class
to declare virtual function as pure, add “= 0” at end of declaration
example:
class Widget {
public:
virtual void doStuff() = 0; // pure virtual
// ...
};

pure virtual function can still be defined, although likely only useful in case
of virtual destructor

class with one or more pure virtual functions called abstract class
cannot directly instantiate objects of abstract class (can only use them as
base class objects)
class that derives from abstract class need not override all of its pure
virtual methods
class that does not override all pure virtual methods of abstract base class
will also be abstract
most commonly, abstract classes have no state (i.e., data members) and
used to provide interfaces, which can be inherited by other classes
if class has no pure virtual functions and abstract class is desired, can
make destructor pure virtual (but must provide definition of destructor
since invoked by derived classes)

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Abstract Class Example
1 #include <cmath>
2
3 class Shape {
4 public:
5 virtual bool isPolygon() const = 0;
6 virtual float area() const = 0;
7 virtual ˜Shape() {};
8 };
9
10 class Rectangle : public Shape {
11 public:
12 Rectangle(float w, float h) : w_(w), h_(h) {}
13 bool isPolygon() const override {return true;}
14 float area() const override {return w_ * h_;}
15 private:
16 float w_; // width of rectangle
17 float h_; // height of rectangle
18 };
19
20 class Circle : public Shape {
21 public:
22 Circle(float r) : r_(r) {}
23 float area() const override {return M_PI * r_ * r_;}
24 bool isPolygon() const override {return false;}
25 private:
26 float r_; // radius of circle
27 };

1 class Abstract {
2 public:
3 virtual ˜Abstract() = 0; // pure virtual destructor
4 // ... (no other virtual functions)
5 };
6
7 inline Abstract::˜Abstract()
8 { /* possibly empty */ }

often need to upcast and downcast (as well as cast sideways) in

inheritance hierarchy
dynamic_cast can be used to safely perform type conversions on
pointers and references to classes
syntax: dynamic_cast<T>(expr)
types involved must be polymorphic (i.e., have at least one virtual
function)
inspects run-time information about types to determine whether cast can
be safely performed
if conversion is valid (i.e., expr can validly be cast to T), casts expr to type
T and returns result
if conversion is not valid, cast fails
if expr is of pointer type, nullptr is returned upon failure
if expr is of reference type, std::bad_cast exception is thrown upon
failure (where exceptions are discussed later)
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dynamic_cast Example
1 #include <cassert>
2
3 class Base {
4 public:
5 virtual void doStuff() { /* ... */ };
6 // ...
7 };
8
9 class Derived1 : public Base { /* ... */ };
10 class Derived2 : public Base { /* ... */ };
11
12 bool isDerived1(Base& b) {
13 return dynamic_cast<Derived1*>(&b) != nullptr;
14 }
15
16 int main() {
17 Base b;
18 Derived1 d1;
19 Derived2 d2;
20 assert(isDerived1(b) == false);
21 assert(isDerived1(d1) == true);
22 assert(isDerived1(d2) == false);
23 }
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Cost of Run-Time Polymorphism

typically, run-time polymorphism does not come without run-time cost in

terms of both time and memory
in some contexts, cost can be significant
typically, virtual functions implemented using virtual function table
each polymorphic class has virtual function table containing pointers to all
virtual functions for class
each polymorphic class object has pointer to virtual function table
memory cost to store virtual function table and pointer to table in each
polymorphic object
in most cases, impossible for compiler to inline virtual function calls since
function to be called cannot be known until run time
each virtual function call is made through pointer, which adds overhead

when derived type known at compile time, may want behavior similar to
virtual functions but without run-time cost (by performing binding at
compile time instead of run time)
can be achieved with technique known as curiously-recurring template
pattern (CRTP)
class Derived derives from class template instantiation using Derived
itself as template argument
example:
template <class Derived>
class Base {
// ...
};
class Derived : public Base<Derived> {
// ...
};

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CRTP Example: Static Polymorphism
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 template <class Derived>
4 class Base {
5 public:
6 void interface() {
7 std::cout << "Base::interface called\n";
8 static_cast<Derived*>(this)->implementation();
9 }
10 // ...
11 };
12
13 class Derived : public Base<Derived> {
14 public:
15 void implementation() {
16 std::cout << "Derived::implementation called\n";
17 }
18 // ...
19 };
20
21 int main() {
22 Derived d;
23 d.interface();
24 // calls Base::interface which, in turn, calls
25 // Derived::implementation
26 // no virtual function call, however
27
28 }
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CRTP Example: Static Polymorphism
1 class TreeNode {
2 public:
3 enum Kind {RED, BLACK}; // kinds of nodes
4 TreeNode *left(); // get left child node
5 TreeNode *right(); // get right child node
6 Kind kind(); // get kind of node
7 // ...
8 };
9
10 template <class Derived>
11 class GenericVisitor {
12 public:
13 void visit_preorder(TreeNode* node) {
14 if (node) {
15 process_node(node);
16 visit_preorder(node->left());
17 visit_preorder(node->right());
18 }
19 }
20 void visit_inorder(TreeNode* node) { /* ... */ }
21 void visit_postorder(TreeNode* node) { /* ... */ }
22 void process_red_node(TreeNode* node) { /* ... */ };
23 void process_black_node(TreeNode* node) { /* ... */ };
24 private:
25 Derived& derived() {return *static_cast<Derived*>(this);}
26 void process_node(TreeNode* node) {
27 if (node->kind() == TreeNode::RED) {
28 derived().process_red_node(node);
29 } else {
30 derived().process_black_node(node);
31 }
32 }
33 };
34
35 class SpecialVisitor : public GenericVisitor<SpecialVisitor> {
36 public:
37 void process_red_node(TreeNode* node) { /* ... */ }
38 };
39
40 int main() {SpecialVisitor v;}

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CRTP Example: Comparisons
1 #include <cassert>
2
3 template<class Derived>
4 struct Comparisons {
5 friend bool operator==(const Comparisons<Derived>& x,
6 const Comparisons<Derived>& y) {
7 const Derived& xr = static_cast<const Derived&>(x);
8 const Derived& yr = static_cast<const Derived&>(y);
9 return !(xr < yr) && !(yr < xr);
10 }
11 // operator!= and others
12 };
13
14 class Widget : public Comparisons<Widget> {
15 public:
16 Widget(bool b, int i) : b_(b), i_(i) {}
17 friend bool operator<(const Widget& x, const Widget& y)
18 {return x.i_ < y.i_;}
19 private:
20 bool b_;
21 int i_;
22 };
23
24 int main() {
25 Widget w1(true, 1);
26 Widget w2(false, 1);
27 assert(w1 == w2);
28 }
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CRTP Example: Object Counting
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cstdlib>
3
4 template <class T>
5 class Counter {
6 public:
7 Counter() {++count_;}
8 Counter(const Counter&) {++count_;}
9 ˜Counter() {--count_;}
10 static std::size_t howMany() {return count_;}
11 private:
12 static std::size_t count_;
13 };
14
15 template <class T>
16 std::size_t Counter<T>::count_ = 0;
17
18 // inherit from Counter to count objects
19 class Widget: private Counter<Widget> {
20 public:
21 using Counter<Widget>::howMany;
22 // ...
23 };
24
25 int main() {
26 Widget w1; int c1 = Widget::howMany();
27 Widget w2, w3; int c2 = Widget::howMany();
28 std::cout << c1 << ’ ’ << c2 << ’\n’;
29 }
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Section 2.7.3

Multiple Inheritance and Virtual Inheritance

language allows derived class to inherit from more than one base class
multiple inheritance (MI): deriving from more than one base class
although multiple inheritance not best solution for most problems, does
have some compelling use cases
one compelling use case is for inheriting interfaces by deriving from
abstract base classes with no data members
when misused, multiple inheritance can lead to very convoluted code
in multiple inheritance contexts, ambiguities in naming can arise
for example, if class Derived inherits from classes Base1 and Base2,
each of which have member called x, name x can be ambiguous in some
contexts
scope resolution operator can be used to resolve ambiguous names

1 class Base1 {
2 public:
3 void func();
4 // ...
5 };
6
7 class Base2 {
8 void func();
9 // ...
10 };
11
12 class Derived : public Base1, public Base2 {
13 public:
14 // ...
15 };
16
17 int main() {
18 Derived d;
19 d.func(); // ERROR: ambiguous function call
20 d.Base1::func(); // OK: invokes Base1::func
21 d.Base2::func(); // OK: invokes Base2::func
22 }

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Multiple Inheritance Example
1 class Input_stream {
2 public:
3 virtual ˜Input_stream() {}
4 virtual int read_char() = 0;
5 virtual int read(char* buffer, int size) = 0;
6 virtual bool is_input_ready() const = 0;
7 // ...(all pure virtual, no data)
8 };
9
10 class Output_stream {
11 public:
12 virtual ˜Output_stream() {}
13 virtual int write_char(char c) = 0;
14 virtual int write(char* buffer, int size) = 0;
15 virtual int flush_output() = 0;
16 // ... (all pure virtual, no data)
17 };
18
19 class Input_output_stream : public Input_stream,
20 public Output_stream {
21 // ...
22 };

use of multiple inheritance can lead to so called dreaded diamond

scenario
dreaded diamond inheritance pattern has following form:
A

B C

class D will have two subobjects of class A, since class D (indirectly)

inherits twice from class A
situation like one above probably undesirable and often sign of poor
design

1 class Base {
2 public:
3 // ...
4 protected:
5 int data_;
6 };
7
8 class D1 : public Base { /* ... */ };
9
10 class D2 : public Base { /* ... */ };
11
12 class Join : public D1, public D2 {
13 public:
14 void method() {
15 data_ = 1; // ERROR: ambiguous
16 D1::data_ = 1; // OK: unambiguous
17 }
18 };
19
20 int main() {
21 Join* j = new Join();
22 Base* b;
23 b = j; // ERROR: ambiguous
24 b = static_cast<D1*>(j); // OK: unambiguous
25 }

when using multiple inheritance, may want to ensure that only one
instance of base-class object can appear in derived-class object
virtual base class: base class that is only ever included once in derived
class, even if derived from multiple times
virtual inheritance: when derived class inherits from base class that is
virtual
virtual inheritance can be used to avoid situations like dreaded diamond
pattern
order of construction: virtual base classes constructed first in depth-first
left-to-right traversal of graph of base classes, where left-to-right refers to
order of appearance of base class names

1 class Base {
2 public:
3 // ...
4 protected:
5 int data_;
6 };
7
8 class D1 : public virtual Base { /* ... */ };
9
10 class D2 : public virtual Base { /* ... */ };
11
12 class Join : public D1, public D2 {
13 public:
14 void method() {
15 data_ = 1; // OK: unambiguous
16 }
17 };
18
19 int main() {
20 Join* j = new Join();
21 Base* b = j; // OK: unambiguous
22 }

References

1 N. Meyers. The empty base C++ optimization.

Dr. Dobb’s Journal, Aug. 1997.
Available online at http://www.cantrip.org/emptyopt.html.
2 J. O. Coplien. Curiously recurring template patterns.
C++ Report, pages 24–27, Feb. 1995.

3 S. Meyers. Counting objects in C++.

C++ User’s Journal, Apr. 1998.
Available online at http://www.drdobbs.com/cpp/counting-
objects-in-c/184403484.
4 A. Nasonov. Better encapsulation for the curiously recurring template
pattern.
Overload, 70:11–13, Dec. 2005.

C++ Standard Library

C++ standard library provides huge amount of functionality (orders of

magnitude more than C standard library)
uses std namespace (to avoid naming conflicts)
well worth effort to familiarize yourself with all functionality in library in
order to avoid writing code unnecessarily

functionality can be grouped into following sublibraries:

1 language support library (e.g., exceptions, memory management)
2 diagnostics library (e.g., assertions, exceptions, error codes)
3 general utilities library (e.g., functors, date/time)
4 strings library (e.g., C++ and C-style strings)
5 localization library (e.g., date/time formatting and parsing, character
classification)
6 containers library (e.g., sequence containers and associative containers)
7 iterators library (e.g., stream iterators)
8 algorithms library (e.g., searching, sorting, merging, set operations, heap
operations, minimum/maximum)
9 numerics library (e.g., complex numbers, math functions)
10 input/output (I/O) library (e.g., streams)
11 regular expressions library (e.g., regular expression matching)
12 atomic operations library (e.g., atomic types, fences)
13 thread support library (e.g., threads, mutexes, condition variables, futures)

Language-Support Library
Header File Description
cstdlib run-time support, similar to stdlib.h from C
(e.g., exit)
limits properties of fundamental types (e.g.,
numeric_limits)
exception exception handling support (e.g.,
set_terminate, current_exception)
initializer_list initializer_list class template

Diagnostics Library
Header File Description
cassert assertions (e.g., assert)
stdexcept predefined exception types (e.g., invalid_argument,
domain_error, out_of_range)

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Commonly-Used Header Files (Continued 1)
General-Utilities Library
Header File Description
utility basic function and class templates (e.g., swap, move,
pair)
memory memory management (e.g., unique_ptr, shared_ptr,
addressof)
functional functors (e.g., less, greater)
type_traits type traits (e.g., is_integral, is_reference)
chrono clocks (e.g., system_clock, steady_clock,
high_resolution_clock)

Strings Library
Header File Description
string C++ string classes (e.g., string)
cstring C-style strings, similar to string.h from C (e.g., strlen)
cctype character classification, similar to ctype.h from C (e.g.,
isdigit, isalpha)
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Commonly-Used Header Files (Continued 2)

Containers, Iterators, and Algorithms Libraries

Header File Description
array array class
vector vector class
deque deque class
list list class
set set classes (i.e., set, multiset)
map map classes (i.e., map, multimap)
unordered_set unordered set classes (i.e., unordered_set,
unordered_multiset)
unordered_map unordered map classes (i.e., unordered_map,
unordered_multimap)
iterator iterators (e.g., reverse_iterator,
back_inserter)
algorithm algorithms (e.g., min, max, sort)
forward_list forward_list class
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Commonly-Used Header Files (Continued 3)

Numerics Library
Header File Description
cmath C math library, similar to math.h from C (e.g., sin, cos)
complex complex numbers (e.g., complex)
numeric generalized numeric operations (e.g., gcd, lcm,
inner_product)
random random number generation (e.g.,
uniform_int_distribution,
uniform_real_distribution,
normal_distribution)

I/O Library
Header File Description
iostream iostream objects (e.g., cin, cout, cerr)
istream input streams (e.g., istream)
ostream output streams (e.g., ostream)
ios base classes and other declarations for streams
(e.g., ios_base, hex, fixed)
fstream file streams (e.g., fstream)
sstream string streams (e.g., stringstream)
iomanip manipulators (e.g., setw, setprecision)

Regular-Expressions Library
Header File Description
regexp regular expressions (e.g., basic_regex)

Atomic-Operations and Thread-Support Libraries

Header File Description
atomic atomics (e.g., atomic)
thread threads (e.g., thread)
mutex mutexes (e.g., mutex, recursive_mutex,
timed_mutex)
condition_variable condition variables (e.g., condition_variable)
future futures (e.g., future, shared_future, promise)

Containers, Iterators, and Algorithms

large part of C++ standard library is collection of class/function templates

known as standard template library (STL)
STL comprised of three basic building blocks:
1 containers
2 iterators
3 algorithms
containers store elements for processing (e.g., vector)
iterators allow access to elements for processing (which are often, but not
necessarily, in containers)
algorithms perform actual processing (e.g., search, sort)

container: class that represents collection/sequence of elements

usually container classes are template classes
sequence container: collection in which every element has certain
position that depends on time and place of insertion
examples of sequence containers include:
array (fixed-size array)
vector (dynamic-size array)
list (doubly-linked list)

ordered/unordered associative container: collection in which position of

element in depends on its value or associated key and some predefined
sorting/hashing criterion
examples of associative containers include:
set (collection of unique keys, sorted by key)
map (collection of key-value pairs, sorted by key, keys are unique)

Sequence Containers
Name Description
array fixed-size array
vector dynamic-size array
deque double-ended queue
forward_list singly-linked list
list doubly-linked list

Container Adapters
Name Description
stack stack
queue FIFO queue
priority_queue priority queue

Ordered Associative Containers

Name Description
set collection of unique keys, sorted by key
map collection of key-value pairs, sorted by key, keys are unique
multiset collection of keys, sorted by key, duplicate keys allowed
multimap collection of key-value pairs, sorted by key, duplicate keys al-
lowed

Unordered Associative Containers

Name Description
unordered_set collection of unique keys, hashed by key
unordered_map collection of key-value pairs, hashed by key, keys are
unique
unordered_multiset collection of keys, hashed by key, duplicate keys al-
lowed)
unordered_multimap collection of key-value pairs, hashed by key, duplicate
keys allowed

some member functions typically provided by sequence container classes

listed below (where T denotes name of container class)
Function Description
T() create empty container (default constructor)
T(const T&) copy container (copy constructor)
T(T&&) move container (move constructor)
˜T destroy container (including its elements)
empty test if container empty
size get number of elements in container
push_back insert element at end of container
clear remove all elements from container
operator= assign all elements of one container to other
operator[] access element in container

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3
4 int main() {
5 std::vector<int> values;
6
7 // append elements with values 0 to 9
8 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
9 values.push_back(i);
10 }
11
12 // print each element followed by space
13 for (int i = 0; i < values.size(); ++i) {
14 std::cout << values[i] << ’ ’;
15 }
16 std::cout << ’\n’;
17 }
18
19 /* This program produces the following output:
20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
21 */

different containers organize elements (of container) differently in memory

want uniform manner in which to access elements in any arbitrary
container
organization of elements in array/vector container:

v[0] v[1] v[2] v[3]

begin end
organization of elements in doubly-linked list container:

v[0] v[1] v[2] v[3]

begin end

consider array/vector container with int elements:

v[0] v[1] v[2] v[3]

begin end
suppose we want to set all elements in container to zero
we could use code like:
// int* begin; int* end;
for (int* iter = begin; iter != end; ++iter)
*iter = 0;

could we make similar-looking code work for more complicated

organization like doubly-linked list?
yes, create user-defined type that provides all pointer operations used
above (e.g., dereference, increment, comparison, assignment)
this leads to notion of iterator

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Iterators
iterator: object that allows iteration over collection of elements, where
elements are often (but not necessarily) in container
iterators support many of same operations as pointers
in some cases, iterator may actually be pointer; more frequently, iterator is
user-defined type
five different categories of iterators: 1) input, 2) output, 3) forward,
4) bidirectional, and 5) random access
iterator has particular level of functionality, depending on category
one of three possibilities of access order:
1 forward (i.e., one direction only)
2 forward and backward
3 any order (i.e., random access)
one of three possibilities in terms of read/write access:
1 can only read referenced element (once or multiple times)
2 can only write referenced element (once or multiple times)
3 can read and write referenced element (once or multiple times)
const and mutable (i.e., non-const) variants (i.e., read-only or read/write
access, respectively)
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Abilities of Iterator Categories

Expression Effect
T(a) copies iterator (copy constructor)
*a dereference as rvalue (i.e., read only); cannot
a->m dereference at old position
++a steps forward (returns new position)
a++ steps forward
a == b test for equality
a != b test for inequality
not assignable (i.e., no assignment operator)

Expression Effect
T(a) copies iterator (copy constructor)
*a dereference as lvalue (i.e., write only); can only
a->m be dereferenced once; cannot dereference at old
position
++a steps forward (returns new position)
a++ steps forward (returns old position)
not assignable (i.e., no assignment operator)
no comparison operators (i.e., operator==, operator!=)

Expression Effect
T() default constructor
T(a) copy constructor
a = b assignment
*a dereference
a->m
++a steps forward (returns new position)
a++ steps forward (returns old position)
a == b test for equality
a != b test for inequality
must ensure that valid to dereference iterator before doing so

bidirectional iterators are forward iterators that provide additional

functionality of being able to iterate backward over elements
bidirectional iterators have all functionality of forward iterators as well as
those listed in table below
Expression Effect
--a steps backward (returns new position)
a-- steps backward (returns old position)

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Random-Access Iterators
random access iterators provide all functionality of bidirectional iterators
as well as providing random access to elements
random access iterators provide all functionality of bidirectional iterators
as well as those listed in table below
Expression Effect
a[n] dereference element at index n (where n can be nega-
tive)
a += n steps n elements forward (where n can be negative)
a -= n steps n elements backward (where n can be negative)
a + n iterator for nth next element
n + a iterator for nth next element
a - n iterator for nth previous element
a - b distance from a to b
a < b test if a before b
a > b test if a after b
a <= b test if a not after b
a >= b test if a not before b
pointers (built into language) are examples of random-access iterators
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Iterator Example

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3
4 int main() {
5 std::vector<int> values(10);
6
7 std::cout << "number of elements: " <<
8 (values.end() - values.begin()) << ’\n’;
9
10 // initialize elements of vector to 0, 1, 2, ...
11 for (std::vector<int>::iterator i = values.begin();
12 i != values.end(); ++i) {
13 *i = i - values.begin();
14 }
15
16 // print elements of vector
17 for (std::vector<int>::const_iterator i =
18 values.cbegin(); i != values.cend(); ++i) {
19 std::cout << ’ ’ << *i;
20 }
21 std::cout << ’\n’;
22 }

do not dereference iterator unless it is known to validly reference some

object
some operations on container can invalidate some or all iterators
referencing elements in container
critically important to know which operations invalidate iterators in order
to avoid using iterator that has been invalidated
incrementing iterator past end of container or decrementing iterator before
beginning of container results in undefined behavior
input and output iterators can only be dereferenced once at each position

algorithm: sequence of computations applied to some generic type

algorithms use iterators to access elements involved in computation
often pair of iterators used to specify range of elements on which to
perform some computation
what follows only provides brief summary of algorithms
for more details on algorithms, see:
http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/algorithm

http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/algorithm

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Functions
Non-Modifying Sequence Operations
Name Description
all_of test if condition true for all elements in range
any_of test if condition true for any element in range
none_of test if condition true for no elements in range
for_each apply function to range
for_each_n apply function to first n elements in sequence
find find values in range
find_if find element in range
find_if_not find element in range (negated)
find_end find last subsequence in range
find_first_of find element from set in range
adjacent_find find equal adjacent elements in range
count count appearances of value in range
count_if count number of elements in range satisfying condition
mismatch get first position where two ranges differ
equal test whether elements in two ranges differ
search find subsequence in range
search_n find succession of equal values in range
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Functions (Continued 1)

Modifying Sequence Operations

Name Description
copy copy range of elements
copy_if copy certain elements of range
copy_n copy n elements
copy_backward copy range of elements backwards
move move range of elements
move_backward move range of elements backwards
swap exchange values of two objects (in utility header)
swap_ranges exchange values of two ranges
iter_swap exchange values of objects referenced by two iterators
transform apply function to range
replace replace value in range
replace_if replace values in range
replace_copy copy range replacing value
replace_copy_if copy range replacing value
sample selects n random elements from sequence

Modifying Sequence Operations (Continued)

Name Description
fill fill range with value
fill_n fill sequence with value
generate generate values for range with function
generate_n generate values for sequence with function
remove remove value from range (by shifting elements)
remove_if remove elements from range (by shifting elements)
remove_copy copy range removing value
remove_copy_if copy range removing values
unique remove consecutive duplicates in range
unique_copy copy range removing duplicates
reverse reverse range
reverse_copy copy range reversed
rotate rotate elements in range
rotate_copy copies and rotates elements in range
shuffle randomly permute elements in range

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Functions (Continued 3)
Partition Operations
Name Description
is_partitioned test if range is partitioned by predicate
partition partition range in two
partition_copy copies range partition in two
stable_partition partition range in two (stable ordering)
partition_point get partition point

Sorting
Name Description
is_sorted test if range is sorted
is_sorted_until find first unsorted element in range
sort sort elements in range
stable_sort sort elements in range, preserving order of
equivalents
partial_sort partially sort elements in range
partial_sort_copy copy and partially sort range
nth_element sort element in range

Binary Search (operating on sorted ranges)

Name Description
lower_bound get iterator to lower bound
upper_bound get iterator to upper bound
equal_range get subrange of equal elements
binary_search test if value exists in sorted range

Set Operations (on sorted ranges)

Name Description
merge merge sorted ranges
inplace_merge merge consecutive sorted ranges
includes test whether sorted range includes another
sorted range
set_union union of two sorted ranges
set_intersection intersection of two sorted ranges
set_difference difference of two sorted ranges
set_symmetric_difference symmetric difference of two sorted ranges

Heap Operations
Name Description
is_heap test if range is heap
is_heap_until first first element not in heap order
push_heap push element into heap range
pop_heap pop element from heap range
make_heap make heap from range
sort_heap sort elements of heap

Minimum/Maximum
Name Description
min get minimum of given values
max get maximum of given values
minmax get minimum and maximum of given values
min_element get smallest element in range
max_element get largest element in range
minmax_element get smallest and largest elements in range
clamp clamp value between pair of boundary values
lexicographic_compare lexicographic less-than comparison
is_permutation test if range permutation of another
next_permutation transform range to next permutation
prev_permutation transform range to previous permutation

Numeric Operations
Name Description
iota fill range with successive values
accumulate accumulate values in range
adjacent_difference compute adjacent difference of range
inner_product compute inner product of range
partial_sum compute partial sums of range
reduce similar to accumulate except out of order
exclusive_scan similar to partial_sum, excludes ith input el-
ement from ith sum
inclusive_scan similar to partial_sum, includes ith input el-
ement in ith sum
transform_reduce applies functor, then reduces out of order
transform_exclusive_scan applies functor then, calculates exclusive
scan
transform_inclusive_scan applies functor, then calculates inclusive scan

Operations on Uninitialized Memory

Name Description
uninitialized_copy copy range of objects to uninitialized
area of memory
uninitialized_copy_n copy number of objects to uninitial-
ized area of memory
uninitialized_fill copy object to uninitialized area of
memory, defined by range
uninitialized_fill_n copy object to uninitialized area of
memory, defined by start and count
uninitialized_move move range of objects to uninitialized
area of memory
uninitialized_move_n move number of objects to uninitial-
ized area of memory

Operations on Uninitialized Memory (Continued)

Name Description
uninitialized_default_construct construct objects by default initializa-
tion in uninitialized area of memory
defined by range
uninitialized_default_construct_n construct objects by default initializa-
tion in uninitialized area of memory
defined by start and count
uninitialized_value_construct construct objects by value initializa-
tion in uninitialized area of memory
defined by range
uninitialized_value_construct_n construct objects by value initializa-
tion in uninitialized area of memory
defined by start and count
destroy_at destroy object at given address
destroy destroy range of objects
destroy_n destroy number of objects in range

Other Numeric Algorithms

Name Description
gcd compute greatest common divisor of two integers
lcm compute least common multiple of two integers

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4 #include <random>
5
6 int main() {
7 std::vector<int> values;
8
9 int x;
10 while (std::cin >> x) {values.push_back(x);}
11
12 std::cout << "zero count: " << std::count(
13 values.begin(), values.end(), 0) << ’\n’;
14
15 std::default_random_engine engine;
16 std::shuffle(values.begin(), values.end(), engine);
17 std::cout << "random order:";
18 for (auto i : values) {std::cout << ’ ’ << i;}
19 std::cout << ’\n’;
20
21 std::sort(values.begin(), values.end());
22 std::cout << "sorted order:";
23 for (auto i : values) {std::cout << ’ ’ << i;}
24 std::cout << ’\n’;
25 }

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Prelude to Functor Example
consider std::transform function template:
template <class InputIterator, class OutputIterator,
class UnaryOperator>
OutputIterator transform(InputIterator first,
InputIterator last, OutputIterator result,
UnaryOperator op);
applies op to each element in range [first,last) and stores each
returned value in range beginning at result
std::transform might be written as:
template <class InputIterator, class OutputIterator,
class UnaryOperator>
OutputIterator transform(InputIterator first,
InputIterator last, OutputIterator result,
UnaryOperator op) {
while (first != last) {
*result = op(*first);
++first;
++result;
}
return result;
}
op is entity that can be used with function call syntax (i.e., function or
functor)
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Functor Example

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 struct MultiplyBy { // Functor class
6 MultiplyBy(double factor) : factor_(factor) {}
7 double operator()(double x) const
8 {return factor_ * x;}
9 private:
10 double factor_; // multiplicative factor
11 };
12
13 int main() {
14 MultiplyBy mb(2.0);
15 std::vector v{1.0, 2.0, 3.0};
16 // v contains 1 2 3
17 std::transform(v.begin(), v.end(), v.begin(), mb);
18 // v contains 2 4 6
19 for (auto i : v) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;}
20 }

The std::array Class Template

one-dimensional array type, where size of array is fixed at compile time

array declared as:
template <class T, std::size_t N>
class array;

T: type of elements in array

N: number of elements in array
what follows only intended to provide overview of array
for additional details on array, see:
http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/array
http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/stl/array

Member Type Description

value_type T (i.e., element type)
size_type type used for measuring size (i.e., std::size_t)
difference_type type used to measure distance (i.e.,
std::ptrdiff_t)
reference value_type&
const_reference const value_type&
pointer value_type*
const_pointer const value_type*
iterator random-access iterator type
const_iterator const random-access iterator type
reverse_iterator reverse iterator
type (i.e.,
reverse_iterator<iterator>)
const_reverse_iterator const reverse iterator type (i.e.,
reverse_iterator<const_iterator>)

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Member Name Description
constructor initializes array
destructor destroys each element of array
operator= overwrites every element of array with corre-
sponding element of another array

Iterators
Member Name Description
begin return iterator to beginning
end return iterator to end
cbegin return const iterator to beginning
cend return const iterator to end
rbegin return reverse iterator to beginning
rend return reverse iterator to end
crbegin return const reverse iterator to beginning
crend return const reverse iterator to end

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Member Functions (Continued 1)
Capacity
Member Name Description
empty test if array is empty
size return size
max_size return maximum size

Element Access
Member Name Description
operator[] access element (no bounds checking)
at access element (with bounds checking)
front access first element
back access last element
data return pointer to start of element data

Modifiers
Member Name Description
fill fill container with specified value
swap swap contents of two arrays

1 #include <array>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <algorithm>
4 #include <experimental/iterator>
5
6 int main() {
7 std::array<int, 3> a1{3, 1, 2};
8 std::array<int, 3> a2;
9 a2.fill(42);
10 for (auto i : a2) {
11 std::cout << i << ’\n’;
12 }
13 a2 = a1;
14 std::sort(a1.begin(), a1.end());
15 std::copy(a1.begin(), a1.end(),
16 std::experimental::make_ostream_joiner(std::cout, ", "));
17 std::cout << ’\n’;
18 for(auto i = a2.begin(); i != a2.end(); ++i) {
19 std::cout << *i;
20 if (i != a2.end() - 1) {std::cout << ", ";}
21 }
22 std::cout << ’\n’;
23 }

1 #include <array>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <algorithm>
4
5 int main() {
6 // Fixed-size array with 4 elements.
7 std::array<int, 4> a{2, 4, 3, 1};
8
9 // Print elements of array.
10 for (auto i = a.cbegin(); i != a.cend(); ++i) {
11 std::cout << ’ ’ << *i;
12 }
13 std::cout << ’\n’;
14
15 // Sort elements of array.
16 std::sort(a.begin(), a.end());
17
18 // Print elements of array.
19 for (auto i = a.cbegin(); i != a.cend(); ++i) {
20 std::cout << ’ ’ << *i;
21 }
22 std::cout << ’\n’;
23 }

The std::vector Class Template

dynamically-sized one-dimensional array type, where type of array

elements and storage allocator specified by template parameters
vector declared as:
template <class T, class Allocator = allocator<T>>
class vector;

T: type of elements in vector

Allocator: type of object used to handle storage allocation (unless
custom storage allocator needed, use default allocator<T>)
what follows only intended to provide overview of vector
for additional details on vector, see:
http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/stl/vector

http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/vector

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Member Types
Member Type Description
value_type T (i.e., element type)
allocator_type Allocator (i.e., allocator)
size_type type used for measuring size (typically unsigned in-
tegral type)
difference_type type used to measure distance (typically signed in-
tegral type)
reference value_type&
const_reference const value_type&
pointer allocator_traits<Allocator>::pointer
const_pointer allocator_traits<Allocator>::
const_pointer
iterator random-access iterator type
const_iterator const random-access iterator type
reverse_iterator reverse iterator type
(reverse_iterator<iterator>)
const_reverse_iterator const reverse iterator type
(reverse_iterator<const_iterator>)

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Member Functions
Construction, Destruction, and Assignment
Member Name Description
constructor construct vector (overloaded)
destructor destroy vector
operator= assign vector

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Member Functions (Continued 1)
Capacity
Member Name Description
empty test if vector is empty
size return size
max_size return maximum size
capacity return allocated storage capacity
reserve request change in capacity
shrink_to_fit shrink to fit

Modifiers
Member Name Description
clear clear content
assign assign vector content
insert insert elements
emplace insert element, constructing in place
push_back add element at end
emplace_back insert element at end, constructing in place
erase erase elements
pop_back delete last element
resize change size
swap swap content of two vectors

Allocator
Member Name Description
get_allocator get allocator used by vector

capacity: total number of elements that vector could hold without

requiring reallocation of memory
any operation that causes reallocation of memory used to hold elements
of vector invalidates all iterators, references, and pointers referring to
elements in vector
any operation that changes capacity of vector causes reallocation of
memory
any operation that adds or deletes elements can invalidate references,
iterators, and pointers
operations that can potentially invalidate references, iterators, and
pointers to elements in vector include:
insert, erase, push_back, pop_back, emplace, emplace_back,
resize, reserve, operator=, assign, clear, shrink_to_fit, swap
(past-the-end iterator only)

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Iterator Invalidation Example
start denotes pointer to first element in array holding elements of vector
i is iterator for vector (e.g., vector<T>::const_iterator or vector<T>::iterator)
initial vector has three elements and capacity of three

a b c

start i
push_back(d) invoked
new larger array is allocated (say, twice size of original), contents of old array
moved to new one, and then new element added

? ? ? a b c d unused unused

i start
elements in old array destroyed and memory for old array deallocated; iterator i
is now invalid:
a b c d unused unused

i start
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vector Example: Constructors

std::vector<double> v0;
// empty vector
std::vector<double> v1(10);
// vector with 10 elements, default constructed
// (which for double means uninitialized)
std::vector<double> v2(10, 5.0);
// vector with 10 elements, each initialized to 5.0
std::vector<int> v3{1, 2, 3};
// vector with 3 elements: 1, 2, 3
// std::initializer_list (note brace brackets)

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vector Example: Iterators
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3
4 int main() {
5 std::vector v{0, 1, 2, 3};
6 for (auto& i : v) {++i;}
7 for (auto i : v) {
8 std::cout << ’ ’ << i;
9 }
10 std::cout << ’\n’;
11 for (auto i = v.begin(); i != v.end(); ++i) {
12 --(*i);
13 }
14 for (auto i = v.cbegin(); i != v.cend(); ++i) {
15 std::cout << ’ ’ << *i;
16 }
17 std::cout << ’\n’;
18 for (auto i = v.crbegin(); i != v.crend(); ++i) {
19 std::cout << ’ ’ << *i;
20 }
21 std::cout << ’\n’;
22 }

program output:
1 2 3 4
0 1 2 3
3 2 1 0
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vector Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3
4 int main() {
5 std::vector<double> values;
6 // ...
7
8 // Erase all elements and then read elements from
9 // standard input.
10 values.clear();
11 double x;
12 while (std::cin >> x) {
13 values.push_back(x);
14 }
15 std::cout << "number of values read: " <<
16 values.size() << ’\n’;
17
18 // Loop over all elements and print the number of
19 // negative elements found.
20 int count = 0;
21 for (auto i = values.cbegin(); i != values.cend(); ++i) {
22 if (*i < 0.0) {
23 ++count;
24 }
25 }
26 std::cout << "number of negative values: " << count <<
27 ’\n’;
28 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 538
vector Example: Emplace

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3
4 int main() {
5 std::vector<std::vector<int>> v{{1, 2, 3}, {4, 5, 6}};
6 v.emplace_back(10, 0);
7 // The above use of emplace_back is more efficient than:
8 // v.push_back(std::vector<int>(10, 0));
9 for (const auto& i : v) {
10 for (const auto& j : i) {
11 std::cout << ’ ’ << j;
12 }
13 std::cout << ’\n’;
14 }
15 }

program output:
1 2 3
4 5 6
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The std::basic_string Class Template

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The std::basic_string Class Template
character string type, parameterized on character type, character traits,
and storage allocator
basic_string declared as:
template <class CharT,
class Traits = char_traits<CharT>,
class Allocator = allocator<CharT>>
class basic_string;
CharT: type of characters in string
Traits: class that describes certain properties of CharT (normally, use
default)
Allocator: type of object used to handle storage allocation (unless
custom storage allocator needed, use default)
string is simply abbreviation for basic_string<char>
what follows is only intended to provide overview of basic_string
template class (and string class)
for more details on basic_string, see:
http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/string/basic_string
http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/string/basic_string

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Member Types
Member Type Description
traits_type Traits (i.e., character traits)
value_type Traits::char_type (i.e., character type)
allocator_type Allocator
size_type allocator_traits<Allocator>::size_type
difference_type allocator_traits<Allocator>::
difference_type
reference value_type&
const_reference const value_type&
pointer allocator_traits<Allocator>::pointer
const_pointer allocator_traits<Allocator>::
const_pointer
iterator random-access iterator type
const_iterator const random-access iterator type
reverse_iterator reverse iterator type
(reverse_iterator<iterator>)
const_reverse_iterator const reverse iterator type
(reverse_iterator<const_iterator>)

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Member Functions
Construction, Destruction, and Assignment
Member Name Description
constructor construct
destructor destroy
operator= assign

Iterators
Member Name Description
begin return iterator to beginning
end return iterator to end
cbegin return const iterator to beginning
cend return const iterator to end
rbegin return reverse iterator to reverse beginning
rend return reverse iterator to reverse end
crbegin return const reverse iterator to reverse beginning
crend return const reverse iterator to reverse end

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Member Functions (Continued 1)
Capacity
Member Name Description
empty test if string empty
size get length of string
length same as size
max_size get maximum size of string
capacity get size of allocated storage
reserve change capacity
shrink_to_fit shrink to fit

Element Access
Member Name Description
operator[] access character in string (no bounds checking)
at access character in string (with bounds checking)
front access first character in string
back access last character in string

Operations
Member Name Description
clear clear string
assign assign content to string
insert insert into string
push_back append character to string
operator+= append to string
append append to string
erase erase characters from string
pop_back delete last character from string
replace replace part of string
resize resize string
swap swap contents with another string

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Member Functions (Continued 3)
Operations (Continued)
Member Name Description
c_str get nonmodifiable C-string equivalent
data obtain pointer to first character of string
copy copy sequence of characters from string
substr generate substring
compare compare strings

Search
Member Name Description
find find first occurrence of content in string
rfind find last occurrence of content in string
find_first_of find first occurrence of characters in string
find_first_not_of find first absence of characters in string
find_last_of find last occurrence of characters in string
find_last_not_of find last absence of characters in string

Allocator
Member Name Description
get_allocator get allocator

Numeric Conversions
Name Description
stoi convert string to int
stol convert string to long
stoll convert string to long long
stoul convert string to unsigned long
stoull convert string to unsigned long long
stof convert string to float
stod convert string to double
stold convert string to long double
to_string convert integral or floating-point value to string
to_wstring convert integral or floating-point value to wstring

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 int main() {
5 std::string s;
6 if (!(std::cin >> s)) {
7 s.clear();
8 }
9 std::cout << "string: " << s << ’\n’;
10 std::cout << "length: " << s.size() << ’\n’;
11 std::string b;
12 for (auto i = s.crbegin(); i != s.crend(); ++i) {
13 b.push_back(*i);
14 }
15 std::cout << "backwards: " << b << ’\n’;
16
17 std::string msg = "Hello";
18 msg += ", World!"; // append ", World!"
19 std::cout << msg << ’\n’;
20
21 const char* cstr = s.c_str();
22 std::cout << "C-style string: " << cstr << ’\n’;
23 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 int main() {
5 double x = 42.24;
6 // Convert double to string.
7 std::string s = std::to_string(x);
8 std::cout << s << ’\n’;
9
10 s = "3.14";
11 // Convert string to double.
12 x = std::stod(s);
13 std::cout << x << ’\n’;
14
15 }

Other Container Classes

collection of two heterogeneous objects

pair declared as:
template <class T1, class T2>
struct pair;

T1: type of first element in pair

T2: type of second element in pair
first and second elements accessible via data members first and
second, respectively
elements of pair can also be accessed with std::get function template
pair can be created with std::make_pair function template
pair is effectively equivalent to std::tuple (to be discussed shortly)
with two elements

1 #include <tuple>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 int main() {
5 std::pair p(true, 42);
6 assert(p.first && p.second == 42);
7 assert(p.first == std::get<0>(p) &&
8 p.second == std::get<1>(p));
9 std::pair q = std::make_pair(true, 42);
10 assert(p == q);
11 p = std::make_pair(false, 0);
12 assert(p != q);
13 p.swap(q);
14 auto [b, i] = p;
15 assert(b == true && i == 42);
16 assert(std::get<bool>(p) && std::get<0>(p));
17 assert(std::get<int>(p) == 42 &&
18 std::get<1>(p) == 42);
19 }

fixed-size collection of heterogenous values

tuple is generalization of std::pair
tuple declared as:
template <class... Ts>
class tuple;

Ts: types of elements that tuple holds (which may be empty)

elements of tuple can be accessed with std::get function template
tuple can be created with std::make_tuple function template

1 #include <tuple>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 int main() {
5 std::tuple t(true, 42, ’Z’);
6 auto u = std::make_tuple(true, 42, ’Z’);
7 assert(t == u);
8 assert(std::get<bool>(t) && std::get<0>(t));
9 assert(std::get<char>(t) == ’Z’ && std::get<2>(t) == ’Z’);
10 std::get<0>(t) = false;
11 assert(t != u);
12 std::tuple v(false, 0, ’0’);
13 u = std::make_tuple(true, 1, ’1’);
14 v.swap(u);
15 assert(std::get<0>(v));
16 }

simple container that manages optional value (i.e., value that may or may
not be present)
declaration:
template <class T> class optional;

T is type of optional value

T cannot be reference type
at any given point in time, object either contains value or does not
object can be given value by initialization or assignment
common use case is return value of function that can fail
object can be created via factory function std::make_optional
std::bad_optional_access exception indicates checked access to
optional object that does not contain value
optional value is required to be stored directly in optional object itself

Construction, Destructon, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor constructs optional object
destructor destroys optional object (and contained value)
operator= assigns contents

Observers
Name Description
operator-> accesses contained value
operator* accesses contained value
operator bool tests if object contains value
has_value tests if object contains value
value returns contained value
value_or returns contained value if available and spec-
ified default value otherwise

Modifiers
Name Description
swap exchange contents
reset clear any contained value
emplace constructs contained value in place

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optional Example
1 #include <optional>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <exception>
4 #include <cassert>
5 #include <iostream>
6
7 int main() {
8 auto s = std::make_optional<std::string>("Hello!");
9 assert(s && s.has_value());
10 assert(s.value() == "Hello!");
11 auto t = std::make_optional<std::string>("Goodbye!");
12 s.swap(t);
13 assert(*s == "Goodbye!" && *t == "Hello!");
14 s.reset();
15 assert(!s && !s.has_value());
16 std::cout << s.value_or("Goodbye!") << ’\n’;
17 try {std::cout << s.value() << ’\n’;}
18 catch (const std::bad_optional_access&) {
19 std::cout << "caught exception\n";
20 }
21 s.emplace("Salut!");
22 std::cout << s.value() << ’\n’;
23
24 }
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Example: Return Type of Function That Can Fail

1 #include <optional>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <fstream>
4 #include <iostream>
5
6 std::optional<std::string> read_file(const char* file_name) {
7 std::ifstream in(file_name);
8 std::optional<std::string> result;
9 result.emplace(std::istreambuf_iterator<char>(in),
10 std::istreambuf_iterator<char>());
11 if (in.fail() && !in.eof()) {
12 result.reset();
13 }
14 return result;
15 }
16
17 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
18 if (argc <= 1) {return 1;}
19 auto s = read_file(argv[1]);
20 if (!s) {
21 std::cerr << "unable to read file\n";
22 return 1;
23 }
24 std::cout << *s;
25 }

simple container that corresponds to type-safe union

can hold single value of one of set of allowable types
declaration:
template <class... Ts> class variant;

Ts parameter pack containing all allowable types of value that can be

stored in object
container cannot hold references, arrays, or void
can hold same type more than once and can hold differently cv-qualified
versions of same type
default initialized variant holds value of first alternative, which is default
constructed
std::monostate can be used as placeholder for empty type
invalid accesses to value of variant object result in
std::bad_variant_access exception being thrown
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variant Member Functions

Construction, Destructon, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor constructs variant object
destructor destroys variant object (and contained value)
operator= assigns variant

Observers
Name Description
index returns zero-based index of alternative held
by variant
valueless_by_exception tests if variant in invalid state

Modifiers
Name Description
emplace constructs value in variant in place
swap swaps value with another variant

1 #include <variant>
2 #include <cassert>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 int main() {
6 std::variant<int, double> x;
7 std::variant<int, double> y;
8 x = 2;
9 assert(std::get<int>(x) == std::get<0>(x));
10 assert(!x.valueless_by_exception());
11 y = 0.5;
12 assert(std::get<double>(y) == std::get<1>(y));
13 std::cout << std::get<int>(x) << ’\n’;
14 std::cout << std::get<double>(y) << ’\n’;
15 try {std::cout << std::get<double>(x) << ’\n’;}
16 catch (const std::bad_variant_access&) {
17 std::cout << "bad variant access\n";
18 }
19 }

type-safe container for single value of any type

container may also hold no value
declaration:
class any;

at any given time, object may or may not hold value

non-member function any_cast provides type-safe access to contained
object
std::bad_any_cast exception thrown by value-returning forms of
any_cast upon type mismatch

Construction, Destructon, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor constructs any object
destructor destroys any object
operator= assigns any object

Observers
Name Description
has_value tests if object holds value
type returns typeid of contained value

Modifiers
Name Description
emplace change contained object by constructing new
value in place
reset clear any contained object
swap swaps contents of two any objects

1 #include <any>
2 #include <cassert>
3 #include <string>
4 #include <iostream>
5
6 int main() {
7 std::any x{std::string("Hello")};
8 assert(x.has_value() && x.type() == typeid(std::string));
9 std::any y;
10 assert(!y.has_value());
11 x.swap(y);
12 assert(!x.has_value() && y.has_value());
13 x = y;
14 std::cout << std::any_cast<std::string>(x) << ’\n’;
15 y.reset();
16 assert(!y.has_value());
17 try {std::any_cast<int>(x);}
18 catch (const std::bad_any_cast&) {
19 std::cout << "any_cast failed\n";
20 }
21 }

Time Measurement

time measurement capabilities provided by part of general utilities library

(of standard library)
header file chrono
identifiers in namespace std::chrono
time point: specific point in time (measured relative to epoch)
duration: time interval
clock: measures time in terms of time points
several clocks provided for measuring time
what follows only intended to provide overview of chrono part of library
for additional information on chrono part of library, see:
http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/chrono

http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/chrono

Time Points and Intervals

Name Description
duration time interval
time_point point in time

Clocks
Name Description
system_clock system clock (which may be adjusted)
steady_clock monotonic clock that ticks at constant rate
high_resolution_clock clock with shortest tick period available

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 569
std::chrono Example: Measuring Elapsed Time
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <chrono>
3 #include <cmath>
4
5 double get_result() {
6 double sum = 0.0;
7 for (long i = 0L; i < 1000000L; ++i) {
8 sum += std::sin(i) * std::cos(i);
9 }
10 return sum;
11 }
12
13 int main() {
14 // Get the start time.
15 auto start_time =
16 std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();
17 // Do some computation.
18 double result = get_result();
19 // Get the end time.
20 auto end_time = std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();
21 // Compute elapsed time in seconds.
22 double elapsed_time = std::chrono::duration<double>(
23 end_time - start_time).count();
24 // Print result and elapsed time.
25 std::cout << "result " << result << ’\n’;
26 std::cout << "time (in seconds) " << elapsed_time << ’\n’;
27 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <chrono>
3
4 // Get the granularity of a clock in seconds.
5 template <class C>
6 double granularity() {
7 return std::chrono::duration<double>(
8 typename C::duration(1)).count();
9 }
10
11 int main() {
12 std::cout << "system clock:\n" << "period "
13 << granularity<std::chrono::system_clock>() << ’\n’
14 << "steady "
15 << std::chrono::system_clock::is_steady << ’\n’;
16 std::cout << "high resolution clock:\n" << "period "
17 << granularity<std::chrono::high_resolution_clock>()
18 << ’\n’ << "steady "
19 << std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::is_steady << ’\n’;
20 std::cout << "steady clock:\n" << "period "
21 << granularity<std::chrono::steady_clock>() << ’\n’
22 << "steady "
23 << std::chrono::steady_clock::is_steady << ’\n’;
24 }

Miscellany

std::basic_string_view class template represents constant

contiguous sequence of char-like objects (i.e., read-only view of string)
basic_string_view declared as:
template <class CharT,
class Traits = char_traits<CharT>>
class basic_string_view;

CharT: type of characters in string

Traits: class that describes certain properties of CharT (normally, use
default)
string_view is simply abbreviation for basic_string_view<char>
for more details on basic_string_view, see:
http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/string/basic_string_view

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 573
std::basic_string_view Example
1 #include <string_view>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <iostream>
4 #include <cassert>
5
6 void output(std::string_view s) {
7 std::cout << s << ’\n’;
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 std::string_view hello("hello");
12 assert(!hello.empty());
13 std::string_view he = hello.substr(0, 2);
14 assert(he.size() == 2);
15 assert(he[0] == ’h’ && he[1] == ’e’);
16 assert(hello.find("ell") == 1);
17 assert(hello.rfind("l") == 3);
18
19 std::string goodbye("goodbye");
20 std::string_view bye(goodbye);
21 bye.remove_prefix(4);
22 std::cout << bye << ’\n’;
23 std::string_view good(goodbye);
24 good.remove_suffix(3);
25 std::cout << good << ’\n’;
26 assert(goodbye.substr(4, 3) == bye);
27 output(bye);
28 }

Miscellany

Since C++ name lookup rules are quite complicated, we only present a
simplified (and therefore not fully correct) description of them here.
Qualified lookup. If the name A is preceded by the scope-resolution
operator, as in ::A or X::A, then use qualified name lookup.
In the first case, look in the global namespace for A. In the second case,
look up X, and then look inside it for A.
If X is a class and A is not a direct member, look in all of the direct bases of
X (and then each of their bases). If A is found in more than one base, fail.
Argument-dependent lookup. Otherwise, if the name is used as a
function call, such as A(X), use argument-dependent lookup.
Look for A in the namespace in which the type of X was declared, in the
friends of X, and if X is a template instantiation, similarly for each of the
arguments involved.
Unqualified lookup. Start with unqualified lookup if argument-dependent
lookup does not apply.
Start at the current scope and work outwards until the name is found.

argument-dependent lookup (ADL) applies to lookup of unqualified

function name
during ADL, other namespaces not considered during normal lookup may
be searched
in particular, namespace that declares each function argument type is
included in search
ADL also commonly referred to as Koenig lookup

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 577
ADL Example
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 namespace N {
4 class C { /* ... */ };
5 void f(C x) {std::cout << "N::f\n";}
6 void g(int x) {std::cout << "N::g\n";}
7 void h(C x) {std::cout << "N::h\n";}
8 }
9
10 struct D {
11 struct E {};
12 static void p(E e) {std::cout << "D::p\n";};
13 };
14
15 void h(N::C x) {std::cout << "::h\n";}
16
17 int main() {
18 N::C x;
19 f(x); // OK: calls N::f via ADL
20 N::f(x); // OK: calls N::f
21 g(42); // ERROR: g not found
22 N::g(42); // OK: calls N::g
23 h(x); // ERROR: ambiguous function call due to ADL
24 ::h(x); // OK: calls ::h
25 N::h(x); // OK: calls N::h
26 D::E e;
27 p(e); // ERROR: ADL only considers namespaces
28 D::p(e); // OK: calls D::p
29 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 578
ADL Example

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 namespace N {
4 struct W {};
5 void f(W x) {std::cout << "N::f\n";}
6 }
7
8 struct C {
9 void f(N::W x) {std::cout << "C::f\n";}
10 void g() {
11 N::W x;
12 f(x); // calls C::f (not N::f)
13 }
14 };
15
16 int main() {
17 C c;
18 c.g();
19 }

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 579
ADL Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 using namespace std::string_literals;
5
6 namespace N {
7 struct C {};
8 void f(int) {std::cout << "N::f\n";}
9 void g(C x) {std::cout << "N::g\n";}
10 void h(const std::string& x) {std::cout << "N::h\n";}
11 namespace M {
12 void f(int x) {std::cout << "N::M::f\n";}
13 // hides N::f
14 void g(int x) {std::cout << "N::M::g\n";}
15 // hides N::g
16 void h() {std::cout << "N::M::h\n";} // hides N::h
17 void u() {
18 N::C c;
19 f(42); // calls N::M::f (ADL looks nowhere)
20 g(c); // calls N::g via ADL (ADL looks in N)
21 h("hi"s); // ERROR: lookup finds N::M::h
22 // (ADL does not look in N)
23 }
24 }
25 }
26
27 int main() {N::M::u();}

Consider two objects x and y of class type T whose values are to be

swapped.
If the class T provides its own swap function for reasons of efficiency, one
would normally want to use it.
In the absence of such a function, one would normally want to fall back on
the use of std::swap.
The above behavior can be achieved using code like the following:
using std::swap;
swap(x, y);

If the type T provides its own swap function, the name lookup on swap will
yield this function through ADL.
Otherwise, the name lookup will find std::swap.
Thus, code like the above will result in a more efficient swap function
being used if available, with the std::swap function used as a fallback.

More C++

Memory Management

object said to have dynamic storage duration if its lifetime is

independent of scope in which object created (i.e., lifetime of object does
not end until explicitly ended)
often need to use objects (or arrays of objects) with dynamic storage
duration
in what follows, we consider how such objects are managed
new expressions used to create objects or arrays of objects with dynamic
storage duration
delete expressions used to destroy such objects
in order to handle any necessary memory allocation and deallocation,
new and delete expressions in turn use:
single-object operator new (i.e., operator new)
array operator new (i.e., operator new[])

single-object operator delete (i.e., operator delete)

array operator delete (i.e., operator delete[])

leaked object: object created but not destroyed when no longer needed
leaked objects are problematic because can cause program to waste
memory or exhaust all available memory
premature deletion (a.k.a. dangling references): object is deleted when
one or more references to object still exist
premature deletion is problematic because, if object accessed after
deletion, results of doing so will be unpredictable (e.g., read garbage
value or overwrite other variables in program)
double deletion: object is deleted twice, invoking destructor twice
double deletion is problematic invoking destructor on nonexistent object is
unpredictable and furthermore double deletion can often corrupt data
structures used by memory allocator

New and Delete Expressions

std::max_align_t is type having maximum alignment supported by

implementation in all contexts
extended alignment is alignment exceeding
alignof(std::max_align_t)
in some contexts, may be possible to use extended alignment
every alignment value must be nonnegative power of two

new expression used to create object or array of objects with dynamic

storage duration
new expression has one of following forms:
scope prefix new placement args type initializer
scope prefix new placement args (type) initializer
scope prefix: optional unary :: operator which controls lookup of
allocation function
placement args: optional list of additional arguments for memory
allocation function enclosed in parentheses
type: type of object to be created which may be array type
initializer: optional list of arguments used to initialize newly created object
or array (e.g., constructor arguments for class type object)
new expression where optional placement arguments provided referred to
placement new expression
new expression returns pointer to object created for non-array type or
pointer to first element in array for array type
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New Expressions (Continued)

examples of new expressions:

int* ip1 = new int;
int* ip2 = new int(42);
std::vector<int>* vp1 = new std::vector<int>(100, 42);
int* aip1 = new int[256];
std::string* asp = new std::string[64];
int* aip2 = new (std::nothrow) int[10000];
alignas(std::string) char buf[sizeof(std::string)];
std::string* sp = new (static_cast<void*>(&buf))
std::string("Hello");
evaluating new expression performs following:
1 invokes allocation function to obtain address in memory where new object
or array of objects should be placed
2 invokes constructors to create objects in storage obtained from allocation
function
3 if constructor fails (i.e., throws), any successfully constructed objects are
destroyed (in reverse order from construction) and deallocation function
called to free memory in which object or array was being constructed

for non-array types, allocation function is single-object operator new (i.e.,

operator new) (discussed later), which can be overloaded
for array types, allocation function is array operator new (i.e.,
operator new[]) (discussed later), which can be overloaded
allocation function need not allocate memory (since placement arguments
of new expression may be used to specify address at which to place new
object)
if allocation function has non-throwing exception specification, new
expression returns null pointer upon failure otherwise std::bad_alloc
exception is thrown
for array type, requested size of memory may exceed size of actual array
data (i.e., overhead to store size of array for use at deletion time)
if new expression begins with unary :: operator, allocation function’s
name looked up in global scope; otherwise, looked up in class scope if
applicable and then global scope

overload resolution for (single-object and array) operator new performed

using argument list consisting of:
1 amount of space requested, which has type std::size_t

2 if type has extended alignment, type’s alignment, which has type

std::align_val_t
3 if placement new expression, placement arguments
if no matching function found, alignment removed from argument list and
overload resolution performed again
expression “new T” results in one of following calls:
operator new(sizeof(T))
operator new(sizeof(T), std::align_val_t(alignof(T))
expression “new(42, f) T” results in one of following calls:
operator new(sizeof(T), 42, f)
operator new(sizeof(T), std::align_val_t(alignof(T),
42, f)

expression “new T[7]” results in one of following calls:

operator new[](sizeof(T) * 7 + x)
operator new[](sizeof(T) * 7 + x, std::align_val_t(
alignof(T)))
where x is nonnegative implementation-dependent constant representing
array allocation overhead
expression “new (42, f) T[7]” results in one of following calls:
operator new[](sizeof(T) * 7 + x, 42, f)
operator new[](sizeof(T) * 7 + x, std::align_val_t(
alignof(T)), 42, f)
where x is nonnegative implementation-dependent constant representing
array allocation overhead

for non-array types, deallocation function is single-object operator delete

(i.e., operator delete) (to be discussed shortly)
for array types, deallocation function is array operator delete (i.e.,
operator delete[]) (to be discussed shortly)
if new expression begins with unary :: operator, deallocation function’s
name looked up in global scope; otherwise, looked up in class scope and
then global scope

delete expression used to destroy object or array of objects created by

new expression and deallocate associated memory
delete expression has one of two forms:
scope prefix delete expr
scope prefix delete[] expr
scope prefix: optional unary :: operator which controls lookup of
deallocation function
expr: pointer to object or array previously created by new expression or
null pointer
first form (sometimes called single-object delete expression) is used to
dispose of single object obtained from new expression
second form (sometimes called array delete expression) is used to
dispose of array of objects obtained from new expression
delete expression has void type
if expr is null pointer, evaluation of delete expression effectively does
nothing (i.e., no destructors called and no deallocation function called)
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Delete Expressions (Continued 1)

single object created by new expression must be deleted with

single-object delete expression
array created by new expression must be deleted with array delete
expression
examples of delete expressions:
int *ip = new int(42);
delete ip;
std::vector<int> *vp = new std::vector<int>;
delete vp;
std::string* asp = new std::string[1024];
delete[] asp;
examples of incorrect delete expressions:
std::string* sp = new std::string;
delete[] sp;
// ERROR: must use single-object delete expression
std::string* asp = new std::string[1024];
delete asp;
// ERROR: must use array delete expression

evaluating single-object delete expression performs following:

1 if object of class type, invokes destructor
2 invokes deallocation function for object
evaluating array delete expression performs following:
1 if array element of class type (with non-trivial destructor):
1 determines size of array (which is typically stored just before or just after array
element data)
2 invokes destructor for each array element (in reverse order from construction,
namely, backwards order)
2 invokes deallocation function for array
if delete expression prefixed by unary :: operator, deallocation function’s
name looked up only at global scope; otherwise at class scope if
applicable and then global scope

operator new (i.e., operator new) is operator used to determine

address at which to place new object to be created
most frequently invoked indirectly via new expression, but can be called
directly
operator new may or may not allocate memory
operator can be overloaded as global function or (implicitly static) member
function
operator has return type void* and returns address at which new object
to be created should be placed
first parameter to operator always of type std::size_t and specifies
number of bytes of storage needed for new object to be created
several overloads of global operator new provided by language and
standard library
std::nothrow is dummy variable of type const std::nothrow_t that
can be used for overload disambiguation
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 597
Operator New Overloads

void* operator new(std::size_t size);

allocates size bytes of storage that is suitably aligned for any object of this
size not having extended alignment
throws std::bad_alloc exception upon failure
void* operator new(std::size_t size,
std::align_val_t align);
allocates size bytes of storage with guaranteed alignment of align
throws std::bad_alloc exception upon failure
void* operator new(std::size_t size,
const std::nothrow_t& tag);
allocates size bytes of storage suitably aligned for any object of this size
not having extended alignment
returns null pointer upon failure
void* operator new(std::size_t size,
std::align_val_t align, const std::nothrow_t& tag);
allocates size bytes of storage with guaranteed alignment of align
returns null pointer upon failure

void* operator new(std::size_t size, void* ptr)

noexcept;
non-allocating
simply returns ptr, assuming ptr points to storage of at least size bytes
with appropriate alignment
cannot fail
not useful to invoke directly, since function effectively does nothing
intended to be invoked by non-allocating placement new expressions

1 #include <new>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 void func_1() {
5 // allocating operator new
6 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new(sizeof(int)));
7 assert(ip);
8 // ... (dellocate memory)
9 }
10
11 void func_2() {
12 // allocating and non-throwing operator new
13 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new(sizeof(int),
14 std::nothrow));
15 // ip may be null
16 // ... (deallocate memory)
17 }
18
19 void func_3() {
20 int i;
21 // non-allocating operator new
22 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new(sizeof(int),
23 static_cast<void*>(&i)));
24 assert(ip == &i);
25 }

operator array new (i.e., operator new[]) is operator used to

determine address at which to place array of objects to be created
operator array new may or may not allocate memory
operator array new can be overloaded as global function or (implicitly
static) member function
operator has return type void* and returns address at which new array
of objects to be created should be placed
first parameter to operator always of type std::size_t and specifies
number of bytes of storage needed for new array of objects to be created
several overloads of global operator array new provided by language and
standard library
std::nothrow is dummy variable of type const std::nothrow_t that
can be used for overload disambiguation

void* operator new[](std::size_t size);

allocates size bytes of storage that is suitably aligned for any object of this
size not having extended alignment
throws std::bad_alloc exception upon failure
void* operator new[](std::size_t size,
std::align_val_t align);
allocates size bytes of storage with alignment of align
throws std::bad_alloc exception upon failure
void* operator new[]( std::size_t size,
const std::nothrow_t& tag);
allocates size bytes of storage suitably aligned for any object of this size
not having extended alignment
returns null pointer upon failure
void* operator new[]( std::size_t size,
std::align_val_t align, const std::nothrow_t& tag);
allocates size bytes of storage with guaranteed alignment of align
returns null pointer upon failure

void* operator new[](std::size_t size, void* ptr)

1 #include <new>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 void func_1() {
5 // allocating operator array new
6 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new[](1000 * sizeof(int)));
7 assert(ip);
8 // ... (deallocate)
9 }
10
11 void func_2() {
12 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new[](1000 * sizeof(int),
13 std::nothrow));
14 // ip may be null
15 // ... (deallocate)
16 }
17
18 void func_3() {
19 static int a[1000];
20 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new[](1000 * sizeof(int),
21 static_cast<void*>(a)));
22 assert(ip == a);
23 }

operator delete (i.e., operator delete) is operator used to deallocate

memory for object allocated with operator new
can be invoked through delete expression or through new expression if
constructor throws exception
always has return type of void
first parameter always pointer of type void*
standard library deallocation functions do nothing if pointer is null
can be overloaded as global function or (implicitly static) member function

void operator delete(void* ptr) noexcept;

void operator delete( void* ptr, std::size_t size)
noexcept;
void operator delete ( void* ptr,
std::align_val_t align) noexcept;
void operator delete ( void* ptr, std::size_t size,
std::align_val_t align) noexcept;
deallocates storage associated with object at address ptr, which was
allocated by operator new

1 #include <new>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 void func_1() {
5 // allocating operator new
6 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new(sizeof(int)));
7 assert(ip);
8 ::operator delete(ip);
9 }
10
11 void func_2() {
12 // allocating and non-throwing operator new
13 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new(sizeof(int),
14 std::nothrow));
15 // ip may be null
16 ::operator delete(ip);
17 }

operator array delete (i.e., operator delete[]) is operator used to

deallocate memory for array of objects allocated with operator array new
can be invoked through delete expression or through new expression if
constructor throws exception
always has return type of void
first parameter always pointer of type void*
standard library deallocation functions do nothing if pointer is null
can be overloaded as global function or (implicitly static) member function

void operator delete[](void* ptr) noexcept;

void operator delete[]( void* ptr, std::size_t size)
noexcept;
void operator delete[]( void* ptr,
std::align_val_t align) noexcept;
void operator delete[]( void* ptr, std::size_t size,
std::align_val_t align) noexcept;
deallocates storage associated with array of objects at address ptr, which
was allocated by operator array new

1 #include <new>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 void func_1() {
5 // allocating operator array new
6 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new[](1000 * sizeof(int)));
7 assert(ip);
8 ::operator delete[](ip);
9 }
10
11 void func_2() {
12 int* ip = static_cast<int*>(::operator new[](1000 * sizeof(int),
13 std::nothrow));
14 // ip may be null
15 ::operator delete[](ip);
16 }

non-allocating global versions of single-object and array operator new and

operator delete can be replaced
to replace function, define in single translation unit
undefined behavior if more than one replacement provided in program or if
replacement defined with inline specifier

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 611
Example of Replacing Operator New and Operator Delete
1 #include <cstdio>
2 #include <cstdlib>
3 #include <new>
4
5 void* operator new(std::size_t size) {
6 auto ptr = std::malloc(size);
7 std::printf("operator new(%zu) returning %p\n", size, ptr);
8 return ptr;
9 }
10
11 void operator delete(void* ptr) noexcept {
12 std::printf("operator delete(%p)\n", ptr);
13 std::free(ptr);
14 }
15
16 void* operator new[](std::size_t size) {
17 auto ptr = std::malloc(size);
18 std::printf("operator new[](%zu) returning %p\n", size, ptr);
19 return ptr;
20 }
21
22 void operator delete[](void* ptr, std::size_t size) noexcept {
23 std::printf("operator delete[](%p)\n", ptr);
24 std::free(ptr);
25 }
26
27 int main() {
28 int* ip = new int;
29 delete ip;
30 int* ap = new int[10];
31 delete[] ap;
32 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 612
Motivation for Placement New

1 #include <cstdint>
2
3 // heap-allocated array of bounded size
4 template <class T>
5 class bvec {
6 public:
7 // create empty vector that can hold max_size elements
8 // why is this implementation extremely inefficient?
9 bvec(std::size_t max_size) {
10 start_ = new T[max_size];
11 end_ = start_ + max_size;
12 finish_ = start_; // mark array empty
13 }
14 // why is this implementation extremely inefficient?
15 ˜bvec() {
16 delete[] start_;
17 }
18 // ...
19 private:
20 T* start_; // start of storage for element data
21 T* finish_; // one past end of element data
22 T* end_; // end of storage for element data
23 };

placement new expression is new expression that specifies one or more

(optional) placement arguments
often, placement new used for purpose of constructing object at specific
place in memory
this is accomplished by forcing non-allocating overload of operator new to
be used (via placement arguments of new expression)
example:
alignas(std::string) char buffer[sizeof(std::string)];
std::string* sp =
new (static_cast<void*>(buffer)) std::string("Hello");
assert(static_cast<void*>(sp) == buffer);
// ... (destroy)
although, in principle, placement new can also be used with new
expressions for arrays, not very practically useful (since objects in array
can always be created using single-object placement new expressions)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 614
Placement New Examples
1 #include <new>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <cassert>
4 #include <utility>
5
6 void func_1() {
7 int buffer;
8 int* ip = new (static_cast<void*>(&buffer)) int(42);
9 assert(ip == &buffer && buffer == 42);
10 }
11
12 void func_2() {
13 alignas(int) char buffer[sizeof(int)];
14 int* ip = new (static_cast<void*>(buffer)) int(42);
15 assert(static_cast<void*>(ip) == buffer && *ip == 42);
16 }
17
18 template <class T, class... Args>
19 T* construct_at(void* ptr, Args&&... args) {
20 return ::new (ptr) T(std::forward<Args>(args)...);
21 }
22
23 void func_3() {
24 alignas(std::vector<int>) char buffer[sizeof(std::vector<int>)];
25 std::vector<int>* vp = construct_at<std::vector<int>>(buffer, 1000, 42);
26 assert(static_cast<void*>(vp) == buffer && vp->size() == 1000 &&
27 (*vp)[0] == 42);
28 // ... (destroy vector)
29 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 615
Direct Destructor Invocation

can directly invoke destructor of class object

only very special circumstances necessitate direct invocation of destructor
used in situations where deallocation must be performed separately from
destruction (in which case delete expression cannot be used as it
performs both destruction and deallocation together)
typical use case is for implementing container classes where destruction
of object stored in container and deallocation of memory occupied by that
object done at different points in time
given pointer p to class object of type T, can directly invoke destructor
through pointer using syntax:
p->˜T()
example:
alignas(std::vector<int>) char buf[
sizeof(std::vector<int>)];
std::vector<int>* vp = new (static_cast<void*>(buf))
std::vector<int>(1024);
vp->˜vector();
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 616
Section 3.1.2

More on Memory Management

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 617
std::addressof Function Template
for memory management purposes, often necessary to obtain address of
object
if class overloads address-of operator, obtaining address of object
becomes more difficult
for convenience, standard library provides std::addressof function
template for querying address of object, which yields correct result even if
class overloads address-of operator
declaration:
template <class T>
constexpr T* addressof(T& arg) noexcept;
template <class T>
const T* addressof(const T&&) = delete;
addressof function should be used any time address of object is required
whose class may have overloaded address-of operator
example:
template <class T> foo(const T& x) {
const T* p = std::addressof(x);
// ...
}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 618
std::addressof Example

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cassert>
3 #include <memory>
4
5 // class that overloads address-of operator
6 class Foo {
7 public:
8 Foo(int i) : i_(i) {}
9 const Foo* operator&() const {return nullptr;}
10 Foo* operator&() {return nullptr;}
11 int get() const {return i_;}
12 // ...
13 private:
14 int i_;
15 };
16
17 int main() {
18 Foo f(42);
19 assert(&f == nullptr);
20 assert(std::addressof(f) != nullptr &&
21 std::addressof(f)->get() == 42);
22 std::cout << std::addressof(f) << ’\n’;
23 }

often need can arise for buffer of particular size and alignment
for convenience, standard library provides std::aligned_storage class
template for specifying such buffers
declaration:
template <std::size_t Size, std::size_t Align =
__default_alignment> struct aligned_storage;
Size is size of storage buffer in bytes
Align is alignment of storage buffer (which has
implementation-dependent default)
for additional convenience, std::aligned_storage_t alias template
also provided
declaration:
template <std::size_t Size, std::size_t Align =
__default_alignment> using aligned_storage_t = typename
aligned_storage<Len, Align>::type;
example:
std::aligned_storage_t<sizeof(std::string),
alignof(std::string)> buffer;
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 620
Optional Value Example

consider container class called optval that can hold optional value
class templated on type T of optional value
container object in one of two states:
1 holding value of type T

2 not holding any value

can query if container is holding value, and if so, access held value
somewhat similar in spirit to std::optional
want to store object of type T in optval object itself
no memory allocation required
example demonstrates use of placement new (to construct object at
particular place in memory) and direct invocation of destructor

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 621
Optional Value Example: optval.hpp
1 #include <new>
2 #include <type_traits>
3
4 template <class T> class optval {
5 public:
6 optval() : valid_(false) {}
7 ˜optval() {clear();}
8 optval(const optval&) = delete; // for simplicity
9 optval& operator=(const optval&) = delete; // for simplicity
10 bool has_value() const noexcept {return valid_;}
11 const T& get() const {return reinterpret_cast<const T&>(storage_);}
12 void clear() noexcept {
13 if (valid_) {
14 reinterpret_cast<T*>(&storage_)->˜T();
15 valid_ = false;
16 }
17 }
18 void set(const T& value) {
19 clear();
20 ::new (static_cast<void*>(&storage_)) T(value);
21 valid_ = true;
22 }
23 private:
24 bool valid_; // is value valid?
25 std::aligned_storage_t<sizeof(T), alignof(T)> storage_;
26 // storage for value
27 // or alternatively: alignas(T) char storage_[sizeof(T)];
28 };

1 #include <cassert>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <iostream>
4 #include "optional_1_util.hpp"
5
6 int main() {
7 optval<std::string> s;
8 assert(!s.has_value());
9 s.set("Hello, World");
10 assert(s.has_value());
11 std::cout << s.get() << ’\n’;
12 s.clear();
13 assert(!s.has_value());
14 }

sometimes need may arise to work with uninitialized storage

may want to construct objects in uninitialized storage (by using placement
new to invoke constructor) and later destroy objects
may want to move or copy objects into uninitialized storage (by using
placement new to invoke move or copy constructor)
code required to perform above operations is not very long, but must be
written with some care to ensure that exceptions handled correctly
standard library provides functions that perform these operations for
convenience
these functions useful for code that manages memory without using
standard-compliant allocators

Operations on Uninitialized Memory

Operations on Uninitialized Memory (Continued)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 626
Some Example Implementations
1 template<class InputIter, class ForwardIter>
2 ForwardIter uninitialized_copy(InputIter first, InputIter last,
3 ForwardIter result) {
4 using Value = typename std::iterator_traits<ForwardIter>::value_type;
5 ForwardIter current = result;
6 try {
7 for (; first != last; ++first, (void) ++current) {
8 ::new (static_cast<void*>(std::addressof(*current))) Value(*first);
9 }
10 } catch (...) {
11 for (; result != current; ++result) {
12 result->˜Value();
13 }
14 throw;
15 }
16 return current;
17 }

1 template <class ForwardIter>

2 void destroy(ForwardIter first, ForwardIter last) {
3 for (; first != last; ++first) {
4 std::destroy_at(std::addressof(*first));
5 }
6 }

1 template <class T>

2 void destroy_at(T* p) {p->˜T();}

consider class array for bounded one-dimensional array whose

maximum size is compile-time constant
class templated on element type T and number N of elements in array
array element data is stored in array object itself
no memory allocation required
provide only basic container functionality in order to keep example to
reasonable size for slides
example demonstrates handling of uninitialized memory using standard
library functions
similar in spirit to boost::static_vector

1 // type-aware aligned buffer class

2 // provides buffer suitably aligned for N elements of type T
3 template <class T, std::size_t N>
4 class aligned_buffer {
5 public:
6 const T* start() const noexcept
7 {return reinterpret_cast<const T*>(storage_);}
8 T* start() noexcept {return reinterpret_cast<T*>(storage_);}
9 const T* end() const noexcept {return start() + N;}
10 T* end() noexcept {return start() + N;}
11 private:
12 alignas(T) char storage_[N * sizeof(T)]; // aligned buffer
13 };

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <algorithm>
3 #include <type_traits>
4 #include "aligned_buffer.hpp"
5
6 template <class T, std::size_t N> class array {
7 public:
8 array() : finish_(buf_.start()) {}
9 array(const array& other);
10 array(array&& other);
11 ˜array() {clear();}
12 array& operator=(const array& other);
13 array& operator=(array&& other);
14 explicit array(std::size_t size);
15 array(std::size_t size, const T& value);
16 constexpr std::size_t max_size() const noexcept {return N;}
17 std::size_t size() const noexcept {return finish_ - buf_.start();}
18 T& operator[](std::size_t i) {return buf_.start()[i];}
19 const T& operator[](std::size_t i) const {return buf_.start()[i];}
20 T& back() {return finish_[-1];}
21 const T& back() const {return finish_[-1];}
22 void push_back(const T& value);
23 void pop_back();
24 void clear() noexcept;
25 private:
26 T* finish_; // one past last element in buffer
27 aligned_buffer<T, N> buf_; // buffer for array elements
28 };

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 630
Bounded Array Example: array.hpp (2)
30 template <class T, std::size_t N>
31 array<T, N>::array(const array& other) {
32 finish_ = std::uninitialized_copy(other.buf_.start(),
33 const_cast<const T*>(other.finish_), buf_.start());
34 }
35
36 template <class T, std::size_t N>
37 array<T, N>::array(array&& other) {
38 finish_ = std::uninitialized_move(other.buf_.start(), other.finish_,
39 buf_.start());
40 }
41
42 template <class T, std::size_t N>
43 array<T, N>& array<T, N>::operator=(const array& other) {
44 if (this != &other) {
45 clear();
46 finish_ = std::uninitialized_copy(other.buf_.start(),
47 const_cast<const T*>(other.finish_), buf_.start());
48 }
49 return *this;
50 }
51
52 template <class T, std::size_t N>
53 array<T, N>& array<T, N>::operator=(array&& other) {
54 if (this != &other) {
55 clear();
56 finish_ = std::uninitialized_move(other.buf_.start(), other.finish_,
57 buf_.start());
58 }
59 return *this;
60 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 631
Bounded Array Example: array.hpp (3)

62 template <class T, std::size_t N>

63 array<T, N>::array(std::size_t size) {
64 if (size > max_size()) {size = max_size();}
65 std::uninitialized_default_construct(buf_.start(), buf_.start() + size);
66 finish_ = buf_.start() + size;
67 }
68
69 template <class T, std::size_t N>
70 array<T, N>::array(std::size_t size, const T& value) {
71 if (size > max_size()) {size = max_size();}
72 finish_ = std::uninitialized_fill_n(buf_.start(), size, value);
73 }
74
75 template <class T, std::size_t N>
76 void array<T, N>::push_back(const T& value) {
77 if (finish_ == buf_.end()) {return;}
78 finish_ = std::uninitialized_fill_n(finish_, 1, value);
79 }
80
81 template <class T, std::size_t N>
82 void array<T, N>::pop_back() {
83 --finish_;
84 std::destroy_at(finish_);
85 }

87 template <class T, std::size_t N>

88 void array<T, N>::clear() noexcept {
89 std::destroy(buf_.start(), finish_);
90 finish_ = buf_.start();
91 }

consider class vec that is one-dimensional dynamically-resizable array

class templated on array element type T
storage for element data allocated with operator new
similar in spirit to std::vector but much simplified:
cannot specify allocator to be used (i.e., always uses operator new and
operator delete for memory allocation)
does not provide iterators

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 634
Vector Example: vec.hpp (1)
1 #include <new>
2 #include <algorithm>
3 #include <type_traits>
4 #include <memory>
5
6 template <class T> class vec {
7 public:
8 vec() : start_(nullptr), finish_(nullptr), end_(nullptr) {}
9 vec(const vec& other);
10 vec(vec&& other) noexcept;
11 ˜vec();
12 vec& operator=(const vec& other);
13 vec& operator=(vec&& other) noexcept;
14 explicit vec(std::size_t size);
15 vec(std::size_t n, const T& value);
16 std::size_t capacity() const noexcept {return end_ - start_;}
17 std::size_t size() const noexcept {return finish_ - start_;}
18 T& operator[](int i) {return start_[i];}
19 const T& operator[](int i) const {return start_[i];}
20 T& back() {return finish_[-1];}
21 const T& back() const {return finish_[-1];}
22 void push_back(const T& value);
23 void pop_back();
24 void clear() noexcept;
25 private:
26 void grow(std::size_t n);
27 T* start_; // start of element storage
28 T* finish_; // one past last valid element
29 T* end_; // end of element storage
30 };
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 635
Vector Example: vec.hpp (2)

32 template <class T>

33 vec<T>::vec(const vec& other) {
34 start_ = static_cast<T*>(::operator new(other.size() * sizeof(T)));
35 end_ = start_ + other.size();
36 try {
37 finish_ = std::uninitialized_copy(other.start_, other.finish_, start_);
38 } catch (...) {
39 ::operator delete(start_);
40 throw;
41 }
42 }
43
44 template <class T>
45 vec<T>::vec(vec&& other) noexcept {
46 start_ = other.start_;
47 other.start_ = nullptr;
48 end_ = other.end_;
49 other.end_ = nullptr;
50 finish_ = other.finish_;
51 other.finish_ = nullptr;
52 }
53
54 template <class T>
55 vec<T>::˜vec() {
56 clear();
57 ::operator delete(start_);
58 }

60 template <class T>

61 vec<T>& vec<T>::operator=(const vec& other) {
62 if (this != &other) {
63 clear();
64 if (other.size() > capacity()) {grow(other.size());}
65 finish_ = std::uninitialized_copy(other.start_, other.finish_, start_);
66 }
67 return *this;
68 }
69
70 template <class T>
71 vec<T>& vec<T>::operator=(vec&& other) noexcept {
72 if (this != &other) {
73 clear();
74 ::operator delete(start_);
75 start_ = other.start_;
76 other.start_ = nullptr;
77 finish_ = other.finish_;
78 other.finish_ = nullptr;
79 end_ = other.end_;
80 other.end_ = nullptr;
81 }
82 return *this;
83 }

85 template <class T>

86 vec<T>::vec(std::size_t n) {
87 start_ = static_cast<T*>(::operator new(n * sizeof(T)));
88 end_ = start_ + n;
89 try {std::uninitialized_default_construct_n(start_, n);}
90 catch (...) {
91 ::operator delete(start_);
92 throw;
93 }
94 finish_ = end_;
95 }
96
97 template <class T>
98 vec<T>::vec(std::size_t n, const T& value) {
99 start_ = static_cast<T*>(::operator new(n * sizeof(T)));
100 end_ = start_ + n;
101 try {std::uninitialized_fill_n(start_, n, value);}
102 catch (...) {
103 ::operator delete(start_);
104 throw;
105 }
106 finish_ = end_;
107 }

109 template <class T>

110 void vec<T>::push_back(const T& value) {
111 if (finish_ == end_) {
112 // might want to check for overflow here
113 grow(2 * capacity());
114 }
115 finish_ = std::uninitialized_fill_n(finish_, 1, value);
116 }
117
118 template <class T>
119 void vec<T>::pop_back() {
120 --finish_;
121 std::destroy_at(finish_);
122 }
123
124 template <class T>
125 void vec<T>::clear() noexcept {
126 if (size()) {
127 std::destroy(start_, finish_);
128 finish_ = start_;
129 }
130 }

132 template <class T>

133 void vec<T>::grow(std::size_t n) {
134 T* new_start = static_cast<T*>(::operator new(n * sizeof(T)));
135 std::size_t old_size = size();
136 try {
137 std::uninitialized_move(start_, finish_, new_start);
138 } catch (...) {
139 ::operator delete(new_start);
140 throw;
141 }
142 ::operator delete(start_);
143 start_ = new_start;
144 finish_ = new_start + old_size;
145 end_ = new_start + n;
146 }

Allocators

allocators provide uniform interface for allocating and deallocating

memory for object of particular type
interface that allocator must provide specified in C++ standard
each allocator type embodies particular memory allocation policy
perform allocation, construction, destruction, and deallocation
allocation separate from construction
destruction separate from deallocation
encapsulate information about allocation strategy and addressing model
hide memory management and addressing model details from containers
allow reuse of code implementing particular allocation strategy with any
allocator-aware container

container class templates typically take allocator type as parameter

this allows more than one memory allocation policy to be used with given
container class template
in case of standard library, many container class templates take allocator
type as template parameter, including:
vector, list
set, multiset, map, multimap
unordered_set, unordered_multiset, unordered_map,

unordered_multimap
all container class templates in standard library that take allocator as
parameter use default of std::allocator<T> where T must be type of
element held by container
std::allocator employs operator new and operator delete for memory
allocation
in many contexts, default allocator is quite adequate

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 643
Application Use of Allocator
1 #include <memory>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <map>
4 #include <cassert>
5 #include <boost/pool/pool_alloc.hpp>
6
7 int main() {
8 // use default allocator
9 std::vector<int> u;
10 u.push_back(42);
11
12 // explicitly specify default allocator
13 std::vector<int, std::allocator<int>> v;
14 static_assert(std::is_same_v<decltype(u), decltype(v)>);
15 assert(u.get_allocator() == v.get_allocator());
16 v.push_back(42);
17
18 // specify an allocator type from Boost
19 std::vector<int, boost::pool_allocator<int>> w;
20 w.push_back(42);
21
22 // explicitly specify default allocator
23 std::map<int, long, std::less<int>,
24 std::allocator<std::pair<const int, long>>> x;
25 x.insert({1, 2});
26 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 644
Why Not Just Always Use the Default Allocator?
custom allocators used when greater control is needed over how memory
is managed
often this greater control is desired for:
improved efficiency (e.g., better locality and less contention)
debugging
performance analysis (e.g., collecting statistics on memory allocation)
testing (e.g., forcing allocation failures)
security (e.g., locking and clearing memory)
since many allocation strategies are possible, one strategy cannot be best
in all situations
some allocation strategies include:
stack-based allocation
per-container allocation
per-thread allocation (which avoids synchronization issues)
pooled allocation
arena allocation
may want to handle relocatable data (e.g., shared memory)
may want to use memory mapped files

other examples of (standard-compliant) allocators include:

std::pmr::polymorphic_allocator (allocator whose behavior depends

on memory resource with which it was constructed)

boost::interprocess::allocator (shared memory allocator)
boost::pool_alloc (pool allocator)
boost::fast_pool_alloc (pool allocator)

allocator handles memory allocation for objects of specific type (e.g.,

allocator for ints)
allocator normally accessed by container type through interface of traits
class called std::allocator_traits
container class typically use allocator for managing memory associated
with container element data
four basic types of operations provided by allocator through traits class:
allocate memory
deallocate memory
construct object
destroy object
two allocator instances deemed equal if memory allocated with each
instance can be deallocated with other
allocator objects may have state

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 647
Allocator Members
allocator type for objects of (cv-unqualified) type T
many members are optional, with std::allocator_traits class
effectively providing defaults for omitted members
value_type:
type T of object for which allocator manages (i.e., allocates and

deallocates) memory
pointer:
pointer type used to refer to storage obtained from allocator (not
necessarily T*)
optional: default of T* provided by allocator_traits
const_pointer:
const version of pointer
optional: default of const T* provided by allocator_traits
pointer allocate(size_type n):
allocate storage suitable for n objects of type T
void deallocate(pointer ptr, size_type n):
deallocates storage pointed to by ptr, where ptr must have been obtained
by previous call to allocate and n must match value given in that call
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 648
Allocator Members (Continued)

void construct(value_type* ptr, Args&&... args):

constructs object of type T in storage pointed to by ptr using specified
arguments args
optional: default behavior provided by allocator_traits is to use
placement new expression
void destroy(value_type* ptr):
destroys object of type T in storage pointed to by ptr
optional: default behavior provided by allocator_traits is to directly
invoke destructor

pointer and const_pointer must satisfy requirements of

random-access and contiguous iterators
pointer and const_pointer can be fancy pointers (i.e., smart pointers)
fancy pointers useful, for example, in allocating storage in shared memory
region

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 650
Malloc-Based Allocator: Allocator Code
1 #include <cstdlib>
2 #include <new>
3
4 template <class T>
5 struct mallocator {
6 using value_type = T;
7 mallocator() noexcept {};
8 template <class U> mallocator(const mallocator<U>&) noexcept {}
9 T* allocate(std::size_t n) const;
10 void deallocate(T* p, std::size_t n) const noexcept;
11 template <class U> bool operator==(const mallocator<U>&)
12 const noexcept {return true;}
13 template <class U> bool operator!=(const mallocator<U>&)
14 const noexcept {return false;}
15 };
16
17 template <class T>
18 T* mallocator<T>::allocate(std::size_t n) const {
19 if (!n) {return nullptr;}
20 if (n > static_cast<std::size_t>(-1) / sizeof(T))
21 {throw std::bad_array_new_length();}
22 void* p = std::malloc(n * sizeof(T));
23 if (!p) {throw std::bad_alloc();}
24 return static_cast<T*>(p);
25 }
26
27 template <class T>
28 void mallocator<T>::deallocate(T* p, std::size_t) const noexcept
29 {std::free(p);}

1 #include "mallocator.hpp"
2 #include <cassert>
3 #include <vector>
4 #include <type_traits>
5
6 int main() {
7 std::vector<int, mallocator<int>> v;
8 // uses mallocator<int> for memory allocation
9 std::vector<int> w;
10 // or equivalently, std::vector<int, std::allocator<int>>
11 // uses std::allocator<int> for memory allocation
12 static_assert(!std::is_same_v<decltype(v)::allocator_type,
13 decltype(w)::allocator_type>);
14 for (int i = 0; i < 128; ++i) {
15 v.push_back(42);
16 w.push_back(42);
17 }
18 std::vector<int, mallocator<int>> x;
19 assert(v.get_allocator() == x.get_allocator());
20 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 652
Allocator Propagation
in certain contexts, must consider if and how allocators should be
propagated between container objects
lateral propagation refers to propagation of allocator when copying,
moving, and swapping containers:
when container copy/move constructed, what allocator does new container
receive?
when container copy/move assigned, what allocator does
copied-to/moved-to container receive?
when containers swapped, what allocator does each container receive?
deep propagation refers to propagation of allocator from parent container
to its descendents in hierarchy of nested containers:
if container contains types which themselves require allocators, how can
contained elements be made aware of container’s allocator so that
compatible allocator can be used?
each allocator has its own lateral propagation properties, which can be
accessed via std::allocator_traits
deep allocator propagation can be controlled via
std::scoped_allocator_adaptor
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 653
New-Based Allocator
1 #include <new>
2 #include <type_traits>
3
4 template <class T>
5 struct allocator {
6 using value_type = T;
7 using propagate_on_container_move_assignment = std::true_type;
8 using is_always_equal = std::true_type;
9 allocator() noexcept {};
10 allocator(const allocator&) noexcept {};
11 template <class U> allocator(const allocator<U>&) noexcept {}
12 ˜allocator() {}
13 T* allocate(std::size_t n);
14 void deallocate(T* p, std::size_t n) const noexcept
15 {::operator delete(p);}
16 };
17
18 template <class T>
19 T* allocator<T>::allocate(std::size_t n) {
20 if (n > static_cast<std::size_t>(-1) / sizeof(T))
21 {throw std::bad_array_new_length();}
22 return static_cast<T*>(::operator new(n * sizeof(T)));
23 }
24
25 template <class T, class U>
26 inline bool operator==(const allocator<T>&, const allocator<U>&) noexcept
27 {return true;}
28
29 template <class T, class U>
30 inline bool operator!=(const allocator<T>&, const allocator<U>&) noexcept
31 {return false;}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 654
Fixed-Size Arena Allocator: Example

consider example of simple allocator that allocates memory from

fixed-size buffer
arena class (called arena) provides memory allocation from fixed-size
buffer with some prescribed minumum alignment
allocator class (called salloc) provides interface to particular arena
instance
salloc object holds pointer to arena object (so allocator is stateful)
arena object makes no attempt to deallocate memory (i.e., deallocate
operation does nothing)
allocator might be used for relatively small allocations from stack (where
arena object would be local variable)
allocator always propagated for copy, move, and swap (i.e., POCMA,
POCCA, and POCS, as defined later, all true)
two instances of allocator not necessarily equal

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <cstddef>
3 #include <new>
4
5 template <std::size_t N, std::size_t Align = alignof(std::max_align_t)>
6 class arena {
7 public:
8 arena() : ptr_(buf_) {}
9 arena(const arena&) = delete;
10 arena& operator=(const arena&) = delete;
11 ˜arena() = default;
12 constexpr std::size_t alignment() const {return Align;}
13 constexpr std::size_t capacity() const {return N;}
14 constexpr std::size_t used() const {return ptr_ - buf_;}
15 constexpr std::size_t free() const {return N - used();}
16 template <std::size_t ReqAlign> void* allocate(std::size_t n);
17 void deallocate(void* ptr, std::size_t n) {}
18 void clear() {ptr_ = buf_;}
19 private:
20 template <std::size_t ReqAlign>
21 static char* align(char* ptr, std::size_t n, std::size_t max);
22 alignas(Align) char buf_[N]; // storage buffer
23 char* ptr_; // pointer to first unused byte
24 };

26 template <std::size_t N, std::size_t Align>

27 template <std::size_t ReqAlign>
28 char* arena<N, Align>::align(char* ptr, std::size_t n, std::size_t max) {
29 void* p = ptr;
30 return static_cast<char*>(std::align(ReqAlign, n, p, max));
31 }
32
33 template <std::size_t N, std::size_t Align>
34 template <std::size_t ReqAlign>
35 void* arena<N, Align>::allocate(std::size_t n) {
36 char* ptr = this->align<std::max(Align, ReqAlign)>(ptr_, n, free());
37 if (!ptr) {throw std::bad_alloc();}
38 ptr_ = ptr + n;
39 return ptr;
40 }

42 template <class T, std::size_t N, std::size_t Align = alignof(T)>

43 class salloc {
44 public:
45 using value_type = T;
46 using propagate_on_container_move_assignment = std::true_type;
47 using propagate_on_container_copy_assignment = std::true_type;
48 using propagate_on_container_swap = std::true_type;
49 using is_always_equal = std::false_type;
50 using arena_type = arena<N, Align>;
51 salloc select_on_container_copy_construction() const {return *this;}
52 template <class U> struct rebind {using other = salloc<U, N, Align>;};
53 template <class T2>
54 salloc(const salloc<T2, N, Align>& other) : a_(other.a_) {}
55 salloc(arena_type& a) : a_(&a) {}
56 ˜salloc() = default;
57 salloc(const salloc&) = default;
58 salloc(salloc&& other) = default;
59 salloc& operator=(const salloc&) = default;
60 salloc& operator=(salloc&& other) = default;
61 T* allocate(std::size_t n) {
62 if (n > static_cast<std::size_t>(-1) / sizeof(T))
63 {throw std::bad_alloc();}
64 return static_cast<T*>(a_->template allocate<alignof(T)>(
65 n * sizeof(T)));
66 }
67 void deallocate(T* p, std::size_t n)
68 {return a_->deallocate(p, n * sizeof(T));}

69 private:
70 template <class T1, std::size_t N1, std::size_t A1, class T2,
71 std::size_t N2, std::size_t A2>
72 friend bool operator==(const salloc<T1, N1, A1>&,
73 const salloc<T2, N2, A2>&);
74 template <class, std::size_t, std::size_t> friend class salloc;
75 arena_type* a_; // arena from which to allocate storage
76 };
77
78 template <class T1, std::size_t N1, std::size_t A1, class T2, std::size_t N2,
79 std::size_t A2>
80 inline bool operator==(const salloc<T1, N1, A1>& a,
81 const salloc<T2, N2, A2>& b)
82 {return N1 == N2 && A1 == A2 && a.a_ == b.a_;}
83
84 template <class T1, std::size_t N1, std::size_t A1, class T2, std::size_t N2,
85 std::size_t A2>
86 inline bool operator!=(const salloc<T1, N1, A1>& a,
87 const salloc<T2, N2, A2>& b)
88 {return !(a == b);}

1 #include <vector>
2 #include <list>
3 #include <iostream>
4 #include "salloc.hpp"
5
6 int main() {
7 using alloc = salloc<int, 1024, sizeof(int)>;
8 alloc::arena_type a;
9 std::vector<int, alloc> v{{0, 1, 2, 3}, a};
10 std::vector<int, alloc> w{{0, 2, 4, 6}, a};
11 std::list<int, alloc> p{{1, 3, 5, 7}, a};
12 std::cout << a.free() << ’\n’;
13 v.push_back(42);
14 for (auto&& i : v) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;}
15 for (auto&& i : w) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;}
16 for (auto&& i : p) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;}
17 std::cout << a.free() << ’\n’;
18
19 // std::vector<int, alloc> x(1024);
20 // std::list<int, alloc> y;
21 // ERROR: allocator cannot be default constructed
22 }

container that uses allocator sometimes referred to as allocator aware

typically much more difficult to develop allocator-aware container than
container that does not use allocator
type of pointer returned by allocator not necessarily same as pointer to
element type, which sometimes complicates code somewhat
much of complexity in implementing allocator-aware container, however,
arises from issue of allocator propagation

allocators intended to be used via allocator user (e.g., container) indirectly

through traits class std::allocator_traits
declaration:
template <class Alloc> struct allocator_traits;
allocator_traits provides uniform interface to allocators used by
containers
some properties of allocator types are optional
in cases where allocator type did not specify optional properties,
allocator_traits provides default

properties of allocator in std::allocator_traits used to control lateral

allocator propagation
container copy constructor obtains allocator for new container by invoking
select_on_container_copy_construction in allocator_traits
container move constructor always propagates allocator by move
container copy assignment replaces allocator (in copied-to container) only
if propagate_on_container_copy_assignment (POCCA) in
allocator_traits is true
container move assignment replaces allocator (in moved-to container)
only if propagate_on_container_move_assignment (POCMA) in
allocator_traits is true
container swap will swap allocators of two containers only if
propagate_on_container_swap (POCS) in allocator_traits is true
if POCS is false, swapping two standard-library containers with unequal
allocators is undefined behavior (since swap must not invalidate iterators
and iterators would have to be invalidated in this case)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 663
Allocator-Traits Querying Example
1 #include <memory>
2 #include <type_traits>
3 #include <boost/interprocess/managed_shared_memory.hpp>
4 #include <boost/interprocess/allocators/allocator.hpp>
5 #include <iostream>
6
7 template <class T> void print(std::ostream& out = std::cout) {
8 out << std::is_same_v<typename T::pointer, typename T::value_type*> << ’ ’
9 << std::is_same_v<typename T::const_pointer,
10 const typename T::value_type*> << ’ ’
11 << T::is_always_equal::value << ’ ’
12 << T::propagate_on_container_move_assignment::value << ’ ’
13 << T::propagate_on_container_copy_assignment::value << ’ ’
14 << T::propagate_on_container_swap::value << ’\n’;
15 }
16
17 int main() {
18 namespace bi = boost::interprocess;
19 print<std::allocator_traits<std::allocator<int>>>();
20 print<std::allocator_traits<bi::allocator<int,
21 bi::managed_shared_memory::segment_manager>>>();
22 }
23
24 /* Output:
25 1 1 1 1 0 0
26 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 */

consider container class template called optval that can hold optional
value
class templated on element type T and allocator type
container object in one of two states:
1 holding value of type T

2 not holding any value

can query if container is holding value, and if so, access held value
want to store object of type T in memory obtained from allocator
example illustrates basic use of allocator in container class

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 665
Optional Value Example: Code (1)
1 #include <memory>
2 #include <type_traits>
3 #include <utility>
4
5 template <class T, class Alloc = std::allocator<T>>
6 class optval : private Alloc {
7 public:
8 using value_type = T;
9 using allocator_type = Alloc;
10 private:
11 using traits = typename std::allocator_traits<Alloc>;
12 public:
13 using pointer = typename traits::pointer;
14 using const_pointer = typename traits::const_pointer;
15 optval(std::allocator_arg_t, const allocator_type& alloc) :
16 Alloc(alloc), value_(nullptr) {}
17 optval() : optval(std::allocator_arg, allocator_type()) {}
18 optval(std::allocator_arg_t, const allocator_type& alloc,
19 const optval& other);
20 optval(const optval& other);
21 optval(std::allocator_arg_t, const allocator_type& alloc, optval&& other)
22 noexcept;
23 optval(optval&& other) noexcept;
24 optval(std::allocator_arg_t, const allocator_type& alloc, const T& value);
25 optval(const T& value);
26 ˜optval();
27 optval& operator=(const optval& other);
28 optval& operator=(optval&& other)
29 noexcept(traits::propagate_on_container_move_assignment::value);
30 void swap(optval& other) noexcept;

31 allocator_type get_allocator() const {return alloc_();}

32 bool has_value() const noexcept {return value_;}
33 const T& get() const {return *value_;}
34 void clear() noexcept;
35 void set(const T& value);
36 private:
37 pointer copy_(allocator_type a, const value_type& value);
38 allocator_type& alloc_() {return *this;}
39 const allocator_type& alloc_() const {return *this;}
40 pointer value_; // pointer to optional value
41 };
42
43 template <class T, class Alloc>
44 optval<T, Alloc>::optval(const optval& other) : optval(std::allocator_arg,
45 traits::select_on_container_copy_construction(other.alloc_()), other) {}
46
47 template <class T, class Alloc>
48 optval<T, Alloc>::optval(std::allocator_arg_t, const allocator_type& alloc,
49 const optval& other) : Alloc(alloc), value_(nullptr) {
50 if (other.value_) {value_ = copy_(alloc_(), *other.value_);}
51 }
52
53 template <class T, class Alloc>
54 optval<T, Alloc>::optval(optval&& other) noexcept : Alloc(std::move(other)) {
55 value_ = other.value_;
56 other.value_ = nullptr;
57 }

59 template <class T, class Alloc>

60 optval<T, Alloc>::optval(std::allocator_arg_t, const allocator_type& alloc,
61 optval&& other) noexcept : Alloc(alloc) {
62 value_ = other.value_;
63 other.value_ = nullptr;
64 }
65
66 template <class T, class Alloc>
67 optval<T, Alloc>::optval(std::allocator_arg_t, const allocator_type& alloc,
68 const T& value) : Alloc(alloc), value_(nullptr)
69 {value_ = copy_(alloc_(), value);}
70
71 template <class T, class Alloc>
72 optval<T, Alloc>::optval(const T& value) : optval(std::allocator_arg,
73 allocator_type(), value) {}
74
75 template <class T, class Alloc>
76 optval<T, Alloc>::˜optval()
77 {clear();}

79 template <class T, class Alloc>

80 auto optval<T, Alloc>::operator=(const optval& other) -> optval& {
81 if (this != &other) {
82 if constexpr(traits::propagate_on_container_copy_assignment::value) {
83 allocator_type a = other.alloc_();
84 pointer p = other.value_ ? copy_(a, *other.value_) : nullptr;
85 clear();
86 alloc_() = other.alloc_();
87 value_ = p;
88 } else {
89 pointer p = other.value_ ? copy_(alloc_(), *other.value_) : nullptr;
90 clear();
91 value_ = p;
92 }
93 }
94 return *this;
95 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 669
Optional Value Example: Code (5)
97 template <class T, class Alloc>
98 auto optval<T, Alloc>::operator=(optval&& other)
99 noexcept(traits::propagate_on_container_move_assignment::value) -> optval& {
100 if (this != &other) {
101 if constexpr (traits::propagate_on_container_move_assignment::value) {
102 clear();
103 std::swap(alloc_(), other.alloc_());
104 std::swap(value_, other.value_);
105 } else if (alloc_() == other.alloc_()) {
106 clear();
107 std::swap(value_, other.value_);
108 } else {
109 pointer p = copy_(alloc_(), other.value_);
110 std::swap(value_, other.value_);
111 other.clear();
112 value_ = p;
113 }
114 }
115 return *this;
116 }
117
118 template <class T, class Alloc>
119 void optval<T, Alloc>::swap(optval& other) noexcept {
120 // require POCS to be true or allocators equivalent
121 assert(traits::propagate_on_container_swap::value ||
122 alloc_() == other.alloc_());
123 if constexpr (traits::propagate_on_container_swap::value)
124 {std::swap(alloc_(), other.alloc_());}
125 std::swap(value_, other.value_);
126 }

128 template <class T, class Alloc>

129 void optval<T, Alloc>::clear() noexcept {
130 if (value_) {
131 traits::destroy(alloc_(), std::addressof(*value_));
132 traits::deallocate(alloc_(), value_, 1);
133 value_ = nullptr;
134 }
135 }
136
137 template <class T, class Alloc>
138 void optval<T, Alloc>::set(const T& value) {
139 pointer p = copy_(alloc_(), value);
140 clear();
141 value_ = p;
142 }
143
144 template <class T, class Alloc>
145 auto optval<T, Alloc>::copy_(allocator_type a, const value_type& value) ->
146 pointer {
147 pointer p = traits::allocate(alloc_(), 1);
148 try {traits::construct(a, std::addressof(*p), value);}
149 catch (...) {
150 traits::deallocate(a, p, 1);
151 throw;
152 }
153 return p;
154 }

when using stateful allocators with nested containers, often need to

ensure that allocator state is propagated from parent container to its
descendants
std::scoped_allocator_adaptor can be used to address this type of
allocator propagation problem (i.e., deep allocator propagation)
declaration:
template <class OuterAlloc, class... InnerAllocs>
class scoped_allocator_adaptor : public OuterAlloc;
OuterAlloc: allocator type for outermost container in nesting
InnerAllocs: parameter pack with allocator types for each subsequent
container in nesting
if InnerAllocs has too few allocator types for number of nesting levels,
last allocator type repeated as necessary
scoped_allocator_adaptor useful when all containers in nesting must
use same stateful allocator, such as typically case when using
shared-memory-segment allocator
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 672
scoped_allocator_adaptor Example
1 #include <scoped_allocator>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <list>
4 #include <iostream>
5 #include "salloc.hpp"
6
7 int main() {
8 constexpr std::size_t align = alignof(std::max_align_t);
9 using inner_alloc = salloc<int, 1024, align>;
10 using inner = inner_alloc::value_type;
11 using outer_alloc = salloc<std::list<int, inner_alloc>, 1024,
12 align>;
13 using outer = outer_alloc::value_type;
14 using alloc = std::scoped_allocator_adaptor<outer_alloc,
15 inner_alloc>;
16
17 using container = std::vector<outer, alloc>;
18 alloc::arena_type a;
19 container v(container::allocator_type(a, a));
20 v.reserve(4);
21 std::list<inner, inner_alloc> p({1, 2, 3}, a);
22 v.push_back(p);
23 for (auto&& y : v) {
24 for (auto&& x : y) {
25 std::cout << x << ’\n’;
26 }
27 }
28 }

1 #include <vector>
2 #include <scoped_allocator>
3 #include <boost/interprocess/managed_shared_memory.hpp>
4 #include <boost/interprocess/allocators/adaptive_pool.hpp>
5
6 namespace bi = boost::interprocess;
7
8 template <class T>
9 using alloc = typename bi::adaptive_pool<T, typename
10 bi::managed_shared_memory::segment_manager>;
11
12 int main () {
13 using row = std::vector<int, alloc<int>>;
14 using matrix = std::vector<row,
15 std::scoped_allocator_adaptor<alloc<row>>>;
16 bi::managed_shared_memory s(bi::create_only, "data", 8192);
17 matrix v(s.get_segment_manager());
18 v.resize(4);
19 for (int i = 0; i < 4; ++i) {v[i].push_back(0);}
20 bi::shared_memory_object::remove("data");
21 }

References

1 T. Koppe, A Visitor’s Guide to C++ Allocators, https://rawgit.com/

google/cxx-std-draft/allocator-paper/
allocator_user_guide.html.

1 Alisdair Meredith, Making Allocators Work, CppCon, Sept. 10, 2014.

Available online at http://youtu.be/YkiYOP3d64E and http://
youtu.be/Q5kyiFevMJQ. (This talk is in two parts.)
2 Alisdair Meredith, Allocators in C++11, C++Now, Aspen, CO, USA, May
2013. Available online at https://youtu.be/v7B_8IbHjxA.
3 Andrei Alexandrescu, std::allocator is to Allocation What std::vector is to
Vexation, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 24, 2015. Available online at
https://youtu.be/LIb3L4vKZ7U.
4 Alisdair Meredith, An allocator model for std2, CppCon, Bellevue, WA,
USA, Sept. 25, 2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/oCi_QZ6K_
qk.
This talk explains how allocators evolved from C++98 to C++17 and briefly how
they might be further evolved in future versions of the C++ standard.

5 Bob Steagall, How to Write a Custom Allocator, CppCon, Bellevue, WA,

USA, Sept. 28, 2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/
kSWfushlvB8.
This talk discusses how to write allocators for C++14/C++17 and how to use such
allocators in containers.
6 Bob Steagall, Testing the Limits of Allocator Awareness, C++Now, Aspen,
CO, USA, May 18, 2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/
fmJfKm9ano8.
This talk briefly introduces allocators and then describes a test suite for allocators
and presents some results obtained with this test suite.
7 Pablo Halpern, Modern Allocators: The Good Parts, CppCon, Bellevue,
WA, USA, Sept. 29, 2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/v3dz-
AKOVL8.
This talk introduces polymorphic allocators and considers a simple example of a
polymorphic allocator and a container that uses a polymorphic allocator.

8 Sergey Zubkov, From Security to Performance to GPU Programming:

Exploring Modern Allocators, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 25,
2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/HdQ4aOZyuHw.
9 Stephan Lavavej, STL Features and Implementation Techniques,
CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, 2014. Available online at https://youtu.
be/dTeKf5Oek2c.
This talk briefly discusses allocators in C++11 at 26:26–31:32.

Smart Pointers

Introduction

responsibility of owner of chunk of dynamically-allocated memory to

deallocate that memory when no longer needed
so managing dynamically-allocated memory essentially reduces to
problem of ownership management
raw pointer does not have any ownership relationship with memory to
which pointer refers
consequently, raw pointer does not itself directly participate in memory
management (e.g., deallocation)
raw pointers often problematic in presence of exceptions, since such
pointers do not know how to free their pointed-to memory
raw pointers should only be used in situations where no ownership
responsibility for pointees is needed (e.g., to simply observe object
without managing its associated memory)

smart pointer is object that has interface similar to raw pointer (e.g.,
provides operations such as indirection/dereferencing and assignment)
but offers some additional functionality
smart pointers provide RAII mechanism for managing memory resource
(i.e., pointed-to memory)
unlike raw pointer, smart pointer owns its pointed-to memory
consequently, smart pointer must provide mechanism for deallocating
pointed-to memory when no longer needed
some smart-pointer types allow only exclusive ownership, while others
allow shared ownership
destructor for smart pointer releases memory to which pointer refers if no
longer needed (i.e., no other owners remain)
smart pointers play crucial role in writing exception-safe code
smart pointers should always be used (instead of raw pointers) when
ownership of piece of memory needs to be tracked (e.g., so that it can be
deallocated when no longer needed)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 683
Section 3.2.2

The std::unique_ptr Class Template

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 684
The std::unique_ptr Template Class
std::unique_ptr is smart pointer that retains exclusive ownership of
object through pointer
declaration:
template <class T, class Deleter = std::default_delete<T>>
class unique_ptr;

T is type of object to be managed (i.e., owned object)

Deleter is callable entity used to delete owned object
also correctly handles array types via partial specialization (e.g., T could
be array of char)
owned object destroyed when unique_ptr object goes out of scope
no two unique_ptr objects can own same object
unique_ptr object is movable; move operation transfers ownership
unique_ptr object is not copyable, as copying would create additional
owners
std::make_unique template function often used to create unique_ptr
objects (for exception-safety reasons)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 685
The std::unique_ptr Template Class (Continued)

unique_ptr<T> Managed Object

Pointer to T Object T Object

unique_ptr<T,D> Managed Object

Pointer to T Object T Object
Deleter State (if any)

reasonable implementation would have zero memory cost for deleter state
in case of:
default deleter
deleter of functor/closure type with no state
if no memory cost for deleter state, unique_ptr has same memory cost
as raw pointer

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 686
std::unique_ptr Member Functions
Construction, Destruction, and Assignment
Member Name Description
constructor constructs new unique_ptr
destructor destroys managed object (if any)
operator= assigns unique_ptr

Modifiers
Member Name Description
release returns pointer to managed object and releases ownership
reset replaces managed object
swap swaps managed objects

Observers
Member Name Description
get returns pointer to managed object
get_deleter returns deleter used for destruction of managed object
operator bool check if there is associated managed object

Dereferencing/Subscripting
Member Name Description
operator* dereferences pointer to managed object
operator-> dereferences pointer to managed object
operator[] provides indexed access to managed array

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 void func() {
5 auto p1(std::make_unique<int>(42));
6 assert(*p1 == 42);
7
8 // std::unique_ptr<int> p3(p1); // ERROR: not copyable
9 // p3 = p1; // ERROR: not copyable
10
11 std::unique_ptr<int> p2(std::move(p1)); // OK: movable
12 // Transfers ownership from p1 to p2, invalidating p1.
13 assert(p1.get() == nullptr && *p2 == 42);
14
15 p1 = std::move(p2); // OK: movable
16 // Transfers ownership from p2 to p1, invalidating p2.
17 assert(p2.get() == nullptr && *p1 == 42);
18
19 p1.reset();
20 // Invalidates p1.
21 assert(p1.get() == nullptr);
22 }

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 int main() {
5 auto p0 = std::make_unique<int>(0);
6 assert(*p0 == 0);
7 int* r0 = p0.get();
8 auto p1 = std::make_unique<int>(1);
9 assert(*p1 == 1);
10 auto r1 = p1.get();
11 p0.swap(p1);
12 assert(p0.get() == r1 && p1.get() == r0);
13 p1.swap(p0);
14 assert(p0.get() == r0 && p1.get() == r1);
15 p1.reset();
16 assert(p1.get() == nullptr);
17 assert(!p1);
18 int* ip = p1.release();
19 assert(!p1);
20 // ... Do not throw exceptions here.
21 delete ip;
22 p1.reset(new int(42));
23 assert(*p1 == 42);
24 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 690
Example: std::unique_ptr with Custom Deleter
1 #include <memory>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <cstring>
4 #include <cstdlib>
5
6 using up = std::unique_ptr<char[], void(*)(char*)>;
7
8 char *allocate(std::size_t n) {
9 return static_cast<char*>(std::malloc(n));
10 }
11
12 void deallocate(char* p) {
13 std::cout << "deallocate called\n";
14 std::free(p);
15 }
16
17 up string_duplicate(const char *s) {
18 std::size_t len = std::strlen(s);
19 up result(allocate(len + 1), deallocate);
20 std::strcpy(result.get(), s);
21 return result;
22 }
23
24 int main() {
25 auto p = string_duplicate("Hello, World!");
26 std::cout << p.get() << ’\n’;
27 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 691
Section 3.2.3

The std::shared_ptr Class Template

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 692
The std::shared_ptr Template Class
std::shared_ptr is smart pointer that retains shared ownership of
object through pointer
declaration:
template <class T> class shared_ptr;
T is type of object to be managed (i.e., owned object)
multiple shared_ptr objects may own same object
owned object is deleted when last remaining owning shared_ptr object
is destroyed, assigned another pointer via assignment, or reset via reset
shared_ptr object is movable, where move transfers ownership
shared_ptr object is copyable, where copy creates additional owner
thread safety guaranteed for shared_ptr object itself but not owned
object
std::make_shared (and std::allocate_shared) often used to create
shared_ptr objects (for both efficiency and exception-safety reasons)
shared_ptr has more overhead than unique_ptr so unique_ptr
should be preferred unless shared ownership required
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 693
The std::shared_ptr Template Class (Continued)
shared_ptr<T>
Pointer to T Object
Pointer to Control Block Control Block Managed Object
..
Pointer to Managed Object .
Use Count T Object
shared_ptr<T> ..
Weak Count .
Pointer to T Object
Other Data
Pointer to Control Block

each shared_ptr<T> object contains:

pointer to object of type T (i.e., managed object or subobject thereof)
pointer to control block
control block contains:
pointer to managed object (for deletion)
use count: number of shared_ptr instances pointing to object
weak count: to be discussed later
other data (i.e., deleter and allocator)
managed object is deleted when use count reaches zero
make_shared can allow memory for control block and managed object to
be allocated together in single memory allocation
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 694
std::shared_ptr Reference Counting Example

shared_ptr<T>
Pointer to T Object
Pointer to Control Block

Control Block
Pointer to Managed Object Managed Object
..
Use Count (1) .
Weak Count (1) T Object
..
Other Data .

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 695
std::shared_ptr Reference Counting Example (Continued 1)

shared_ptr<T>
Pointer to T Object
Pointer to Control Block

Control Block
Pointer to Managed Object Managed Object
..
Use Count (2) .
Weak Count (1) T Object
..
Other Data .

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 696
std::shared_ptr Reference Counting Example (Continued 2)

shared_ptr<T>
Pointer to T Object
Pointer to Control Block

Control Block
Pointer to Managed Object Managed Object
..
Use Count (3) .
Weak Count (1) T Object
..
Other Data .

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Member Name Description
constructor constructs new shared_ptr
destructor destroys managed object if no other references to it remain
operator= assign shared_ptr

Modifiers
Member Name Description
reset replaced managed object
swap swaps managed objects

Observers
Member Name Description
get returns pointer to managed object
use_count returns number of shared_ptr objects referring to
same managed object
unique checks if managed object is managed only by current
shared_ptr instance
operator bool checks if there is associated managed object
owner_before provide owner-based ordering of shared pointers

Dereferencing/Subscripting
Member Name Description
operator* dereference pointer to managed object
operator-> dereference pointer to managed object
operator[] provide indexed access to managed array

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 int main() {
5 auto p1(std::make_shared<int>(0));
6 assert(*p1 == 0 && p1.use_count() == 1 && p1.unique());
7
8 std::shared_ptr<int> p2(p1);
9 assert(*p2 == 0 && p2.use_count() == 2 && !p2.unique());
10
11 *p2 = 42;
12 assert(*p1 == 42);
13
14 p2.reset();
15 assert(!p2);
16 assert(*p1 == 42 && p1.use_count() == 1 && p1.unique());
17
18 int* ip = p1.get();
19 assert(*ip == 42);;
20
21 ip = p2.get();
22 assert(ip == nullptr);
23 }

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <string>
4
5 int main() {
6 std::shared_ptr<std::string> s =
7 std::make_shared<std::string>("hello");
8
9 std::shared_ptr<const std::string> cs = s;
10
11 *s = "goodbye";
12
13 // *cs = "bonjour"; // ERROR: const
14
15 std::cout << *cs.get() << ’\n’;
16 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 701
Example: Shared Pointer to Subobject of Managed Object
1 #include <memory>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <cassert>
4 #include <iostream>
5
6 struct Widget {
7 Widget(int i_, const std::vector<int>& v_) :
8 i(i_), v(v_) {}
9 ˜Widget() {std::cout << "destructor called\n";}
10 int i;
11 std::vector<int> v;
12 };
13
14 int main() {
15 auto wp(std::make_shared<Widget>(42,
16 std::vector<int>{1, 2, 3}));
17 assert(wp.use_count() == 1);
18 assert(wp->i == 42 && wp->v.size() == 3);
19 std::shared_ptr<std::vector<int>> vp(wp, &wp->v);
20 assert(wp.use_count() == 2 && vp.use_count() == 2);
21 assert(vp->size() == 3);
22 wp = nullptr; // equivalently: wp.reset();
23 // managed Widget object not destroyed
24 assert(vp.use_count() == 1 && vp->size() == 3);
25 vp = nullptr; // equivalently: vp.reset();
26 // managed Widget object destroyed
27 // ...
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 702
Example: Shared Pointer to Subobject of Managed Object
(Continued 1)

wp
p v
cb i

p
rc = 1

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 703
Example: Shared Pointer to Subobject of Managed Object
(Continued 2)

wp vp
p v p
cb i cb

p
rc = 2

may want class object to be able to generate additional shared_ptr

instances referring to itself
requires object to have access to information in its associated
shared_ptr control block
access to such information obtained through use of
std::enable_shared_from_this class template
declaration:
template <class T> class enable_shared_from_this;
T is type of object being managed by shared_ptr
class can inherit from enable_shared_from_this to inherit
shared_from_this member functions that can be used to obtain
shared_ptr instance pointing to *this
shared_from_this is overloaded to provide both const and non-const
versions

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 // Aside: This is an example of the CRTP.
5 class Widget : public std::enable_shared_from_this<Widget>
6 {
7 public:
8 std::shared_ptr<Widget> getSharedPtr() {
9 return shared_from_this();
10 }
11 std::shared_ptr<const Widget> getSharedPtr() const {
12 return shared_from_this();
13 }
14 // ...
15 };
16
17 int main() {
18 std::shared_ptr<Widget> a(new Widget);
19 std::shared_ptr<Widget> b = a->getSharedPtr();
20 assert(b == a);
21 std::shared_ptr<const Widget> c = a->getSharedPtr();
22 assert(c == a);
23 }

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <array>
3 #include <string>
4 #include <iostream>
5
6 using namespace std::literals;
7
8 int main() {
9 std::array<std::shared_ptr<const std::string>, 3> all = {
10 std::make_shared<const std::string>("apple"s),
11 std::make_shared<const std::string>("orange"s),
12 std::make_shared<const std::string>("banana"s)
13 };
14 std::array<std::shared_ptr<const std::string>, 2> some =
15 {all[0], all[1]};
16
17 for (auto& x : all) {
18 std::cout << *x << ’ ’ << x.use_count() << ’\n’;
19 }
20 }
21
22 /* output:
23 apple 2
24 orange 2
25 banana 1
26 */

apple

p
some
rc = 2
all .. p
.
p cb
cb p
orange
p cb
cb p
rc = 2
p ..
.
cb

banana

p
rc = 1
..
.

The std::weak_ptr Class Template

reference counting nature of std::shared_ptr causes it to leak memory

in case of circular references
such cycles should be broken with std::weak_ptr (to be discussed
shortly)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 710
Circular Reference Example
1 #include <memory>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 struct Node {
6 Node(int id_) : id(id_) {}
7 ˜Node() {std::cout << "destroying node " << id << ’\n’;}
8 std::shared_ptr<Node> parent;
9 std::shared_ptr<Node> left;
10 std::shared_ptr<Node> right;
11 int id;
12 };
13
14 void func() {
15 std::shared_ptr<Node> root(std::make_shared<Node>(1));
16 assert(root.use_count() == 1);
17 root->left = std::make_shared<Node>(2);
18 assert(root.use_count() == 1 &&
19 root->left.use_count() == 1);
20 root->left->parent = root;
21 assert(root.use_count() == 2 &&
22 root->left.use_count() == 1);
23 // When root is destroyed, the reference count for each
24 // of the managed Node objects does not reach zero, and
25 // no Node object is destroyed.
26 // Node::˜Node is not called here
27 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 711
Circular Reference Example (Continued 1)

root
p
p p
cb
cb

l p
cb

r p
cb

i = 1

p
rc = 1

create new node, referenced by root

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 1 rc = 1

create new node, making it left child of root node (parent link not set)

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 2 rc = 1

set parent link for left child of root node

p p p p
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 1 rc = 1

after destroying root, neither node destroyed

std::weak_ptr is smart pointer that holds non-owning (i.e., “weak”)

reference to object managed by std::shared_ptr
weak_ptr must be converted to std::shared_ptr in order to access
referenced object
declaration:
template <class T> class weak_ptr;

T is type of referenced object

weak_ptr object is movable and copyable
std::weak_ptr is used to break circular references with
std::shared_ptr

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Member Name Description
constructor constructs new weak_ptr
destructor destroys weak_ptr
operator= assign weak_ptr

Modifiers
Member Name Description
reset replaced managed object
swap swaps managed objects

Observers
Member Name Description
use_count returns number of shared_ptr objects referring to
same managed object
expired checks if referenced object was already deleted
lock creates shared_ptr that manages referenced object
owner_before provide owner-based ordering of weak pointers

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 718
Typical shared_ptr/weak_ptr Implementation
shared_ptr<T> or weak_ptr<T>
Pointer to T Object
Pointer to Control Block Control Block Managed Object
..
Pointer to Managed Object .
Use Count T Object
..
Weak Count .
Other Data

each shared_ptr<T> and weak_ptr<T> object contains:

pointer to object of type T (i.e., managed object or subobject thereof)

pointer to control block

control block contains:
pointer to managed object (for deletion)
use count: number of shared_ptr instances pointing to object
weak count: number of weak_ptr instances pointing to object, plus one if
use count is nonzero
other data (i.e., deleter and allocator)
managed object is deleted when use count reaches zero
control block is deleted when weak count reaches zero (which implies use
count is also zero)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 719
Typical shared_ptr/weak_ptr Implementation (Continued)

shared_ptr destructor pseudocode:

decrement use count and if it reaches zero {
delete managed object
decrement weak count and if it reaches zero {
delete control block
}
}

weak_ptr destructor pseudocode:

decrement weak count and if it reaches zero {
delete control block
}

must be thread safe

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 720
std::weak_ptr Example
1 #include <memory>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 void func(std::weak_ptr<int> wp) {
6 auto sp = wp.lock();
7 if (sp) {
8 std::cout << *sp << ’\n’;
9 } else {
10 std::cout << "expired\n";
11 }
12 }
13
14 int main() {
15 std::weak_ptr<int> wp;
16 {
17 auto sp = std::make_shared<int>(42);
18 wp = sp;
19 assert(wp.use_count() == 1 && wp.expired() == false);
20 func(wp);
21 // When sp destroyed, wp becomes expired.
22 }
23 assert(wp.use_count() == 0 && wp.expired() == true);
24 func(wp);
25 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 721
Avoiding Circular References With std::weak_ptr
1 #include <memory>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 struct Node {
6 Node(int id_) : id(id_) {}
7 ˜Node() {std::cout << "destroying node " << id << ’\n’;}
8 std::weak_ptr<Node> parent;
9 std::shared_ptr<Node> left;
10 std::shared_ptr<Node> right;
11 int id;
12 };
13
14 void func() {
15 std::shared_ptr<Node> root(std::make_shared<Node>(1));
16 assert(root.use_count() == 1);
17 root->left = std::make_shared<Node>(2);
18 assert(root.use_count() == 1 &&
19 root->left.use_count() == 1);
20 root->left->parent = root;
21 assert(root.use_count() == 1 &&
22 root->left.use_count() == 1);
23 // The reference count for each of the managed Node
24 // objects reaches zero, and these objects are
25 // destroyed.
26 // Node::˜Node is called twice here
27 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 722
Avoiding Circular References Example (Continued 1)

root
p
p p
cb
cb

l p
cb

r p
cb

i = 1

p
rc = 1
wc = 1

created new node, referenced by root

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 1 rc = 1
wc = 1 wc = 1

created new node, making it left child of root node (parent link not set)

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 1 rc = 1
wc = 2 wc = 1

set parent link (which is weak_ptr) for left child of root node

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 0 rc = 1
wc = 2 wc = 1

started to destroy root; decremented use count, which reaches zero

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 0 rc = 1
wc = 2 wc = 1

started to destroy root node; r has been destroyed; about to destroy l

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 0 rc = 0
wc = 2 wc = 1

started to destroy l (in root node); decremented use count, which reaches zero

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 0 rc = 0
wc = 2 wc = 1

started to destroy left node

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 0 rc = 0
wc = 1 wc = 1

started to destroy p in left node; decremented weak count (which is not yet zero)

root
p
p p p p
cb
cb cb

l p l p
cb cb

r p r p
cb cb

i = 1 i = 2

p p
rc = 0 rc = 0
wc = 1 wc = 1

destroyed p in left node, and completed destruction of left node

root
p
p p
cb
cb

l p
cb

r p
cb

i = 1

p p
rc = 0 rc = 0
wc = 1 wc = 1

left node has been destroyed

root
p
p p
cb
cb

l p
cb

r p
cb

i = 1

p p
rc = 0 rc = 0
wc = 1 wc = 0

continue destruction of l in root node; decrement weak count, which reaches zero

root
p
p p
cb
cb

l p
cb

r p
cb

i = 1

p
rc = 0
wc = 1

destroyed control block for (previously destroyed) left child of root node

root
p
p p
cb
cb

l p
cb

r p
cb

i = 1

p
rc = 0
wc = 1

finished destroying l in root node; destroyed p in root node; and completed destruction of root node

root
p
cb

p
rc = 0
wc = 1

root node has been destroyed

root
p
cb

p
rc = 0
wc = 0

continuing with destruction of root; decremented weak count, which reaches zero

root
p
cb

destroyed control block

root
p
cb

root has been destroyed

The boost::intrusive_ptr Class Template

boost::intrusive_ptr provides intrusive shared pointer type

aside from being intrusive, similar to boost::shared_ptr (which is
similar to std::shared_ptr)
declaration:
template <class T> class intrusive_ptr;
T is type of referenced object
new reference is added by calling function (provided by user) with
signature:
void intrusive_ptr_add_ref(T*)
reference is eliminated by calling function (provided by user) with
signature:
void intrusive_ptr_release(T*)
intrusive_ptr_release responsible for destroying underlying object
when reference count reaches zero

intrusive_ptr<T> Managed Object

Pointer to T Object T Object
Containing Reference Count

intrusive_ptr itself has same memory cost as raw pointer

managed object (of type T) must provide means for reference counting,
which is accessed through user-provided functions
intrusive_ptr_add_ref and intrusive_ptr_release

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 742
intrusive_ptr Example
1 #include <boost/intrusive_ptr.hpp>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <string>
4 #include <cassert>
5
6 class Person {
7 public:
8 Person(const std::string& name) : name_(name),
9 refCount_(0) {}
10 void hold() {++refCount_;}
11 void release() {if (--refCount_ == 0) {delete this;}}
12 unsigned refCount() const {return refCount_;}
13 private:
14 ˜Person() {std::cout << "dtor called\n";}
15 std::string name_;
16 unsigned refCount_; // reference count
17 };
18
19 void intrusive_ptr_add_ref(Person* p) {p->hold();}
20 void intrusive_ptr_release(Person* p) {p->release();}
21
22 int main() {
23 boost::intrusive_ptr<Person> a(new Person("Bjarne"));
24 {
25 boost::intrusive_ptr<Person> b = a;
26 assert(a->refCount() == 2);
27 }
28 assert(a->refCount() == 1);
29 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 743
Section 3.2.6

Smart-Pointer Usage Examples

create heap-allocated object for temporary use inside function/block

object will be automatically deallocated upon leaving function/block

1 #include <memory>
2
3 void func() {
4 // ...
5 int size = /* ... */;
6 auto buffer(std::make_unique<char[]>(size));
7 // ... (use buffer)
8 // when buffer destroyed, pointee automatically
9 // freed
10 }

instead of making object member of class, store object outside class and
make pointer to object member of class
might want to do this for object that:
is optional (e.g., is not always used or is lazily initialized)
has one of several base/derived types
pointer in class object owns decoupled object

1 #include <memory>
2
3 class Widget {
4 // ...
5 private:
6 // ...
7 std::unique_ptr<Type> item_;
8 // decoupled object has type Type
9 };

array stored outside class object, where array size fixed but determined at
run time
class object has pointer that owns decoupled array

1 #include <memory>
2
3 class Widget {
4 public:
5 using Element = int;
6 Widget(std::size_t size) :
7 array_(std::make_unique(Element[]>(size),
8 size_(size) {}
9 // ...
10 private:
11 // ...
12 const std::unique_ptr<Element[]> array_;
13 std::size_t size_;
14 };

interface and implementation split across two classes: (i.e., handle class
and body class)
known as pointer to implementation (pimpl) idiom
can be used, for example, to reduce compile-time dependencies (to
facilitate faster compiles)
class object has pointer that owns implementation object

1 #include <memory>
2
3 class Widget {
4 // ...
5 private:
6 class Impl; // defined elsewhere
7 const std::unique_ptr<Impl> impl_;
8 // incomplete type Impl is allowed
9 // ...
10 };

tree, where tree owns root node and each node owns its children
recursive destruction of nodes may cause stack-overflow problems,
especially for unbalanced trees (but such problems can be avoided by
dismantling tree from bottom upwards)

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <array>
3
4 class Tree {
5 public:
6 class Node {
7 // ...
8 private:
9 std::array<std::unique_ptr<Node>, 2> children_;
10 // owning pointers (parent owns children)
11 Node* parent_; // non-owning pointer
12 // ...
13 };
14 // ...
15 private:
16 std::unique_ptr<Node> root_;
17 // ...
18 };

doubly-linked list, where list owns first list node and each list node owns
its successor
recursive destruction of nodes can cause stack-overflow problems, for
sufficiently large lists (but deep recursions can be avoided with extra work)

1 #include <memory>
2
3 class List {
4 public:
5 class Node {
6 // ...
7 private:
8 std::unique_ptr<Node> next_;
9 // owning pointer (node owns successor)
10 Node* prev_; // non-owning pointer
11 };
12 // ...
13 private:
14 // ...
15 std::unique_ptr<Node> head_;
16 };

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 750
Tree That Provides Strong References
tree that provides strong references to data in nodes
tree owns root node and each node owns its children
accessor for node data returns object having pointer that keeps node alive

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <array>
3
4 class Tree {
5 public:
6 using Data = /* ... */;
7 class Node {
8 // ...
9 private:
10 std::array<std::shared_ptr<Node>, 2> children_;
11 std::weak_ptr<Node> parent_;
12 Data data_;
13 };
14 std::shared_ptr<Data> find(/* ... */) {
15 std::shared_ptr<Node> sp;
16 // ...
17 return {sp, &(sp->data)};
18 // use shared_ptr aliasing constructor
19 }
20 private:
21 std::shared_ptr<Node> root_;
22 };

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 751
Directed Acyclic Graph
encapsulated directed acyclic graph (DAG), where graph owns root nodes
and each node owns its children
pointers in graph object own root nodes
pointers in each node object owns children

1 #include <memory>
2 #include <vector>
3
4 class Dag {
5 public:
6 class Node {
7 // ...
8 private:
9 std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Node>> children_;
10 // owning pointers
11 std::vector<Node*> parents_;
12 // non-owning pointers
13 // ...
14 };
15 private:
16 std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Node>> roots_;
17 // owning pointers
18 };
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 752
Factory Function

factory function that returns object on heap

factory function should use std::unique_ptr if object will not be shared
factory function should use std::shared_ptr if object will be shared
provide factory functions using each of std::unique_ptr and
std::shared_ptr if both sharing and non-sharing cases are common

1 #include <memory>
2
3 std::unique_ptr<Widget> makeWidget() {
4 return std::make_unique<Widget>();
5 }
6
7 std::shared_ptr<Gadget> makeGadget() {
8 return std::make_shared<Gadget>();
9 }

cache of objects on heap

object in cache should only continue to live while it has external user
object returned to user is owning pointer
cache entries have non-owning pointers to corresponding objects

1 #include <memory>
2
3 std::shared_ptr<Widget> makeWidget(int id) {
4 static std::map<int, std::weak_ptr<Widget>> cache;
5 static std::mutex mut;
6 std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mut);
7 auto sp = cache[id].lock();
8 if (!sp) {
9 sp = std::make_shared<Widget>(id);
10 cache[id] = sp;
11 }
12 return sp;
13 }

References

1 Michael VanLoon, Lightning Talk: Anatomy of a Smart Pointer, CppCon,

Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 9, 2014. Available online at https://youtu.
be/bxaj_0o4XAI.
2 Herb Sutter, Leak-Freedom in C++. . . By Default, CppCon, Bellevue, WA,
USA, Sept. 23, 2016. Available online at https://youtu.be/
JfmTagWcqoE.

Exceptions

Introduction

exceptions are language mechanism for handling exceptional (i.e.,

abnormal) situations
exceptional situation perhaps best thought of as case when code could
not do what it was asked to do and usually (but not always) corresponds
to error condition
exceptions often employed for error handling
exceptions propagate information from point where error detected to point
where error handled
code that encounters error that it is unable to handle throws exception
code that wants to handle error catches exception and performs
processing necessary to handle error
exceptions provide convenient way in which to separate error detection
from error handling

High-Level
main
Code

error detected in low-level code

want to handle error in high-level
..
. code
must propagate error information
up call chain

Low-Level
Code

if any error occurs, terminate program

overly draconian
pass error code back from function (via return value, reference parameter,
or global object) and have caller check error code
errors are ignored by default (i.e., explicit action required to check for error
condition)
caller may forget to check error code allowing error to go undetected
code can become cluttered with many checks of error codes, which can
adversely affect code readability and maintainability
call error handler if error detected
may not be possible or practical for handler to recover from particular error
(e.g., handler may not have access to all information required to recover
from error)

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 761
Example: Traditional Error Handling
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 bool func3() {
4 bool success = false;
5 // ...
6 return success;
7 }
8
9 bool func2() {
10 if (!func3()) {return false;}
11 // ...
12 return true;
13 }
14
15 bool func1() {
16 if (!func2()) {return false;}
17 // ...
18 return true;
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 if (!func1()) {
23 std::cout << "failed\n";
24 return 1;
25 }
26 // ...
27 }

when error condition detected, signalled by throwing exception (with

throw statement)
exception is object that describes error condition
thrown exception caught by handler (in catch clause of try statement),
which takes appropriate action to handle error condition associated with
exception
handler can be in different function from where exception thrown
error-free code path tends to be relatively simple, since no need to
explicitly check for error conditions
error condition less likely to go undetected, since uncaught exception
terminates program

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 763
Example: Exceptions
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <stdexcept>
3
4 void func3() {
5 bool success = false;
6 // ...
7 if (!success) {throw std::runtime_error("Yikes!");}
8 }
9
10 void func2() {
11 func3();
12 // ...
13 }
14
15 void func1() {
16 func2();
17 // ...
18 }
19
20 int main() {
21 try {func1();}
22 catch (...) {
23 std::cout << "failed\n";
24 return 1;
25 }
26 // ...
27 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <utility>
4
5 std::pair<bool, int> safe_divide(int x, int y) {
6 if (!y) {
7 return std::make_pair(false, 0);
8 }
9 return std::make_pair(true, x / y);
10 }
11
12 int main() {
13 std::vector<std::pair<int, int>> v = {{10, 2}, {10, 0}};
14 for (auto p : v) {
15 auto result = safe_divide(p.first, p.second);
16 if (result.first) {
17 int quotient = result.second;
18 std::cout << quotient << ’\n’;
19 } else {
20 std::cerr << "division by zero\n";
21 }
22 }
23 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <utility>
4
5 class divide_by_zero {};
6
7 int safe_divide(int x, int y) {
8 if (!y) {
9 throw divide_by_zero();
10 }
11 return x / y;
12 }
13
14 int main() {
15 std::vector<std::pair<int, int>> v = {{10, 2}, {10, 0}};
16 for (auto p : v) {
17 try {
18 std::cout << safe_divide(p.first, p.second) <<
19 ’\n’;
20 }
21 catch(const divide_by_zero& e) {
22 std::cerr << "division by zero\n";
23 }
24 }
25 }

advantages of exceptions:
exceptions allow for error handling code to be easily separated from code
that detects error
exceptions can easily pass error information many levels up call chain
passing of error information up call chain managed by language (no explicit
code required)
disadvantages of exceptions:
writing code that always behaves correctly in presence of exceptions
requires great care (as we shall see)
although possible to have no execution-time cost when exceptions not
thrown, still have memory cost (to store information needed for stack
unwinding for case when exception is thrown)

Exceptions

exceptions are objects

type of object used to indicate kind of error
value of object used to provide details about particular occurrence of error
exception object can have any type (built-in or class type)
for convenience, standard library provides some basic exception types
all exception classes in standard library derived (directly or indirectly) from
std::exception class
exception object is propagated from one part of code to another by
throwing and catching
exception processing disrupts normal control flow

Exception Classes Derived from exception Class

Type Description
logic_error faulty logic in program
runtime_error error caused by circumstances beyond scope of
program
bad_typeid invalid operand for typeid operator
bad_cast invalid expression for dynamic_cast
bad_weak_ptr bad weak_ptr given
bad_function_call function has no target
bad_alloc storage allocation failure
bad_exception use of invalid exception type in certain contexts
bad_variant_access variant accessed in invalid way

Exception Classes Derived from bad_cast Class

Type Description
bad_any_cast invalid cast for any

Exception Classes Derived from logic_error Class

Type Description
domain_error domain error (e.g., square root of negative
number)
invalid_argument invalid argument
length_error length too great (e.g., resize vector beyond
max_size)
out_of_range out of range argument (e.g., subscripting error
in vector::at)
future_error invalid operations on future objects
bad_optional_access optional accessed in invalid way

Exception Classes Derived from runtime_error Class

Type Description
range_error range error
overflow_error arithmetic overflow error
underflow_error arithmetic underflow error
regex_error error in regular expressions library
system_error operating-system or other low-level error

Exception Classes Derived from runtime_error::system_error Class

Type Description
ios_base::failure I/O failure

Throwing and Catching Exceptions

throwing exception accomplished by throw statement

throwing exception transfers control to handler
object is passed
type of object determines which handlers can catch it
handlers specified with catch clause of try block
for example
throw "OMG!";

can be caught by handler of const char* type, as in:

try {
// ...
}
catch (const char* p) {
// handle character string exceptions here
}

throw statement initializes temporary object called exception object

type of exception object determined by static type of operand of throw
(so slicing can occur)
if thrown object is class object, copy/move constructor and destructor
must be accessible
temporary may be moved/copied several times before caught
advisable for type of exception object to be user defined to reduce
likelihood of different parts of code using type in conflicting ways

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 775
Catching Exceptions
exception can be caught by catch clause of try-catch block
code that might throw exception placed in try block
code to handle exception placed in catch block
try-catch block can have multiple catch clauses
catch clauses checked for match in order specified and only first match
used
catch (...) can be used to catch any exception
example:
try {
// code that might throw exception
}
catch (const std::logic_error& e) {
// handle logic_error exception
}
catch (const std::runtime_error& e) {
// handle runtime_error exception
}
catch (...) {
// handle other exception types
}
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 776
Catching Exceptions (Continued)

catch exceptions by reference in order to:

avoid copying, which might throw
allow exception object to be modified and then rethrown
avoid slicing

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 777
Exception During Exception: Catching By Value
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <stdexcept>
3
4 class Error {
5 public:
6 Error(int value) : value_(value) {}
7 Error(Error&& e) : value_(e.value_) {}
8 Error(const Error&) {throw std::runtime_error("copy");}
9 int get() const {return value_;}
10 private:
11 int value_; // error code
12 };
13
14 void func2() {throw Error(42);} // might move
15
16 void func1() {
17 try {func2();}
18 // catch by value (copy throws)
19 catch (Error e) {
20 std::cerr << "yikes\n";
21 }
22 }
23
24 int main() {
25 try {func1();}
26 catch (...) {std::cerr << "exception\n";}
27 }

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Base {};
4 class Derived : public Base {};
5
6 void func(Base& x) {
7 throw x; // always throws Base
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 Derived d;
12 try {func(d);}
13 catch (Derived& e) {
14 std::cout << "Derived\n";
15 }
16 catch (...) {
17 std::cout << "not Derived\n";
18 }
19 }

type of exception object determined from static type of throw expression

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Base {
4 public:
5 virtual void raise() {throw *this;}
6 };
7 class Derived : public Base {
8 public:
9 virtual void raise() {throw *this;}
10 };
11
12 void func(Base& x) {
13 x.raise();
14 }
15
16 int main() {
17 Derived d;
18 try {func(d);}
19 catch (Derived& e) {
20 std::cout << "Derived\n";
21 }
22 catch (...) {
23 std::cout << "not Derived\n";
24 }
25 }

caught exception can be rethrown by throw statement with no operand

example:
try {
// code that may throw exception
}
catch (...) {
throw; // rethrow caught exception
}

1 void handle_exception() {
2 try {throw;}
3 catch (const exception_1& e) {
4 log_error("exception_1 occurred");
5 // ...
6 }
7 catch (const exception_2& e) {
8 log_error("exception_2 occurred");
9 // ...
10 }
11 // ...
12 }
13
14 void func() {
15 try {operation();}
16 catch (...) {handle_exception();}
17 // ...
18 try {another_operation();}
19 catch (...) {handle_exception();}
20 }

allows reuse of exception handling code

when exception is thrown, control is transferred to nearest handler (in

catch clause) with matching type, where “nearest” means handler for try
block most recently entered (by thread) and not yet exited
if no matching handler found, std::terminate() is called
as control passes from throw expression to handler, destructors are
invoked for all automatic objects constructed since try block entered,
where automatic objects destroyed in reverse order of construction
process of calling destructors for automatic objects constructed on path
from try block to throw expression called stack unwinding
object not deemed to be constructed if constructor exits due to exception
(in which case destructor will not be invoked)
do not throw exception in destructor since destructors called during
exception processing and throwing exception during exception processing
will terminate program

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 783
Stack Unwinding Example
1 void func1() {
2 std::string dave("dave");
3 try {
4 std::string bye("bye");
5 func2();
6 }
7 catch (const std::runtime_error& e) { // Handler
8 std::cerr << e.what() << ’\n’;
9 }
10 }
11
12 void func2() {
13 std::string world("world");
14 func3(0);
15 }
16
17 void func3(int x) {
18 std::string hello("hello");
19 if (x == 0) {
20 std::string first("first");
21 std::string second("second");
22 throw std::runtime_error("yikes"); // Throw site
23 }
24 }
calling func1 will result in exception being thrown in func3
during stack unwinding, destructors called in order for second, first, hello,
world, and bye (i.e., reverse order of construction); dave unaffected
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 784
Function Try Blocks
function try blocks allow entire function to be wrapped in try block
function returns when control flow reaches end of catch block (return
statement needed for non-void function)
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <stdexcept>
3
4 int main()
5 try {
6 throw std::runtime_error("yikes");
7 }
8 catch (const std::runtime_error& e) {
9 std::cerr << "runtime error " << e.what() << ’\n’;
10 }
although function try blocks can be used for any function, most important
use cases are for constructors and destructors
function try block only way to catch exceptions thrown during construction
of data members or base objects (which happens before constructor body
is entered) or during destruction of data members or base objects (which
happens after destructor body exited)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 785
Exceptions and Construction/Destruction
order of construction:
1 base class objects as listed in type definition left to right
2 data members as listed in type definition top to bottom
3 constructor body
order of destruction is exact reverse of order of construction, namely:
1 destructor body
2 data members as listed in type definition bottom to top
3 base class objects as listed in type definition right to left
lifetime of object begins when constructor completes
constructor might throw in:
constructor of base class object
constructor of data member
constructor body
need to perform cleanup for constructor body
will assume destructors do not throw (since very bad idea to throw in
destructor)
any exception caught in function try block of constructor or destructor
rethrown implicitly (at end of catch block)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 786
Construction/Destruction Example

1 #include <string>
2 #include <iostream>
3
4 struct Base {
5 Base() {}
6 ˜Base() {};
7 };
8
9 class Widget : public Base {
10 public:
11 Widget() {}
12 ˜Widget() {}
13 // ...
14 private:
15 std::string s_;
16 std::string t_;
17 };
18
19 int main() {
20 Widget w;
21 // ...
22 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <stdexcept>
3
4 class Gadget {
5 public:
6 Gadget() {throw std::runtime_error("ctor");}
7 ˜Gadget() {}
8 };
9
10 class Widget {
11 public:
12 // constructor uses function try block
13 Widget()
14 try {std::cerr << "ctor body\n";}
15 catch (...) {std::cerr << "exception in ctor\n";}
16 ˜Widget() {std::cerr << "dtor body\n";}
17 private:
18 Gadget g_;
19 };
20
21 int main()
22 try {Widget w;}
23 catch (...) {
24 std::cerr << "terminating due to exception\n";
25 return 1;
26 }

Exception Specifications

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 789
The noexcept Specifier
noexcept specifier in function declaration indicates whether or not
function can throw exceptions
noexcept specifier with bool constant expression argument indicates
function does not throw exceptions if expression true (otherwise, may
throw)
noexcept without argument equivalent to noexcept(true)
except for destructors, not providing noexcept specifier equivalent to
noexcept(false)
if noexcept specifier not provided for destructor, specifier identical to
that of implicit declaration (which is, in practice, usually noexcept)
example:
void func1(); // may throw anything
void func2() noexcept(false); // may throw anything
void func3() noexcept(true); // does not throw
void func4() noexcept; // does not throw
template <class T>
void func5(T) noexcept(sizeof(T) <= 4);
// does not throw if sizeof(T) <= 4

exception specification for function is part of function’s type

example:
void f() noexcept;
auto g = f; // g is noexcept
exception specification for function is not part of function’s signature
consequently, cannot overload on noexcept specifier
example:
void f();
void f() noexcept;
// ERROR: both functions have same signature

nontrivial bool expression for noexcept specifier often useful in

templates
example (swap function):
1 #include <type_traits>
2 #include <utility>
3
4 // swap two values
5 template <class T>
6 void exchange(T& a, T& b) noexcept(
7 std::is_nothrow_move_constructible<T>::value &&
8 std::is_nothrow_move_assignable<T>::value) {
9 T tmp(std::move(a)); // move construction
10 a = std::move(b); // move assignment
11 b = std::move(tmp); // move assignment
12 }

if function with noexcept(true) specifier throws exception,

std::terminate is called immediately
example:
// This function will terminate the program.
void die_die_die() noexcept {
throw 0;
}

advisable not to use noexcept(true) specifier unless clear that no

reasonable usage of function can throw (in current or any future version
of code)
in practice, can often be difficult to guarantee that function will never throw
exception (especially when considering all future versions of code)

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 793
Exceptions and Function Calls
for some (nonreference) class type T and some constant bool
expression expr, consider code such as:
T func(T) noexcept(expr);
T x;
T y = func(x); // function call
function call can throw exception as result of:
1 parameter passing (if pass by value)
2 function execution including return statement
in parameter passing, construction and destruction of each parameter
happens in context of calling function
consequently, invocation of noexcept function can still result in exception
being thrown due to parameter passing
in case of return by value, construction of temporary (if not elided) to hold
return value happens in context of called function
consequently, must exercise care not to violate noexcept contract if
noexcept function returns by value
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Avoiding Exceptions Due to Function Calls

if exception due to parameter passing must be avoided:

pass by reference; or
ensure noexcept move and/or copy constructor as appropriate; or
ensure function invoked in manner such that copy elision is guaranteed
if exception due to return by value must be avoided:
ensure noexcept move or copy constructor as appropriate; or
ensure that function invoked in manner such that copy elision is guaranteed

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noexcept Operator
noexcept operator takes expression and returns bool indicating if
expression can throw exception
does not actually evaluate expression
in determining result, only considers noexcept specifications for
functions involved
example:
1 #include <cstdlib>
2 #include <cassert>
3 #include <utility>
4
5 void increment(int&) noexcept;
6 char* memAlloc(std::size_t);
7
8 // does not throw exception, but not declared noexcept
9 void doesNotThrow() {};
10
11 int main() {
12 assert(noexcept(1 + 1) == true);
13 assert(noexcept(memAlloc(0)) == false);
14 // Note: does not evaluate expression
15 assert(noexcept(increment(*((int*)0))) == true);
16 assert(noexcept(increment(std::declval<int&>())) ==
17 true);
18 // Note: only uses noexcept specifiers
19 assert(noexcept(doesNotThrow()) == false);
20 }
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noexcept Operator (Continued)
noexcept operator particularly useful for templates
example:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Int256 { /* ... */ }; // 256-bit integer
4 class BigInt { /* ... */ }; // arbitrary-precision integer
5
6 // function will not throw exception
7 Int256 operator+(const Int256& x, const Int256& y)
8 noexcept;
9
10 // function may throw exception
11 BigInt operator+(const BigInt& x, const BigInt& y);
12
13 // whether function may throw exception depends on T
14 template <class T>
15 T add(const T& x, const T& y) noexcept(noexcept(x + y) &&
16 std::is_nothrow_move_constructible<T>::value)
17 {return x + y;}
18
19 int main() {
20 Int256 i1, i2;
21 BigInt b1, b2;
22 std::cout << "int " << noexcept(add(1, 1)) << ’\n’
23 << "Int256 " << noexcept(add(i1, i2)) << ’\n’
24 << "BigInt " << noexcept(add(b1, b2)) << ’\n’;
25 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 797
Dynamic Exception Specifications

language offers another mechanism for stating exception specifications

known as dynamic exception specifications
dynamic exception specifications are deprecated and should not be used
provide exception specification for function using throw specifier
used to specify list of all types of exceptions that can be thrown
in practice, such a list more of hindrance than help
if list of all allowable exceptions specified, must check if thrown exception
of expected type, which is unnecessary cost
in terms of compiler optimization, what matters most is whether any
exception (regardless of type) can be thrown at all

Storing and Retrieving Exceptions

might want to store exception and then later retrieve and rethrow it
exception can be stored using std::exception_ptr type
current exception can be retrieved with std::current_exception
rethrow exception stored in exception_ptr object using
std::rethrow_exception
provides mechanism for moving exceptions between threads:
store exception on one thread
then retrieve and rethrow stored exception on another thread
std::make_exception_ptr can be used to make exception_ptr
object

1 #include <exception>
2 #include <stdexcept>
3
4 void yikes() {
5 throw std::runtime_error("Yikes!");
6 }
7
8 std::exception_ptr getException() {
9 try {
10 yikes();
11 }
12 catch (...) {
13 return std::current_exception();
14 }
15 return nullptr;
16 }
17
18 int main() {
19 std::exception_ptr e = getException();
20 std::rethrow_exception(e);
21 }

Exception Safety

resource: physical or virtual component of limited availability within

computer system
examples of resources include: memory, files, devices, network
connections, processes, threads, and locks
essential that acquired resource properly released when no longer needed
when resource not properly released when no longer needed, resource
leak said to occur
exceptions have important implications in terms of resource management
must be careful to avoid resource leaks

1 void useBuffer(char* buf) { /* ... */ }

2
3 void doWork() {
4 char* buf = new char[1024];
5 useBuffer(buf);
6 delete[] buf;
7 }

if useBuffer throws exception, code that deletes buf is never reached

cleanup operations should always be performed in destructors

following structure for code is fundamentally flawed:
void func()
{
initialize();
do_work();
cleanup();
}

code with preceding structure not exception safe

if do_work throws exception, cleanup never called and cleanup operation
not performed
in best case, not performing cleanup will probably cause resource leak

in order for exception mechanism to be useful, must know what can be

assumed about state of program when exception thrown
operation said to be exception safe if it leaves program in valid state when
operation is terminated by exception
several levels of exception safety: basic, strong, nothrow
basic guarantee: all invariants preserved and no resources leaked
with basic guarantee, partial execution of failed operation may cause side
effects
strong guarantee: in addition to basic guarantee, failed operation
guaranteed to have no side effects (i.e., commit semantics)
with strong guarantee, operation can still fail causing exception to be
thrown
nothrow guarantee: in addition to basic guarantee, promises not to emit
exception (i.e., operation guaranteed to succeed even in presence of
exceptional circumstances)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 806
Exception Guarantees

assume all functions throw if not known otherwise

code must always provide basic guarantee
nothrow guarantee should always be provided by destructors
whenever possible, nothrow guarantee should be provided by:
move operations (i.e., move constructors and move assignment operators)
swap operations
provide strong guarantee when natural to do so and not more costly than
basic guarantee
examples of strong guarantee:
push_back for container, subject to certain container-dependent conditions

being satisfied (e.g., for std::vector, element type has nonthrowing move
or is copyable)
insert on std::list
examples of nothrow guarantee:
swap of two containers

pop_back for container

resource acquisition is initialization (RAII) is programming idiom used to

avoid resource leaks and provide exception safety
associate resource with owning object (i.e., RAII object)
period of time over which resource held is tied to lifetime of RAII object
resource acquired during creation of RAII object
resource released during destruction of RAII object
provided RAII object properly destroyed, resource leak cannot occur

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 808
Resource Leak Example Revisited
implementation 1 (not exception safe; has memory leak):
1 void useBuffer(char* buf) { /* ... */ }
2
3 void doWork() {
4 char* buf = new char[1024];
5 useBuffer(buf);
6 delete[] buf;
7 }
implementation 2 (exception safe):
1 template <class T>
2 class SmartPtr {
3 public:
4 SmartPtr(int size) : ptr_(new T[size]) {}
5 ˜SmartPtr() {delete[] ptr_;}
6 operator T*() {return ptr_;}
7 // ...
8 private:
9 T* ptr_;
10 };
11
12 void useBuffer(char* buf) { /* ... */ }
13
14 void doWork() {
15 SmartPtr<char> buf(1024);
16 useBuffer(buf);
17 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 809
Section 3.3.7

Exceptions: Implementation, Cost, and Usage

standard does not specify how exception handling is to be implemented;

only specifies behavior of exception handling
consider typical implementation here
potentially significant memory overhead for storing exception object and
information required for stack unwinding
possible to have zero time overhead if no exception thrown
time overhead significant when exception thrown
not practical to create exception object on stack, since object frequently
needs to be propagated numerous levels up call chain
exception objects tend to be small
exception object can be stored in small fixed-size buffer falling back on
heap if buffer not big enough

memory required to maintain sufficient information to unwind stack when

exception thrown
two common strategies for maintaining information for stack unwinding:
stack-based and table-based strategies
stack-based strategy:
information for stack unwinding is saved on call stack, including list of
destructors to execute and exception handlers that might catch exception
when exception is thrown, walk stack executing destructors until matching
catch found
table-based strategy:
store information to assist in stack unwinding in static tables outside stack
call stack used to determine which scopes entered but not exited
use look-up operation on static tables to determine where thrown exception
will be handled and which destructors to execute
table-based strategy uses less space on stack but potentially requires
considerable storage for tables

use of exceptions not appropriate in all circumstances

in practice, exceptions can sometimes (depending on C++
implementation) have prohibitive memory cost for systems with very
limited memory (e.g., some embedded systems)
since throwing exception has significant time overhead only use for
infrequently occurring situations (not common case)
in code where exceptions can occur, often much more difficult to bound
how long code path will take to execute
since difficult to predict response time of code in presence of exceptions,
exceptions often cannot be used in time critical component of real-time
system (where operation must be guaranteed to complete in specific
maximum time)
considerable amount of code in existence that is not exception safe,
especially legacy code
cannot use exceptions in manner that would allow exceptions to
propagate into code that is not exception safe
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 813
Enforcing Invariants: Exceptions Versus Assertions

whether invariants should be enforced by exceptions or assertions

somewhat controversial
would recommend only using exceptions for errors from which recovery is
likely to be possible
if error condition detected is indicative of serious programming error,
program state may already be sufficiently invalid (e.g., stack trampled,
heap corrupted) that exception handling will not work correctly anyhow
tendency amongst novice programmers is to use exceptions in places
where their use is either highly questionable or clearly inappropriate

Smart Pointers and Other RAII Classes

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 815
TwoBufs Example With Resource Leak
1 #include <cstddef>
2 #include <limits>
3
4 class TwoBufs {
5 public:
6 TwoBufs(std::size_t aSize, std::size_t bSize) :
7 a_(nullptr), b_(nullptr) {
8 a_ = new char[aSize];
9 // If new throws, a_ will be leaked.
10 b_ = new char[bSize];
11 }
12 ˜TwoBufs() {
13 delete[] a_;
14 delete[] b_;
15 }
16 // ...
17 private:
18 char* a_;
19 char* b_;
20 };
21
22 void doWork() {
23 // This may leak memory.
24 TwoBufs x(1000000,
25 std::numeric_limits<std::size_t>::max());
26 // ...
27 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 816
TwoBufs Example Corrected With unique_ptr

1 #include <cstddef>
2 #include <limits>
3 #include <memory>
4
5 class TwoBufs {
6 public:
7 TwoBufs(std::size_t aSize, std::size_t bSize) :
8 a_(std::make_unique<char[]>(aSize)),
9 b_(std::make_unique<char[]>(bSize)) {}
10 ˜TwoBufs() {}
11 // ...
12 private:
13 std::unique_ptr<char[]> a_;
14 std::unique_ptr<char[]> b_;
15 };
16
17 void doWork() {
18 // This will not leak memory.
19 TwoBufs x(1000000,
20 std::numeric_limits<std::size_t>::max());
21 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <ios>
3 #include <boost/io/ios_state.hpp>
4
5 // not exception safe
6 void unsafeOutput(std::ostream& out, unsigned int x) {
7 auto flags = out.flags();
8 // if exception thrown during output of x, old
9 // formatting flags will not be restored
10 out << std::hex << std::showbase << x << ’\n’;
11 out.flags(flags);
12 }
13
14 // exception safe
15 void safeOutput(std::ostream& out, unsigned int x) {
16 boost::io::ios_flags_saver ifs(out);
17 out << std::hex << std::showbase << x << ’\n’;
18 }

RAII objects can be used to save and restore state

std::lock_guard, std::unique_lock, and std::shared_lock can

be used to manage mutexes (lock is released in destructor)
std::ifstream, std::ofstream, and std::fstream can be used to
manage files (file is closed in destructor)
std::string can be used to manage strings (string buffer freed in
destructor)
std::vector can be used to manage dynamic arrays (array data freed in
destructor)

Exception Gotchas

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 820
shared_ptr Example: Not Exception Safe (Prior to C++17)
1 #include <memory>
2
3 class T1 { /* ... */ };
4 class T2 { /* ... */ };
5
6 void func(std::shared_ptr<T1> p, std::shared_ptr<T2> q)
7 { /* ... */ }
8
9 void doWork() {
10 // potential memory leak
11 func(std::shared_ptr<T1>(new T1),
12 std::shared_ptr<T2>(new T2));
13 // ...
14 }
one problematic order: another problematic order:

1 allocate memory for T1 1 allocate memory for T1

2 construct T1 2 allocate memory for T2
3 allocate memory for T2 3 construct T1
4 construct T2 4 construct T2
5 construct shared_ptr<T1> 5 construct shared_ptr<T1>
6 construct shared_ptr<T2> 6 construct shared_ptr<T2>
7 call func 7 call func
if step 3 or 4 throws, memory leaked if step 3 or 4 throws, memory leaked
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 821
shared_ptr Example: Exception Safe (Prior to C++17)
1 #include <memory>
2
3 class T1 { /* ... */ };
4 class T2 { /* ... */ };
5
6 void func(std::shared_ptr<T1> p, std::shared_ptr<T2> q)
7 { /* ... */ }
8
9 void doWork() {
10 func(std::make_shared<T1>(), std::make_shared<T2>());
11 // ...
12 }

previously problematic line of code now does following:

1 perform following operations in any order:
construct shared_ptr<T1> via make_shared<T1>
construct shared_ptr<T2> via make_shared<T2>

2 call func
each of T1 and T2 objects managed by shared_ptr at all times so no
memory leak possible if exception thrown
similar issue arises in context of std::unique_ptr and can be resolved
by using std::make_unique in similar way as above
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 822
Stack Example

stack class template parameterized on element type T

1 template <class T>
2 class Stack
3 {
4 public:
5 // ...
6 // Pop the top element from the stack.
7 T pop() {
8 // If the stack is empty...
9 if (top_ == start_)
10 throw "stack is empty";
11 // Remove the last element and return it.
12 return *(--top_);
13 }
14 private:
15 T* start_; // start of array of stack elements
16 T* end_; // one past end of array
17 T* top_; // one past current top element
18 };

what is potentially problematic about this code with respect to exceptions?

Miscellany

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 824
safe_add Example: Traditional Error Handling
1 #include <limits>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 std::pair<bool, int> safe_add(int x, int y) {
6 return ((y > 0 && x > std::numeric_limits<int>::max() - y)
7 || (y < 0 && x < std::numeric_limits<int>::min() - y)) ?
8 std::make_pair(false, 0) : std::make_pair(true, x + y);
9 }
10
11 int main() {
12 constexpr int int_min = std::numeric_limits<int>::min();
13 constexpr int int_max = std::numeric_limits<int>::max();
14 std::vector<std::pair<int, int>> v{
15 {int_max, int_max}, {1, 2}, {int_min, int_min},
16 {int_max, int_min}, {int_min, int_max}
17 };
18 for (auto x : v) {
19 auto result = safe_add(x.first, x.second);
20 if (result.first) {
21 std::cout << result.second << ’\n’;
22 } else {
23 std::cout << "overflow\n";
24 }
25 }
26 }

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 825
safe_add Example: Exceptions
1 #include <limits>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <iostream>
4 #include <stdexcept>
5
6 int safe_add(int x, int y) {
7 return ((y > 0 && x > std::numeric_limits<int>::max() - y)
8 || (y < 0 && x < std::numeric_limits<int>::min() - y)) ?
9 throw std::overflow_error("addition") : x + y;
10 }
11
12 int main() {
13 constexpr int int_min = std::numeric_limits<int>::min();
14 constexpr int int_max = std::numeric_limits<int>::max();
15 std::vector<std::pair<int, int>> v{
16 {int_max, int_max}, {1, 2}, {int_min, int_min},
17 {int_max, int_min}, {int_min, int_max}
18 };
19 for (auto x : v) {
20 try {
21 int result = safe_add(x.first, x.second);
22 std::cout << result << ’\n’;
23 }
24 catch (const std::overflow_error&) {
25 std::cout << "overflow\n";
26 }
27 }
28 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 826
Section 3.3.11

References

1 D. Abrahams. Exception-safety in generic components.

In Lecture Notes in Computer Science, volume 1766, pages 69–79.
Springer, 2000.
A good tutorial on exception safety by an expert on the subject.

2 T. Cargill. Exception handling: A false sense of security.

C++ Report, 6(9), Nov. 1994.
Available online at http://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/
020163371x/supplements/Exception_Handling_Article.html.
An early paper that first drew attention to some of the difficulties in writing
exception-safe code.
3 Exception-Safe Coding in C++, http://exceptionsafecode.com,
2014.
4 V. Kochhar, How a C++ Compiler Implements Exception Handling,
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/2126/How-a-C-
compiler-implements-exception-handling, 2002.
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 828
References II

5 C++ FAQ — Exceptions and Error Handling, https://isocpp.org/

wiki/faq/exceptions, 2016.

1 Jon Kalb. Exception-Safe Code, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sep 7–12,
2014. Available online at https://youtu.be/W7fIy_54y-w, https://
youtu.be/b9xMIKb1jMk, and https://youtu.be/MiKxfdkMJW8. (This
talk is in three parts.)
2 Jon Kalb. Exception-Safe Coding, C++Now, Aspen, CO, USA, May 13–18,
2012. Available online at https://youtu.be/N9bR0ztmmEQ and
https://youtu.be/UiZfODgB-Oc. (This talk is in two parts.)

Rvalue References

Introduction

Rvalue references were added to the language in C++11 in order to

provide support for:
1 move operations; and
2 perfect forwarding.
A move operation is used to propagate the value from one object to
another, much like a copy operation, except that a move operation makes
fewer guarantees, allowing for greater efficiency and flexibility in many
situations.
Perfect forwarding relates to being able to pass function arguments from a
template function through to another function (called by the template
function) while preserving certain properties of those arguments.

A type that includes one or both of the qualifiers const and volatile
is called a cv-qualified type.
A type that is not cv-qualified is called cv-unqualified.
Example:
The types const int and volatile char are cv-qualified.
The types int and char are cv-unqualified.
An object or function that is named by an identifier is said to be named.
An object or function that cannot be referred to by name is said to be
unnamed.
Example:
std::vector<int> v = {1, 2, 3, 4};
std::vector<int> w;
w = v; // w and v are named
w = std::vector<int>(2, 0);
// w is named
// std::vector<int>(2, 0) is unnamed

Copying and Moving

Suppose that we have two objects of the same type and we want to
propagate the value of one object (i.e., the source) to the other object (i.e.,
the destination).
This can be accomplished in one of two ways:
1 copying; or
2 moving.
Copying propagates the value of the source object to the destination
object without modifying the source object.
Moving propagates the value of the source object to the destination
object and is permitted to modify the source object.
Moving is always at least as efficient as copying, and for many types,
moving is more efficient than copying.
For some types, copying does not make sense, while moving does (e.g.,
std::ostream, std::istream).

Consider a class that represents a one-dimensional array.

template <class T>
class Vector {
public:
// ...
private:
T* data_; // pointer to element data
// (allocated with new)
unsigned int size_; // number of elements
};

Pictorially, the data structure looks like the following:

object
data_ d0
size_ n d1
..
.
dn−1
How would copying be implemented?
How would moving be implemented?

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 837
Vector Example: Copying
code for copying from source src to destination dst (not self assignment):
delete [] dst.data_;
dst.data_ = new T[src.size_];
dst.size_ = src.size_;
std::copy_n(src.data_, src.size_, dst.data_);
copying requires: one array delete (destruction, memory deallocation),
one array new (memory allocation, construction), copying of element data
(copy assignment, etc.), and updating data_ and size_ data members
copying proceeds as follows:
src dst
data_ s0 data_ d0
size_ n s1 size_ m d1
.. ..
. .
sn−1 dm−1
src dst
data_ s0 data_ s0
size_ n s1 size_ n s1
.. ..
. .
sn−1 sn−1

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 838
Vector Example: Moving
code for moving from source src to destination dst:
std::swap(src.data_, dst.data_);
std::swap(src.size_, dst.size_);
moving only requires updating data_ and size_ data members
although not considered here, could also free data array associated with
src if desirable to release memory as soon as possible
moving proceeds as follows:
src dst
data_ s0 data_ d0
size_ n s1 size_ m d1
.. ..
. .
sn−1 dm−1
src dst
data_ s0 data_ d0
size_ m s1 size_ n d1
.. ..
. .
sn−1 dm−1

Moving is usually more efficient than copying, often by very large margin.
So, we should prefer moving to copying.
We can safely replace a copy by a move when subsequent code does not
depend on the value of source object.
It would be convenient if the language could provide a mechanism for
automatically using a move (instead of a copy) in situations where doing
so is always guaranteed to be safe.
For reasons of efficiency, it would also be desirable for the language to
provide a mechanism whereby the programmer can override the normal
behavior and force a move (instead of a copy) in situations where such a
transformation is known to be safe only due to some special additional
knowledge about program behavior.
Rvalue references provide the above mechanisms.

References and Expressions

A reference is an alias (i.e., nickname) for an already existing object.

The language has two kinds of references:
1 lvalue references
2 rvalue references
An lvalue reference is denoted by & (often read as “ref”).
int i = 5;
int& j = i; // j is lvalue reference to int
const int& k = i; k is lvalue reference to const int

An rvalue reference is denoted by && (often read as “ref ref”).

int&& i = 5; // i is rvalue reference to int
const int&& j = 17; // j is rvalue reference to const int

The act of initializing a reference is known as reference binding.

Lvalue and rvalues references differ only in their properties relating to:
reference binding; and
overload resolution.

An expression is a sequence of operators and operands that specifies a

computation.
An expression has a type and, if the type is not void, a value.
Example:
Expression Type Value
x int 0
int x = 0; y = x int& reference to y
int y = 0; x + 1 int 1
int* p = &x; x * x + 2 * x int 0
double d = 0.0; y = x * x int& reference to y
// Evaluate some x == 42 bool false
// expressions here. *p int& reference to x
p == &x bool true
x > 2 * y bool false
std::sin(d) double 0.0

lvalue xvalue prvalue

Every expression can be classified into exactly one of the three following
categories:
1 lvalue
2 prvalue (pure rvalue)
3 xvalue (expiring value)
An expression that is an lvalue or xvalue is called a glvalue (generalized
lvalue).
An expression that is a prvalue or an xvalue is called an rvalue.
Every expression is either an lvalue or an rvalue (but not both).
Whether or not it is safe to move (instead of copy) depends on whether an
lvalue or rvalue is involved.
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Lvalues

An lvalue is an expression that:

designates a function or object ; and
has an identity (i.e., occupies some identifiable location in memory and
therefore, in principle, can have its address taken).
Named objects and named functions are lvalues. Example:
int getValue();
int i = 0;
const int j = 1;
i = j + 1; // i and j are lvalues
getValue(); // getValue is lvalue [Note: not getValue()]

Dereferenced pointer. If e is an expression of pointer type, then *e is an

lvalue. Example:
char buffer[] = "Hello";
char* s = buffer;
*s = ’a’; // *s is lvalue
*(s + 1) = ’b’; // *(s + 1) is lvalue

The result of calling a function whose return type is an lvalue reference

type is an lvalue. Example:
std::vector<int> v = {{1, 2, 3}};
// int& std::vector<int>::operator[](int);
int i = v[0]; // v[0] is lvalue

A string literal is an lvalue. Example: "Hello World"

Named rvalue references are lvalues. Example:
int&& i = 1 + 3;
int j = i; // i is lvalue

Rvalue references to functions (both named and unnamed) are lvalues.

Using a move (instead of a copy) is not guaranteed to be safe when the

source is an lvalue (since other code can access the associated object by
name or through a pointer or reference).
Example:
Vector<int> x;
Vector<int> y(x);
// can we construct by moving (instead of copying)?
// source x is lvalue
// not safe to move x to y since value of x
// might be used below
y = x;
// can we assign by moving (instead of copying)?
// source x is lvalue
// not safe to move x to y since value of x
// might be used below

A prvalue (pure rvalue) is an expression that:

is a temporary object or subobject thereof, or a value that is not associated
with an object; and
does not have an identity.
A prvalue is a kind of rvalue.
Temporary objects are prvalues. Example:
std::vector<int> v;
v = std::vector<int>(10, 2);
// std::vector<int>(10, 2) is prvalue
std::complex<double> u;
u = std::complex<double>(1, 2);
// std::complex<double>(1, 2) is prvalue

A function call whose return type is not a reference type is a prvalue.

Example:
int func();
int i = func(); // func() is prvalue

All literals other than string literals are prvalues. Examples:

double pi = 3.1415; // 3.1415 is prvalue
int i = 42; // 42 is prvalue
i = 2 * i + 1; // 2 and 1 are prvalues
char c = ’A’; // ’A’ is prvalue

The result yielded by certain built-in operators (e.g., +, -) is a prvalue.

Example:
int i, j;
i = 3 + 5; // 3 + 5 is prvalue
j = i * i; // i * i is prvalue

The this keyword is a prvalue expression.

Prvalues need not have any storage associated with them.
Not requiring prvalue expressions to have storage gives the compiler
more freedom in generating code for such expressions.
int i = 2;
// 2 is prvalue and need not ever be stored in memory

Using a move (instead of a copy) is always safe when the source is a

prvalue (since the prvalue cannot correspond to an object with an identity).
Example (move from temporary object):
Vector<int> getVector();
Vector<int> x;
Vector<int> y(getVector());
// can we construct by moving (instead of copying)?
// source getVector() is prvalue
// safe to move since temporary object could not be
// used below
x = getVector();
// can we assign by moving (instead of copying)?
// source getVector() is prvalue
// safe to move since temporary object could not be
// used below

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 850
Xvalues
An xvalue (expiring value) is an expression that:
refers to an object (usually near the end of its lifetime);
has an identity; and
is deemed to be safe to use as the source for a move.
An xvalue is a kind of rvalue.
An xvalue is the result of certain kinds of expressions involving rvalue
references.
The result of calling a function whose return type is an rvalue reference
type is an xvalue. Example:
std::string s("Hello");
std::string t = std::move(s); // std::move(s) is xvalue
In the above example, the template function std::move converts its
argument to an xvalue (since it returns an rvalue reference type).
Unnamed rvalue references to objects are xvalues.
std::string s("Hello");
std::string t;
t = static_cast<std::string&&>(s);
// static_cast<std::string&&>(s) is xvalue

Using a move (instead of a copy) is deemed to be safe when the source is

an xvalue.
Example (forced move):
Vector<int> v(100, 5);
Vector<int> u(200, -1);
for (auto i : v) std::cout << i << ’\n’;
for (auto i : u) std::cout << i << ’\n’;
v = std::move(u);
// std::move(u) is xvalue
// safe to force move since later code does
// not to use value of u
for (auto i : v) std::cout << i << ’\n’;
// later code known not to use value of u

The function std::move only allows for an object to be treated as if it

were safe to use as source of a move, but does not perform a move.

With regard to propagating the value from one object to another, we can
summarize the preceding results as given below.
If the source is an rvalue (i.e., prvalue or xvalue), using a move instead of
a copy is always safe.
If the source is an lvalue, using a move instead of a copy is not
guaranteed to be safe.
It would be highly desirable if the language would provide a mechanism
that would automatically allow a move to be used in the rvalue case and a
copy to be employed otherwise.
In fact, this is exactly what the language does.

Lvalues and rvalues can be either modifiable or nonmodifiable.

Example:
int i = 0;
const int j = 2;
i = j + 3;
// i is modifiable lvalue
// j is nonmodifiable lvalue
// j + 3 is modifiable rvalue
const std::string getString();
std::string s = getString();
// getString() is nonmodifiable rvalue

Class rvalues can have cv-qualified types, while non-class rvalues always
have cv-unqualified types. Example:
const int getConstInt(); // const is ignored
const std::string getConstString();
int i = getConstInt();
// getConstInt() is modifiable rvalue of type int
// (not const int)
std::string s = getConstString();
// getConstString() is nonmodifiable rvalue

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 854
Exercise: Expressions
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <utility>
4
5 std::string&& func1(std::string& x) {
6 return std::move(x);
7 // x? std::move(x)?
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 const std::string hello("Hello");
12 std::string a;
13 std::string b;
14
15 a = hello + "!";
16 // hello? hello + "!"? a = hello + "!"?
17 std::cout << a << ’\n’;
18 // std::cout? std::cout << a?
19
20 a = std::string("");
21 // std::string("")? a = std::string("")?
22 ((a += hello) += "!");
23 // a += hello?
24 b = func1(a);
25 // func1(a)? b = func1(a)?
26 std::cout << b << ’\n’;
27 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 855
Built-In Operators, Rvalues, and Lvalues
Aside from the exceptions noted below, all of the built-in operators require
operands that are rvalues.
The operand of each of the following built-in operators must be an lvalue:
address of (i.e., unary &),

prefix and postfix increment (i.e., ++),

prefix and postfix decrement (i.e., --)

The left operand of the following built-in operators must be an lvalue:

assignment (i.e., =)

compound assignment (e.g., +=, -=, *=, /=, etc.)

Aside from the exceptions noted below, all of the built-in operators yield a
result that is an rvalue.
The following operators yield a result that is an lvalue:
subscript (i.e., [])
dereference (i.e., unary *)

assignment (i.e., =) and compound assignment (e.g., +=, -=, etc.)

prefix increment (i.e., ++) and prefix decrement (i.e., --)
function call (i.e., ()) invoking a function that returns a reference type

cast to reference type

Whether an operator for a class type requires operands that are lvalues or
rvalues or yield lvalues or rvalues is determined by the parameter types
and return type of the operator function.
The member selection operator may yield an lvalue or rvalue, depending
on the particular manner in which the operator is used. (The behavior is
fairly intuitive.)
The lvalue/rvalue-ness and type of the result produced by the ternary
conditional operator depends on the particular manner in which the
operator is employed.

An implicit conversion from lvalues to rvalues is provided, which can be

used in most (but not all) circumstances.
Example:
int i = 1;
int j = 2;
int k = i + j;
// operands of + must be rvalues
// i and j converted to rvalues

Reference Binding and Overload Resolution

The kinds of expressions, to which lvalue and rvalue references can bind,
differ.
For a nonreference type T (such as int or const int), what kinds of
expressions can validly be placed in each of the boxes in the example
below?
T& r = ;
T&& r = ;
Lvalue and rvalue references also behave differently with respect to
overload resolution.
Let T be a cv-unqualified nonreference type. Which overloads of func will
be called in the example below?
T operator+(const T&, const T&);
void func(const T&);
void func(T&&);
T x;
func(x); // calls which version of func?
func(x + x); // calls which version of func?

Implicit lvalue-to-rvalue conversion is disabled when binding to references.

An lvalue reference can bind to an lvalue as long as doing so would not
result in the loss of any cv qualifiers.
const int i = 0;
int& r1 = i; // ERROR: drops const
const int& r2 = i; // OK
const volatile int& r3 = i; // OK

The loss of cv qualifiers must be avoided for const and volatile

correctness.
Similarly, an rvalue reference can bind to an rvalue as long as doing so
would not result in the loss of any cv qualifiers.
const std::string getValue();
std::string&& r1 = getValue(); // ERROR: drops const
const std::string&& r2 = getValue(); // OK

Again, the loss of cv qualifiers must be avoided for const and volatile
correctness.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 861
Reference Binding (Continued)

An lvalue reference can be bound to an rvalue only if doing so would not

result in the loss of any cv qualifier and the lvalue reference is const.
const std::string getConstValue();
std::string& r1 = getConstValue(); // ERROR: drops const
const std::string& r2 = getValue(); // OK
int& ri1 = 42; // ERROR: not const reference
const int& ri2 = 42; // OK

The requirement that the lvalue reference be const is to prevent temporary

objects from being modified in a very uncontrolled manner, which can lead
to subtle bugs.
An rvalue reference can never be bound to an lvalue.
int i = 0;
int&& r1 = i; // ERROR: cannot bind to lvalue
int&& r2 = 42; // OK

Allowing rvalue reference to bind to lvalues would violate the principle of

type-safe overloading , which can lead to subtle bugs.

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 862
Why Rvalue References Cannot Bind to Lvalues
In effect, rvalue references were introduced into the language to allow a
function to know if one of its reference parameters is bound to an object
whose value is safe to change without impacting other code, namely, an
rvalue (i.e., a temporary object or xvalue).
Since an rvalue reference can only bind to an rvalue, any rvalue reference
parameter to a function is guaranteed to be bound to a temporary object
or xvalue.
Example:
class Thing {
public:
// Move constructor
// parameter x known to be safe to use as source for move
Thing(Thing&& x);
// Move assignment operator
// parameter x known to be safe to use as source for move
Thing& operator=(Thing&& x);
// ...
};
// parameter x known to be safe to modify
void func(Thing&& x);

If rvalue references could bind to lvalues, the above guarantee could not
be made, as an rvalue reference could then refer to an object whose value
cannot be changed safely, namely, an lvalue.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 863
Why Non-Const Lvalue References Cannot Bind to Rvalues

If non-const lvalue references could bind to rvalues, temporary objects

could be modified in many undesirable circumstances.

void func(int& x) {
// ...
}
int main() {
int i = 1;
int j = 2;
func(i + j);
// ERROR: cannot bind non-const lvalue
// reference to rvalue
// What would be consequence if allowed?
}

Rvalue Lvalue
const const
const volatile const volatile
T volatile T volatile
T T T T
T T
T&& ✓ C V C,V ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
const
✓ ✓ V V ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
T&&
volatile
✓ ✗ ✓ C ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
T&&
const
volatile ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
T&&
T& ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ C V C,V
const T& ✓ ✓ V V ✓ ✓ V V
volatile
✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ C ✓ C
T&
const
volatile ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
T&
✓: allowed C: strips const V: strips volatile ✗: other

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 865
Reference Binding Example
1 #include <string>
2 using std::string;
3
4 string value() {
5 return string("Hello");
6 }
7
8 const string constValue() {
9 return string("World");
10 }
11
12 int main() {
13 string i("mutable");
14 const string j("const");
15
16 string& r01 = i;
17 string& r02 = j; // ERROR: drops const
18 string& r03 = value(); // ERROR: non-const lvalue reference from rvalue
19 string& r04 = constValue(); // ERROR: non-const lvalue reference from rvalue
20
21 const string& r05 = i;
22 const string& r06 = j;
23 const string& r07 = value();
24 const string& r08 = constValue();
25
26 string&& r09 = i; // ERROR: rvalue reference from lvalue
27 string&& r10 = j; // ERROR: rvalue reference from lvalue
28 string&& r11 = value();
29 string&& r12 = constValue(); // ERROR: drops const
30
31 const string&& r13 = i; // ERROR: rvalue reference from lvalue
32 const string&& r14 = j; // ERROR: rvalue reference from lvalue
33 const string&& r15 = value();
34 const string&& r16 = constValue();
35 }

Lvalues strongly prefer binding to lvalue references.

Rvalues strongly prefer binding to rvalue references.
Modifiable lvalues and rvalues weakly prefer binding to non-const
references.

Priority
Rvalue Lvalue
const const
const volatile const volatile
T volatile T volatile
T T T T
T T
T&& 1
const
2 1
T&&
volatile
2 1
T&&
const
volatile 3 2 2 1
T&&
T& 1
const T& 4 3 2 1
volatile
2 1
T&
const
volatile 3 2 2 1
T&

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 void func(std::string& x) {
5 std::cout << "func(std::string&) called\n";
6 }
7
8 void func(const std::string& x) {
9 std::cout << "func(const std::string&) called\n";
10 }
11
12 void func(std::string&& x) {
13 std::cout << "func(std::string&&) called\n";
14 }
15
16 void func(const std::string&& x) {
17 std::cout << "func(const std::string&&) called\n";
18 }
19
20 const std::string&& constValue(const std::string&& x) {
21 return static_cast<const std::string&&>(x);
22 }
23
24 int main() {
25 const std::string cs("hello");
26 std::string s("world");
27 func(s);
28 func(cs);
29 func(cs + s);
30 func(constValue(cs + s));
31 }
32
33 /* Output:
34 func(std::string&) called
35 func(const std::string&) called
36 func(std::string&&) called
37 func(const std::string&&) called
38 */

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 void func(const std::string& x) {
5 std::cout << "func(const std::string&) called\n";
6 }
7
8 void func(std::string&& x) {
9 std::cout << "func(std::string&&) called\n";
10 }
11
12 const std::string&& constValue(const std::string&& x) {
13 return static_cast<const std::string&&>(x);
14 }
15
16 int main() {
17 const std::string cs("hello");
18 std::string s("world");
19 func(s);
20 func(cs);
21 func(cs + s);
22 func(constValue(cs + s));
23 }
24
25 /* Output:
26 func(const std::string&) called
27 func(const std::string&) called
28 func(std::string&&) called
29 func(const std::string&) called
30 */

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 870
Why Rvalue References Cannot Bind to Lvalues (Revisited)

If an rvalue reference could bind to an lvalue, this would violate the

principle of type-safe overloading.
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3
4 template <class T>
5 class Container {
6 public:
7 // ...
8 // Forget to provide the following function:
9 // void push_back(const T& value); // Copy semantics
10 void push_back(T&& value); // Move semantics
11 private:
12 // ...
13 };
14
15 int main() {
16 std::string s("Hello");
17 Container<std::string> c;
18 // What would happen here if lvalues
19 // could bind to rvalue references?
20 c.push_back(s);
21 std::cout << s << ’\n’;
22 }

Moving

A non-template constructor for class T is a move constructor if it can be

called with one parameter that is of type T&&, const T&&,
volatile T&&, or const volatile T&&.
Example (assuming no optimization):
struct T {
T();
T(const T&); // copy constructor
T(T&&); // move constructor
};
T func(int);
T a(func(1)); // calls T::T(T&&)
T b = a; // calls T::T(const T&)

A move assignment operator T::operator= is a non-static

non-template member function of class T with exactly one parameter of
type T&&, const T&&, volatile T&&, or const volatile T&&.
Example (assuming no optimization):
class T {
public:
T();
T(const T&); // copy constructor
T(T&&); // move constructor
T& operator=(const T&); // copy assignment operator
T& operator=(T&&); // move assignment operator
// ...
};
T func(int);
T a;
T b;
a = func(1); // calls T::operator=(T&&)
b = a; // calls T::operator=(const T&)

Recall the class from earlier that represents a one-dimensional array.

template <class T>
class Vector {
public:
// ...
private:
T* data_; // pointer to element data
// (allocated with new)
unsigned int size_; // number of elements
};

Pictorially, the data structure looks like the following:

object
data_ d0
size_ n d1
..
.
dn−1

1 #include <algorithm>
2 #include <complex>
3
4 template <class T>
5 class Vector {
6 public:
7 Vector(unsigned int size, T value = 0) : data_(new T[size]), size_(size)
8 {std::fill_n(data_, size, value);}
9 Vector(const Vector& a) : data_(new T[a.size_]), size_(a.size_)
10 {std::copy_n(a.data_, a.size_, data_);}
11 Vector& operator=(const Vector& a) {
12 if (this != &a) {
13 delete[] data_; size_ = a.size_; data_ = new T[a.size_];
14 std::copy_n(a.data_, a.size_, data_);
15 }
16 return *this;
17 }
18 ˜Vector() {delete[] data_;}
19 // ...
20 private:
21 T* data_; // pointer to element data
22 unsigned int size_; // number of elements
23 };
24 using Vec = Vector<std::complex<double>>;
25 Vec getVector() {return Vec(1000, {0.0, 1.0});}
26
27 int main() {
28 Vec v(0);
29 Vec w = getVector(); // construct from temporary object
30 v = Vec(2000, {1.0, 2.0}); // assign from temporary object
31 }

1 #include <algorithm>
2 #include <complex>
3
4 template <class T>
5 class Vector {
6 public:
7 Vector(unsigned int size, T value = 0) : data_(new T[size]), size_(size)
8 {std::fill_n(data_, size, value);}
9 Vector(const Vector& a) : data_(new T[a.size_]), size_(a.size_)
10 {std::copy_n(a.data_, a.size_, data_);}
11 Vector& operator=(const Vector& a) {
12 if (this != &a) {
13 delete[] data_; size_ = a.size_; data_ = new T[a.size_];
14 std::copy_n(a.data_, a.size_, data_);
15 }
16 return *this;
17 }
18 // Move constructor
19 Vector(Vector&& a) : data_(a.data_), size_(a.size_)
20 {a.size_ = 0; a.data_ = nullptr;}
21 // Move assignment operator
22 Vector& operator=(Vector&& a) {
23 std::swap(size_, a.size_); std::swap(data_, a.data_);
24 return *this;
25 }
26 ˜Vector() {delete[] data_;}
27 // ...
28 private:
29 T* data_; // pointer to element data
30 unsigned int size_; // number of elements
31 };
32 using Vec = Vector<std::complex<double>>;
33 Vec getVector() {return Vec(1000, {0.0, 1.0});}
34
35 int main() {
36 Vec v(0);
37 Vec w = getVector(); // construct from temporary object
38 v = Vec(2000, {1.0, 2.0}); // assign from temporary object
39 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 877
Allowing Move Semantics in Other Contexts via std::move

As we have seen, a reference parameter of a function that is bound to

modifiable rvalue can be modified safely (i.e., no observable change in
behavior outside of function).
Sometimes may want to allow a move to be used instead of a copy, when
this would not normally be permitted.
We can allow moves by casting to a non-const rvalue reference.
This casting can be accomplished by std::move, which is declared (in
the header file utility) as:
template <class T>
constexpr typename std::remove_reference<T>::type&&
move(T&&) noexcept;

For an object x of type T, std::move(x) is similar to

static_cast<T&&>(x) but saves typing and still works correctly when
T is a reference type (a technicality yet to be discussed).

Prior to C++11, a swap function (such as std::swap) would typically look

like this:
1 template <class T>
2 void swap(T& x, T& y) {
3 T tmp(x); // copy x to tmp
4 x = y; // copy y to a
5 y = tmp; // copy tmp to y
6 }

In the above code, a swap requires three copy operations (namely, one
copy constructor call and two copy assignment operator calls).
For many types T, this use of copying is very inefficient.
Furthermore, the above code requires that T must be copyable (i.e., T has
a copy constructor and copy assignment operator).
In C++11, we can write a much better swap function.

As of C++11, a swap function would typically look like this:

1 template <class T>
2 void swap(T& x, T& y) {
3 T tmp(std::move(x)); // move x to tmp
4 x = std::move(y); // move y to x
5 y = std::move(tmp); // move tmp to y
6 }

The function std::move casts its argument to an rvalue reference.

Assuming that T provides a move constructor and move assignment
operator, a swap requires three move operations (i.e., one move
constructor call and two move assignment operator calls) and no copying.
The use of std::move above is essential in order for copying to be
avoided.

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 880
Moving Versus Copying Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <utility>
3
4 class Widget {
5 public:
6 Widget() {}
7 ˜Widget() {}
8 Widget(Widget&&) {std::cout << "move construct\n";}
9 Widget(const Widget&) {std::cout << "copy construct\n";}
10 Widget& operator=(Widget&&)
11 {std::cout << "move assign\n"; return *this;}
12 Widget& operator=(const Widget&)
13 {std::cout << "copy assign\n"; return *this;}
14 // ...
15 };
16
17 Widget make_widget_1() {
18 return Widget(); // NOTE: Returns temporary.
19 }
20
21 Widget make_widget_2() {
22 Widget w;
23 return w; // NOTE: Returns named object.
24 }
25
26 int main() {
27 Widget a;
28 Widget b(a); // copy construct
29 Widget c(std::move(b)); // move construct
30 Widget d(make_widget_1()); // guaranteed copy/move elision
31 Widget e(make_widget_2()); // move construct if no NRVO
32 c = a; // copy assign
33 b = std::move(c); // move assign
34 a = make_widget_1(); // move assign
35 b = make_widget_2(); // move construct if no NRVO; move assign
36 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 881
Implication of Rvalue-Reference Type Function Parameters

Due to the properties of rvalue references, a function parameter of

rvalue-reference type may be regarded as being bound to an object
whose value will not be relied upon in the caller.
Therefore, an object associated with a function parameter of
rvalue-reference type can always be safely modified (i.e., without fear of
adversely affecting the caller).
This fact can often be exploited in order to obtain more efficient code.
Consider the code for a function with the following declaration:
void func(std::vector<double>&& x);
Since x is of rvalue-reference type, we are guaranteed that the caller will
not rely upon the value of the object referenced by x.
If obliterating the value of x would allow us to more efficiently implement
func, we can safely do so.
For example, we could safely modify x in place or move from it, without
fear of adversely affecting the caller.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 882
Reference-Qualified Member Functions

every nonstatic member function has implicit parameter *this

possible to provide reference qualifiers for implicit parameter
allows overloading member functions on lvalueness/rvalueness of *this
cannot mix reference qualifiers and non-reference qualifiers in single
overload set
provides mechanism for treating lvalue and rvalue cases differently
useful for facilitating move semantics or preventing operations not
appropriate for lvalues or rvalues

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Widget {
4 public:
5 void func() const &
6 {std::cout << "const lvalue\n";}
7 void func() &
8 {std::cout << "non-const lvalue\n";}
9 void func() const &&
10 {std::cout << "const rvalue\n";}
11 void func() &&
12 {std::cout << "non-const rvalue\n";}
13 };
14
15 const Widget getConstWidget() {return Widget();}
16
17 int main(){
18 Widget w;
19 const Widget cw;
20 w.func(); // non-const lvalue
21 cw.func(); // const lvalue
22 Widget().func(); // non-const rvalue
23 getConstWidget().func(); // const rvalue
24 }

1 class Int {
2 public:
3 Int(int x = 0) : value_(x) {}
4 // only allow prefix increment for lvalues
5 Int& operator++() & {++value_; return *this;}
6 // The following allows prefix increment for rvalues:
7 // Int& operator++() {++value_; return *this;}
8 // ...
9 private:
10 int value_;
11 };
12
13 int one() {return 1;}
14
15 int main() {
16 int i = 0;
17 int j = ++i; // OK
18 // int k = ++one(); // ERROR (not lvalue)
19 Int x(0);
20 Int y = ++x; // OK
21 // Int z = ++Int(1); // ERROR (not lvalue)
22 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <utility>
4
5 class Buffer {
6 public:
7 Buffer(char value = 0) : data_(1024, value) {}
8 void data(std::vector<char>& x) const &
9 {x = data_;}
10 void data(std::vector<char>& x) &&
11 {x = std::move(data_);}
12 // ...
13 private:
14 std::vector<char> data_;
15 };
16
17 Buffer getBuffer() {return Buffer(42);}
18
19 int main() {
20 std::vector<char> d;
21 Buffer buffer;
22 buffer.data(d); // copy into d
23 getBuffer().data(d); // move into d
24 }

Reference Collapsing and Forwarding References

A reference to a reference is not allowed, since such a construct clearly

makes no sense.
int i = 0;
int& & j = i; // ILLEGAL: reference to reference
Although one cannot directly create a reference to a reference, a
reference to a reference can arise indirectly in several contexts.
Typedef name:
typedef int& RefToInt;
typedef RefToInt& T; // reference to reference
Template function parameters:
template <class T> T func(const T& x) {return x;}
int x = 1;
func<int&>(x); // reference to reference
Decltype specifier:
int i = 1;
decltype((i))& j = i; // reference to reference

Auto specifier:
int i = 0;
auto&& j = i; // reference to reference
Class templates:
template <class T>
struct Thing {
void func(T&&) {} // reference to reference
// if T is reference type
};
Thing<int&> x;

If, during type analysis, a reference to a reference type is obtained, the

reference to reference is converted to a simple reference via a process
called reference collapsing.

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Reference Collapsing Rules
Let TR denote a type that is a reference to type T (where T may be cv
qualified).
The effect of reference collapsing is summarized below. .
Before Collapse After Collapse
TR& T&
const TR& T&
volatile TR& T&
const volatile TR& T&
TR&& TR
const TR&& TR
volatile TR&& TR
const volatile TR&& TR

In other words:
An lvalue reference to any reference yields an lvalue reference.
An rvalue reference to an lvalue reference yields an lvalue reference.
An rvalue reference to an rvalue reference yields rvalue reference.
Any cv qualifiers applied to a reference type are discarded (since cv
qualifiers cannot be applied to a reference).

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Reference Collapsing Examples
Due to reference collapsing, T&& syntax may not always be an rvalue
reference. Example:
using IntRef = int&;
int i = 0;
IntRef&& r = i; // r is int& (i.e., lvalue reference)
Example:
using IntRef = int&;
using IntRefRef = int&&;
using ConstIntRefRef = const int&&;
using ConstIntRef = const int&;
using T1 = const IntRef &; // T1 is int&
using T2 = const IntRefRef &; // T2 is int&
using T3 = IntRefRef &&; // T3 is int&&
using T4 = ConstIntRef &&; // T4 is const int&
using T5 = ConstIntRefRef &&; // T5 is const int&&
Example:
int i = 0;
int& j = i;
auto&& k = j;
// j cannot be inferred to have type int
// since rvalue reference cannot be bound to lvalue
// j inferred to have type int&
// reference collapsing of int& && yields int&

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Forwarding References
A cv-unqualified rvalue reference that appears in a type-deducing context
for template parameters is called a forwarding reference.
Type deduction for template parameters of template functions is defined in
such a way as to facilitate perfect forwarding.
Consider the following template-parameter type-deduction scenario:
template<class T>
void f(T&& p);
f(expr); // invoke f
Let E denote the type of the expression expr. The type T is then deduced
as follows:
1 If expr is an lvalue, T is deduced as E&, in which case the type of p yielded

by reference collapsing is E&.

2 If expr is an rvalue, T is deduced as E, in which case p will have the type

E&&.
Thus, the type T&& will be an lvalue reference type if expr is an lvalue, and
an rvalue reference type if expr is an rvalue.
Therefore, the lvalue/rvalue-ness of expr can be determined inside f
based on whether T&& is an lvalue reference type or rvalue reference type.
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Forwarding References Example
1 #include <utility>
2
3 template <class T> void f(T&& p);
4 int main() {
5 int i = 42;
6 const int ci = i;
7 const int& rci = i;
8 f(i);
9 // i is lvalue with type int
10 // T is int&
11 // p has type int&
12 f(ci);
13 // ci is lvalue with type const int
14 // T is const int&
15 // p has type const int&
16 f(rci);
17 // rci is lvalue with type const int&
18 // T is const int&
19 // p has type const int&
20 f(2);
21 // 2 is rvalue with type int
22 // T is int
23 // p has type int&&
24 f(std::move(i));
25 // std::move(i) is rvalue with type int&&
26 // T is int
27 // p has type int&&
28 }
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Section 3.4.7

Perfect Forwarding

Perfect forwarding is the act of passing a template function’s arguments

to another function:
without rejecting any arguments that can be passed to that other function
without losing any information about the arguments’ cv-qualifications or
lvalue/rvalue-ness; and
without requiring overloading.
In C++03, for example, the best approximations of perfect forwarding turn
all rvalues into lvalues and require at least two (and often more) overloads.

Consider a template function wrapper and another function func, each of

which takes one argument.
Suppose that we want to perfectly forward the argument of wrapper to
func.
The function wrapper is to do nothing other than simply call func.
In doing so, wrapper must pass its actual argument through to func.
This must be done in such a way that the argument to wrapper and
argument to func have identical properties (i.e., match in terms of
cv-qualifiers and lvalue/rvalue-ness).
In other words, the following two function calls must have identical
behavior, where expr denotes an arbitrary expression:
wrapper(expr);
func(expr);

The solution to a perfect-forwarding problem, such as this one, turns out

to be more difficult than it might first seem.
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Perfect-Forwarding Example: First Failed Attempt
For our first attempt, we propose the following code for the (template)
function wrapper:
template <class T>
void wrapper(T p) {
func(p);
}
If func takes its parameter by reference, calls to wrapper and func (with
the same argument) can have different behaviors.
Suppose, for example, that we have the following declarations:
void func(int&); // uses pass by reference
int i;
Then, the following two function calls are not equivalent:
wrapper(i);
// T is deduced as int
// copy of i passed to func
// wrapper cannot change i
func(i);
// i passed by reference
// func can change i
Problem: The original and forwarded arguments are distinct objects.
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Perfect-Forwarding Example: Second Failed Attempt
For our second attempt, we propose the following code for the (template)
function wrapper:
template <class T>
void wrapper(T& p) {
func(p);
}
If, for example, the function argument is an rvalue (such as a non-string
literal or temporary object), calls to wrapper and func (with the same
argument) can have different behaviors.
Suppose, for example, that we have the following declaration:
void func(int); // uses pass by value
Then, the following two function calls are not equivalent:
wrapper(42);
// T is deduced as int
// ERROR: cannot bind rvalue to
// nonconst lvalue reference
func(42);
// OK
Problem: The original and forwarded arguments do not match in terms of
lvalue/rvalue-ness.
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Perfect-Forwarding Example: Third Failed Attempt
For our third attempt, we propose the following code for the (template)
function wrapper:
template <class T>
void wrapper(const T& p) {
func(p);
}
If, for example, the function argument is a non-const object, calls to
wrapper and func (with the same argument) will have different behaviors.
Suppose, for example, that we have the following declaration:
void func(int&);
int i;
Then, the following two function calls are not equivalent:
wrapper(i);
// ERROR: wrapper cannot call func, as this
// would discard const qualifier
func(i);
// OK
Problem: The original and forwarded arguments do not match in terms of
cv-qualifiers.
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Perfect-Forwarding Example: Solution
Finally, we propose the following code for the (template) function wrapper:
template <class T>
void wrapper(T&& p) {
func(static_cast<T&&>(p));
}
Consider now, for example, the following scenario:
int i = 42;
const int ci = i;
int& ri = i;
const int& rci = i;
wrapper(expr); // invoke wrapper
The parameter p is an alias for the object yielded by the expression expr.
The argument expr and argument to func match in terms of cv-qualifiers
and lvalue/rvalue-ness.
expr argument to func
expr Type Category T Type (T&&) Category
i int lvalue int& int& lvalue
ci const int lvalue const int& const int& lvalue
ri int& lvalue int& int& lvalue
rci const int& lvalue const int& const int& lvalue
42 int rvalue int int&& rvalue

Although we only considered one specific scenario on the previous slide,

the solution works in general.
That is, the wrapper function from the previous slide will perfectly forward
its single argument, regardless of what the argument happens to be (or
which overload of func is involved).
Thus, we have a general solution to the perfect-forwarding problem in the
single-argument case.
This solution is easily extended to an arbitrary number of arguments.

To avoid the need for an explicit type-cast operation when forwarding an

argument, the standard library provides the std::forward function
specifically for performing such a type conversion.
The template function forward is defined as:
template<class T>
T&& forward(typename std::remove_reference<T>::type& x)
noexcept {
return static_cast<T&&>(x);
}

A typical usage of forward might look something like:

template <class T1, class T2>
void wrapper(T1&& x1, T2&& x2) {
func(std::forward<T1>(x1), std::forward<T2>(x2));
}

The expression forward<T>(a) is an lvalue if T is an lvalue reference

type and an rvalue otherwise.
The use of std::forward instead of an explicit type cast improves code
readability by making the programmer’s intent clear.
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Perfect-Forwarding Example Revisited

We now revisit the perfect-forwarding example from earlier.

In the earlier example, perfect forwarding was performed by the following
function:
template <class T>
void wrapper(T&& e) {
func(static_cast<T&&>(e));
}

The above code can be made more readable, however, by rewriting it to

make use of std::forward as follows:
template <class T>
void wrapper(T&& e) {
func(std::forward<T>(e));
}

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Forwarding Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <utility>
4
5 void func(std::string& s) {
6 std::cout << "func(std::string&) called\n";
7 }
8
9 void func(std::string&& s) {
10 std::cout << "func(std::string&&) called\n";
11 }
12
13 template <class T>
14 void wrapper(T&& x) {
15 func(std::forward<T>(x));
16 }
17
18 template <class T>
19 void buggy_wrapper(T x) {func(x);}
20
21 int main() {
22 using namespace std::literals;
23 std::string s("Hi"s);
24 wrapper(s); // which overload of func called?
25 buggy_wrapper(s); // which overload of func called?
26 wrapper("Hi"s); // which overload of func called?
27 buggy_wrapper("Hi"s); // which overload of func called?
28 }
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Perfect-Forwarding Use Case: Wrapper Functions
A wrapper function is simply a function used to invoke another function,
possibly with some additional processing.
Example:
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <utility>
3 #include <string>
4
5 std::string emphasize(const std::string& s)
6 {return s + "!";}
7
8 std::string emphasize(std::string&& s)
9 {return s + "!!!!";}
10
11 template <class A>
12 auto wrapper(A&& arg) {
13 std::cout << "Calling with argument " << arg << ’\n’;
14 auto result = emphasize(std::forward<A>(arg));
15 std::cout << "Return value " << result << ’\n’;
16 return result;
17 }
18
19 int main() {
20 std::string s("Bonjour");
21 wrapper(s);
22 wrapper(std::string("Hello"));
23 }
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Perfect-Forwarding Use Case: Factory Functions
A factory function is simply a function used to create objects.
Often, perfect forwarding is used by factory functions in order to pass
arguments through to a constructor, which performs the actual object
creation.
Example:
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <complex>
4 #include <utility>
5 #include <memory>
6
7 // Make an object of type T.
8 template<typename T, typename Arg>
9 std::shared_ptr<T> factory(Arg&& arg) {
10 return std::shared_ptr<T>(
11 new T(std::forward<Arg>(arg)));
12 }
13
14 int main() {
15 using namespace std::literals;
16 auto s(factory<std::string>("Hello"s));
17 auto z(factory<std::complex<double>>(1.0i));
18 std::cout << *s << ’ ’ << *z << ’\n’;
19 }
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Perfect-Forwarding Use Case: Emplace Operations

Many container classes provide an operation that creates a new element

directly inside the container, often referred to as an emplace operation.
Some or all of the arguments to a member function performing an
emplace operation correspond to arguments for a constructor invocation.
Thus, an emplace operation typically employs perfect forwarding.
The member function performing the emplace operation forwards some or
all of its arguments to the constructor responsible for actually creating the
new object.
Some examples of emplace operations in the standard library include:
std::list class: emplace, emplace_back, emplace_front

std::vector class: emplace, emplace_back

std::set class: emplace, emplace_hint
std::forward_list class: emplace_front, emplace_after

std::thread constructor uses forwarding to pass through arguments to

thread function
std::packaged_task function-call operator uses forwarding to pass
through arguments to associated function
std::async uses forwarding to pass through arguments to specified
callable entity
std::make_unique forwards arguments to std::unique_ptr
constructor
std::make_shared forwards arguments to std::shared_ptr
constructor
std::make_pair forwards arguments to std::pair constructor
std::make_tuple forwards arguments to std::tuple constructor

References

1 S. Meyers. Universal references in C++11.

Overload, 111:8–12, Oct. 2012.
2 T. Becker, C++ Rvalue References Explained, 2013, http://thbecker.
net/articles/rvalue_references/section_01.html
3 E. Bendersky, Understanding Lvalues and Rvalues in C and C++, 2011,
http://eli.thegreenplace.net/2011/12/15/understanding-
lvalues-and-rvalues-in-c-and-c
4 E. Bendersky, Perfect Forwarding and Universal References in C++, 2014,
http://eli.thegreenplace.net/2014/perfect-forwarding-and-
universal-references-in-c/
5 M. Kilpelainen. Lvalues and rvalues.
Overload, 61:12–13, June 2004.

6 H. E. Hinnant, Forward, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG21/N2951, Sept. 27,

2009, http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/
2009/n2951.html
7 H. Hinnant and D. Krugler, Proposed Wording for US 90, ISO/IEC
JTC1/SC22/WG21/N3143, Oct. 15, 2010, http://www.open-std.org/
jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2010/n3143.html

1 S. Meyers, Universal References in C++11, C++ and Beyond, Asheville,

NC, USA, Aug. 5–8, 2012. Available online at https://channel9.msdn.
com/Shows/Going+Deep/Cpp-and-Beyond-2012-Scott-Meyers-
Universal-References-in-Cpp11.
This talk discusses rvalue/forwarding references.
2 S. Meyers, Adventures in Perfect Forwarding, Facebook C++ Conference,
Menlo Park, CA, USA, June 2, 2012. Available online at https://www.
facebook.com/Engineering/videos/10151094464083109.
This talk introduces perfect forwarding and discusses matters such as how to
specialize forwarding templates and how to address interactions between
forwarding and the pimpl idiom.
3 H. Hinnant, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Move Semantics,
Inside Bloomberg, July 25, 2016. Available online at https://youtu.
be/vLinb2fgkHk.
This talk discusses various aspects of move semantics.

Concurrency

Preliminaries

Core 1 Core 2 ··· Core n

A core is an independent processing unit that reads and executes

program instructions, and consists of registers, an arithmetic logic unit
(ALU), a control unit, and usually a cache.
A processor is a computing element that consists of one or more cores,
an external bus interface, and possibly a shared cache.
A thread is a sequence of instructions (which can be executed by a core).
At any given time, a core can execute one thread or, if the core supports
simultaneous multithreading (such as hyperthreading), multiple threads.
In the simultaneous multithreading case, the threads share the resources
of the core.
A processor with more than one core is said to be multicore.
Most modern processors are multicore.
Multicore processors can simultaneously execute multiple threads.
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Processors (Continued)

A multicore processor said to be homogeneous if all of its cores are

identical.
A multicore processor said to be heterogeneous if its has more than one
type of core.
Different types of cores might be used in order to:
provide different types of functionality (e.g., CPU and GPU)
provide different levels of performance (e.g., high-performance CPU and
energy-efficient CPU)

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Memory Hierarchy
Core L1 L2 LL Main Bulk
Excluding ···
Cache Cache Cache Cache Memory Storage

The component of a system that stores program instructions and data is

called main memory.
A cache is fast memory used to store copies of instructions and/or data
from main memory.
Main memory is very slow compared to the speed of a processor core.
Due to the latency of main memory, caches are essential for good
performance.
Instruction and data caches may be separate or unified (i.e., combined).
A cache may be local to single core or shared between two or more cores.
The lowest-level (i.e., L1) cache is usually on the core and local to the
core.
The higher-level (i.e., L2, L3,. . . , LL [last level]) caches are usually shared
between some or all of the cores.
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Examples of Multicore Processors
Intel Core i7-3820QM Processor (Q2 2012)
used in Lenovo W530 notebook
64 bit, 2.7 GHz
128/128 KB L1 cache, 1 MB L2 cache, 8 MB L3 cache
4 cores
8 threads (2 threads/core)

Intel Core i7-5960X Processor Extreme Edition (Q3 2014)

targets desktops/notebooks
64 bit, 3 GHz
256/256 KB L1 cache, 2 MB L2 cache, 20 MB L3 cache
8 cores
16 threads (2 threads/core)

Intel Xeon Processor E7-8890 v2 (Q1 2014)

targets servers
64 bit, 2.8 GHz
480/480 KB L1 cache, 3.5 MB L2 cache, 37.5 MB L3 cache
15 cores
30 threads (2 threads/core)
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Examples of Multicore SoCs

Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC (Q1 2014)

used in Google Nexus 6

32-bit 2.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Krait 450 (ARMv7-A)

16/16 KB L1 cache (per core), 2 MB L2 cache (shared)
600 MHz Qualcomm Adreno 420 GPU
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5433 SoC
used in Samsung Galaxy Note 4
high-performance 1.9 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A57 paired with

energy-efficient 1.3 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 (big.LITTLE); both

32-bit (64-bit capable but disabled) (ARMv8-A)
Cortex-A57: 48/32 KB L1 cache, 512 KB to 2 MB L2 cache?
700 MHz Mali-T760MP6 GPU
Apple A8 SoC (2014)
used in Apple iPhone 6, Apple iPhone 6 Plus
64-bit 1.4 GHz dual-core CPU (ARMv8-A)
64/64 KB L1 cache (per core), 1 MB L2 cache (shared), 4 MB L3 cache
PowerVR Series 6XT GX6450 (quad-core) GPU

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Why Multicore Processors?
in past, greater processing power obtained through higher clock rates
clock rates have stopped rising, topping out at about 5 GHz (little change
since about 2005)
power consumption is linear in clock frequency and quadratic in voltage,
but higher frequency typically requires higher voltage; so, considering
effect of frequency and voltage together, power consumption grows
approximately with cube of frequency
greater power consumption translates into increased heat production
higher clock rates would result in processors overheating
transistor counts still increasing (Moore’s law: since 1960s, transistor
count has doubled approximately every 18 months)
instead of increasing processing power by raising clock rate of processor
core, simply add more processor cores
n cores running at clock rate f use significantly less power and generate
less heat than single core at clock rate n f
going multicore allows for greater processing power with lower power
consumption and less heat production
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Section 3.5.2

Multithreaded Programming

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Concurrency
A thread is a sequence of instructions that can be independently
managed by the operating-system scheduler.
A process provides the resources that program needs to execute (e.g.,
address space, files, and devices) and at least one thread of execution.
All threads of a process share the same address space.
Concurrency is the situation where multiple threads execute over time
periods (i.e., from start of execution to end) that overlap (but no threads
are required to run simultaneously).
Parallelism refers to the situation where multiple threads execute
simultaneously.
Concurrency can be achieved with:
1 multiple single-threaded processes; or
2 a single multithreaded process.
A single multithreaded process is usually preferable, since this approach
is typically much less resource intensive and data can often be shared
much more easily between threads in a single process (due to the threads
having a common address space).
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Why Multithreading?

Keep all of the processor cores busy (i.e., fully utilize all cores).
Most modern systems have multiple processor cores, due to having either
multiple processors or a single processor that is multicore.
A single thread cannot fully utilize the computational resources available in
such systems.
Keep processes responsive.
In graphics applications, keep the GUI responsive while the application is
performing slow operations such as I/O.
In network server applications, keep the server responsive to new
connections while handling already established ones.
Simplify the coding of cooperating tasks.
Some programs consist of several logically distinct tasks.
Instead of having the program manage when the computation associated
with different tasks is performed, each task can be placed in a separate
thread and the operating system can perform scheduling.
For certain types of applications, multithreading can significantly reduce the
conceptual complexity of the program.

Multithreaded Programming Models

A memory model (also known as a memory-consistency model) is a

formal specification of the effect of read and write operations on the
memory system, which in effect describes how memory appears to
programs.
A memory model is essential in order for the semantics of a multithreaded
program to be well defined.
The memory model must address issues such as:
ordering
atomicity
The memory model affects:
programmability (i.e., ease of programming)
performance
portability

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Sequential Consistency (SC)
The environment in which a multithreaded program is run is said to have
sequential consistency (SC) if the result of any execution of the program
is the same as if the operations of all threads are executed in some
sequential order, and the operations of each individual thread appear in
this sequence in the order specified by the program.
In other words, in a sequentially-consistent execution of a multithreaded
program, threads behave as if their operations were simply interleaved.
Consider the multithreaded program (with two threads) shown below,
where x, y, a, and b are all integer variables and initially zero.
Thread 1 Code Thread 2 Code
x = 1; y = 1;
a = y; b = x;
Some sequentially-consistent executions of this program include:
x = 1; y = 1; b = x; a = y;
y = 1; x = 1; a = y; b = x;

x = 1; a = y; y = 1; b = x;
y = 1; b = x; x = 1; a = y;

Since SC implies that memory must behave in a particular manner, SC

implicitly defines a memory model, known as the SC memory model.
In particular, SC implies that each write operation is atomic and becomes
visible to all threads simultaneously.
Thus, with the SC model, all threads see write operations on memory
occur atomically in the same order, leading to all threads having a
consistent view of memory.
The SC model precludes (or makes extremely difficult) many hardware
optimizations, such as:
store buffers
caches
out-of-order instruction execution
The SC model also precludes many compiler optimizations, including:
reordering of loads and stores
Although the SC model very is intuitive, it comes at a very high cost in
terms of performance.
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Load/Store Reordering Example: Single Thread
Consider the program with the code below, where x and y are integer
variables, all initially zero.
Original Thread 1 Code
x = 1;
y = 1;
// ...

Suppose that, during optimization, the compiler transforms the preceding

code to that shown below, effectively reordering two stores.
Optimized Thread 1 Code
y = 1;
x = 1;
// ...

The execution of the optimized code is indistinguishable from a

sequentially-consistent execution of the original code.
The optimized program runs as if it were the original program.
In a single-threaded program, loads and stores can be reordered without
invalidating the SC model (if data dependencies are correctly considered).
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Load/Store Reordering Example: Multiple Threads
Consider the addition of a second thread to the program to yield the code
below.
Original Thread 1 Code Thread 2 Code
x = 1; if (y == 1) {
y = 1; assert(x == 1);
// ... }

Suppose that the compiler makes the same optimization to the code for
thread 1 as on the previous slide, yielding the code below.
Optimized Thread 1 Code (Unchanged) Thread 2 Code
y = 1; if (y == 1) {
x = 1; assert(x == 1);
// ... }

Thread 2 can observe x and y being modified in the wrong order (i.e., an
order that is inconsistent with SC execution).
The assertion in thread 2 can never fail in the original program, but can
sometimes fail in the optimized program.
In a multithreaded program, the reordering of loads and stores must be
avoided if SC is to be maintained.
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Store-Buffer Example: Without Store Buffer

Consider the program below, where x, y, a, and b are integer variables, all
initially zero.
Thread 1 Code Thread 2 Code
x = 1; y = 1;
a = y; b = x;

Some possible sequentially-consistent executions of the program include:

x = 1; y = 1; b = x; a = y; (a is 1, b is 1)

y = 1; x = 1; a = y; b = x; (a is 1, b is 1)
x = 1; a = y; y = 1; b = x; (a is 0, b is 1)
y = 1; b = x; x = 1; a = y; (a is 1, b is 0)

In every sequentially-consistent execution of the program, one of

“x = 1;” or “y = 1;” must execute first.
If “x = 1;” executes first, then b cannot be assigned 0.
If “y = 1;” executes first, then a cannot be assigned 0.
No sequentially-consistent execution can result in a and b both being 0.

Processor Memory

(1) Store Buffer

write r to x

(2)

(1) transfer data from register to store buffer

(2) flush store buffer to memory

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Store-Buffer Example: With Store Buffer (Not SC)
Core 1 Core 2 Memory
Code Store Buffer Code Store Buffer x y
x = 1; write 1 to x 0 0
pending
no change y = 1; write 1 to y 0 0
pending
a = y; no change no change 0 0
// a = 0;
no change b = x; no change 0 0
// b = 0;
write 1 to x no change 1 0
completed
write 1 to y 1 1
completed
The execution of the program results in a and b both being 0, which
violates SC.
The program behaves as if the lines of code in each thread were
reordered (i.e., reversed), yielding: a = y; b = x; x = 1; y = 1;.
A store buffer (or cache) must be avoided, if SC is to be maintained.
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Atomicity of Memory Operations

A fundamental property of SC is that all memory operations are atomic.

Atomic memory operations require synchronization between processor
cores.
This synchronization greatly increases the time required to access
memory, as a result of the time needed by processor cores to
communicate and coordinate access to memory.
Therefore, requiring all memory operations to be atomic is not desirable.
Allowing non-atomic memory operations, however, would be inconsistent
with a fundamental property of SC.

If memory operations are not all atomic, the possibility exists for
something known as a data race.
Two memory operations are said to conflict if they access the same
memory location and at least one of the operations is a write.
Two conflicting memory operations form a data race if they are from
different threads and can be executed at the same time.
A program with data races usually has unpredictable behavior (e.g., due
to torn reads, torn writes, or worse).
Example (data race):
Consider the multithreaded program listed below, where x, y, and z are

(nonatomic) integer variables shared between threads and are initially zero.
Thread 1 Code Thread 2 Code
x = 1; y = 1;
a = y + z; b = x + z;
The program has data races on both x and y.
Since z is not modified by any thread, z cannot participate in a data race.
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Torn Reads
A torn read is a read operation that (due to lack of atomicity) has only
partially read its value when another (concurrent) write operation on the
same location is performed.
Consider a two-byte unsigned (big-endian) integer variable x, which is
initially 1234 (hexadecimal).
Suppose that the following (nonatomic) memory operations overlap in
time:
thread 1 reads x; and

thread 2 writes 5678 (hexadecimal) to x.

Initially, x is 1234: Byte 12

0 Byte 1
34
Thread 1 reads 12 from the first byte of x.
Thread 2 writes 56 and 78 to the first and seconds bytes of x, respectively,
yielding: Byte 56
0 Byte 1
78
Thread 1 reads the second byte of x to obtain the value 78.
The value read by thread 1 (i.e., 1278) is neither the value of x prior to the
write by thread 2 (i.e., 1234) nor the value of x after the write by thread 2
(i.e., 5678).
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Torn Writes

A torn write is a write operation that (due to lack of atomicity) has only
partially written its value when another (concurrent) read or write
operation on the same location is performed.
Consider a two-byte unsigned (big-endian) integer variable x, which is
initially 0.
Suppose that the following (nonatomic) memory operations overlap in
time:
thread 1 writes 1234 (hexadecimal) to x; and
thread 2 writes 5678 (hexadecimal) to x.

Byte 0 Byte 1
Initially, x is 0: 00 00
Byte 0 Byte 1
Thread 1 writes 12 to the first byte of x, yielding: 12 00
Thread 2 writes 56 and 78 to the first and second bytes of x, respectively,
yielding: Byte
56
0 Byte 1
78
Byte 0 Byte 1
Thread 1 writes 34 to the second byte of x, yielding: 56 34
The resulting value in x (i.e., 5634) is neither the value written by thread 1
(i.e., 1234) nor the value written by thread 2 (i.e., 5678).
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SC Data-Race Free (SC-DRF) Memory Model

From a programmability standpoint, SC is extremely desirable, as it allows

one to reason easily about the behavior of a multithreaded program.
Unfortunately, as we saw earlier, SC precludes almost all useful compiler
optimizations and hardware optimizations.
As it turns out, if we drop the requirement that all memory operations be
atomic and then restrict programs to be data-race free, SC can be
provided while still allowing most compiler and hardware optimizations.
This observation is the motivation behind the so called SC-DRF memory
model.
The sequential-consistency for data-race free programs (SC-DRF)
model provides SC only for programs that are data-race free.
The data-race free constraint is not overly burdensome, since data races
will likely result in bugs anyhow.
Several programming languages have used SC-DRF as the basis for their
memory model, including C++, C, and Java.
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C++ Memory Model

The C++ programming language employs, at its default memory model,

the SC-DRF model.
Again, with the SC-DRF model, a program behaves as if its execution is
sequentially consistent, provided that the program is data-race free.
Support is also provided for other (more relaxed) memory models.
For certain memory accesses, it is possible to override the default (i.e.,
SC-DRF) memory model, if desired.
The execution of a program that is not data-race free results in undefined
behavior.

Thread Management

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The std::thread Class
std::thread class provides means to create new thread of execution,
wait for thread to complete, and perform other operations to manage and
query state of thread
thread object may or may not be associated with thread (of execution)
thread object that is associated with thread said to be joinable
default constructor creates thread object that is unjoinable
can also construct thread object by providing callable entity (e.g.,
function or functor) and arguments (if any), resulting in new thread
invoking callable entity
thread function provided with copies of arguments so must use reference
wrapper class like std::reference_wrapper for reference semantics
thread class is movable but not copyable
each thread object has ID
IDs of joinable thread objects are unique
all unjoinable thread objects have same ID, distinct from ID of every
joinable thread object
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The std::thread Class (Continued)

join operation waits for thread object’s thread to complete execution

and results in object becoming unjoinable
detach operation dissociates thread from thread object (allowing thread
to continue to execute independently) and results in object becoming
unjoinable
using thread object as source for move operation results in object
becoming unjoinable
if thread object joinable when destructor called, exception is thrown
hardware_concurrency member function returns number of hardware
threads that can run simultaneously (or zero if not well defined)
thread creation and join operations establish synchronizes-with
relationship (to be discussed later)

Member Types
Member Name Description
id thread ID type
native_handle_type system-dependent handle type for under-
lying thread entity

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Member Name Description
constructor construct thread (overloaded)
destructor destroy thread
operator= move assign thread

Member Functions
Member Name Description
joinable check if thread joinable
get_id get ID of thread
native_handle get native handle for thread
hardware_concurrency (static) get number of concurrent threads
supported by hardware
join wait for thread to finish executing
detach permit thread to execute indepen-
dently
swap swap threads

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Example: Hello World With Threads
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3
4 void hello()
5 {
6 std::cout << "Hello World!\n";
7 }
8
9 int main()
10 {
11 std::thread t(hello);
12 t.join();
13 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3
4 int main()
5 {
6 std::thread t([](){
7 std::cout << "Hello World!\n";
8 });
9 t.join();
10 }

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Example: Thread-Function Argument Passing (Copy Semantics)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3
4 void doWork(int i, int j)
5 {
6 std::cout << i << ’ ’ << j << ’\n’;
7 }
8
9 int main()
10 {
11 int i = 42;
12 std::thread t1(doWork, i, 1);
13 t1.join();
14 }

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Example: Thread-Function Argument Passing (Reference Semantics)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <functional>
4 #include <thread>
5
6 void doWork(const std::vector<int>& v)
7 {
8 for (auto i : v) {
9 std::cout << i << ’\n’;
10 }
11 }
12
13 int main()
14 {
15 std::vector v{1, 2, 3, 4};
16
17 // copy semantics
18 std::thread t1(doWork, v);
19 t1.join();
20
21 // reference semantics
22 std::thread t2(doWork, std::ref(v));
23 t2.join();
24 }

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Example: Thread-Function Argument Passing (Move Semantics)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <utility>
4 #include <thread>
5
6 void doWork(std::vector<int>&& v)
7 {
8 for (auto i : v) {
9 std::cout << i << ’\n’;
10 }
11 }
12
13 int main()
14 {
15 std::vector v{1, 2, 3, 4};
16
17 // move semantics
18 std::thread t1(doWork, std::move(v));
19 t1.join();
20 }

1 #include <thread>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <utility>
4
5 // Return a thread that prints a greeting message.
6 std::thread makeThread() {
7 return std::thread([](){
8 std::cout << "Hello World!\n";
9 });
10 }
11
12 // Return the same thread that was passed as an argument.
13 std::thread identity(std::thread t) {
14 return t;
15 }
16
17 int main() {
18 std::thread t1(makeThread());
19 std::thread t2(std::move(t1));
20 t1 = std::move(t2);
21 t1 = identity(std::move(t1));
22 t1.join();
23 }

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Example: Lifetime Bug
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <algorithm>
4 #include <chrono>
5 #include <thread>
6 #include <numeric>
7
8 void threadFunc(const std::vector<int>* v) {
9 std::cout << std::accumulate(v->begin(), v->end(), 0)
10 << ’\n’;
11 }
12
13 void startThread() {
14 std::vector<int> v(1000000, 1);
15 std::thread t(threadFunc, &v);
16 t.detach();
17 // v is destroyed here but detached thread
18 // may still be using v
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 startThread();
23 // Give the thread started by startThread
24 // sufficient time to complete its work.
25 std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(5));
26 }

Name Description
get_id get ID of current thread
yield suggest rescheduling current thread so as to allow
other threads to run
sleep_for blocks execution of current thread for at least
specified duration
sleep_until blocks execution of current thread until specified
time reached

1 #include <thread>
2 #include <iostream>
3
4 // main thread ID
5 std::thread::id mainThread;
6
7 void func() {
8 if (std::this_thread::get_id() == mainThread) {
9 std::cout << "called by main thread\n";
10 } else {
11 std::cout << "called by secondary thread\n";
12 }
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 mainThread = std::this_thread::get_id();
17 std::thread t([](){
18 // call func from secondary thread
19 func();
20 });
21 // call func from main thread
22 func();
23 t.join();
24 }

thread storage duration: object initialized before first use in thread and,
if constructed, destroyed on thread exit
each thread has its own instance of object
only objects declared thread_local have this storage duration
thread_local implies static for variable of block scope
thread_local can appear together with static or extern to
adjust linkage
example:
thread_local int counter = 0;
static thread_local int x = 0;
thread_local int y;
void func() {
thread_local int counter = 0;
// equivalent to:
// static thread_local int counter = 0;
}

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <thread>
4
5 thread_local int counter = 0;
6
7 void doWork(int id) {
8 static const char letters[] = "abcd";
9 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
10 std::cout << letters[id] << counter << ’\n’;
11 ++counter;
12 }
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 std::vector<std::thread> workers;
17 for (int i = 1; i <= 3; ++i) {
18 // invoke doWork in new thread
19 workers.emplace_back(doWork, i);
20 }
21 // invoke doWork in main thread
22 doWork(0);
23 for (auto& t : workers) {t.join();}
24 }

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The std::thread Class and Exception Safety
The astute reader will notice that most code examples on these lecture
slides (both earlier and later) that directly employ std::thread are not
exception safe.
Some of the exception safety problems in these examples could be
eliminated by using a RAII class to wrap std::thread objects.
Unfortunately, the standard library does not provide such a RAII class.
At a very basic level, one could provide a thread wrapper class that has
similar functionality to std::thread, except that its destructor
automatically joins with the underlying thread if the thread is still joinable
at destruction time. (See next slide.)
Although such an approach will work in some situations (such as in the
case of many of the simple code examples on these lecture slides), it can
potentially lead to deadlocks and other problems in more complex code.
A more general solution would be to provide a class that allows arbitrary
code to be executed just prior to thread destruction, in order to perform
the appropriate (application-dependent) “clean-up” action. (For example,
see boost::scoped_thread in the Boost Threads library.)
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The std::thread Class and Exception Safety (Continued)

1 #include <thread>
2
3 // A minimalist inheritance-based replacement for std::thread
4 // that joins automatically in the destructor.
5 // (One must be careful not to use this type polymorphically
6 // since the destructor is not virtual.)
7 class scoped_thread : public std::thread {
8 public:
9 using std::thread::thread;
10 scoped_thread(scoped_thread&&) = default;
11 scoped_thread& operator=(scoped_thread&&) = default;
12 scoped_thread(const scoped_thread&) = delete;
13 scoped_thread& operator=(const scoped_thread&) = delete;
14 ˜scoped_thread() {
15 if (joinable()) {
16 join();
17 }
18 }
19 };

Sharing Data Between Threads

In multithreaded programs, it is often necessary to share resources

between threads.
Shared resources might include such things as variables, memory, files,
devices, and so on.
The sharing of resources, however, can lead to various problems when
multiple threads want access to the same resource simultaneously.
The most commonly shared resource is variables.
When variables are shared between threads, the possibility exists that one
thread may attempt to access a variable while another thread is modifying
the same variable.
Such conflicting accesses to variables can lead to data corruption and
other problems.
More generally, when any resource is shared, the potential for problems
exists.
Therefore, mechanisms are needed for ensuring that shared resources
can be accessed safely.
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Race Conditions

A race condition is a behavior where the outcome depends on the

relative ordering of the execution of operations on two or more threads.
Sometimes, a race condition may be benign (i.e., does not cause any
problem).
Usually, the term “race condition” used to refer to a race condition that is
not benign (i.e., breaks invariants or results in undefined behavior).
A data race is a particularly evil type of race condition.
A deadlock is a situation in which two or more threads are unable to make
progress due to being blocked waiting for resources held by each other.
A livelock is a situation in which two or more threads are not blocked but
are unable to make progress due to needing resources held by each
other.
Often, race conditions can lead to deadlocks, livelocks, crashes, and other
unpredictable behavior.

A critical section is a piece of code that accesses a shared resource

(e.g., data structure) that must not be simultaneously accessed by more
than one thread.
A synchronization mechanism is needed at the entry to and exit from a
critical section.
The mechanism needs to provide mutual exclusion (i.e., prevent critical
sections in multiple threads from executing simultaneously).
Example (FIFO queue):
One thread is adding an element to a queue while another thread is
removing an element from the same queue.
Since both threads modify the queue at the same time, they could corrupt
the queue data structure.
Synchronization must be employed so that the execution of the parts of the
code that add and remove elements are executed in a mutually exclusive
manner (i.e., cannot run at the same time).

Shared (Global) Data

double balance = 100.00; // bank account balance
double credit = 50.00; // amount to deposit
double debit = 10.00; // amount to withdraw

Thread 1 Code Thread 2 Code

// double tmp = balance; // double tmp = balance;
// tmp = tmp + credit; // tmp = tmp - debit;
// balance = tmp; // balance = tmp;
balance += credit; balance -= debit;

above code has data race on balance object (i.e., more than one thread
may access balance at same time with at least one thread writing)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3
4 unsigned long long counter = 0;
5
6 void func() {
7 for (int i = 0; i < 1000000; ++i) {
8 ++counter;
9 }
10 }
11
12 int main() {
13 std::thread t1(func);
14 std::thread t2(func);
15 t1.join();
16 t2.join();
17 std::cout << counter << ’\n’;
18 }

1 #include <thread>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <set>
4
5 class IntSet {
6 public:
7 bool contains(int i) const
8 {return s_.find(i) != s_.end();}
9 void add(int i)
10 {s_.insert(i);}
11 private:
12 std::set<int> s_;
13 };
14
15 IntSet s;
16
17 int main() {
18 std::thread t1([](){
19 for (int i = 0; i < 1000; ++i) s.add(2 * i);
20 });
21 std::thread t2([](){
22 for (int i = 0; i < 1000; ++i) s.add(2 * i + 1);
23 });
24 t1.join(); t2.join();
25 std::cout << s.contains(1000) << ’\n’;
26 }

Mutexes

A mutex is a locking mechanism used to synchronize access to a shared

resource by providing mutual exclusion.
A mutex has two basic operations:
acquire: lock (i.e., hold) the mutex
release: unlock (i.e., relinquish) the mutex

A mutex can be held by only one thread at any given time.

If a thread attempts to acquire a mutex that is already held by another
thread, the operation will either block until the mutex can be acquired or
fail with an error.
A thread holding a (nonrecursive) mutex cannot relock the mutex.
A thread acquires the mutex before accessing the shared resource and
releases the mutex when finished accessing the resource.
Since only one thread can hold a mutex at any given time and the shared
resource is only accessed by the thread holding the mutex,
mutually-exclusive access is guaranteed.

std::mutex class provides mutex functionality

not movable and not copyable
lock member function acquires mutex (blocking as necessary)
unlock member function releases mutex
thread that owns mutex should not attempt to lock mutex again
all prior unlock operations on given mutex synchronize with lock
operation (on same mutex) (synchronizes-with relationship to be
discussed later)

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std::mutex Members
Member Types
Name Description
native_handle_type system-dependent handle type for underlying mu-
tex entity

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor construct mutex
destructor destroy mutex

Other Member Functions

Name Description
lock acquire mutex, blocking if not available
try_lock try to lock mutex without blocking
unlock release mutex
native_handle get handle for underlying mutex entity

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Example: Avoiding Data Race Using Mutex (Counter) (mutex)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <mutex>
4
5 std::mutex m;
6 unsigned long long counter = 0;
7
8 void func() {
9 for (int i = 0; i < 1000000; ++i) {
10 m.lock(); // acquire mutex
11 ++counter;
12 m.unlock(); // release mutex
13 }
14 }
15
16 int main() {
17 std::thread t1(func);
18 std::thread t2(func);
19 t1.join();
20 t2.join();
21 std::cout << counter << ’\n’;
22 }

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The std::lock_guard Template Class
std::lock_guard is RAII class for mutexes
declaration:
template <class T> class lock_guard;
template parameter T specifies type of mutex (e.g., std::mutex,
std::recursive_mutex)
avoids problem of inadvertently forgetting to release mutex (e.g., due to
exception or forgetting unlock call)
constructor takes mutex as argument
not movable and not copyable
acquires mutex in constructor
releases mutex in destructor
since language ensures that all objects destroyed at end of lifetime,
release of mutex guaranteed (even if some code skipped due to thrown
exception)
advisable to use lock_guard instead of calling lock and unlock
explicitly
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std::lock_guard Members

Member Types
Name Description
mutex_type underlying mutex type

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor construct lock guard
destructor destroy lock guard

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Example: Avoiding Data Race Using Mutex (Counter) (lock_guard)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <mutex>
4
5 std::mutex m;
6 unsigned long long counter = 0;
7
8 void func() {
9 for (int i = 0; i < 1000000; ++i) {
10 // lock_guard constructor acquires mutex
11 std::lock_guard lock(m);
12 ++counter;
13 // lock_guard destructor releases mutex
14 }
15 }
16
17 int main() {
18 std::thread t1(func);
19 std::thread t2(func);
20 t1.join();
21 t2.join();
22 std::cout << counter << ’\n’;
23 }

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Example: Avoiding Data Race Using Mutex (IntSet) (lock_guard)

1 #include <thread>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <set>
4 #include <mutex>
5
6 class IntSet {
7 public:
8 bool contains(int i) const {
9 std::lock_guard lg(m_);
10 return s_.find(i) != s_.end();
11 }
12 void add(int i) {
13 std::lock_guard lg(m_);
14 s_.insert(i);
15 }
16 private:
17 std::set<int> s_;
18 mutable std::mutex m_;
19 };
20
21 IntSet s;
22
23 int main() {
24 std::thread t1([](){
25 for (int i = 0; i < 1000; ++i) s.add(2 * i);
26 });
27 std::thread t2([](){
28 for (int i = 0; i < 1000; ++i) s.add(2 * i + 1);
29 });
30 t1.join(); t2.join();
31 std::cout << s.contains(1000) << ’\n’;
32 }

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The std::scoped_lock Template Class
std::scoped_lock is RAII class for mutexes
declaration:
template <class... Ts> class scoped_lock;
parameter pack Ts specifies types of mutexes to be locked
can be used with any mutex types providing necessary locking interface
(e.g., std::mutex and std::recursive_mutex)
constructor takes one or more mutexes as arguments
mutexes acquired in constructor and released in destructor
scoped_lock objects are not movable and not copyable
using scoped_lock avoids problem of inadvertently failing to release
mutexes (e.g., due to exception or forgetting unlock calls)
in multiple mutex case, employs deadlock avoidance algorithm from
std::lock (discussed later) when acquiring mutexes
advisable to use scoped_lock instead of calling lock and unlock
explicitly
scoped_lock effectively replaces (and extends) lock_guard
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Example: Avoiding Data Race Using Mutex (IntSet) (scoped_lock)

1 #include <thread>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <unordered_set>
4 #include <mutex>
5
6 class IntSet {
7 public:
8 bool contains(int i) const {
9 std::scoped_lock lock(m_);
10 return s_.find(i) != s_.end();
11 }
12 void add(int i) {
13 std::scoped_lock lock(m_);
14 s_.insert(i);
15 }
16 private:
17 std::unordered_set<int> s_;
18 mutable std::mutex m_;
19 };
20
21 IntSet s;
22
23 int main() {
24 std::thread t1([](){
25 for (int i = 0; i < 10’000; ++i) {s.add(2 * i);}
26 });
27 std::thread t2([](){
28 for (int i = 0; i < 10’000; ++i) {s.add(2 * i + 1);}
29 });
30 t1.join(); t2.join();
31 std::cout << s.contains(1000) << ’\n’;
32 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 973
The std::unique_lock Template Class
std::unique_lock is another RAII class for mutexes
declaration:
template <class T> class unique_lock;
template parameter T specifies type of mutex (e.g., std::mutex,
std::recursive_mutex)
unlike case of std::lock_guard, in case of unique_lock do not have to
hold mutex over entire lifetime of RAII object
have choice of whether to acquire mutex upon construction
also can acquire and release mutex many times throughout lifetime of
unique_lock object
upon destruction, if mutex is held, it is released
since mutex is always guaranteed to be released by destructor, cannot
forget to release mutex
unique_lock is used in situations where want to be able to transfer
ownership of lock (e.g., return from function) or RAII object needed for
mutex but do not want to hold mutex over entire lifetime of RAII object
movable but not copyable
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 974
std::unique_lock Members
Member Types
Name Description
mutex_type underlying mutex type

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor construct unique lock
destructor destroy unique lock
operator= move assign

Locking Functions
Name Description
lock acquire mutex, blocking if not available
try_lock try to lock mutex without blocking
try_lock_for try to lock mutex without blocking
try_lock_until try to lock mutex without blocking
unlock release mutex

Observer Functions
Name Description
owns_lock tests if lock owns associated mutex
operator bool tests if lock owns associated mutex

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 976
Example: Avoiding Data Race Using Mutex (Counter) (unique_lock)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <mutex>
4
5 std::mutex m;
6 unsigned long long counter = 0;
7
8 void func() {
9 for (int i = 0; i < 1000000; ++i) {
10 // Create a lock object without locking the mutex.
11 std::unique_lock lock(m, std::defer_lock);
12 // ...
13 // Lock the mutex.
14 lock.lock();
15 ++counter;
16 // The unique_lock destructor releases the mutex.
17 }
18 }
19
20 int main() {
21 std::thread t1(func);
22 std::thread t2(func);
23 t1.join();
24 t2.join();
25 std::cout << counter << ’\n’;
26 }

std::lock variadic template function that can acquire multiple locks

simultaneously without risk of deadlock (assuming the only locks involved
are ones passed to lock)
declaration:
template <class T1, class T2, class... TN>
void lock(T1&, T2&, TN& ...);

takes as arguments one or more locks to be acquired

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 978
Example: Acquiring Two Locks for Swap (Incorrect)
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <mutex>
4
5 class BigBuf // A Big Buffer
6 {
7 public:
8 static constexpr int size() {return 16 * 1024 * 1024;}
9 BigBuf() : data_(size()) {}
10 BigBuf& operator=(const BigBuf&) = delete;
11 BigBuf& operator=(BigBuf&&) = delete;
12 void swap(BigBuf& other) {
13 if (this == &other)
14 return;
15 // acquiring the two mutexes in this way can result in deadlock
16 std::lock_guard lock1(m_);
17 std::lock_guard lock2(other.m_);
18 std::swap(data_, other.data_);
19 }
20 // ...
21 private:
22 std::vector<char> data_;
23 mutable std::mutex m_;
24 };
25
26 BigBuf a;
27 BigBuf b;
28
29 int main()
30 {
31 std::thread t1([](){
32 for (int i = 0; i < 100000; ++i) a.swap(b);
33 });
34 std::thread t2([](){
35 for (int i = 0; i < 100000; ++i) b.swap(a);
36 });
37 t1.join(); t2.join();
38 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 979
Example: Acquiring Two Locks for Swap [unique_lock and lock]
1 #include <mutex>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <utility>
4 #include <vector>
5
6 class BigBuf // A Big Buffer
7 {
8 public:
9 static constexpr int size() {return 16 * 1024 * 1024;}
10 BigBuf() : data_(size()) {}
11 BigBuf& operator=(const BigBuf&) = delete;
12 BigBuf& operator=(BigBuf&&) = delete;
13 void swap(BigBuf& other) {
14 if (this == &other)
15 return;
16 std::unique_lock lock1(m_, std::defer_lock);
17 std::unique_lock lock2(other.m_, std::defer_lock);
18 std::lock(lock1, lock2);
19 std::swap(data_, other.data_);
20 }
21 // ...
22 private:
23 std::vector<char> data_;
24 mutable std::mutex m_;
25 };
26
27 BigBuf a;
28 BigBuf b;
29
30 int main() {
31 std::thread t1([](){
32 for (int i = 0; i < 100000; ++i) a.swap(b);
33 });
34 std::thread t2([](){
35 for (int i = 0; i < 100000; ++i) b.swap(a);
36 });
37 t1.join(); t2.join();
38 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 980
Example: Acquiring Two Locks for Swap [scoped_lock]
1 #include <mutex>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <utility>
4 #include <vector>
5
6 class BigBuf // A Big Buffer
7 {
8 public:
9 static constexpr int size() {return 16 * 1024 * 1024;}
10 BigBuf() : data_(size()) {}
11 BigBuf& operator=(const BigBuf&) = delete;
12 BigBuf& operator=(BigBuf&&) = delete;
13 void swap(BigBuf& other) {
14 if (this == &other)
15 return;
16 std::scoped_lock sl(m_, other.m_);
17 std::swap(data_, other.data_);
18 }
19 // ...
20 private:
21 std::vector<char> data_;
22 mutable std::mutex m_;
23 };
24
25 BigBuf a;
26 BigBuf b;
27
28 int main() {
29 std::thread t1([](){
30 for (int i = 0; i < 100000; ++i) a.swap(b);
31 });
32 std::thread t2([](){
33 for (int i = 0; i < 100000; ++i) b.swap(a);
34 });
35 t1.join(); t2.join();
36 }

std::timed_mutex class provides mutex that allows timeout to be

specified when acquiring mutex
if mutex cannot be acquired in time specified, acquire operation fails (i.e.,
does not lock mutex) and error returned
adds try_lock_for and try_lock_until member functions to try to
lock mutex with timeout

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 982
Example: Acquiring Mutex With Timeout (std::timed_mutex)

1 #include <vector>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <thread>
4 #include <mutex>
5 #include <chrono>
6
7 std::timed_mutex m;
8
9 void doWork() {
10 for (int i = 0; i < 10000; ++i) {
11 std::unique_lock lock(m, std::defer_lock);
12 int count = 0;
13 while (!lock.try_lock_for(
14 std::chrono::microseconds(1))) {++count;}
15 std::cout << count << ’\n’;
16 }
17 }
18
19 int main() {
20 std::vector<std::thread> workers;
21 for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
22 workers.emplace_back(doWork);
23 }
24 for (auto& t : workers) {t.join();}
25 }

A recursive mutex is a mutex for which a thread may own multiple locks
at the same time.
After a mutex is first locked by thread A, thread A can acquire additional
locks on the mutex (without releasing the lock already held).
The mutex is not available to other threads until thread A releases all of its
locks on the mutex.
A recursive mutex is typically used when code that locks a mutex must call
other code that locks the same mutex (in order to avoid deadlock).
For example, a function that acquires a mutex and recursively calls itself
(resulting in the mutex being relocked) would need to employ a recursive
mutex.
A recursive mutex has more overhead than a nonrecursive mutex.
Code that uses recursive mutexes can often be more difficult to
understand and therefore more prone to bugs.
Consequently, the use of recursive mutexes should be avoided if possible.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 984
Recursive Mutex Classes

recursive mutexes provided by classes std::recursive_mutex and

std::recursive_timed_mutex
recursive_mutex class similar to std::mutex class except allows
relocking
recursive_timed_mutex class similar to std::timed_mutex class
except allows relocking
implementation-defined limit to number of levels of locking allowed by
recursive mutex

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 985
Shared Mutexes
A shared mutex (also known as a multiple-reader/single-writer mutex)
is a mutex that allows both shared and exclusive access.
A shared mutex has two types of locks: shared and exclusive.
Exclusive lock:
Only one thread can hold an exclusive lock on a mutex.
While a thread holds an exclusive lock on a mutex, no other thread can hold
any type of lock on the mutex.
Shared lock:
Any number of threads (within implementation limits) can take a shared
lock on a mutex.
While any thread holds a shared lock on a mutex, no thread may take an
exclusive lock on the mutex.
A shared mutex would typically be used to protect shared data that is
seldom updated but cannot be safely updated if any thread is reading it.
A thread takes a shared lock for reading, thus allowing multiple readers.
A thread takes an exclusive lock for writing, thus allowing only one writer
with no readers.
A shared mutex need not be fair in its granting of locks (e.g., readers
could starve writers).
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 986
The std::shared_mutex Class

std::shared_mutex class provides shared mutex functionality

not movable and not copyable
lock member function acquires exclusive ownership of mutex (blocking
as necessary)
unlock member function releases exclusive ownership
lock_shared member function acquires shared ownership of mutex
(blocking as necessary)
unlock_shared member function releases shared ownership

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor construct mutex
destructor destroy mutex
operator= [deleted] not movable or copyable

Exclusive Locking Functions

Name Description
lock acquire exclusive ownership of mutex, blocking if not avail-
able
try_lock try to acquire exclusive ownership of mutex without block-
ing
unlock release exclusive ownership of mutex

Shared Locking Functions

Name Description
lock_shared acquire shared ownership of mutex, blocking
if not available
try_lock_shared try to acquire shared ownership of mutex with-
out blocking
unlock_shared release shared ownership of mutex

Other Functions
Name Description
native_handle get handle for underlying mutex entity

std::shared_lock is RAII class for shared mutexes

declaration:
template <class T> class shared_lock;

template parameter T specifies type of mutex (e.g., std::shared_mutex

or std::shared_timed_mutex)
similar interface as std::unique_lock but uses shared locking
constructor may optionally acquire mutex
may acquire and release mutex many times throughout lifetime of object
destructor releases mutex if held
all operations mapped onto shared locking primitives (e.g., lock mapped
to lock_shared, unlock mapped to unlock_shared)
for exclusive locking with shared mutexes, std::unique_lock and
std::lock_guard can be used

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 990
Example: std::shared_mutex
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <mutex>
3 #include <iostream>
4 #include <vector>
5 #include <shared_mutex>
6
7 std::mutex coutMutex;
8 int counter = 0;
9 std::shared_mutex counterMutex;
10
11 void writer() {
12 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
13 {
14 std::lock_guard lock(counterMutex);
15 ++counter;
16 }
17 std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(100));
18 }
19 }
20
21 void reader() {
22 for (int i = 0; i < 100; ++i) {
23 int c;
24 {
25 std::shared_lock lock(counterMutex);
26 c = counter;
27 }
28 {
29 std::lock_guard lock(coutMutex);
30 std::cout << std::this_thread::get_id() << ’ ’ << c << ’\n’;
31 }
32 std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(10));
33 }
34 }
35
36 int main() {
37 std::vector<std::thread> threads;
38 threads.emplace_back(writer);
39 for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) threads.emplace_back(reader);
40 for (auto& t : threads) t.join();
41 }

std::shared_timed_mutex class provides shared mutex

shared_timed_mutex interface similar to that of shared_mutex but
allows timeout for acquiring mutex
adds try_lock_for and try_lock_until member functions to try to
acquire exclusive ownership of mutex with timeout
adds try_lock_shared_for and try_lock_shared_until member
functions to try to acquire shared ownership of mutex with timeout

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 992
Example: std::shared_timed_mutex
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <mutex>
3 #include <iostream>
4 #include <vector>
5 #include <shared_mutex>
6
7 std::mutex coutMutex;
8 int counter = 0;
9 std::shared_timed_mutex counterMutex;
10
11 void writer() {
12 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
13 {
14 std::lock_guard lock(counterMutex);
15 ++counter;
16 }
17 std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(100));
18 }
19 }
20
21 void reader() {
22 for (int i = 0; i < 100; ++i) {
23 int c;
24 {
25 std::shared_lock lock(counterMutex);
26 c = counter;
27 }
28 {
29 std::lock_guard lock(coutMutex);
30 std::cout << std::this_thread::get_id() << ’ ’ << c << ’\n’;
31 }
32 std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(10));
33 }
34 }
35
36 int main() {
37 std::vector<std::thread> threads;
38 threads.emplace_back(writer);
39 for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) threads.emplace_back(reader);
40 for (auto& t : threads) t.join();
41 }

sometimes may want to perform action only once in code executed in

multiple threads
can be achieved through use of std::once_flag type in conjunction with
std::call_once template function
std::once_flag class represents flag used to track if action performed
declaration of std::call_once:
template <class Callable, class... Args>
void call_once(std::once_flag& flag, Callable&& f,
Args&&... args);

std::call_once invokes f only once based on value of flag object

first invocation of f is guaranteed to complete before any threads return
from call_once
useful for one-time initialization of dynamically generated objects

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <thread>
4 #include <mutex>
5
6 std::once_flag flag;
7
8 void worker(int id) {
9 std::call_once(flag, [id](){
10 // This code will be invoked only once.
11 std::cout << "first: " << id << ’\n’;
12 });
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 std::vector<std::thread> threads;
17 for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
18 threads.emplace_back(worker, i);
19 }
20 for (auto& t : threads) {
21 t.join();
22 }
23 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 995
Example: One-Time Initialization
1 #include <vector>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <mutex>
4 #include <cassert>
5 #include <memory>
6
7 std::unique_ptr<int> value;
8 std::once_flag initFlag;
9
10 void initValue() {value = std::make_unique<int>(42);}
11
12 const int& getValue() {
13 std::call_once(initFlag, initValue);
14 return *value.get();
15 }
16
17 void doWork() {
18 const int& v = getValue();
19 assert(v == 42);
20 // ...
21 }
22
23 int main() {
24 std::vector<std::thread> threads;
25 for (int i = 0; i < 4; ++i)
26 {threads.emplace_back(doWork);}
27 for (auto& t : threads) {t.join();}
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 996
Static Local Variable Initialization and Thread Safety

initialization of static local object is thread safe

object is initialized first time control passes through its declaration
object deemed initialized upon completion of initialization
if control enters declaration concurrently while object being initialized,
concurrent execution waits for completion of initialization
code like following is thread safe:
const std::string& meaningOfLife() {
static const std::string x("42");
return x;
}

Condition Variables

In concurrent programs, the need often arises for a thread to wait until a
particular event occurs (e.g., I/O has completed or data is available).
Having a thread repeatedly check for the occurrence of an event can be
inefficient (i.e., can waste processor resources).
It is often better to have the thread block and then only resume execution
after the event of interest has occurred.
A condition variable is a synchronization primitive that allows threads to
wait (by blocking) until a particular condition occurs.
A condition variable corresponds to some event of interest.
A thread that wants to wait for an event, performs a wait operation on the
condition variable.
A thread that wants to notify one or more waiting threads of an event
performs a signal operation on the condition variable.
When a signalled thread resumes, however, the signalled condition is not
guaranteed to be true (and must be rechecked), since another thread may
have caused condition to change.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 999
The std::condition_variable Class

std::condition_variable class provides condition variable

not movable and not copyable
wait, wait_for, and wait_until member functions used to wait for
condition
notify_one and notify_all used to signal waiting thread(s) of
condition
must re-check condition when awaking from wait since:
spurious awakenings are permitted
between time thread is signalled and time it awakens and locks mutex,
another thread could cause condition to change
concurrent invocation is allowed for notify_one, notify_all, wait,
wait_for, wait_until
each of wait, wait_for, and wait_until atomically releases mutex and
blocks
notify_one and notify_all are atomic
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1000
std::condition_variable Members

Member Types
Name Description
native_handle_type system-dependent handle type for underlying con-
dition variable entity

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor construct object
destructor destroy object
operator= [deleted] not movable or copyable

Notification and Waiting Member Functions

Name Description
notify_one notify one waiting thread
notify_all notify all waiting threads
wait blocks current thread until notified
wait_for blocks current thread until notified or specified duration
passed
wait_until blocks current thread until notified or specified time point
reached

Native Handle Member Functions

Name Description
native_handle get native handle associated with condition vari-
able

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1002
Example: Condition Variable (IntStack)
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <thread>
4 #include <mutex>
5 #include <condition_variable>
6
7 class IntStack {
8 public:
9 IntStack() {};
10 IntStack(const IntStack&) = delete;
11 IntStack& operator=(const IntStack&) = delete;
12 int pop() {
13 std::unique_lock lock(m_);
14 c_.wait(lock, [this](){return !v_.empty();});
15 int x = v_.back();
16 v_.pop_back();
17 return x;
18 }
19 void push(int x) {
20 std::lock_guard lock(m_);
21 v_.push_back(x);
22 c_.notify_one();
23 }
24 private:
25 std::vector<int> v_;
26 mutable std::mutex m_;
27 mutable std::condition_variable c_; // not empty
28 };
29
30 constexpr int numIters = 1000;
31 IntStack s;
32
33 int main() {
34 std::thread t1([](){
35 for (int i = 0; i < numIters; ++i) s.push(2 * i + 1);
36 });
37 std::thread t2([](){
38 for (int i = 0; i < numIters; ++i) std::cout << s.pop() << ’\n’;
39 });
40 t1.join(); t2.join();
41 }

with std::condition_variable class,

std::unique_lock<std::mutex> class must be used for wait operation

std::condition_variable_any class allows any mutex type (meeting

certain basic requirements) to be used
interface of std::condition_variable_any class similar to that of
std::condition_variable class
prefer condition_variable to condition_variable_any since former
may be more efficient

Promises and Futures

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1005
Promises and Futures
promise and future together form one-time communication channel for
passing result (i.e., value or exception) of computation from one thread to
same or another thread
promise: object associated with promised result (i.e., value or exception)
to be produced
future: object through which promised result later made available
shared state: holds promised result for access through future object
(shared by promise object and corresponding future object)
producer of result uses promise object to store result in shared state
consumer uses future object (corresponding to promise) to retrieve result
from shared state
Producer Consumer

Promise Future

Shared
State

promises and futures useful in both single-threaded and multithreaded

programs
in single-threaded programs, might be used to propagate exception to
another part of program
in multithreaded program, often need arises to do some computation
asynchronously and then later get result when ready
requires synchronization between threads producing and consuming
result
thread consuming result must wait until result is available
must avoid data races when accessing result shared between threads
this type of synchronization can be accomplished via promise and future

std::promise provides access to promise-future shared state for writing

result
declaration:
template <class T> class promise;

T is type of result associated with promise (which can be void)

movable but not copyable
set_value member function sets result to particular value
set_exception member function sets result to exception
can set result only once
get_future member function retrieves future associated with promise
get_future may be called only once
if promise object is destroyed before its associated result is set,
std::future_error exception will be thrown if attempt made to retrieve
result from corresponding future object
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1008
std::promise Members

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor construct object
destructor destroy object
operator= move assignment

Other Functions
Name Description
swap swap two promise objects
get_future get future associated with promised
result
set_value set result to specified value
set_value_at_thread_exit set result to specified value while de-
livering notification only at thread exit
set_exception set result to specified exception
set_exception_at_thread_exit set result to specified exception while
delivering notification only at thread
exit

std::future provides access to promise-future shared state for reading

result
declaration:
template <class T> class future;

T is type of result associated with future (which can be void)

movable but not copyable
get member function retrieves result, blocking if result not yet available
get may be called only once
wait member function waits for result to become available without
actually retrieving result

Construction, Destruction, and Assignment

Name Description
constructor construct object
destructor destroy object
operator= move assignment

Other Functions
Name Description
share transfer shared state to shared_future object
get get result
valid check if future object refers to shared state
wait wait for result to become available
wait_for wait for result to become available or time duration to expire
wait_until wait for result to become available or time point to be
reached

1 #include <future>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <iostream>
4 #include <utility>
5
6 double computeValue() {
7 return 42.0;
8 }
9
10 void produce(std::promise<double> p) {
11 // write result to promise
12 p.set_value(computeValue());
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 std::promise<double> p;
17 auto f = p.get_future(); // save future before move
18 std::thread producer(produce, std::move(p));
19 std::cout << f.get() << ’\n’;
20 producer.join();
21 }

std::shared_future similar to future except object can be copied

shared_future object can be obtained by using share member function
of future class to transfer contents of future object into
shared_future object
shared_future is copyable (unlike future)
allows multiple threads to wait for same result (associated with
shared_future object)
get member can be called multiple times

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <thread>
4 #include <future>
5
6 void consume(std::shared_future<int> f) {
7 std::cout << f.get() << ’\n’;
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 std::promise<int> p;
12 std::shared_future f = p.get_future().share();
13 std::vector<std::thread> consumers;
14 for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
15 consumers.emplace_back(consume, f);
16 }
17 p.set_value(42);
18 for (auto& i : consumers) {
19 i.join();
20 }
21 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1015
The std::async Template Function
std::async template function used to launch callable entity (e.g.,
function or functor) asynchronously
declaration (uses default launch policy):
template <class Func, class... Args>
future<typename result_of<typename decay<Func>::type(
typename decay<Args>::type...)>::type>
async(Func&& f, Args&&... args);
declaration (with launch policy parameter):
template <class Func, class... Args>
future<typename result_of<typename decay<Func>::type(
typename decay<Args>::type...)>::type>
async(launch policy, Func&& f, Args&&... args);
numerous launch policies supported via bitmask std::launch
if async bit set, execute on new thread
if deferred bit set, execute on calling thread when result needed
if multiple bits set, implementation free to choose between them
in asynchronous execution case, essentially creates promise to hold result
and returns associated future; launches thread to execute function/functor
and sets promise when function/functor returns
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1016
The std::async Template Function (Continued)

future (i.e., future and shared_future) objects created by async

function have slightly different behavior than future objects created in
other ways
in case of future object created by async function: if future object is last
future object referencing its shared state, destructor for future object will
block until result associated with future object becomes ready

1 #include <future>
2 #include <iostream>
3
4 double computeValue() {
5 return 42.0;
6 }
7
8 int main() {
9 // invoke computeValue function asynchronously in
10 // separate thread
11 auto f = std::async(std::launch::async, computeValue);
12 std::cout << f.get() << ’\n’;
13 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1018
Example: Futures and Exceptions
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <cmath>
4 #include <future>
5 #include <stdexcept>
6
7 double squareRoot(double x) {
8 if (x < 0.0) {
9 throw std::domain_error(
10 "square root of negative number");
11 }
12 return std::sqrt(x);
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 std::vector values{1.0, 2.0, -1.0};
17 std::vector<std::future<double>> results;
18 for (auto x : values) {
19 results.push_back(std::async(squareRoot, x));
20 }
21 for (auto& x : results) {
22 try {
23 std::cout << x.get() << ’\n’;
24 } catch (const std::domain_error&) {
25 std::cout << "error\n";
26 }
27 }
28 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1019
The std::packaged_task Template Class

std::packaged_task template class provides wrapper for callable entity

(e.g., function or functor) that makes return value available via future
declaration:
template <class R, class... Args>
class packaged_task<R(Args...)>;

template parameters R and Args specify return type and arguments for
callable entity
similar to std::function except return value of wrapped function made
available via future
packaged task often used as thread function
movable but not copyable
get_future member retrieves future associated with packaged task
get_future can be called only once

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std::packaged_task Members
Construction, Destruction, and Assignment
Name Description
constructor construct object
destructor destroy object
operator= move assignment

Other Functions
Name Description
valid check if task object currently associated
with shared state
swap swap two task objects
get_future get future associated with promised result
operator() invoke function
make_ready_at_thread_exit invoke function ensuring result ready only
once current thread exits
reset reset shared state, abandoning any previ-
ously stored result
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1021
Example: Packaged Task

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <future>
4 #include <utility>
5 #include <chrono>
6
7 int getMeaningOfLife() {
8 // Let the suspense build before providing the answer.
9 std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(
10 1000));
11 // Return the answer.
12 return 42;
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 std::packaged_task<int()> pt(getMeaningOfLife);
17 // Save the future.
18 auto f = pt.get_future();
19 // Start a thread running the task and detach the thread.
20 std::thread t(std::move(pt));
21 t.detach();
22 // Get the result via the future.
23 int result = f.get();
24 std::cout << "The meaning of life is " << result << ’\n’;
25 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cmath>
3 #include <thread>
4 #include <future>
5
6 double power(double x, double y) {
7 return std::pow(x, y);
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 // invoke task in main thread
12 std::packaged_task<double(double, double)> task(power);
13 task(0.5, 2.0);
14 std::cout << task.get_future().get() << ’\n’;
15 // reset shared state
16 task.reset();
17 // invoke task in new thread
18 auto f = task.get_future();
19 std::thread t(std::move(task), 2.0, 0.5);
20 t.detach();
21 std::cout << f.get() << ’\n’;
22 }

Atomics

To avoid data races when sharing data between threads, it is often

necessary to employ synchronization (e.g., by using mutexes).
Atomic types are another mechanism for providing synchronized access
to data.
An operation that is indivisible is said to be atomic (i.e., no parts of any
other operations can interleave with any part of an atomic operation).
Most processors support atomic memory operations via special machine
instructions.
Atomic memory operations cannot result in torn reads or torn writes.
The standard library offers the following types in order to provide support
for atomic memory operations:
std::atomic_flag
std::atomic

These types provide a uniform interface for accessing the atomic memory
operations of the underlying hardware.

An atomic type provides guarantees regarding:

1 atomicity; and
2 ordering.
An ordering guarantee specifies the manner in which memory operations
can become visible to threads.
Several memory ordering schemes are supported by atomic types.
The default memory order is sequentially consistent
(std::memory_order_seq_cst).
Initially, only this default will be considered.

std::atomic_flag provides flag with basic atomic operations

flag can be in one of two states: set (i.e., true) or clear (i.e., false)
two operations for flag:
test and set: set state to true and query previous state

clear: set state to false

default constructor initializes flag to unspecified state

not movable and not copyable
implementation-defined macro ATOMIC_FLAG_INIT can be used to set
flag to clear state in (static or automatic) initialization using statement of
the form “std::atomic_flag f = ATOMIC_FLAG_INIT;”
guaranteed to be lock free
intended to be used as building block for higher-level synchronization
primitives, such as spinlock mutex

Member Functions
Member Name Description
constructor constructs object
clear atomically sets flag to false
test_and_set atomically sets flag to true and obtains its pre-
vious value

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1028
Example: Suboptimal Spinlock Mutex
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <atomic>
4 #include <mutex>
5
6 class SpinLockMutex {
7 public:
8 SpinLockMutex() {f_.clear();}
9 void lock() {while (f_.test_and_set()) {}}
10 void unlock() {f_.clear();}
11 private:
12 std::atomic_flag f_; // true if thread holds mutex
13 };
14
15 SpinLockMutex m;
16 unsigned long long counter = 0;
17
18 void doWork() {
19 for (unsigned long long i = 0; i < 100000ULL; ++i)
20 {std::lock_guard lock(m); ++counter;}
21 }
22
23 int main() {
24 std::thread t1(doWork), t2(doWork);
25 t1.join(); t2.join();
26 std::cout << counter << ’\n’;
27 }
default memory order is suboptimal (and will be revisited later)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1029
Example: One-Time Wait
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <atomic>
3 #include <thread>
4 #include <chrono>
5
6 // notReady flag initially not set
7 std::atomic_flag notReady = ATOMIC_FLAG_INIT;
8 int result = 0;
9
10 int main() {
11 notReady.test_and_set(); // indicate result not ready
12 std::thread producer([](){
13 std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(1));
14 result = -42;
15 notReady.clear(); // indicate result ready
16 });
17 std::thread consumer([](){
18 // loop until result ready
19 while (notReady.test_and_set()) {}
20 std::cout << result << ’\n’;
21 });
22 producer.join();
23 consumer.join();
24 }

This is not a particularly good use of atomic_flag.

std::atomic class provides types with atomic operations

declaration:
template <class T> struct atomic;

provides object of type T with atomic operations

has partial specializations for integral types and pointer types
full specializations for all fundamental types
in order to use class type for T, T must be trivially copyable and bitwise
equality comparable
not required to be lock free
on most popular platforms atomic is lock free when T is built-in type
not move constructible and not copy constructible
assignable but assignment operator returns value not reference
most operations have memory order argument
default memory order is SC (std::memory_order_seq_cst)
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std::atomic Members

Basic
Member Name Description
constructor constructs object
operator= atomically store value into atomic object
is_lock_free check if atomic object is lock free
store atomically replaces value of atomic object
with given value
load atomically reads value of atomic object
operator T obtain result of load
exchange atomically replaces value of atomic object
with given value and obtain value of previous
value
compare_exchange_weak similar to exchange_strong but may fail spu-
riously
compare_exchange_strong atomically compare value of atomic object to
given value and perform exchange if equal or
load otherwise

Fetch
Member Name Description
fetch_add atomically adds given value to value stored in atomic object
and obtains value held previously
fetch_sub atomically subtracts given value from value stored in atomic
object and obtains value held previously
fetch_and atomically replaces value of atomic object with bitwise AND
of atomic object’s value and given value, and obtains value
held previously
fetch_or atomically replaces value of atomic object with bitwise OR
of atomic object’s value and given value, and obtains value
held previously
fetch_xor atomically replaces value of atomic object with bitwise XOR
of atomic object’s value and given value, and obtains value
held previously

Increment and Decrement

Member Name Description
operator++ atomically increment the value of atomic object by one
and obtain value after incrementing
operator++(int) atomically increment the value of atomic object by one
and obtain value before incrementing
operator-- atomically decrement the value of atomic object by one
and obtain value after decrementing
operator--(int) atomically decrement the value of atomic object by one
and obtain value after decrementing

Compound Assignment
Member Name Description
operator+= atomically adds given value to value stored in atomic
object
operator-= atomically subtracts given value from value stored in
atomic object
operator&= atomically performs bitwise AND of given value with
value stored in atomic object
operator|= atomically performs bitwise OR of given value with
value stored in atomic object
operatorˆ= atomically performs bitwise XOR of given value with
value stored in atomic object

Constants
Member Name Description
is_always_lock_free indicates if type always lock free

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1035
Example: Atomic Counter
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <thread>
4 #include <atomic>
5
6 class AtomicCounter {
7 public:
8 AtomicCounter() : c_(0) {}
9 int operator++() {return ++c_;}
10 int get() const {return c_.load();}
11 private:
12 std::atomic<int> c_;
13 };
14
15 AtomicCounter counter;
16
17 void doWork() {
18 for (int i = 0; i < 10000; ++i) {++counter;}
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 std::vector<std::thread> v;
23 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
24 {v.emplace_back(doWork);}
25 for (auto& t : v) {t.join();}
26 std::cout << counter.get() << ’\n’;
27 }

1 #include <atomic>
2
3 template <class T>
4 void atomicIncrement(std::atomic<T>& x) {
5 T curValue = x;
6 while (!x.compare_exchange_weak(curValue,
7 curValue + 1)) {}
8 }

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1037
Example: Counting Contest
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <atomic>
4 #include <thread>
5
6 constexpr int numThreads = 10;
7 std::atomic ready(false);
8 std::atomic done(false);
9 std::atomic startCount(0);
10
11 void doCounting(int id) {
12 ++startCount;
13 while (!ready) {}
14 for (volatile int i = 0; i < 20000; i++) {}
15 bool expected = false;
16 if (done.compare_exchange_strong(expected, true))
17 {std::cout << "winner: " << id << ’\n’;}
18 }
19
20 int main() {
21 std::vector<std::thread> threads;
22 for (int i = 0; i < numThreads; ++i)
23 {threads.emplace_back(doCounting, i);}
24 while (startCount != numThreads) {}
25 ready = true;
26 for (auto& t : threads) {t.join();}
27 }

volatile qualifier not useful for multithreaded programming

volatile qualifier makes no guarantee of atomicity
can create object of volatile-qualified type whose size is sufficiently
large that no current processor can access object atomically
some platforms may happen to guarantee memory operations on
(suitably-aligned) int object to be atomic, but in such cases this is
normally true even without volatile qualifier
volatile qualifier does not adequately address issue of memory
consistency
volatile qualifier does not imply use of memory barriers or other
mechanisms needed for memory consistency
optimizer and hardware might reorder operations (on non-volatile
objects) across operations on volatile objects

Atomics and the Memory Model

To be able to reason about the behavior of a program, we must know:

the order in which the operations of the program are performed; and
when the effects of each operation become visible to other operations in

the program, which may be performed in different threads.

In a single-threaded program, the ordering of operations and when the
effects of operations become visible is quite intuitive.
In a multi-threaded program, this matter becomes considerably more
complicated.
In what follows, we examine the above matter more closely (which
essentially relates to the memory model).

For two operations A and B performed in the same or different threads, A

is said to happen before B if the effects of A become visible to the thread
performing B before B is performed.
The happens-before relationship is not equivalent to “happens earlier in
time”.
If operation A happens earlier in time than operation B, this does not imply
that the effects of A must be visible to the thread performing B before B is
performed, due to the effects of caches, store buffers, and so on, which
delay the visibility of results.
Happening earlier in time is only a necessary but not sufficient condition
for a happens-before relationship to exist.
Happens-before relationships are not always transitive.
In the absence of something known as a dependency-ordered-before
relationship (to be discussed later), which arise relatively less frequently,
happens-before relationships are transitive (i.e., if A happens before B
and B happens before C then A happens before C).
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1042
“Earlier In Time” Versus Happens Before
Consider the multithreaded program (with two threads) shown below,
where x and y are integer variables, initially zero.
Thread 1 Code Thread 2 Code
x = 1; // A y = x; // B

Suppose that the run-time platform is such that memory operations on x

are atomic so the program is data-race free.
Consider what happens when the program executes with the particular
timing shown below, where operation A occurs earlier in time than
operation B.

Thread 1 (on Core 1) Thread 2 (on Core 2)




Time  x = 1; //A




y y = x; //B
The value read for x in operation B will not necessarily be 1.
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1043
Sequenced-Before Relationships
Given two operations A and B performed in the same thread, the
operation A is sequenced before B if A precedes B in program order (i.e.,
source-code order).
Sequenced-before relationships are transitive (i.e., if A is sequenced
before B, and B is sequenced before C, then A is sequenced before C).
Example: In the code below, statement A is sequenced before
statement B; B is sequenced before statement C; and, by transitivity, A is
sequenced before C.
x = 1; // A
y = 2; // B
z = x + 1; // C
Example:
Consider the line of code below, which performs (in order) the following
operations: 1) multiplication, 2) addition, and 3) assignment.
y = a * x + b; // (y = ((a * x) + b);
Multiplication is sequenced before addition.
Addition is sequenced before assignment.
Thus, by transitivity, multiplication is sequenced before assignment.
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1044
Sequenced-Before Relationships (Continued)

For two operations A and B in the same thread, if A is sequenced before B

then A happens before B.
In other words, program order establishes happens-before relationships
for operations within a single thread.
A sequenced-before relationship is essentially an intra-thread
happens-before relationship. (Note that “intra” means “within”.)
Example: In the code below, statement A is sequenced before
statement B. Therefore, A happens before B. Similarly, B happens before
statement C, and A happens before C.
x = 1; // A
y = 2; // B
z = x + 1; // C

Establishing whether a happens-before relationship exists between

operations in different threads is somewhat more complicated than the
same-thread case.
Inter-thread happens-before relationships establish happens-before
relationships for operations in different threads.
For two operations A and B in different threads, if A inter-thread
happens before B then A happens before B.
Inter-thread happens-before relationships are transitive (i.e., if A
inter-thread happens before B and B inter-thread happens before C then
A inter-thread happens before C).
Some form of synchronization is required to establish an inter-thread
happens-before relationship.
The various forms that this synchronization may take will be introduced on
later slides.

For two operations A and B in either the same or different threads, A

happens before B if:
1 A and B are in the same thread and A is sequenced before (i.e., intra-thread

happens before) B; or
2 A and B are in different threads and A inter-thread happens before B.

In other words, A happens before B if A either intra-thread happens before

or inter-thread happens before B.
Intra-thread happens-before (i.e., sequenced-before) relationships are
transitive.
Inter-thread happens-before relationships are transitive.
Happens-before relationships are mostly but not always transitive.
A happens-before relationship is important because it tells us if the result
of one operation can be seen by a thread performing another operation.

A variety of relationships can imply an inter-thread happens-before

relationship, with one being the synchronizes-with relationship.
For two operations A and B in different threads, if A synchronizes with B
then A inter-thread happens before B.
Example:
Consider the two-threaded program shown below, with the shared variable
x of type int, where x is initially zero.
Thread 1 Code Thread 2 Code
1 x = 1; 1 bar();
2 // A (call of foo) 2 // B (return from bar)
3 foo(); 3 assert(x == 1);

Suppose that the call of the function foo is known to synchronize with the
return from the function bar, which implies that A synchronizes with B.
Since A synchronizes with B, A must inter-thread happen before B, which
implies that A happens before B.
Therefore, the assertion in thread 2 can never fail.

Thread creation. The completion of the constructor for a thread object T

synchronizes with the start of the invocation of the thread function for T .
Thread join. The completion of the execution of a thread function for a
thread object T synchronizes with (the return of) a join operation on T .
Mutex unlock/lock. All prior unlock operations on a mutex M
synchronize with (the return of) a lock operation on M .
Atomic. A suitably tagged atomic write operation W on a variable x
synchronizes with a suitably tagged atomic read operation on x that reads
the value stored by W (where the meaning of “suitably tagged” will be
discussed later).

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1049
Synchronizes-With Relationship: Thread Create and Join
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <cassert>
3
4 int x = 0;
5
6 void doWork() {
7 // A1 (start of thread execution)
8 assert(x == 1); // OK: M1 synchronizes with A1
9 x = 2;
10 // A2 (end of thread execution)
11 }
12
13 int main() {
14 x = 1;
15 std::thread t(doWork); // M1 (completion of constructor)
16 t.join(); // M2 (return from join)
17 assert(x == 2); // OK: A2 synchronizes with M2
18 }
since construction of thread (M1) synchronizes with start of thread function
execution (A1), M1 happens before A1 implying that assertion in doWork
cannot fail
since completion of execution of thread function (A2) synchronizes with
join operation (M2), A2 happens before M2 implying that assertion in
main cannot fail
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1050
Synchronizes-With Relationship: Mutex Lock/Unlock
Shared Data
std::mutex m;
int x = 0;
int y = 0;

Thread 1 Code Thread 2 Code

m.lock(); m.lock();
x = 1; y = x;
m.unlock(); m.unlock();

Execution
Thread 1 Execution Thread 2 Execution

m.lock();

A x = 1; m.lock();

m.unlock(); synchronizes with

B y = x;

m.unlock();

since unlock synchronizes with lock, A happens before B; thus, for timing shown, B must see 1 for x

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1051
Memory Orders
Most operations on atomic types allow a memory order to be specified.
Example:
std::atomic<int> x = 0;
x.store(42, std::memory_order_seq_cst);
int y = x.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst);
The following memory orders are supported:
sequentially consistent (std::memory_order_seq_cst)
acquire-release (std::memory_order_acq_rel)
acquire (std::memory_order_acquire)

release (std::memory_order_release)
consume (std::memory_order_consume)
relaxed (std::memory_order_relaxed)

Read operations can use the orders:

sequentially consistent, acquire, consume, and relaxed.
Write operations can use the orders:
sequentially consistent, release, and relaxed.
Read-modify-write operations can use:
all of the orders allowed for read and write operations; and
acquire-release.
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1052
Memory Models
Although several memory orders can be employed for operations on
atomic types, these orders support four basic models:
1 sequentially consistent,
2 acquire release,
3 consume release, and
4 relaxed.
These models differ in the guarantees that they make regarding:
whether all writes to all atomic objects become visible to all threads

simultaneously (i.e., total order for all writes to all atomic objects); and
whether operations on atomic objects in different threads can establish a
synchronization relationship (namely, a synchronizes-with or
dependency-ordered-before [discussed later] relationship).
The models listed from strongest (i.e., makes the most guarantees) to
weakest (i.e., makes the least guarantees) are:
1 sequentially consistent,
2 acquire release,
3 consume release, and
4 relaxed.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1053
Memory Models (Continued 1)

These models are hierarchical in the sense that each model makes at
least all of the same guarantees as its weaker counterparts.
As we proceed from stronger to weaker models, more guarantees are lost.
A stronger model may require additional synchronization by hardware,
which can degrade performance.
A weaker model may not provide sufficient guarantees for the correct
functioning of code.
Using a model that fails to provide sufficient guarantees for correct code
behavior will result in bugs.
Also, as the model is weakened, it becomes more difficult to reason about
the behavior of code, leading to incomprehensible code and an increased
likelihood of (often very subtle) bugs.

All writes to a particular atomic object M (over its lifetime) occur in some
particular total order, called its modification order.
Each atomic object has its own well-defined modification order.
For a particular atomic object M , all threads in a program are guaranteed
to see M change in a manner consistent with its modification order.
Essentially, this guarantee ensures that, once a given thread has seen a
particular value of an atomic object, a subsequent read by that thread
cannot retrieve an earlier value of the object.
If such a guarantee were not made, the memory model would be so weak
as to be impractical to use.
Modification order is primarily a conceptual tool that is useful for
describing memory-model behavior.
In practice, a thread is unlikely to actually observe every change in the
modification order of an object.

For each atomic object M , each thread has its own current position in
object’s modification order.
A thread’s current position in the modification order of a particular atomic
object need not be the same for all threads.
A read from an atomic object M by a thread T can optionally move T ’s
current position to a later position in the modification order of M and then
returns the value at the current position.
A write to an atomic object M by a thread T appends the value to be
written to the modification order of M and updates T ’s current position in
the modification order of M to correspond to the value written.
An read-modify-write operation A on an atomic object M reads the last
value in the modification order of M , modifies the value read appropriately,
appends the resulting value to the modification order of M , and updates
T ’s current position in the modification order of M to correspond to the
value written.

Consider an atomic object M with the modification sequence:

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
A thread could, for example, legitimately see M undergo any of the
following sequences of updates:
0, 4, 8
8
2, 7
0, 1, 2, 5, 7, 8
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
A thread would, for example, be guaranteed never to see M undergo any
of the following sequences of updates, as all of these sequences are
inconsistent with the modification order of M :
1, 0
1, 2, 1
42
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 8

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1057
Relative Ordering of Changes to Different Atomic Objects

Although each atomic object has its own well-defined modification order, it
is not necessarily the case that the modification orders for individual
objects can be combined into a single total order over all atomic objects.
Practically speaking, the reason for this is the delay in the visibility of
results introduced by store buffers, caches, and so on.
If a single total order for writes to all atomic objects is not guaranteed, this
implies that the relative order of changes to different atomic objects need
not appear the same to different threads.
Ensuring the existence of a single total order over all atomic objects would
require a significant amount of additional processor synchronization,
which can significantly degrade performance.
Therefore, this guarantee is not required to be made in all cases, the idea
being that we only ask for the guarantee when it is needed for correct
code behavior.

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1058
Modification Order Revisited
Consider a program with two threads and two shared integer atomic
objects x and y, each having the modification order: 0, 1.
Suppose that no requirement is imposed to guarantee the existence of a
single total order on writes to all atomic objects.
Thread 1 could see x and y change in the following manner, consistent
with their stated modification order:
Variable Updates to Value Seen By Thread
x 0 ........ 1 .........................
y 0 ......................... 1 ........

Thread 2 could see x and y change in the following manner, consistent

with their stated modification order:
Variable Updates to Value Seen By Thread
x 0 ......................... 1 ........
y 0 ........ 1 .........................

Observe that thread 1 and thread 2 do not see x and y change in the
same order relative to one another (i.e., thread 1 sees x change before y,
while thread 2 sees y change before x).
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1059
Sequentially-Consistent Model

The sequentially-consistent model simply corresponds to the default

memory model for the language, namely, SC-DRF. (Since data races
cannot occur on atomic objects, SC-DRF degenerates into SC for such
objects.)
For the sequentially-consistent model, all memory operations (i.e., read,
write, and read-modify-write) must use the sequentially-consistent
memory order (std::memory_order_seq_cst).
A total ordering is guaranteed on all sequentially-consistent writes to all
atomic objects.
All sequentially-consistent writes to atomic objects must become visible
to all threads simultaneously.
A sequentially-consistent write operation W on an atomic object M (in one
thread) synchronizes with a sequentially-consistent operation on M (in
another thread) that reads the value written by W .
This model allows for relatively easy reasoning about code behavior.

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1060
Example: Sequentially-Consistent Model
shared data:
x and y are of type std::atomic<int> and both are initially zero
thread 1 code (writes x):
x.store(1, std::memory_order_seq_cst);
thread 2 code (writes y):
y.store(1, std::memory_order_seq_cst);
thread 3 code (reads x then y):
int x1 = x.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst);
int y1 = y.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst);
thread 4 code (reads y then x):
int y2 = y.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst);
int x2 = x.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst);
memory order guarantees total order for all writes to all atomic objects
so, thread 3 and thread 4 must agree about order in which x and y are
modified
not possible to see x1 == 1 and y1 == 0 in thread 3 (implying x
modified before y) and x2 == 0 and y2 == 1 in thread 4 (implying y
modified before x)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1061
Example: Sequentially-Consistent Model
1 #include <atomic>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 std::atomic<int> x, y, c;
6
7 void w_x() {x.store(1, std::memory_order_seq_cst);}
8
9 void w_y() {y.store(1, std::memory_order_seq_cst);}
10
11 void r_xy() {
12 while (!x.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst)) {}
13 if (y.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst)) {++c;}
14 }
15
16 void r_yx() {
17 while (!y.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst)) {}
18 if (x.load(std::memory_order_seq_cst)) {++c;}
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 x = 0; y = 0; c = 0;
23 std::thread t1(w_x), t2(w_y), t3(r_xy), t4(r_yx);
24 t1.join(); t2.join(); t3.join(); t4.join();
25 assert(c != 0); // assertion cannot fail
26 }
assertion cannot fail: when while loop in r_xy terminates, all threads must see x as nonzero; when while loop in r_yx terminates,
all threads must see y as nonzero; at least one of these must happen before if statements in both r_xy and r_yx executed

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1062
Acquire-Release Model
For the acquire-release model, the memory order is chosen as follows:
a read operation uses the acquire order (std::memory_order_acquire)

a write operation uses the release order (std::memory_order_release)

a read-modify-write operation uses one of the orders allowed for read and
write operations, or the acquire-release order
(std::memory_order_acq_rel), which results in read acquire and write
release.
No total ordering exists on all writes to all atomic objects (unlike in the
sequentially-consistent model).
Consequently, threads do not necessarily have to agree on the relative
order in which different atomics objects are modified.
A write-release operation W on an atomic object M synchronizes with a
read-acquire operation on M that reads the value written by W (or a value
written by the release sequence headed by W ).
The acquire-release model is useful for situations that involve pairwise
synchronization of threads, such as with mutexes.
With the acquire-release model, it is often still possible to reason about
code behavior without too much difficulty.
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1063
Example: Acquire-Release Model
shared data:
x and y are of type std::atomic<int> and both are initially zero
thread 1 code (writes x):
x.store(1, std::memory_order_release);
thread 2 code (writes y):
y.store(1, std::memory_order_release);
thread 3 code (reads x then y):
int x1 = x.load(std::memory_order_acquire);
int y1 = y.load(std::memory_order_acquire);
thread 4 code (reads y then x):
int y2 = y.load(std::memory_order_acquire);
int x2 = x.load(std::memory_order_acquire);
no ordering relationship between stores to x and y
so, thread 3 and thread 4 do not need to agree about order in which x and
y are modified
possible to see x1 == 1 and y1 == 0 in thread 3 (i.e., thread 3 sees x
change before y) and x2 == 0 and y2 == 1 in thread 4 (i.e., thread 4
sees y change before x)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1064
Example: Acquire-Release Model
1 #include <atomic>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 std::atomic<int> x, y, c;
6
7 void w_x() {x.store(1, std::memory_order_release);}
8
9 void w_y() {y.store(1, std::memory_order_release);}
10
11 void r_xy() {
12 while (!x.load(std::memory_order_acquire)) {}
13 if (y.load(std::memory_order_acquire)) {++c;}
14 }
15
16 void r_yx() {
17 while (!y.load(std::memory_order_acquire)) {}
18 if (x.load(std::memory_order_acquire)) {++c;}
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 x = 0; y = 0; c = 0;
23 std::thread t1(w_x), t2(w_y), t3(r_xy), t4(r_yx);
24 t1.join(); t2.join(); t3.join(); t4.join();
25 assert(c != 0); // assertion can fail
26 }
assertion can fail: one thread seeing x or y being nonzero does not imply
other thread sees same
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1065
Example: Spinlock Mutex Using std::atomic_flag
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <atomic>
4
5 class SpinLockMutex {
6 public:
7 SpinLockMutex() {f_.clear();}
8 void lock() {
9 while (f_.test_and_set(std::memory_order_acquire)) {}
10 }
11 void unlock() {f_.clear(std::memory_order_release);}
12 private:
13 std::atomic_flag f_; // true if thread holds mutex
14 };
15
16 SpinLockMutex m;
17 unsigned long long counter = 0;
18
19 void doWork() {
20 for (unsigned long long i = 0; i < 100000ULL; ++i)
21 {m.lock(); ++counter; m.unlock();}
22 }
23
24 int main() {
25 std::thread t1(doWork), t2(doWork);
26 t1.join(); t2.join();
27 std::cout << counter << ’\n’;
28 }
uses acquire-release model
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1066
Example: Spinlock Mutex and std::lock_guard
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <atomic>
4 #include <mutex>
5
6 class SpinLockMutex {
7 public:
8 SpinLockMutex() {f_.clear();}
9 void lock() {
10 while (f_.test_and_set(std::memory_order_acquire)) {}
11 }
12 void unlock() {f_.clear(std::memory_order_release);}
13 private:
14 std::atomic_flag f_; // true if thread holds mutex
15 };
16
17 SpinLockMutex m;
18 unsigned long long counter = 0;
19
20 void doWork() {
21 for (unsigned long long i = 0; i < 100000ULL; ++i)
22 {std::lock_guard lg(m); ++counter;}
23 }
24
25 int main() {
26 std::thread t1(doWork), t2(doWork);
27 t1.join(); t2.join();
28 std::cout << counter << ’\n’;
29 }
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1067
Carries-A-Dependency Relationships
For two operations A and B performed in the same thread, A is said to
carry a dependency to B if the result of A is used as an operand for B
(ignoring some special cases).
Example: In the code below, statement A carries a dependency to
statement B but not statement C.
x = 42; // A
y = x + 1; // B
z = 0; // C
Note that “carries a dependency to” is a subset of “is sequenced before”
(i.e., the former implies the latter).
The carries-a-dependency-to relationship is transitive (i.e., if A carries a
dependency to B and B carries a dependency to C then A carries a
dependency to C).
Example: In the code below, statement A carries a dependency to
statement B; and B carries a dependency to statement C. Therefore,
transitively, A carries a dependency to C.
x = 42; // A
y = x + 1; // B
z = 2 * y; // C
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1068
Dependency-Ordered-Before Relationships

Another type of synchronization relationship is known as a

dependency-ordered-before relationship.
A write-release operation A is dependency ordered before a
read-consume operation B if B reads the value written by A (or any side
effect in the release sequence headed by A).
For two operations A and B performed in different threads, if A is
dependency ordered before B then A inter-thread happens before B.
Thus, dependency-ordered-before relationships can also establish
happens-before relationships.

The inter-thread happens before relation describes an arbitrary

concatenation of sequenced-before, synchronizes-with, and
dependency-ordered-before relations, with two exceptions:
1 a concatenation is not permitted to end with dependency ordered before
followed by (one or more) sequenced before; and
2 a concatenation is not permitted to consist entirely of sequenced-before
relations.
The first restriction is required since a dependency-ordered-before
relationship synchronizes only data dependencies.
The second restriction is required since inter-thread happens-before
relationship must (by definition) involve operations in different threads.

For the consume-release model, the memory order is chosen as follows:

a write operation uses release order (std::memory_order_release)

a read operation uses the consume order (std::memory_order_consume)

The consume-release model is identical to the acquire-release model with

one important difference, namely the type of synchronization relationship
established.
A write-release operation W is dependency ordered before a
read-consume operation (in a different thread) that reads the value stored
by W (or any side effect in the release sequence headed by W ).
In other words, the consume-release model establishes a
dependency-ordered-before relationship, whereas the acquire-release
model establishes a synchronizes-with relationship.
In this sense, the consume-release model is weaker than the
acquire-release model (i.e., less data is synchronized).

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1071
Example: Consume-Release Model
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <atomic>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 int x = 0;
6 std::atomic y(0);
7
8 void producer() {
9 x = 42;
10 y.store(1, std::memory_order_release);
11 }
12
13 void consumer() {
14 int a;
15 while (!(a = y.load(std::memory_order_consume))) {}
16 assert(x == 42); // data race
17 }
18
19 int main() {
20 std::thread t1(producer);
21 std::thread t2(consumer);
22 t1.join();
23 t2.join();
24 }
program has data race on x; a does not carry dependency to x so x = 42
does not necessarily happen before x used in assertion
if consume changed to acquire, no data race and assertion cannot fail
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1072
Example: Publishing Data Via Pointer
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <atomic>
3 #include <cassert>
4 #include <string>
5
6 std::atomic<std::string*> p(nullptr);
7 int x = 0;
8
9 void producer() {
10 std::string* s = new std::string("Hello");
11 x = 42;
12 p.store(s, std::memory_order_release);
13 }
14
15 void consumer() {
16 std::string* s;
17 while (!(s = p.load(std::memory_order_consume))) {}
18 assert(*s == "Hello");
19 // assert(x == 42); would result in data race
20 }
21
22 int main() {
23 std::thread t1(producer), t2(consumer);
24 t1.join(); t2.join();
25 }
assertion cannot fail; store to p is dependency ordered before load and
load carries dependency to *s in assertion
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1073
Relaxed Model

For the relaxed model, all memory operations use the relaxed order
(std::memory_order_relaxed).
Like in the acquire-release model, no total order exists on updates to all
atomic objects (collectively).
Operations on the same variable within a single thread satisfy a
happens-before relationship (i.e., within a single thread, accesses to a
single atomic variable must follow program order).
Unlike in the acquire-release model, no inter-thread synchronization
relationship is established.
No requirement exists on the ordering relative to other threads.
The relaxed order is sometime suitable for updating counters (e.g., blind
event counters).
Except in very trivial cases, it can be extremely difficult to reason about
the meaning and/or correctness of code that uses relaxed order.

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1074
Behavior of Relaxed Model
consider atomic memory operations with relaxed order
for each individual atomic object, all threads have view of updates that is
consistent with single modification sequence
read operation (e.g., load):
if current position not set, return any element in sequence and set current
position to that of returned element
otherwise, either leave current position unchanged or move later in
sequence and return value at current position
write operation (e.g., store):
append value to end of sequence
set current position to correspond to appended value
read-modify-write operation (e.g., increment, decrement, exchange,
compare_exchange):
read last value from sequence
modify read value as appropriate to obtain new value
append new value to end of sequence
set current position to correspond to that of appended value
considerable flexibility in value returned by read
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1075
Example: Relaxed Model
1 #include <atomic>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 std::atomic<int> x, y, c;
6
7 void w_x() {x.store(1, std::memory_order_relaxed);}
8
9 void w_y() {y.store(1, std::memory_order_relaxed);}
10
11 void r_xy() {
12 while (!x.load(std::memory_order_relaxed)) {}
13 if (y.load(std::memory_order_relaxed)) {++c;}
14 }
15
16 void r_yx() {
17 while (!y.load(std::memory_order_relaxed)) {}
18 if (x.load(std::memory_order_relaxed)) {++c;}
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 x = 0; y = 0; c = 0;
23 std::thread t1(w_x), t2(w_y), t3(r_xy), t4(r_yx);
24 t1.join(); t2.join(); t3.join(); t4.join();
25 assert(c != 0); // assertion can fail
26 }
assertion can fail: one thread seeing x or y being nonzero does not imply
other thread sees same
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1076
Example: Blind Event Counters
1 #include <vector>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <thread>
4 #include <atomic>
5
6 std::atomic<unsigned long long> counter(0);
7
8 void doWork() {
9 for (long i = 0; i < 100’000L; ++i) {
10 counter.fetch_add(1, std::memory_order_relaxed);
11 }
12 }
13
14 int main() {
15 std::vector<std::thread> workers;
16 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
17 workers.emplace_back(doWork);
18 }
19 for (auto& t : workers) {
20 t.join();
21 }
22 std::cout << "counter " << counter << ’\n’;
23 }
fetch_add can use relaxed order, since only incrementing counter blindly (i.e., not
taking action based on value of counter)
thread join operations provide synchronization to ensure desired value read for counter
when output
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1077
Example: Done Flag
1 #include <vector>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <atomic>
4 #include <chrono>
5
6 std::atomic<bool> done;
7
8 void doWork() {
9 while (!done.load(std::memory_order_relaxed)) {
10 // do something here
11 }
12 }
13
14 int main() {
15 std::vector<std::thread> workers;
16 done.store(false, std::memory_order_relaxed); // I hope? ;)
17 for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
18 workers.emplace_back(doWork);
19 }
20 std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(5));
21 done = true; // not relaxed
22 for (auto& t : workers) {
23 t.join();
24 }
25 }
done.store can be relaxed due to synchronization from thread create
done.load can be relaxed since order not important; different order as if other threads ran at different speeds
assign to done must be sequentially-consistent to prevent assign from floating past join (due to single-thread optimization)

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1078
Example: std::shared_ptr Reference Counting
The copy constructor for shared_ptr (which increments a reference
count) would look something like:
// ...
controlBlockPtr = other->controlBlockPtr;
controlBlockPtr->refCount.fetch_add(1,
std::memory_order_relaxed);
// ...
The destructor for shared_ptr (which decrements a reference count)
would look something like:
// ...
if (!controlBlockPtr->refCount.fetch_sub(1,
std::memory_order_acq_rel)) {
delete controlBlockPtr;
}
// ...
The increment operation can use relaxed order, since no action is taken
based on the reference count value.
The decrement operation needs to use acquire-release order so that the
decrement cannot float and the correct view of the data is seen by the
thread doing the delete (all decrements form a synchronization chain).
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1079
Release Semantics for Memory Operations

Release semantics is a property that can only apply to operations that

write to memory (i.e., read-modify-write operations or plain writes).
A write operation that has release semantics is called a write release.
A write release operation W cannot be reordered with any read or write
operation that precedes W in program order (i.e., memory operations
cannot be moved from before W to after W ).
The term release semantics originates from mutexes.
In the context of mutexes, the operations prior to a mutex release
operation, which correspond to operations in a critical section, must not be
moved after the mutex release operation, as operations after the mutex
release operation are not protected by the mutex.
Before
(In Program Order)
Moving memory operations Moving memory operations
across the write release Write Release across the write release
in this direction is in this direction is
not allowed After allowed
(In Program Order)

Acquire semantics is a property that can only apply to operations that

read from memory (i.e., read-modify-write operations or plain reads).
A read operation that has acquire semantics is called a read acquire.
A read acquire operation R cannot be reordered with any read or write
operation that follows R in program order (i.e., memory operations cannot
be moved from after R to before R).
The term acquire semantics originates from mutexes.
In the context of mutexes, the operations following a mutex acquire
operation, which correspond to operations in a critical section, must not be
moved before the mutex acquire operation, as operations before the
mutex acquire operation are not protected by the mutex.
Before
(In Program Order)
Moving memory operations Moving memory operations
across the read acquire Read Acquire across the read acquire
in this direction is in this direction is
allowed After not allowed
(In Program Order)

A release sequence headed by a release operation A on an atomic object

M is a maximal contiguous subsequence of side effects in the
modification order of M , where the first operation is A, and every
subsequent operation
is performed by the same thread that performed A, or
is an atomic read-modify-write operation.

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1082
Release Sequence Example
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <atomic>
3 #include <cassert>
4
5 int x = 0;
6 std::atomic y(0);
7
8 int main() {
9 std::thread t1([](){
10 x = 42;
11 y.store(1, std::memory_order_release); // A
12 y.store(2, std::memory_order_relaxed); // B
13 });
14 std::thread t2([](){
15 int r;
16 while ((r = y.load(std::memory_order_acquire)) // C
17 < 2) {}
18 assert(x == 42);
19 });
20 t1.join();
21 t2.join();
22 }
stores to y in A and B constitute release sequence headed by store in A
when while loop terminates, load in C will have read value written by store in B (not store in A)
A synchronizes with C, since C reads value in release sequence headed by A
assertion cannot fail, since A happens before C

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1083
Fences
A memory fence (also known as a memory barrier) is an operation that
causes the processor and compiler to enforce an ordering constraint on
memory operations issued before and after the fence operation.
Certain types of memory operations before a fence are guaranteed not to
be reordered with certain types of memory operations after the fence.
A fence may also introduce synchronizes-with relationships under certain
circumstances.
An acquire fence prevents the reordering of any read or write following
the fence (in program order) with any read prior to the fence (in program
order). (That is, a memory operation after the fence cannot be moved
before any read operation before the fence.)
A release fence prevents the reordering of any read or write prior to the
fence (in program order) with any write following the fence (in program
order). (That is, a memory operation before the fence cannot be moved
after any write operation after the fence.)
A fence is not a release or acquire operation. as it does not read/write
memory.
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1084
std::atomic_thread_fence

memory fences can be inserted via function

std::atomic_thread_fence
declaration:
void atomic_thread_fence(std::memory_order order)
noexcept;

no effect if order is std::memory_order_relaxed

acquire fence if order is std::memory_order_acquire or
std::memory_order_consume
release fence if order is std::memory_order_release
both acquire and release fence if order is
std::memory_order_acq_rel
sequentially consistent acquire and release fence if order is
std::memory_order_seq_cst

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1085
Fences and Synchronizes-With Relationships
Release fence and acquire fence. A release fence A synchronizes with an
acquire fence B if there exist atomic operations X and Y , both operating
on some atomic object M , such that A is sequenced before X , X modifies
M , Y is sequenced before B, and Y reads the value written by X or a
value written by any side effect in the hypothetical release sequence X
would head if it were a release operation.
Release fence and acquire operation. A release fence A synchronizes
with an atomic operation B that performs an acquire operation on an
atomic object M if there exists an atomic operation X such that A is
sequenced before X , X modifies M , and B reads the value written by X or
a value written by any side effect in the hypothetical release sequence X
would head if it were a release operation.
Release operation and acquire fence. An atomic operation A that is a
release operation on an atomic object M synchronizes with an acquire
fence B if there exists some atomic operation X on M such that X is
sequenced before B and reads the value written by A or a value written by
any side effect in the release sequence headed by A.
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1086
Example: Incorrect Code Without Fence
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <atomic>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 std::atomic ready(false);
6 int data = 0;
7
8 void produce() {
9 data = 42; // write to data can move after store in A
10 // release fence needed here
11 ready.store(true, std::memory_order_relaxed); // A
12 }
13
14 void consume() {
15 while (!ready.load(std::memory_order_relaxed)) {} // B
16 // acquire fence needed here
17 std::cout << data << ’\n’;
18 // read of data can move before load in B
19 }
20
21 int main() {
22 std::thread t1(produce);
23 std::thread t2(consume);
24 t1.join(); t2.join();
25 }
atomic store (to ready) does not synchronize with atomic load (of ready),
due to relaxed order; results in race on data
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1087
Example: Correct Code With Fence
1 #include <thread>
2 #include <atomic>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 std::atomic ready(false);
6 int data = 0;
7
8 void produce() {
9 data = 42;
10 std::atomic_thread_fence(std::memory_order_release);
11 ready.store(true, std::memory_order_relaxed);
12 }
13
14 void consume() {
15 while (!ready.load(std::memory_order_relaxed)) {}
16 std::atomic_thread_fence(std::memory_order_acquire);
17 std::cout << data << ’\n’;
18 }
19
20 int main() {
21 std::thread t1(produce);
22 std::thread t2(consume);
23 t1.join(); t2.join();
24 }
release fence synchronizes with acquire fence, due to atomic load (of
ready) reading from result of atomic store (to ready)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1088
Memory Orders: The Bottom Line

Use sequentially-consistent order unless there is a compelling case to do

otherwise.
In situations where semantics dictate a clear pairwise synchronization
between threads, consider the use of acquire-release order if it can be
easily seen to yield correct code.
Only consider relaxed order in situations where the performance penalty
of using a stronger order would be unacceptable.
Be very wary of using relaxed order. Even world experts on the C++
memory model acknowledge that this can be tricky.
Always have any code using relaxed order thoroughly reviewed by people
who are extremely knowledgeable about memory models.

References

1 A. Williams. C++ Concurrency in Action.

Manning Publications, Shelter Island, NY, USA, 2012.
This is a fairly comprehensive book on concurrency and multithreaded
programming in C++. It is arguably the best book available for those who want to
learn how to write multithreaded code using C++.

2 M. J. Batty. The C11 and C++11 Concurrency Model.

PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, Nov. 2014.
This very well written Ph.D. thesis introduces the C++11/C11 memory model and
presents work in mathematically formalizing, refining, and validating this model.

3 M. Batty. Multicore Programming: C++0x.

University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, Nov. 2010.
This set of slides appear to have been used for part of a course on multicore
programming at the University of Cambridge.

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1091
References II
4 M. Herlihy and N. Shavit. The Art of Multiprocessor Programming.
Morgan Kaufmann, Burlington, MA, USA, 2008.
A good reference for concurrent programming.

5 S. V. Adve and K. Gharachorloo. Shared memory consistency models: A

tutorial.
IEEE Computer, 29(12):66–76, Dec. 1996.
6 S. V. Adve and H.-J. Boehm. Memory models: A case for rethinking
parallel languages and hardware.
Communications of the ACM, 53(8):90–101, Aug. 2010.

7 H.-J. Boehm and S. V. Adve. You don’t know jack about shared variables
or memory models.
Communications of the ACM, 55(2):48–54, Feb. 2012.
8 H.-J. Boehm, Memory Model Rationale, ISO/IEC
JTC1/SC22/WG14/N1479, May 2010. http://www.open-std.org/
jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/docs/n1479.htm
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1092
Talks I

1 Herb Sutter. atomic<> Weapons: The C++11 Memory Model and

Modern Hardware, C++ and Beyond, Asheville, NC, USA, Aug. 5–8, 2012.
Available online at https://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Going+Deep/
Cpp-and-Beyond-2012-Herb-Sutter-atomic-Weapons-1-of-2 and
https://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Going+Deep/Cpp-and-
Beyond-2012-Herb-Sutter-atomic-Weapons-2-of-2. (This talk is in
two parts.)
2 Herb Sutter. C++ Concurrency, C++ and Beyond, Asheville, NC, USA,
Aug. 5–8, 2012. Available online at https://channel9.msdn.com/
Shows/Going+Deep/C-and-Beyond-2012-Herb-Sutter-
Concurrency-and-Parallelism.
3 Herb Sutter. Lock-Free Programming (Or, Juggling Razor Blades),
CppCon, 2014. Available online at https://youtu.be/c1gO9aB9nbs
and https://youtu.be/CmxkPChOcvw. (This talk is in two parts.)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1093
Talks II
4 Hans-J. Boehm. Threads and Shared Variables in C++11. Going Native,
Redmond, WA, USA, Feb. 2–3, 2012. Available online at https://
channel9.msdn.com/Events/GoingNative/GoingNative-2012/
Threads-and-Shared-Variables-in-C-11.
5 Mike Long. Introducing the C++ Memory Model. Norwegian Developers
Conference, Oslo, Norway, Jun. 15–19, 2014. Available online at
https://vimeo.com/97419179.
6 Herb Sutter. Machine Architecture and You: Things Your Programming
Language Never Told You. Northwest C++ Users’ Group, Redmond, WA,
USA, Sept. 19. 2007. Available online at http://nwcpp.org/
september-2007.html.
7 Pablo Halpern. Overview of Parallel Programming in C++, CppCon,
Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 8, 2014. Available online at https://youtu.
be/y0GSc5fKtl8.
8 Valentin Ziegler. C++ Memory Model, Meeting C++, Berlin, Germany,
Dec. 6, 2014. Available online at https://youtu.be/gpsz8sc6mNU.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1094
Talks III

9 Jeff Preshing. How Ubisoft Montreal Develops Games for Multicore —

Before and After C++11, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 11, 2014.
Available online at https://youtu.be/X1T3IQ4N-3g.

Even More C++

Undefined Behavior and Other Evil Stuff

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1097
Undefined, Unspecified, and Implementation-Defined
Behavior

undefined behavior: behavior for which standard imposes no

requirements (i.e., anything could happen)
unspecified behavior: behavior, for a well-formed program construct and
correct data, that depends on the implementation; implementation is not
required to document which behavior occurs; range of possible behaviors
usually specified in standard
implementation-defined behavior: behavior, for a well-formed program
construct and correct data, that depends on the implementation and that
each implementation documents (i.e., only know what will happen for a
particular implementation)
always avoid undefined behavior and do not rely on unspecified
behavior; otherwise cannot guarantee correct behavior of program
try to avoid relying on implementation-defined behavior; otherwise
cannot guarantee correct behavior of program across all language
implementations (i.e., code will not be portable)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1098
Examples of Undefined Behavior
dereferencing a null pointer; for example:
char* p = nullptr;
char c = *p; // undefined behavior
attempting to modify a string literal or any other const object (excluding
mutable data members):
const int x = 0;
const_cast<int&>(x) = 42; // undefined behavior
signed integer overflow
evaluating an expression that is not mathematically defined; for example:
double z = 0.0;
double x = 1.0 / z; // undefined behavior
not returning a value from a value-returning function (other than main)
int& increment(int& x) {
++x;
// undefined behavior
}
multiple definitions of the same entity
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1099
Examples of Undefined Behavior (Continued)
performing pointer arithmetic that yields a result before start of or after
end (i.e., one past last element) of an array; for example:
int v[10];
int* p = &v[0];
--p; // undefined behavior
using pointers to objects whose lifetime has ended
left-shifting values by a negative amount; for example:
int i = 1;
i << (-3); // undefined behavior
shifting values by an amount greater than or equal to the number of bits in
the number; for example:
int i = 1;
i << 10000; // undefined behavior
using an automatic variable whose value has not been initialized; for
example:
void func() {
int i; ++i; // undefined behavior
}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1100
Examples of Unspecified Behavior

order in which arguments to a function are evaluated; for example:

1 #include <iostream>
2
3 int count() {
4 static int c = 0;
5 return c++;
6 }
7
8 void func(int x, int y) {
9 std::cout << x << ’ ’ << y << ’\n’;
10 }
11
12 int main() {
13 func(count(), count());
14 // what values are passed to func?
15 // 0, 1; or 1, 0?
16 }

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1101
Examples of Implementation-Defined Behavior
meaning of #pragma directive
nesting limit for #include directives
search locations for "" and <> headers
sequence of places searched for header
signedness of char
sizeof built-in types other than char, signed char,
unsigned char
type of size_t, ptrdiff_t
parameters to main function
alignment (i.e., restrictions on the addresses at which an object of a
particular type can be placed)
result of right shift of negative value
precise types used in various parts of C++ standard library (e.g., actual
type named by vector<T>::iterator )
meaning of asm declaration
for more examples, see “Index of implementation-defined behavior”
section in C++11 standard
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1102
Private Member Access Without Friends (Legal But Evil)
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 template <typename Tag>
4 typename Tag::type saved_private_v;
5
6 template <typename Tag, typename Tag::type x>
7 bool save_private_v = (saved_private_v<Tag> = x);
8
9 class Widget {
10 public:
11 Widget(int i) : i_(i) {}
12 private:
13 int i_;
14 int f_() const {return i_;}
15 };
16
17 struct Widget_i_ {using type = int Widget::*;};
18 struct Widget_f_ {using type = int (Widget::*)() const;};
19
20 template bool save_private_v<Widget_i_, &Widget::i_>;
21 template bool save_private_v<Widget_f_, &Widget::f_>;
22
23 int main() {
24 Widget w(42);
25 std::cout << w.*saved_private_v<Widget_i_> << ’\n’;
26 std::cout << (w.*saved_private_v<Widget_f_>)() << ’\n’;
27 }

Best Practices, Tips, and Common Pitfalls

do not use std::istream::eof to determine if earlier input operation

has failed, as this will not always work
eof simply returns end-of-file (EOF) flag for stream
EOF flag for stream can be set during successful input operation (when
input operation takes places just before end of file)
when stream extractors (i.e., operator>>) used, fields normally
delimited by whitespace
to read all data in whitespace-delimited field, must read one character
beyond field in order to know that end of field has been reached
if field followed immediately by EOF without any intervening whitespace
characters, reading one character beyond field will cause EOF to be
encountered and EOF bit for stream to be set
in preceding case, however, EOF being set does not mean that input
operation failed, only that stream data ended immediately after field that
was read
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1105
Example: Incorrect Use of eof
example of incorrect use of eof:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 int main() {
4 while (true) {
5 int x;
6 std::cin >> x;
7 // std::cin may not be in a failed state.
8 if (std::cin.eof()) {
9 // Above input operation may have succeeded.
10 std::cout << "EOF encountered\n";
11 break;
12 }
13 std::cout << x << ’\n’;
14 }
15 }
code incorrectly assumes that eof will only return true if preceding input
operation has failed
last field in stream will be incorrectly ignored if not followed by at least one
whitespace character; for example, if input stream consists of three
character sequence ’1’, space, ’2’, program will output:
1
EOF encountered
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1106
Example: Correct Use of eof

to determine if input operation failed, simply check if stream in failed state

if stream already known to be in failed state and need to determine
specifically if failure due to EOF being encountered, then use eof
example of correct use of eof:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 int main() {
4 int x;
5 // Loop while std::cin not in a failed state.
6 while (std::cin >> x) {
7 std::cout << x << ’\n’;
8 }
9 // Now std::cin must be in a failed state.
10 // Use eof to determine the specific reason
11 // for failure.
12 if (std::cin.eof()) {
13 std::cout << "EOF encountered\n";
14 } else {
15 std::cout << "input error (excluding EOF)\n";
16 }
17 }

std::endl is not some kind of string constant

std::endl is stream manipulator and declared as
std::ostream& std::endl(std::ostream&)
inserting endl to stream always (regardless of operating system)
equivalent to outputting single newline character ’\n’ followed by flushing
stream
flushing of stream can incur very substantial overhead; so only flush when
strictly necessary

some operating systems terminate lines with single linefeed character

(i.e., ’\n’), while other operating systems use carriage-return and
linefeed pair (i.e., ’\r’ plus ’\n’)
existence of endl has nothing to do with dealing with handling new lines
in operating-system independent manner
when stream opened in text mode, translation between newline characters
and whatever character(s) operating system uses to terminate lines is
performed automatically (both for input and output)
above translation done for all characters input and output and has nothing
to do with endl

for built-in types, if stream extraction fails, value of target for stream
extraction depends on reason for failure
in following example, what is value of x if stream extraction fails:
int x;
std::cin >> x;
if (!std::cin) {
// what is value of x?
}

in above example, x may be uninitialized upon stream extraction failure

if failure due to I/O error or EOF, target of extraction is not modified
if failure due to badly formatted data, target of extraction is zero
if failure due to overflow, target of extraction is closest
machine-representable value
common error: incorrectly assume that target of extraction will always be
initialized if extraction fails
for class types, also dangerous to assume target of extraction always
written upon failure
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1110
Stream Extraction Failure (Continued)
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <sstream>
3 #include <limits>
4 #include <cassert>
5
6 int main() {
7 int x;
8
9 std::stringstream s0("");
10 x = -1;
11 s0 >> x;
12 // No data; x is not set by extraction.
13 assert(s0.fail() && x == -1);
14
15 std::stringstream s1("A");
16 x = -1;
17 s1 >> x;
18 // Badly formatted data; x is zeroed.
19 assert(s1.fail() && x == 0);
20
21 std::stringstream
22 s2("9999999999999999999999999999999999999999");
23 x = -1;
24 s2 >> x;
25 // Overflow; x set to closest machine-representable value.
26 assert(s2.fail() && x == std::numeric_limits<int>::max());
27 }

Consider a program with the following source listing:

#include <iostream>
#include <cstdlib>
int main() {std::cout << abs(-1.5) << ’\n’;}
The C++ implementation is permitted (but not required) to place the C abs
function in the global namespace.
If the implementation does not do this, the above program will fail to
compile (avoiding the more troubling problem discussed next).
If, however, the C++ implementation does do this (which is not uncommon
in practice), the above program will compile successfully, but behave
unexpectedly when run.
In particular, the program will output a value of 1, instead of the value of
1.5 that was likely expected by the programmer.
Since the C abs function is declared as int abs(int), the use of this
function will introduce a conversion from double to int, leading to the
unexpected result.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1112
The abs Function (Continued)

The problems of the previous slide can be easily avoided as follows.

First, include the header cmath, which provides overloads of std::abs
for various built-in types, including double.
Then, invoke the function std::abs (instead of ::abs).
For example, the following code will behave as expected, outputting the
value of 1.5:
#include <iostream>
#include <cmath>
int main() {std::cout << std::abs(-1.5) << ’\n’;}

When specifying a literal, be careful to use a literal of the correct type, as

the type can often be quite important.
For example, what value will be printed by the following code and (more
importantly) why:
std::vector<double> values;
values.push_back(0.5);
values.push_back(0.5);
// Compute the sum of the elements in the vector values.
double sum = std::accumulate(values.begin(),
values.end(), 0);
std::cout << sum << ’\n’;

Hint: The value printed for sum is not 1.

In order to determine what values will be printed, look carefully at the
definition of std::accumulate.
Answer: The value printed for sum is 0.

consider istream or ostream object s

!s is equivalent to s.fail()
bool(s) is not equivalent to s.good()
s.good() is not the same as !s.fail()
do not use good as opposite of fail since this is wrong

data members are initialized in order in which declared

Example:
1 #include <cassert>
2
3 class Widget {
4 public:
5 Widget() : y_(42), x_(y_ + 1) {assert(x_ == 43);}
6 int x_;
7 int y_;
8 };
9
10 int main() {
11 Widget w;
12 }

what will above code do when run?

in constructor, x_ initialized before y_, which results in use of y_ before its
initialization
strictly speaking, undefined behavior
in practice, likely x_ will simply have garbage value when body of
constructor executes and assertion will fail
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1116
Global Object Initialization Order

be careful about initialization order of global objects

Example (program with three source files):
1 int main() {
2 }

1 #include <vector>
2 std::vector<int> v = {1, 2, 3, 4};

1 #include <vector>
2 extern std::vector<int> v;
3 std::vector<int> w = {v[0], v[1]};

no guarantee that v will be constructed before w

bad things will happen if w is constructed before v
no guarantee about order of initialization between translation units (i.e.,
source files [loosely speaking])

implement postfix increment/decrement in terms of prefix

increment/decrement
ensures that prefix and postfix versions always consistent
Example:
1 class Counter {
2 public:
3 Counter(int count = 0) : count_(count) {}
4 Counter& operator++() {
5 ++count_;
6 return *this;
7 }
8 Counter operator++(int) {
9 Counter old(*this);
10 ++(*this);
11 return old;
12 }
13 // similarly for prefix/postfix decrement
14 private:
15 int count_;
16 };

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1118
Sizeof Class Versus Sum of Member Sizes
compilers can (and do) add padding to classes/structs
Example:
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 class Widget {
4 // ...
5 private:
6 char c;
7 int i;
8 };
9
10 int main() {
11 // two numbers printed not necessarily the same
12 std::cout << sizeof(char) + sizeof(int) << ’ ’ <<
13 sizeof(Widget) << ’\n’;
14 std::cout << alignof(int) << ’ ’ <<
15 alignof(Widget) << ’\n’;
16 }

many processors place alignment restrictions on data (e.g., data type of

size n must be aligned to start on address that is multiple of n)
other factors can also add to size of class/struct (e.g., virtual function table
pointer)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1119
Sizeof Class Versus Sum of Member Sizes (Continued)

consider following type:

struct Widget {
char c;
int i;
};
suppose that sizeof(int) is 4 and alignof(int) is 4
compiler adds padding to structure so that int data member is suitably
aligned (i.e., offset is multiple of 4)
memory layout for Widget object:
Offset
0 c
1
2 padding
3
4
5
i
6
7

for integral operands, division operator yields algebraic quotient with any
fractional part discarded (i.e., round towards zero)
if quotient a / b is representable in type of result,
(a / b) * b + a % b is equal to a
so, assuming b is not zero and no overflow, a % b equals
a - (a / b) * b
result of modulus operator not necessarily nonnegative
Example:
1 #include <cassert>
2
3 int main() {
4 assert(5 % 3 == 2);
5 assert(5 % (-3) == 2);
6 assert((-5) % 3 == -2);
7 assert((-5) % (-3) == -2);
8 }

What is wrong with the following code?

void func(const std::string&);
std::string s("one");
const char* p = "two";
func(std::string(s) + std::string(", ") + std::string(p));
func(std::string(p) + std::string(", ") + std::string(s));

Unnecessary temporaries!
Fix:
func(s + ", " + p);
func(p + ", "s + s);

What is wrong with the following code?

std::vector<std::string> v;
std::string s("one");
v.push_back(std::string(s));
v.push_back(std::string(s + ", two"));
v.push_back(std::string("three"));
v.push_back(std::string());

Again, unnecessary temporaries.

Fix:
v.push_back(s);
v.push_back(s + ", two")
v.emplace_back("three");
v.emplace_back();

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1123
Classes Holding Multiple Resources
What is wrong with this code?
class TwoResources {
public:
TwoResources() : x_(nullptr) : y_(nullptr) {
x_ = new X;
y_ = new Y;
}
˜TwoResources() {
delete x_;
delete y_;
}
private:
X* x_;
Y* y_;
};

If an exception is thrown in a constructor, the object being constructed is

deemed not to have started its lifetime and no destructor will ever be
called for the object.
So, for example, if new Y throws, x_ will be leaked.
Fix:
class TwoResources {
public:
TwoResources() : x_(make_unique<X>()),
y_(make_unique<Y>()) {}
private:
unique_ptr<X> x_;
unique_ptr<Y> y_;
};

What is wrong with the following code?

const std::string getMessage() {
return "Hello";
}

The const return value will interact poorly with move semantics, as the
returned object cannot be used as the source for a move operation (since
the source for a move operation must be modifiable).
Fix:
std::string getMessage() {
return "Hello";
}

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1125
Normally Avoid Using std::move When Returning By Value

What is wrong with the following code?

std::vector<int> getVector() {
std::vector<int> v;
// calculate v
return std::move(v);
}

Due to the use of std::move, the type of the expression in the return
statement does not match the function return type (i.e.,
std::vector<int> versus std::vector<int>&&).
RVO/NRVO can only be applied if the type of the expression in the return
statement matches the function return type.
So, RVO/NRVO cannot be applied in this case.
If the types would not have matched anyways (e.g., a two-element
std::tuple and a std::pair), std::move would be reasonable to
employ.

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1126
Avoid Returning an Rvalue Reference to an Rvalue Reference Parameter
Returning an rvalue reference to an rvalue reference parameter can
potentially lead to very subtle bugs.
Example:
std::string&& join(std::string&& s, const char* p) {
return std::move(s.append(", ").append(p));
}
std::string getMessage() {return "Hello";}
void func() {
const string& r = join(getMessage(), " World");
// lifetime of temporary returned by getMessage
// not extended to lifetime of r since not
// directly bound to r
// r now refers to destroyed temporary
}
Fix:
std::string join(std::string&& s, const char* p) {
return std::move(s.append(", ").append(p));
}
Returning by rvalue reference should probably be avoided, except in very
special circumstances (such as std::forward and std::move).
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1127
No Explicit Template Arguments to std::make_pair

Never provide explicit template arguments to std::make_pair.

Let x and y be objects of type X and Y, respectively.
What is wrong with the following code?
std::make_pair<X, Y>(x, y)

make_pair declared as:

template <class T1, class T2>
pair<V1, V2> make_pair(T1&& x, T2&& y);

where V1 and V2 are (except in special case) std::decay_t<T1> and

std::decay_t<T2>, respectively
If, for example, X and Y are int, then make_pair has two rvalue
reference parameters which cannot bind to the lvalues x and y.
Use make_pair(x, y) or sometimes pair<X, Y>(x, y).

when creating std::shared_ptr objects, prefer to use

std::make_shared (as opposed to explicit use of new with shared_ptr)
more efficient
control block and owned object can be allocated together
one memory allocation instead of two; better cache efficiency
better exception safety (avoid resource leaks)

1 #include <cassert>
2
3 int main() {
4 short ss = -1;
5 int si = -1;
6 long sl = -1;
7 long long sll = -1;
8 unsigned short us = 0;
9 unsigned int ui = 0;
10 unsigned long ul = 0;
11 unsigned long long ull = 0;
12 // comparison between signed and unsigned types
13 assert(ss < ui); // FAILS: ss becomes UINT_MAX
14 // comparison between signed and unsigned types
15 assert(si < ui); // FAILS: si becomes UINT_MAX
16 // comparison between signed and unsigned types
17 assert(sl < ul); // FAILS: sl becomes ULONG_MAX
18 // comparison between signed and unsigned types
19 assert(sll < ull); // FAILS: sll becomes ULONGLONG_MAX
20 }

be aware of rules for promotions and conversions involving integral types

if these rules not considered, code may not behave in manner expected

Idioms

proxy class provides modified interface to another class

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1132
Proxy Class Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <utility>
3
4 class BoolVector;
5
6 class Proxy {
7 public:
8 ˜Proxy() = default;
9 Proxy& operator=(const Proxy&) = default;
10 operator bool() const;
11 void operator=(bool b);
12 private:
13 friend class BoolVector;
14 Proxy(const Proxy&) = default;
15 Proxy(BoolVector* v, int i) : v_(v), i_(i) {}
16 BoolVector* v_;
17 int i_;
18 };
19
20 class BoolVector {
21 public:
22 BoolVector(int n) : n_(n), d_(new unsigned char[(n + 7) / 8]) {
23 std::fill_n(d_, (n + 7) / 8, 0);
24 }
25 ˜BoolVector() {delete [] d_;}
26 int size() const {return n_;}
27 bool operator[](int i) const {return getElem(i);}
28 Proxy operator[](int i) {return Proxy(this, i);}
29 private:
30 friend class Proxy;
31 bool getElem(int i) const {return (d_[i / 8] >> (i % 8)) & 1;}
32 void setElem(int i, bool b) {
33 (d_[i / 8] &= ˜(1 << (i % 8))) |= (b << (i % 8));
34 }
35 int n_;
36 unsigned char* d_;
37 };
38
39 inline void Proxy::operator=(bool b) {v_->setElem(i_, b);}
40 inline Proxy::operator bool() const {return v_->getElem(i_);}

1 #include "proxy_class_example_1.hpp"
2
3 int main() {
4 BoolVector v(16);
5 for (int i = 0; i < v.size(); ++i) {
6 v[i] = (i & 1);
7 }
8 for (int i = 0; i < v.size(); ++i) {
9 std::cout << v[i];
10 }
11 std::cout << ’\n’;
12 const BoolVector& cv = v;
13 for (int i = 0; i < cv.size(); ++i) {
14 std::cout << cv[i];
15 }
16 std::cout << ’\n’;
17 }

C++ Compatibility

many changes have been made to C++ language and standard library
during evolution of C++ from C++98 to present
some changes resulted in incompatibilties between different versions of
C++ standard
subsequent slides list some reference material that discusses how C++
standard changed from one version to next
knowing such changes helps to understand incompatibilities between
different versions

1 Leor Zolman, An Overview of C++11/14, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA,

Sept 8, 2014. (This talk is in two parts.) Available online at https://
youtu.be/Gycxew-hztI and https://youtu.be/pBI0tS2yfjw.
2 Alisdair Meredith, A Quick Tour of C++14, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA,
Sept. 11, 2014. Available online at https://youtu.be/fBU1R7jp_TE.
3 Alisdair Meredith, C++17 in Breadth, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept.
19, 2016. (This talk is in two parts.) Available online at https://youtu.
be/22jIHfvelZk and https://youtu.be/-rIixnNJM4k.
4 Nicolai Josuttis, C++17: The Language Features, Norwegian Developers
Conference, London, UK, Jan. 16–20 2017. Available online at https://
youtu.be/pEzV32yRu4U.
5 Nicolai Josuttis, C++17: The Library Features, Norwegian Developers
Conference, London, UK, Jan. 16–20 2017. Available online at https://
youtu.be/ELwTKHiKZS4.
6 Bryce Lelbach, C++17 Features, C++Now, Aspen, CO, USA, May 16,
2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/LvwXJjRQfHk.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1137
Section 4.5

C Compatibility

Although C++ attempted to maintain compatibility with C where possible,

there are numerous incompatibilities between the languages.
Unfortunately, as C++ and C continue to evolve, the number of
incompatibilities between these languages continue to grow.
In practice, many C programs are valid C++ programs and can therefore
be compiled with a C++ compiler.
Some C programs, however, may require a significant number of changes
to be valid C++.
A few examples of incompatibilities between C++ and C are given in what
follows.

1 #include <stdio.h>
2 #include <unistd.h>
3
4 /* Delete a file. */
5 int delete(const char* filename) { /* note function name */
6 return unlink(filename);
7 }
8
9 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
10 if (argc >= 2) {
11 if (delete(argv[1])) {
12 printf("cannot delete file\n");
13 return 1;
14 }
15 }
16 return 0;
17 }

C++ introduces many new keywords.

Some C programs might use some of these keywords as identifiers (e.g.,
new, delete).

1 #include <stdio.h>
2
3 int plusOne(); /* no arguments specified */
4
5 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
6 printf("%d\n", plusOne(0));
7 return 0;
8 }
9
10 int plusOne(int i) {
11 return i + 1;
12 }

In C, a function declaration without arguments implies that the arguments

are unspecified.
In C++, a function declaration without arguments implies that the function
takes no arguments.

1 #include <stdio.h>
2
3 myfunc() { /* implicit return type */
4 return 3;
5 }
6
7 int main(int argc, char **argv) {
8 int i;
9 i = myfunc();
10 printf("%d\n", i);
11 return 0;
12 }

In C, if the return type of a function is not specified, it is treated as int.

In C++, the return type of a function must always be explicitly specified.

1 int main(int argc, char** argv) {

2 int i;
3 int* ip;
4 void* vp;
5 ip = &i;
6 vp = ip;
7 ip = vp; /* problematic */
8 return 0;
9 }

C provides an implicit conversion from void* to any pointer type, while

C++ does not.

1 struct outer {
2 struct inner {
3 int i;
4 };
5 int j;
6 };
7
8 struct inner a = {1}; /* inner vs. outer::inner */
9
10 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
11 return 0;
12 }

C and C++ both allow nested struct types, but the scoping rules differ.

Libraries

Boost Libraries

Introduction

Boost libraries are collection of free peer-reviewed portable C++ source

libraries
license encourages both commercial and non-commercial use
often Boost libraries later adopted by C++ standard
web site: http://www.boost.org

Containers and Data Structures

Library Description
Bimap bidirectional maps (i.e., associative containers in which
both types stored in map can be used as key)
Container standard library containers and extensions
Heap priority queue data structures
Intrusive intrusive containers and algorithms
Multi-Array generic N-dimensional array
Multi-Index containers that maintain one or more indices with different
sorting and access semantics

Iterators
Library Description
Iterator concepts that extend C++ standard iterator requirements
and components for building iterators based on these con-
cepts; includes several iterator adaptors

Math and Numerics

Library Description
Interval interval arithmetic
Math various numeric types and math functions
Multiprecision extended precision arithmetic types for floating-point, inte-
ger, and rational arithmetic
Rational rational number class

String and Text Processing

Library Description
Lexical Cast general literal text conversions, such as converting int to
std::string or vice versa
Tokenizer break a string or other character sequence into a series of
tokens

Image and Geometry Processing

Library Description
Geometry geometric algorithms, primitives, and spatial index
GIL generic image library
Graph graph types and algorithms

Input/Output
Library Description
I/O State Savers classes for saving/restoring state associated with
I/O streams

Miscellaneous
Library Description
Program Options process program options via command line or con-
figuration file

Concurrent Programming
Library Description
Fiber userland threads library
Compute parallel/GPU computing library
Lockfree lockfree containers (e.g., stacks and queues)

Boost Container Library

Boost Container library provides support for numerous nonintrusive

containers
containers provided by library include:
enhanced versions of several containers from standard library
several non-standard containers

Standard Container Types

Type Description
vector similar to std::vector
list similar to std::list
deque similar to std::deque
set similar to std::set
multiset similar to std::multiset
map similar to std::map
multimap similar to std::multimap

Non-Standard Container Types

Type Description
stable_vector vector with non-contiguous elements and stable el-
ement references
flat_set set based on sorted vector
flat_multiset multiset based on sorted vector
flat_map map based on sorted vector
flat_multimap multimap based on sorted vector
slist singly-linked list
static_vector vector of bounded size with storage for elements
that is contiguous and statically allocated
small_vector vector-like container optimized for case of contain-
ing few elements

Boost Intrusive Library

Boost Intrusive library provides support for numerous intrusive and

semi-intrusive containers
containers provided by library include those based on:
linked lists
trees
hash tables

Intrusive Container Types

Type Description
slist singly-linked list
list doubly-linked list
set set/map based on red-black tree
multiset multiset/multimap based on red-black tree
rbtree red-black tree
avl_set set/map based on AVL tree
avl_multiset multiset/multimap based on AVL tree
avltree AVL tree
splay_set set/map based on splay tree
splay_multiset multiset/multimap based on splay tree
splaytree splay tree
sg_set set/map based on scapegoat tree
sg_multiset multiset/multimap based on scapegoat tree
sgtree scapegoat tree

Semi-Intrusive Container Types

Type Description
unordered_set unordered set/map based on hash table
unordered_multiset unordered multiset/multimap based on hash table

hook is class object that must be added to a user’s class in order for
user’s class to be usable with intrusive container
hook used to encapsulate data used to manage nodes in container (e.g.,
successor and predecessor links for doubly-linked list)
two kinds of hooks:
1 base hook
2 member hook
base hook is included in user’s class as base class object using public
inheritance
member hook included in user’s class as public data member

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/slist.hpp>
4
5 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
6
7 struct Widget : public bi::slist_base_hook<> {
8 Widget(int i_) : i(i_) {}
9 int i;
10 };
11
12 using WidgetList = bi::slist<Widget>;
13
14 int main() {
15 std::vector<Widget> buffer;
16 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {buffer.push_back(Widget(i));}
17 WidgetList a;
18 for (auto&& i : buffer) {a.push_front(i);}
19 for (auto i = a.begin(); i != a.end(); ++i) {
20 if (i != a.begin()) {std::cout << ’ ’;}
21 std::cout << i->i;
22 }
23 std::cout << ’\n’;
24 while (!a.empty()) {a.erase_after(a.before_begin());}
25 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1162
slist With Member Hook
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/slist.hpp>
4
5 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
6
7 struct Widget {
8 Widget(int i_) : i(i_) {}
9 int i;
10 bi::slist_member_hook<> hook;
11 };
12
13 using WidgetList = bi::slist<Widget, bi::member_hook<Widget,
14 bi::slist_member_hook<>, &Widget::hook>>;
15
16 int main() {
17 std::vector<Widget> buffer;
18 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {buffer.push_back(Widget(i));}
19 WidgetList a;
20 for (auto&& i : buffer) {a.push_front(i);}
21 for (auto i = a.begin(); i != a.end(); ++i) {
22 if (i != a.begin()) {std::cout << ’ ’;}
23 std::cout << i->i;
24 }
25 std::cout << ’\n’;
26 while (!a.empty())
27 {a.erase_after(a.before_begin());}
28 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1163
list With Base Hook

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/list.hpp>
4
5 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
6
7 struct Widget : public bi::list_base_hook<> {
8 Widget(int i_) : i(i_) {}
9 int i;
10 };
11
12 using WidgetList = bi::list<Widget>;
13
14 int main() {
15 std::vector<Widget> buffer;
16 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {buffer.push_back(Widget(i));}
17 WidgetList a;
18 for (auto&& i : buffer) {a.push_back(i);}
19 for (auto i = a.begin(); i != a.end(); ++i) {
20 if (i != a.begin()) {std::cout << ’ ’;}
21 std::cout << i->i;
22 }
23 std::cout << ’\n’;
24 while (!a.empty()) {a.erase(a.begin());}
25 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1164
list With Member Hook
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/list.hpp>
4
5 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
6
7 struct Widget {
8 Widget(int i_) : i(i_) {}
9 int i;
10 bi::list_member_hook<> hook;
11 };
12
13 using WidgetList = bi::list<Widget, bi::member_hook<Widget,
14 bi::list_member_hook<>, &Widget::hook>>;
15
16 int main() {
17 std::vector<Widget> buffer;
18 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {buffer.push_back(Widget(i));}
19 WidgetList a;
20 for (auto&& i : buffer) {a.push_back(i);}
21 for (auto i = a.begin(); i != a.end(); ++i) {
22 if (i != a.begin()) {std::cout << ’ ’;}
23 std::cout << i->i;
24 }
25 std::cout << ’\n’;
26 while (!a.empty()) {a.erase(a.begin());}
27 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1165
list With Multiple Base Hooks
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/list.hpp>
4
5 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
6
7 struct Alpha {};
8 struct Beta {};
9 struct Widget : public bi::list_base_hook<bi::tag<Alpha>>,
10 public bi::list_base_hook<bi::tag<Beta>> {
11 Widget(int i_) : i(i_) {}
12 int i;
13 };
14
15 int main() {
16 std::vector<Widget> buffer;
17 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {buffer.push_back(Widget(i));}
18 bi::list<Widget, bi::base_hook<bi::list_base_hook<bi::tag<Alpha>>>>
19 a;
20 bi::list<Widget, bi::base_hook<bi::list_base_hook<bi::tag<Beta>>>>
21 b;
22 for (auto&& i : buffer)
23 {a.push_back(i); b.push_front(i);}
24 for (auto&& w : a) {std::cout << w.i << ’\n’;}
25 std::cout << ’\n’;
26 for (auto&& w : b) {std::cout << w.i << ’\n’;}
27 while (!a.empty()) {a.erase(a.begin());}
28 while (!b.empty()) {b.erase(b.begin());}
29 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1166
set With Base Hook

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/set.hpp>
4
5 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
6
7 struct Widget : public bi::set_base_hook<> {
8 Widget(int i_) : i(i_) {}
9 bool operator<(const Widget& other) const {return i < other.i;}
10 int i;
11 };
12
13 int main() {
14 int values[] = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8};
15 std::vector<Widget> buffer;
16 for (auto i : values) {buffer.push_back(Widget(i));}
17 bi::set<Widget> a;
18 for (auto&& i : buffer) {a.insert(a.end(), i);}
19 for (auto&& w : a) {std::cout << w.i << ’\n’;}
20 if (a.find(7) != a.end()) {std::cout << "7 is in set\n";}
21 while (!a.empty())
22 {a.erase(a.begin());}
23 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1167
set and list With Base Hooks
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/set.hpp>
4 #include <boost/intrusive/list.hpp>
5
6 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
7
8 struct Widget : public bi::set_base_hook<>,
9 public bi::list_base_hook<> {
10 Widget(int i_) : i(i_) {}
11 bool operator<(const Widget& other) const {return i < other.i;}
12 int i;
13 };
14
15 int main() {
16 int values[] = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8};
17 std::vector<Widget> buffer;
18 for (auto i : values) {buffer.push_back(Widget(i));}
19 bi::set<Widget> a;
20 bi::list<Widget> b;
21 for (auto&& i : buffer)
22 {a.insert(a.end(), i); b.push_back(i);}
23 if (a.find(7) != a.end()) {std::cout << "found 7\n\n";}
24 for (auto&& w : a) {std::cout << w.i << ’\n’;}
25 std::cout << ’\n’;
26 for (auto&& w : b) {std::cout << w.i << ’\n’;}
27 while (!a.empty()) {a.erase(a.begin());}
28 while (!b.empty()) {b.erase(b.begin());}
29 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1168
Achieving Map Functionality With set
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/set.hpp>
4
5 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
6
7 struct Widget : public bi::set_base_hook<> {
8 Widget(int i_, int j_) : i(i_), j(j_) {}
9 int i;
10 int j;
11 };
12
13 struct Is_key {
14 using type = int;
15 const type& operator()(const Widget& w) const
16 {return w.i;}
17 };
18
19 int main() {
20 int values[] = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8};
21 std::vector<Widget> buffer;
22 for (auto i : values) {buffer.push_back(Widget(i, -i));}
23 bi::set<Widget, bi::key_of_value<Is_key>> a;
24 for (auto&& i : buffer) {a.insert(a.end(), i);}
25 for (auto&& w : a) {std::cout << w.i << ’ ’ << w.j << ’\n’;}
26 auto i = a.find(5);
27 std::cout << i->j << ’\n’;
28 while (!a.empty()) {a.erase(a.begin());}
29 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1169
unordered_set With Base Hook
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include <boost/intrusive/unordered_set.hpp>
4
5 namespace bi = boost::intrusive;
6
7 class Widget : public bi::unordered_set_base_hook<> {
8 public:
9 Widget(int value = 0) : value_(value) {}
10 int get_value() const {return value_;}
11 private:
12 int value_;
13 };
14
15 bool operator==(const Widget& a, const Widget& b)
16 {return a.get_value() == b.get_value();}
17
18 std::size_t hash_value(const Widget& a) {return std::size_t(a.get_value());}
19
20 int main() {
21 std::vector<Widget> widgets;
22 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {widgets.push_back(Widget(i));}
23 using bucket_type = bi::unordered_set<Widget>::bucket_type;
24 using bucket_traits = bi::unordered_set<Widget>::bucket_traits;
25 bucket_type buckets[100];
26 bi::unordered_set<Widget> s(bucket_traits(buckets, 100));
27 for (auto&& w : widgets) {s.insert(w);}
28 for (auto&& i : s) {std::cout << i.get_value() << ’\n’;}
29 if (s.find(7) != s.end()) {std::cout << "found 7\n";}
30 return 0;
31 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1170
Section 5.1.4

Boost Iterator Library

Boost iterator library consists of two parts:

1 system of concepts which extend C++ standard iterator requirements
2 framework of componenets for building iterators based on these concepts
tricky to write standard-conforming iterators
by using Boost Iterator library, can often significantly reduce amount of
code needed to implement standard-conforming iterators

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1172
Forward Iterator Example: Iterator Class Without Boost (1)

1 #include <type_traits>
2 #include <iterator>
3
4 // singly-linked list node base (for intrusive container)
5 template <class T> struct slist_node_base {
6 slist_node_base(T* next_) : next(next_) {}
7 T* next; // pointer to next node in list
8 };
9
10 // single-linked list iterator (const and non-const)
11 template <class T> class slist_iter {
12 public:
13 using iterator_category = std::forward_iterator_tag;
14 using value_type = typename std::remove_const_t<T>;
15 using reference = T&;
16 using pointer = T*;
17 slist_iter(T* node = nullptr) : node_(node) {}
18 template <class OtherT, class =
19 std::enable_if_t<std::is_convertible_v<OtherT*, T*>>>
20 slist_iter(const slist_iter<OtherT>& other) : node_(other.node_) {}
21 reference operator*() {return *node_;}
22 pointer operator->() {return node_;}
23 slist_iter& operator++() {
24 node_ = node_->next;
25 return *this;
26 }

[link: SFINAE]
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1173
Forward Iterator Example: Iterator Class Without Boost (2)

27 slist_iter operator++(int) {
28 slist_iter old(*this);
29 node_ = node_->next;
30 return old;
31 }
32 template <class OtherT> bool operator==(const slist_iter<OtherT>& other)
33 const {return node_ == other.node_;}
34 template <class OtherT> bool operator!=(const slist_iter<OtherT>& other)
35 const {return !(*this == other);}
36 private:
37 template <class> friend class slist_iter;
38 T* node_; // pointer to list node
39 };

1 #include <type_traits>
2 #include <boost/iterator/iterator_facade.hpp>
3
4 template <class T> struct slist_node_base {
5 slist_node_base(T* next_) : next(next_) {}
6 T* next; // pointer to next node in list
7 };
8
9 template <class T> class slist_iter : public boost::iterator_facade<
10 slist_iter<T>, T, boost::forward_traversal_tag> {
11 public:
12 using base = typename boost::iterator_facade<slist_iter<T>, T,
13 boost::forward_traversal_tag>;
14 using typename base::reference;
15 using typename base::value_type;
16 slist_iter(T* node = nullptr) : node_(node) {}
17 template <class OtherT, class =
18 std::enable_if_t<std::is_convertible_v<OtherT*, T*>>>
19 slist_iter(const slist_iter<OtherT>& other) : node_(other.node_) {}
20 private:
21 reference dereference() const {return *node_;}
22 template <class OtherT> bool equal(const slist_iter<OtherT>& other) const
23 {return node_ == other.node_;}
24 void increment() {node_ = node_->next;}
25 template <class> friend class slist_iter;
26 friend class boost::iterator_core_access;
27 T* node_; // pointer to list node
28 };

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1175
Forward Iterator Example: User Code
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <vector>
3 #include "iterator_facade_2.hpp"
4
5 struct Node : public slist_node_base<Node> {
6 Node(Node* next_, int value_) : slist_node_base<Node>(next_),
7 value(value_) {}
8 int value;
9 };
10
11 int main() {
12 constexpr int num_nodes = 10;
13 std::vector<Node> nodes; nodes.reserve(num_nodes);
14 for (int i = 0; i < num_nodes - 1; ++i)
15 {nodes.push_back(Node(&nodes[i + 1], i));}
16 nodes.push_back(Node(nullptr, num_nodes - 1));
17 slist_iter<Node> begin(&nodes[0]);
18 slist_iter<Node> end;
19 slist_iter<const Node> cbegin(begin);
20 slist_iter<const Node> cend(end);
21 for (auto i = cbegin; i != cend; ++i) {std::cout << i->value << ’\n’;}
22 slist_iter<Node> i(begin);
23 slist_iter<const Node> ci(cbegin);
24 // slist_iter<Node> j(cbegin); // ERROR
25 i = begin;
26 // i = ci; // ERROR
27 ci = cbegin;
28 ci = i;
29 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1176
Random-Access Iterator Example: Iterator Class Without Boost (1)

1 #include <type_traits>
2 #include <iterator>
3
4 // array element iterator
5 template <class T> class array_iter {
6 public:
7 using iterator_category = typename std::random_access_iterator_tag;
8 using value_type = std::remove_const_t<T>;
9 using reference = T&;
10 using pointer = T*;
11 using difference_type = std::ptrdiff_t;
12 array_iter(T* ptr = nullptr) : ptr_(ptr) {}
13 template <class OtherT, class =
14 std::enable_if_t<std::is_convertible_v<OtherT*, T*>>>
15 array_iter(const array_iter<OtherT>& other) : ptr_(other.ptr_) {}
16 reference operator*() const {return *ptr_;}
17 pointer operator->() const {return ptr_;}
18 array_iter& operator++() {
19 ++ptr_;
20 return *this;
21 }
22 array_iter operator++(int) {
23 array_iter old(*this);
24 ++ptr_;
25 return old;
26 }
27 array_iter& operator--() {
28 --ptr_;
29 return *this;
30 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1177
Random-Access Iterator Example: Iterator Class Without Boost (2)

31 array_iter operator--(int) {
32 array_iter old(*this);
33 --ptr_;
34 return old;
35 }
36 array_iter& operator+=(difference_type n) {
37 ptr_ += n;
38 return *this;
39 }
40 array_iter& operator-=(difference_type n) {
41 ptr_ -= n;
42 return *this;
43 }
44 reference& operator[](difference_type n) const {return ptr_[n];}
45 array_iter operator+(difference_type n) const
46 {return array_iter(ptr_ + n);}
47 difference_type operator-(const array_iter& other) const
48 {return ptr_ - other.ptr_;}
49 array_iter operator-(difference_type n) const
50 {return array_iter(ptr_ - n);}
51 template <class OtherT> bool operator==(const array_iter<OtherT>& other)
52 const {return ptr_ == other.ptr_;}
53 template <class OtherT> bool operator!=(const array_iter<OtherT>& other)
54 const {return ptr_ != other.ptr_;}
55 template <class OtherT> bool operator<(const array_iter<OtherT>& other)
56 const {return ptr_ < other.ptr_;}
57 template <class OtherT> bool operator>(const array_iter<OtherT>& other)
58 const {return ptr_ > other.ptr_;}
59 template <class OtherT> bool operator<=(const array_iter<OtherT>& other)
60 const {return ptr_ <= other.ptr_;}

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1178
Random-Access Iterator Example: Iterator Class Without Boost (3)

61 template <class OtherT> bool operator>=(const array_iter<OtherT>& other)

62 const {return ptr_ >= other.ptr_;}
63 private:
64 template <class> friend class array_iter;
65 T* ptr_; // pointer to array element
66 };
67
68 template <class T>
69 array_iter<T> operator+(typename array_iter<T>::difference_type n,
70 const array_iter<T>& iter) {return array_iter<T>(iter) += n;}

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1179
Random-Access Iterator Example: Iterator Class With Boost

1 #include <boost/iterator/iterator_facade.hpp>
2 #include <type_traits>
3
4 // array element iterator
5 template <class T> class array_iter : public boost::iterator_facade<
6 array_iter<T>, T, boost::random_access_traversal_tag> {
7 public:
8 using typename boost::iterator_facade<array_iter<T>, T,
9 boost::random_access_traversal_tag>::reference;
10 using typename boost::iterator_facade<array_iter<T>, T,
11 boost::random_access_traversal_tag>::difference_type;
12 array_iter(T* ptr = nullptr) : ptr_(ptr) {}
13 template <class OtherT, class =
14 std::enable_if_t<std::is_convertible_v<OtherT*, T*>>>
15 array_iter(const array_iter<OtherT>& other) : ptr_(other.ptr_) {}
16 private:
17 reference dereference() const {return *ptr_;}
18 template <class OtherT> bool equal(const array_iter<OtherT>& other) const
19 {return ptr_ == other.ptr_;}
20 void increment() {++ptr_;}
21 void decrement() {--ptr_;}
22 void advance(difference_type n) {ptr_ += n;}
23 difference_type distance_to(const array_iter& other) const
24 {return other.ptr_ - ptr_;}
25 template <class> friend class array_iter;
26 friend class boost::iterator_core_access;
27 T* ptr_; // pointer to array element
28 };

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cassert>
3 #include "iterator_facade_1.hpp"
4
5 int main() {
6 char buffer[] = "Hello, World!\n";
7 std::size_t length = sizeof(buffer) - 1;
8 array_iter<char> begin(buffer);
9 array_iter<char> end(buffer + length);
10 array_iter<const char> cbegin = begin;
11 array_iter<const char> cend = end;
12 assert(begin + length == end);
13 assert(cbegin + length == end);
14 for (auto i = cbegin; i != cend; ++i)
15 {std::cout << *i << ’\n’;}
16 array_iter<char> i(begin);
17 array_iter<const char> ci(cbegin);
18 // array_iter<char> j(cbegin); // ERROR
19 i = begin;
20 // i = ci; // ERROR
21 ci = cbegin;
22 ci = i;
23 }

Miscellaneous Examples

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <limits>
3 #include <boost/math/constants/constants.hpp>
4
5 int main() {
6 namespace bmc = boost::math::constants;
7
8 std::cout.precision(std::numeric_limits<
9 long double>::max_digits10);
10
11 constexpr auto f_pi = bmc::pi<float>();
12 constexpr auto d_pi = bmc::pi<double>();
13 constexpr auto ld_pi = bmc::pi<long double>();
14
15 std::cout << f_pi << ’\n’;
16 std::cout << d_pi << ’\n’;
17 std::cout << ld_pi << ’\n’;
18
19 constexpr auto f_e = bmc::e<float>();
20 constexpr auto d_e = bmc::e<double>();
21 constexpr auto ld_e = bmc::e<long double>();
22
23 std::cout << f_e << ’\n’;
24 std::cout << d_e << ’\n’;
25 std::cout << ld_e << ’\n’;
26 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <boost/math/constants/constants.hpp>
3
4 template <class Real>
5 Real area_of_circle(Real r) {
6 namespace bmc = boost::math::constants;
7 return bmc::pi<Real>() * r * r;
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 double r;
12 while (std::cin >> r) {
13 std::cout << area_of_circle(r) << ’\n’;
14 }
15 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1184
Computing Factorials With Arbitrary Precision
1 #include <cmath>
2 #include <boost/multiprecision/gmp.hpp>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 using boost::multiprecision::mpz_int;
6
7 mpz_int factorial(const mpz_int& n) {
8 mpz_int result = 1;
9 for (mpz_int i = n; i >= 2; --i) {
10 result *= i;
11 }
12 return result;
13 }
14
15 int main() {
16 std::cout << factorial(200) << ’\n’;
17 }
18
19 /* Output:
20 788657867364790503552363213932185062295135977687173263294
21 742533244359449963403342920304284011984623904177212138919
22 638830257642790242637105061926624952829931113462857270763
23 317237396988943922445621451664240254033291864131227428294
24 853277524242407573903240321257405579568660226031904170324
25 062351700858796178922222789623703897374720000000000000000
26 000000000000000000000000000000000
27 */

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1185
multi_array Example
1 #include <boost/multi_array.hpp>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <iomanip>
4
5 int main() {
6 using Array2 = boost::multi_array<int, 2>;
7 int num_rows = 5;
8 int num_cols = 7;
9 Array2 a(boost::extents[num_rows][num_cols]);
10 for (int row = 0; row < num_rows; ++row) {
11 for (int col = 0; col < num_cols; ++col) {
12 a[row][col] = num_cols * row + col;
13 }
14 }
15 Array2 b(a);
16 assert(b.shape()[0] == num_rows && b.shape()[1] == num_cols);
17 Array2 c;
18 c.resize(boost::extents[b.shape()[0]][b.shape()[1]]);
19 c = b;
20 for (int row = 0; row < num_rows; ++row) {
21 for (int col = 0; col < num_cols; ++col) {
22 if (col) {std::cout << ’ ’;}
23 std::cout << std::setw(2) << c[row][col];
24 }
25 std::cout << ’\n’;
26 }
27 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1186
2-D Array Class With multi_array
1 #include <boost/multi_array.hpp>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <iomanip>
4
5 template <class T>
6 class array2 {
7 public:
8 using value_type = T;
9 array2(int num_rows = 0, int num_cols = 0) :
10 a_(boost::extents[num_rows][num_cols]) {}
11 array2(const array2& other) : a_(other.a_) {}
12 array2& operator=(const array2& other) {
13 if (this != &other) {
14 a_.resize(boost::extents[other.a_.shape()[0]][
15 other.a_.shape()[1]]);
16 a_ = other.a_;
17 }
18 return *this;
19 }
20 int num_rows() const {return a_.shape()[0];}
21 int num_cols() const {return a_.shape()[1];}
22 const value_type& operator()(int row, int col) const
23 {return a_[row][col];}
24 value_type& operator()(int row, int col) {return a_[row][col];}
25 private:
26 using array = boost::multi_array<T, 2>;
27 array a_;
28 };

29
30 template <class T>
31 std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, const array2<T>& a) {
32 auto width = out.width();
33 for (int row = 0; row < a.num_rows(); ++row) {
34 for (int col = 0; col < a.num_cols(); ++col) {
35 if (col) {out << ’ ’;}
36 out << std::setw(width) << a(row, col);
37 }
38 out << ’\n’;
39 }
40 return out;
41 }
42
43 int main() {
44 array2<int> a(5, 7);
45 for (int row = 0; row < a.num_rows(); ++row) {
46 for (int col = 0; col < a.num_cols(); ++col) {
47 a(row, col) = a.num_cols() * row + col;
48 }
49 }
50 array2<int> b(a);
51 std::cout << "a:\n" << std::setw(2) << a;
52 std::cout << "b:\n" << std::setw(2) << b;
53 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1188
Program Options Example
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <boost/program_options.hpp>
4
5 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
6 namespace po = boost::program_options;
7 po::options_description desc("Allowed options");
8 desc.add_options()
9 ("help,h", "Print help information.")
10 ("count,c", po::value<int>()->default_value(1), "Specify count.")
11 ("file,f", po::value<std::string>(), "Specify file name.");
12 po::variables_map vm;
13 try {
14 po::store(po::parse_command_line(argc, argv, desc), vm);
15 po::notify(vm);
16 } catch (po::error& e) {
17 std::cerr << "usage:\n" << desc << ’\n’;
18 return 1;
19 }
20 if (vm.count("help")) {std::cout << desc << "\n"; return 1;}
21 if (vm.count("file")) {
22 std::cout << "file: " << vm["file"].as<std::string>() << ’\n’;
23 }
24 if (vm.count("count")) {
25 std::cout << "count: " << vm["count"].as<int>() << ’\n’;
26 }
27 return 0;
28 }

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cassert>
3 #include <boost/rational.hpp>
4 #include <exception>
5
6 int main() {
7 using boost::rational;
8 const rational<int> zero;
9 rational<int> three(3);
10 rational<int> ninth(1, 9);
11 rational<int> third(1, 3);
12 auto result = three * ninth;
13 assert(result == third);
14 try {
15 std::cout << three / zero << ’\n’;
16 } catch (const boost::bad_rational& e) {
17 std::cout << "bad rational " << e.what() << ’\n’;
18 }
19 // rational<int> x(1.5); // ERROR: no matching call
20 // result = 3.0; // ERROR: no matching call
21 result = 42;
22 assert(result == rational<int>(42));
23 std::cout << result << ’\n’;
24 }

References

1 Boost C++ Libraries Web Site, http://www.boost.org.

2 Boost Library Incubator Web Site, http://www.blincubator.com.
3 B. Schaling, The Boost C++ Libraries, http://theboostcpplibraries.
com. [This is an online version of Schaling’s book on Boost.]

1 Boris Schaling. Containers in Boost. C++ Now, 2013. Available online at

https://youtu.be/FM-fUjhoCp0.
2 Boris Schaling. Boost.Graph for Beginners. C++ Now, 2013. Available
online at https://youtu.be/uYvBH7TZlFk.
3 Nat Goodspeed. The Fiber Library. C++ Now, 2016. Available online at
https://youtu.be/gcNphOWuUb0.
4 Kyle Lutz. Boost.Compute: A library for GPU/parallel computing. C++
Now, 2015. Available online at https://youtu.be/q7oCblCtTT8.

Computational Geometry Algorithms Library (CGAL)

very powerful open-source C++ library for geometric computation

used by many commercial organizations, such as: British Telecom,
Boeing, France Telecom, GE Health Care, The MathWorks
very well documented (extensive manual, more than 4000 pages)
provides data types for representing various geometric objects, such as:
points, lines, planes, polygons
Voronoi diagrams
2D, 3D and d D triangulations
polygon meshes
kinetic data structures
provides algorithms for manipulating these data types
available for Microsoft Windows and Unix/Linux platforms
some Linux distributions already have packages for CGAL (e.g., Fedora
packages: CGAL, CGAL-devel, CGAL-demos-source)
web site: http://www.cgal.org
online manual (latest version): http://www.cgal.org/Manual/latest
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1195
CGAL (Continued)

provides support for polygon meshes

can read/write polygon mesh data in various common formats
built-in support for several subdivision schemes
by using CGAL, can greatly simplify amount of effort required to
implement methods using subdivision surfaces or wavelet transforms for
polygon meshes
in CGAL manual, most relevant material is that pertaining to:
2D and 3D linear geometry kernels
3D polyhedral surfaces
3D surface subdivision methods

handle: object used to reference element stored in some data structure

(i.e., object can be dereferenced to obtain access to element)
for data structure storing elements of type T, handle type might be:
simple pointer (i.e., T*)
smart pointer (i.e., user-defined type that behaves like pointer)
examples of handle types:
types used to access vertices, facets, halfedges of polygon mesh

f a

c d
a d g b e h c f

Linear Sequence h g

e b

Circular Sequence
linear sequence:
has well defined first and last element
fits well with iterator model
circular sequence:
does not have well defined first and last element
does not fit well with iterator model

iterators are very useful, but intended for use with linear sequences of
elements (i.e., sequences with well-defined first and last element)
often want iterator-like functionality for circular sequences of elements
circulator: object that allows iteration over elements in circular sequence
of elements
examples of circulator types:
type to allow iteration over all halfedges incident on vertex in polygon mesh
type to allow iteration over all halfedges incident on facet in polygon mesh
circulators come in const and mutable (i.e., non-const) forms
mutable circulator can be used to modify referenced element, while const
circulator cannot

Geometry Kernels

float: single-precision floating point type

double: double-precision floating point type
Interval_nt: interval-arithmetic type
MP_Float: arbitrary-precision floating-point type

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1201
MP_Float Class
MP_Float is arbitrary-precision floating-point type
additions, subtractions, and multiplications computed exactly
does not provide division or square root (which is not typically problematic
as division rarely needed and square root almost always avoided in
geometric computation)
no roundoff error
no overflow error unless astronomically large numbers involved (arbitrary
length mantissa; integral-valued double exponent can overflow, but
extremely unlikely)
very slow, can require considerable memory (unbounded)
default constructor does not initialize to particular value
stream inserter (i.e., operator<<) for MP_Float first converts
MP_Float to double and then outputs result
stream extracter (i.e., operator>>) for MP_Float first reads double
and then converts to MP_Float
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1202
MP_Float Example

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <CGAL/MP_Float.h>
3
4 int main() {
5 CGAL::MP_Float x;
6 CGAL::MP_Float y;
7 if (!(std::cin >> x >> y)) {return 1;}
8 if (x < y) {
9 std::cout << x << " is less than " << y << ’\n’;
10 }
11 CGAL::MP_Float z = -(x + y) * (x - y) + x;
12 std::cout << z << ’\n’;
13 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1203
Interval_nt Class
declared as: template <bool M = true> Interval_nt<M>
M indicates if safe rounding mode enabled
if safe rounding mode enabled, rounding mode always restored to round
towards zero (required by C++); must be careful if safe rounding mode not
used
when safe rounding mode not used, faster but need to worry about things
like compiler options like -frounding-math
using Interval_nt_advanced = Interval_nt<false>; (i.e.,
Interval_nt_advanced is Interval_nt with safe rounding mode
disabled)
interval-arithmetic number type (internally uses floating-point type)
represents interval [a, b]
every arithmetic operation performed twice, once while rounding towards
−∞ to produce result a′ and once while rounding towards +∞ to produce
result b′
true answer must lie on interval [a′ , b′ ]
approximately twice of time cost of built-in floating-point type
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1204
Geometry Kernels

represent geometric objects (e.g., point, line, line segment, ray, plane,
triangle, circle, )
points in 2 or 3 dimensions
provide operations on geometric objects (e.g., intersection, composition)
allow certain conditions to be tested involving geometric objects (e.g.,
collinear, coplanar, equality)

Cartesian kernels: coordinates represented in Cartesian form

homogeneous kernels: coordinates represented in homogeneous form

geometry kernel that represents coordinates in Cartesian form

declaration:
template <class F> Simple_cartesian<F>

declaration:
template <class F> Cartesian<F>

F field number type (used to represent coordinates)

F often chosen as double
Cartesian is reference counted version of Simple_cartesian, which
allows more efficient copying of objects
Cartesian probably preferred if frequent copying occurs

geometry kernel that represents coordinates in homogeneous form

declaration:
template <class R> Simple_homogeneous<R>

declaration:
template <class R> Homogeneous<R>

R ring number type used for representing numerator and denominator of

rational coordinates
Homogeneous is reference counted version of Simple_homogeneous,
which allows more efficient copying of objects
Homogeneous probably preferred if frequent copying occurs

produces new geometric object from other objects

result is not one of a small number of enumerable values
result is numerical (e.g., involves real numbers)
create line segment from two points
create triangle from three points
create plane from three (non-coplanar) points
create circle from three (non-collinear) points
find intersection of line and plane
exact construction: any newly created geometric objects resulting from
construction are exactly represented (i.e., no roundoff/overflow error)
inexact construction: newly created geometric objects are not guaranteed
to be exactly represented (e.g., due to roundoff error)
extremely important to be aware of whether kernel being used provides
exact constructions; affects how you write code!!!

does not involve any newly computed numerical data

result is one of very small set of values, such as boolean or enumerated
type
typically used to make decisions (i.e., affect control flow)
are three points collinear (true or false)
are four points coplanar (true or false)
what is position of point relative to oriented line (left of, right of, or on)
what is position of point relative to oriented circle (inside, outside, or on)
exact predicate: result of test is guaranteed to be correct (i.e., result
determined as if by exact computation)
inexact predicate: result of test may be incorrect (e.g., due to
roundoff/overflow error)
extremely important to be aware of whether kernel being used provides
exact predicates; affects how you write code!!!

Member Type Description

FT field number type (e.g., double)
RT ring number type (e.g., int)
Boolean boolean type (bool or Uncertain<bool>)
Sign sign (Sign or Uncertain<Sign>)
Comparison_result comparison result (Comparison_result or
Uncertain<Comparison_result>)
Orientation orientation (Orientation or
Uncertain<Orientation>)
Oriented_side oriented side (Oriented_side or
Uncertain<Oriented_side>)
Bounded_side bounded side (Bounded_side or
Uncertain<Bounded_side>)
Angle angle (Angle or Uncertain<Angle>)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1211
Kernel Member Types: Geometric Objects in Two Dimensions

Member Type Description

Point_2 point in two dimensions
Vector_2 vector in two dimensions
Direction_2 direction in two dimensions
Line_2 line in two dimensions
Ray_2 ray in two dimensions
Segment_2 line segment in two dimensions
Triangle_2 triangle in two dimensions
Iso_rectangle_2 axis-aligned rectangle in two dimensions
Circle_2 circle in two dimensions

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1212
Kernel Member Types: Geometric Objects in Three Dimensions

Member Type Description

Point_3 point in three dimensions
Vector_3 vector in three dimensions
Direction_3 direction in three dimensions
Iso_cuboid_3 axis-aligned cuboid in three dimensions
Line_3 line in three dimensions
Ray_3 ray in three dimensions
Circle_3 circle in three dimensions
Sphere_3 sphere in three dimensions
Segment_3 line segment in three dimensions
Plane_3 plane in three dimensions
Triangle_3 triangle in three dimensions
Tetrahedron_3 tetrahedron in three dimensions

coordinate representation
exact or inexact constructions
exact or inexact predicates
in practice, almost always require exact predicates
if code well designed, need for exact constructions can usually be avoided
for T chosen as any numeric type that has roundoff/overflow error (e.g.,
float, double, long double), the following kernels do not provide
exact constructions or exact predicates:
Simple_cartesian<T>
Cartesian<T>
Simple_homogeneous<T>
Homogeneous<T>

class to convert kernel with inexact predicates into one with exact
predicates
declared as:
template <class K> Filtered_kernel<K>

K is kernel from which to make filtered kernel

predicates of K replaced by predicates using numeric type Interval_nt
if interval arithmetic can yield reliable answer, result used
otherwise, exception thrown and caught by class and predicate using
MP_Float used
for exact predicates with Simple_cartesian<double>, use:
Filtered_kernel<Simple_cartesian<double>> or equivalently
Exact_predicates_inexact_constructions_kernel
Exact_predicates_inexact_constructions_kernel very commonly
used

exact predicate cannot at any point rely on a computation that is not exact
no floating point arithmetic (since it has roundoff error)
no integer arithmetic that might overflow
no inexact constructions
no inexact predicates
Filtered_predicate may be helpful

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1216
Filtered_predicate Class
adapter for predicate functors for producing efficient exact predicates
declared as:
template <class EP, class FP, class CE, class CF>
Filtered_predicate<EP, FP, CE, CF>
EP is exact predicate (typically uses arbitrary-precision type such as
MP_Float)
FP is filtering predicate (typically uses interval-arithmetic type like
Interval_nt)
CE and CF are function objects for converting arguments of unfiltered
predicate to types used by exact and filtering predicates
must be careful about operation used in unfiltered predicate being
plugged into Filtered_kernel
for kernel ring number type RT, can safely use addition, subtraction,
multiplication
can also safely use sign
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1217
Execution of Filtered Predicate

execution of code for filtered predicate functor proceeds as follows:

1 invoke unfiltered (i.e., original) predicate functor for numeric type
CGAL::Interval_nt<false>
if any operation on interval arithmetic type yields uncertain result (e.g.,
CGAL::sign), exception is thrown, with thrown exception being caught by
filtered predicate functor
2 if no exception thrown (so that unfiltered functor returns normally), return
return value of unfiltered functor (and we are done); otherwise, continue
3 invoke unfiltered predicate functor for numeric type CGAL::MP_Float
4 return return value of unfiltered functor

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1218
Filtered Predicate Example
1 #include <CGAL/Cartesian.h>
2 #include <CGAL/MP_Float.h>
3 #include <CGAL/Interval_nt.h>
4 #include <CGAL/Filtered_predicate.h>
5 #include <CGAL/Cartesian_converter.h>
6
7 template <class K>
8 struct Test_orientation_2 {
9 using RT = typename K::RT;
10 using Point_2 = typename K::Point_2;
11 using result_type = typename K::Orientation;
12 result_type operator()(const Point_2& p, const Point_2& q,
13 const Point_2& r) const {
14 RT prx = p.x() - r.x();
15 RT pry = p.y() - r.y();
16 RT qrx = q.x() - r.x();
17 RT qry = q.y() - r.y();
18 return CGAL::sign(prx * qry - qrx * pry);
19 }
20 };
21
22 using Kernel = CGAL::Cartesian<double>;
23 using Ia_kernel = CGAL::Cartesian<CGAL::Interval_nt<false>>;
24 using Exact_kernel = CGAL::Cartesian<CGAL::MP_Float>;
25 using Test_orientation = CGAL::Filtered_predicate<
26 Test_orientation_2<Exact_kernel>,
27 Test_orientation_2<Ia_kernel>,
28 CGAL::Cartesian_converter<Kernel, Exact_kernel>,
29 CGAL::Cartesian_converter<Kernel, Ia_kernel>
30 >;
31
32 int main() {
33 double big = 1e50;
34 Kernel::Point_2 p(0.0, 0.0), q(1.0, 1.0), r(2.0 * big, 2.0 * big);
35 Test_orientation orientation;
36 std::cout << orientation(p, q, r) << "\n";
37 }

for example on previous slide, execution of filtered predicate functor

proceeds as follows:
1 invoke
Test_orientation_2<Cartesian<CGAL::Interval_nt<false>>>
functor with points ([0, 0], [0, 0]), ([1, 1], [1, 1]),
([2 · 1050 , 2 · 1050 ], [2 · 1050 , 2 · 1050 ])
2 CGAL::sign called for [−1.55414 · 1085 , 1.55414 · 1085 ], which results in
exception being thrown
3 exception caught by filtered predicate code
4 invoke Test_orientation_2<Cartesian<CGAL::MP_Float>> functor
with points (0, 0), (1, 1), (2 · 1050 , 2 · 1050 )
5 CGAL::sign called for 0, resulting in return value of 0
6 filtered predicate returns 0
critically important that RT used for all arithmetic operations and not
double (or float); otherwise, arithmetic computation done using
wrong numeric type, which will prevent predicate from being correct (i.e.,
exact)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1220
Section 5.2.2

Polygon Meshes

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1221
Polyhedron_3 Class
represents polyhedral surface (i.e., polygon mesh), which consists of
vertices, edges, and facets and incidence relationship amongst them
each edge represented by pair of halfedges
declaration for Polyhedron_3 class:
template <class Kernel,
class PolyhedronItems = CGAL::Polyhedron_items_3,
template <class T, class I>
class HalfedgeDS = CGAL::HalfedgeDS_default,
class Alloc = CGAL_ALLOCATOR(int)>
class Polyhedron_3;
Kernel is geometry kernel, which specifies such things as how points are
represented and provides basic geometric operations/predicates (e.g.,
CGAL::Cartesian<double> and
CGAL::Filtered_kernel<CGAL::Cartesian<double>>)
PolyhedronItems specifies data types for representing vertices and
facets (in many cases, default will suffice)
HalfedgeDS specifies halfedge data structure for representing polygon
mesh and Alloc specifies allocator (defaults should suffice)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1222
Polyhedron_3 Type Members

Basic Types
Type Description
Vertex vertex type
Halfedge halfedge type
Facet facet type
Point_3 point type (for vertices)

Handles
Type Description
Vertex_const_handle const handle to vertex
Vertex_handle handle to vertex
Halfedge_const_handle const handle to halfedge
Halfedge_handle handle to halfedge
Facet_const_handle const handle to facet
Facet_handle handle to facet

Iterators
Type Description
Vertex_const_iterator const iterator over all vertices
Vertex_iterator iterator over all vertices
Halfedge_const_iterator const iterator over all halfedges
Halfedge_iterator iterator over all halfedges
Facet_const_iterator const iterator over all facets
Facet_iterator iterator over all facets
Edge_const_iterator const iterator over all edges (ev-
ery other halfedge)
Edge_iterator iterator over all edges (every
other halfedge)

Circulators
Type Description
Halfedge_around_vertex_const_circulator const circulator of halfedges
around vertex (CW)
Halfedge_around_vertex_circulator circulator of halfedges
around vertex (CW)
Halfedge_around_facet_const_circulator const circulator of halfedges
around facet (CCW)
Halfedge_around_facet_circulator circulator of halfedges
around facet (CCW)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1225
Polyhedron_3 Function Members
Size
Name Description
size_of_vertices get number of vertices
size_of_halfedges get number of halfedges
size_of_facets get number of facets

Iterators
Name Description
vertices_begin iterator for first vertex in mesh
vertices_end past-the-end vertex iterator
halfedges_begin iterator for first halfedge in mesh
halfedges_end past-the-end halfedge iterator
facets_begin iterator for first facet in mesh
facets_end past-the-end facet iterator
edges_begin iterator for first edge in mesh
edges_end past-the-end edge iterator

Combinatorial Predicates
Name Description
is_closed true if no border edges (no boundary)
is_pure_triangle true if all facets are triangles
is_pure_quad true if all facets are quadrilaterals

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1227
Polyhedron_3 Function Members (Continued 2)
Border Halfedges
Name Description
normalized_border_is_valid true if border is normalized
normalize_border sort halfedges such that non-
border edges precede border
edges (i.e., normalize border)
size_of_border_halfedges get number of border halfedges
(border must be normalized)
size_of_border_edges get number of border edges
(border must be normalized)
border_halfedges_begin halfedge iterator starting with
border edges (border must be
normalized)
border_edges_begin edge iterator starting with border
edges (border must be normal-
ized)

Facet type represents facet (i.e., face) in polyhedral surface

actual class type to which Facet corresponds depends on choice of
PolyhedronItems template parameter for Polyhedron_3 class
depending on actual class type to which Facet refers, level of functionality
offered by Facet class may differ (e.g., available function members may
differ)
Facet class may contain following optional information:
plane equation (corresponding to plane containing facet)
handle for halfedge that is incident on facet
some member functions in Facet class provide access to
halfedge-around-facet circulator
halfedge-around-facet circulator may be either forward or bidirectional

Operations Available If Facet Plane Supported

Name Description
plane get plane equation

Operations Available If Facet Halfedge Supported

Name Description
halfedge get halfedge incident on facet
facet_begin get circulator of halfedges around facet (CCW)
set_halfedge set incident halfedge
facet_degree get degree of facet (i.e., number of edges on
boundary of facet)
is_triangle true if facet is triangle
is_quad true if facet is quadrilateral

Vertex type represents vertex in polyhedral surface

actual class type to which Vertex corresponds depends on choice of
PolyhedronItems template parameter for Polyhedron_3 class
depending on actual class type to which Vertex refers, level of
functionality offered by Vertex class may differ (e.g., available function
members may differ)
Vertex class may contain following optional information:
point (corresponding to vertex position)
handle for halfedge that is incident on vertex
some member functions in Vertex class provide access to
halfedge-around-vertex circulator
halfedge-around-vertex circulator may be either forward or bidirectional

Operations Available If Vertex Point Supported

Name Description
point get point associated with vertex

Operations Available If Vertex Halfedge Supported

Name Description
halfedge get halfedge incident on vertex
vertex_begin circulator of halfedges around vertex (CW)
set_halfedge set incident halfedge
vertex_degree get valence of vertex
is_bivalent true if vertex has valence two
is_trivalent true if vertex has valence three

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1232
Polyhedron_3::Halfedge
Halfedge type represents halfedge in polyhedral surface
actual class type to which Halfedge corresponds depends on choice of
PolyhedronItems template parameter for Polyhedron_3 class
depending on actual class type to which Halfedge refers, level of
functionality offered by Halfedge class may differ (e.g., available function
members may differ)
each halfedge directly associated with one vertex and one facet, referred
to as incident vertex and incident facet, respectively
incident vertex is vertex at terminal end of halfedge
incident facet is facet to left of halfedge
Incident Facet

vertex
Incident Vertex
halfedge

facet

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1233
Polyhedron_3::Halfedge (Continued)
halfedge contains:
handle for next halfedge around incident facet in CCW direction
handle for opposite halfedge
together, these two handles allow for efficient iteration around:
halfedges incident on facet in CCW direction only; and

halfedges incident on vertex in CW direction only

halfedge may optionally contain:

handle for previous halfedge around incident facet in CCW direction

addition of this optional handle allows for efficient iteration around:

halfedges incident on facet in both (CW and CCW) directions; and
halfedges incident on vertex in both (CW and CCW) directions

halfedge may also contain following optional information:

handle for incident vertex
handle for incident facet
if halfedge class provides prev member function, halfedge-around-vertex
and halfedge-around-facet circulators are bidirectional; otherwise, they
are forward only
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1234
Halfedge Function Members
Adjacency Queries
Name Description
opposite get opposite halfedge
next get next halfedge incident on same facet in CCW order
prev get previous halfedge incident on same facet in CCW
order
next_on_vertex get next halfedge incident on same vertex in CW order
prev_on_vertex get previous halfedge incident on same vertex in CW
order

Circulators
Name Description
vertex_begin get halfedge-around-vertex circulator for incident vertex
(CW order)
facet_begin get halfedge-around-facet circulator for incident facet
(CCW order)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1235
Halfedge Function Members (Continued 1)
Border Queries
Name Description
is_border true if border halfedge
is_border_edge true if associated edge on border

Vertex Valence Queries

Name Description
vertex_degree get valence of incident vertex
is_bivalent true if incident vertex has valence two
is_trivalent true if incident vertex has valence three

Facet Degree Queries

Name Description
facet_degree get degree of incident facet
is_triangle true if incident facet is triangle
is_quad true if incident facet is quadrilateral

Operations Available If Halfedge Vertex Supported

Name Description
vertex get handle for incident vertex of halfedge

Operations Available If Halfedge Facet Supported

Name Description
facet get handle for incident facet of halfedge

h->next_on_vertex()
h->facet()

h->prev() h->next()

h
h->opposite()-> h->vertex()
vertex()
h->opposite()

h->prev_on_vertex()

h->opposite()->
facet()

operator<< and operator>> are overloaded for I/O

read and write polygon mesh data in OFF format

be mindful of operations on Polyhedron_3 that may invalidate handles,

iterators, or circulators
halfedge-around-vertex circulators and halfedge-around-facet circulators
iterate in opposite directions (i.e., CCW versus CW)
be careful about const correctness (e.g., const versus mutable
handles/iterators/circulators)
some Polyhedron_3 operations only valid if border normalized (e.g.,
size_of_border_halfedges, size_of_border_edges)
exactly one of two halfedges associated with border edge is border
halfedge

Surface Subdivision Methods

several functions provided for performing subdivision of polygon meshes

(represented by Polyhedron_3)
generic subdivision functions apply specific topologic refinement rule but
allow arbitrary geometric refinement rule
specific subdivision functions apply specific subdivision method
contained in CGAL::Subdivision_method_3 namespace

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1242
Subdivision Functions
Generic Subdivision Methods
Function Description
PQQ perform primal quadrilateral quadrisection with arbitrary
geometric refinement rule
PTQ perform primal triangle quadrisection with arbitrary geo-
metric refinement rule
DQQ perform dual quadrilateral quadrisection with arbitrary
geometric refinement rule
√
Sqrt3 perform 3 topologic refinement with arbitrary geometric
refinement rule

Specific Subdivision Methods

Function Description
CatmullClark_subdivision perform Catmull-Clark subdivision
Loop_subdivision perform Loop subdivision
DooSabin_subdivision perform Doo-Sabin subdivision
√
Sqrt3_subdivision perform Kobbelt 3 subdivision
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1243
Section 5.2.4

Example Programs

This program generates a simple triangle mesh corresponding to a

tetrahedron.
First, a polygon mesh corresponding to a tetrahedron is constructed.
Then, the resulting mesh is written to standard output in Object File
Format (OFF).

This program extracts some basic information from a polygon mesh.

First, a polygon mesh is read from standard input in Object File Format
(OFF).
Then, various information is extracted from the mesh, including:
the type of mesh (e.g., triangle, quadrilateral, or general)
the number of vertices, edges, faces, and halfedges in the mesh
the minimum, maximum, and average valence of vertices in the mesh
the number of nonplanar faces in the mesh
The above information is printed to standard output.

This program performs subdivision on a polygon mesh.

First, a mesh is read from standard input in Object File Format (OFF).
Next, the mesh is refined using the given number of iterations of the
specified subdivision method.
Finally, the refined mesh is written to standard output in OFF.
Several subdivision schemes are supported,
√ including: Loop,
Catmull-Clark, Doo-Sabin, and Kobbelt 3.

OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1248
OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT)
simple windowing API for OpenGL
intended to be used with small to medium sized OpenGL programs
language binding for C
window-system independent
supports most mainstream operating systems (Microsoft Windows,
Linux/Unix)
provides window management functionality (e.g., creating/destroying
windows, displaying/resizing windows, and querying/setting window
attributes)
allows for user input (e.g., via keyboard, mouse)
routines for drawing common wireframe/solid 3-D objects such as sphere,
torus, and well-known teapot model
register callback functions to handle various types of events (e.g., display,
resize, keyboard, special keyboard, mouse, timer, idle) and then loop
processing events
open-source implementation of GLUT called Freeglut is available from
http://sourceforge.net/projects/freeglut
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1249
Event-Driven Model

event-driven model: flow of program determined by events (e.g., mouse

clicks, key presses)
application making use of event-driven model performs some initialization
and then enters an event-processing loop for duration of execution
each iteration of event-processing loop does following:
1 wait for event
2 process event
many libraries for building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) employ
event-driven model
GLUT uses event-driven model

1 initialize GLUT library by calling glutInit

2 set display mode (via glutInitDisplay)
3 perform any additional initialization such as:
create windows (via glutCreateWindow)

register callback functions for handling various types of events (e.g., via
glutDisplayFunc, glutReshapeFunc, glutKeyboardFunc)
setup initial OpenGL state (e.g., depth buffering, shading, lighting, clear
color)
4 enter main event-processing loop by calling glutMainLoop [Note that
glutMainLoop never returns.]

OpenGL and GLUT header files in GL (or GLUT) directory

to use GLUT, need to include glut.h in GL (or GLUT) directory
header file glut.h also includes all necessary OpenGL header files (e.g.,
gl.h, glu.h, glext.h)

Event Type Description

display window contents needs to be displayed
overlay display overlay plane contents needs to be displayed
reshape window has been resized
keyboard key has been pressed
mouse mouse button has been pressed or released
motion mouse moved within window while one or more
buttons pressed
passive motion mouse moved within window while no buttons
pressed
visibility visibility of window has changed (covered versus
uncovered)
entry mouse has left or entered window
special keyboard special key has been pressed (e.g., arrow keys,
function keys)

Event Type Description

spaceball motion spaceball translation has occurred
spaceball rotate spaceball rotation has occurred
spaceball button spaceball button has been pressed or released
button box button box activity has occurred
dials dial activity has occurred
tablet motion tablet motion has occurred
tablet button table button has been pressed or released
menu status menu status change
idle no event activity has occurred
timer timer has expired

Initialization
Function Description
glutInit initialize GLUT library
glutInitWindowSize set initial window size for
glutCreateWindow
glutInitWindowPosition set initial window position for
glutCreateWindow
glutInitDisplayMode set initial display mode

Beginning Event Processing

Function Description
glutMainLoop enter GLUT event-processing loop

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1255
Functions (Continued 1)
Window Management
Function Description
glutCreateWindow create top-level window
glutCreateSubWindow create subwindow
glutSetWindow set current window
glutGetWindow get current window
glutDestroyWindow destroys specified window
glutPostRedisplay mark current window as needing to be redisplayed
glutSwapBuffers swaps buffers of current window if double buffered
(flushes graphics output via glFlush)
glutPositionWindow request change to position of current window
glutReshapeWindow request change to size of current window
glutFullScreen request current window to be made full screen
glutSetWindowTitle set title of current top-level window
glutSetIconTitle set title of icon for current top-level window
glutSetCursor set cursor image for current window

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1256
Functions (Continued 2)
Menu Management
Function Description
glutCreateMenu create new pop-up menu
glutSetMenu set current menu
glutGetMenu get current menu
glutDestroyMenu destroy specified menu
glutAddMenuEntry add menu entry to bottom of current menu
glutAddSubMenu add submenu trigger to bottom of current
menu
glutChangeToMenuEntry change specified menu item in current menu
into menu entry
glutChangeToSubMenu change specified menu item in current menu
into submenu trigger
glutRemoveMenuItem remove specified menu item
glutAttachMenu attach mouse button for current window to cur-
rent menu
glutDetachMenu detach attached mouse button from current
window

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1257
Functions (Continued 3)
Callback Registration
Function Description
glutDisplayFunc sets display callback for current window
glutReshapeFunc sets reshape callback for current window
glutKeyboardFunc sets keyboard callback for current window
glutMouseFunc sets mouse callback for current window
glutMotionFunc set motion callback for current window
glutPassiveMotionFunc set passive motion callback for current win-
dow
glutVisibilityFunc set visibility callback for current window
glutEntryFunc set mouse enter/leave callback for current
window
glutSpecialFunc sets special keyboard callback for current
window
glutIdleFunc set global idle callback
glutTimerFunc registers timer callback to be triggered in
specified number of milliseconds

State Retrieval
Function Description
glutGet retrieves simple GLUT state (e.g., size or position
of current window)
glutDeviceGet retrieves GLUT device information (e.g., keyboard,
mouse, spaceball, tablet)
glutGetModifiers retrieve modifier key state when certain callbacks
generated (i.e., state of shift, control, and alt keys)

Font Rendering
Function Description
glutBitmapCharacter renders bitmap character using OpenGL
glutBitmapWidth get width of bitmap character
glutStrokeCharacter renders stroke character using OpenGL
glutStrokeWidth get width of stroke character

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1259
Functions (Continued 5)
Geometric Object Rendering
Function Description
glutSolidSphere render solid sphere
glutWireSphere render wireframe sphere
glutSolidCube render solid cube
glutWireCube render wireframe cube
glutSolidCone render solid cone
glutWireCone render wireframe cone
glutSolidTorus render solid torus
glutWireTorus render wireframe torus
glutSolidOctahedron render solid octahedron
glutWireOctahedron render wireframe octahedron
glutSolidTetrahedron render solid tetrahedron
glutWireTetrahedron render wireframe tetrahedron
glutSolidTeapot render solid teapot
glutWireTeapot render wireframe teapot

minimalist program using GLUT

create window that is cleared to particular color

1 // Create a window that is cleared to a particular color

2 // when drawn.
3
4 #include <GL/glut.h>
5
6 void display() {
7 glClearColor(0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0);
8 glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
9 glutSwapBuffers();
10 }
11
12 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
13 glutInit(&argc, argv);
14 glutInitDisplayMode(GLUT_DOUBLE | GLUT_RGB);
15 glutInitWindowSize(512, 512);
16 glutCreateWindow(argv[0]);
17 glutDisplayFunc(display);
18 glutMainLoop();
19 return 0;
20 }

1 M. J. Kilgard. The OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT): Programming Interface

(API Version 3), Nov. 1996.
Available from http://www.opengl.org/resources/libraries/
glut/glut-3.spec.pdf.
2 R. S. Wright, B. Lipchak, and N. Haemel. OpenGL SuperBible.
Addison-Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 4th edition, 2007.
3 GLUT home page:
http://www.opengl.org/resources/libraries/glut
4 GLUT manual (HTML format):
http://www.opengl.org/resources/libraries/glut/spec3/
spec3.html

OpenGL Framework (GLFW) Library

lightweight open-source windowing API for OpenGL, OpenGL ES, and

Vulkan
language binding for C
window-system independent
supports most mainstream operating systems (e.g., Microsoft Windows,
OS X, and Linux/Unix)
provides window management functionality (e.g., creating/destroying
windows, displaying/resizing windows, and querying/setting window
attributes)
allows for user input (e.g., via keyboard, mouse, and joystick)
allows application to register callback functions to handle various types of
events (e.g., window refresh, window resize, keyboard, and mouse) and
then loop processing events
web site: http://www.glfw.org

GLFW and modern GLUT (e.g., FreeGLUT) offer somewhat similar

functionality
GLFW allows greater control over event processing loop
GLFW has clipboard support
GLFW supports dragging and dropping of files/directories in window
GLUT has much longer history than GLFW (which can make code
examples and tutorials using GLUT relatively easier to find)
GLUT has built-in support for rendering text and some basic geometric
objects
GLUT has primitive support for menus

event-driven model: flow of program determined by events (e.g., mouse

clicks and key presses)
application making use of event-driven model performs some initialization
and then enters event-processing loop for duration of execution
each iteration of event-processing loop does following:
1 wait for event
2 process event
many libraries for building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) employ
event-driven model
GLFW uses event-driven model

1 initialize GLFW library by calling glfwInit

2 perform any additional initialization such as:
select type of OpenGL (or OpenGL ES) context to be used for subsequently
created windows (via glfwWindowHint)
create windows (via glfwCreateWindow)
register callback functions for handling various types of events (e.g., via
glfwRefreshCallback, glfwSetWindowSizeCallback,
glfwSetCharCallback)
configure initial OpenGL state (e.g., depth buffering and clear color) and
shaders
3 enter main event-processing loop, which repeatedly calls
glfwWaitEvents, glfwPollEvents, or other similar functions
4 cleanup GLFW library by calling glfwTerminate

GLFW header files in directory GLFW

to use GLFW, need to include glfw3.h:
#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
header file glfw3.h also includes all necessary OpenGL header files
(e.g., gl.h, glu.h, glext.h)
if using OpenGL extension loading library (such as GLEW), header for this
library should be included before glfw3.h

Keyboard, Mouse, and Joystick Events

Event Type Description
key key has been pressed, released, or repeated
character character has been typed without modifiers
character with modifiers character has been typed with modifiers
mouse button mouse button has been pressed or released
cursor position cursor has moved
cursor enter cursor has entered or left client area of win-
dow
scroll scrolling device has been used (e.g., mouse
wheel or touchpad scrolling area)
joystick joystick has been connected or disconnected
drop files/directories have been dropped on win-
dow

Framebuffer, Window, and Monitor Events

Event Type Description
framebuffer size framebuffer has been resized
window close window has been closed
window refresh window contents need to be redrawn
window size window size has changed
window position window position has changed
window iconify window has been iconified or deiconified
window focus window focus has changed (i.e., been gained
or lost)
monitor monitor has been connected or disconnected

Other Events
Event Type Description
error error has occurred in GLFW library

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1271
Functions
Initialization and Termination
Function Description
glfwInit initialize GLFW library
glfwTerminate cleanup GLFW library

Version
Function Description
glfwGetVersion get version of GLFW library
glfwGetVersionString get version string of GLFW library

Window Creation and Destruction

Function Description
glfwCreateWindow create window and its associated OpenGL or
OpenGL ES context
glfwDestroyWindow destroy window and its associated context
glfwDefaultWindowHints reset all window hints to their default values
glfwWindowHint set window hints for subsequently created win-
dows

Setting and Querying Window Attributes

Function Description
glfwWindowShouldClose get close flag for specified window
glfwSetWindowShouldClose set close flag for specified window
glfwSetWindowTitle set title of specified window
glfwSetWindowIcon set icon for specified window
glfwGetWindowPos get position of client area of specified window
glfwSetWindowPos set position of client area of specified window
glfwGetWindowSize get size of client area of specified window
glfwSetWindowSize set size of client area of specified window
glfwSetWindowSizeLimits set size limits of client area of specified window
glfwSetWindowAspectRatio set required aspect ratio of client area of spec-
ified window

Setting and Querying Window Attributes (Continued)

Function Description
glfwGetFramebufferSize get size of framebuffer of specified window
glfwGetWindowFrameSize get size of frame of window
glfwGetWindowMonitor get monitor that specified window uses for full-
screen mode
glfwSetWindowMonitor set monitor that specified window uses for full-
screen mode
glfwGetWindowAttrib get attribute of specified window
glfwGetWindowUserPointer get user pointer of specified window
glfwSetWindowUserPointer set user pointer of specified window

Window Management
Function Description
glfwIconifyWindow iconifies specified window
glfwRestoreWindow restores (i.e., deiconifies) specified window
glfwMaximizeWindow maximizes specified window
glfwShowWindow make specified window visible
glfwHideWindow hide specified window
glfwFocusWindow bring specified window to front and give it input
focus
glfwSwapBuffers swap front and back buffers of specified win-
dow when rendering with OpenGL or OpenGL
ES
glfwSwapInterval set swap interval for current OpenGL or
OpenGL ES context

Callback Registration
Function Description
glfwSetErrorCallback sets error callback function
glfwSetWindowPosCallback sets window-position callback function
for specified window
glfwSetWindowSizeCallback sets window-size callback function for
specified window
glfwSetWindowCloseCallback sets window-close callback function for
specified window
glfwSetWindowRefreshCallback sets window-refresh callback function
for specified window
glfwSetWindowFocusCallback sets window-focus callback function for
specified window

Callback Registration (Continued 1)

Function Description
glfwSetWindowIconifyCallback sets window-iconify callback function
for specified window
glfwSetFramebufferSizeCallback sets callback function for framebuffer
size event
glfwSetKeyCallback sets (physical) key callback function for
specified window
glfwSetCharCallback sets character callback function for
specified window
glfwSetCharModsCallback sets character-with-modifiers callback
function for specified window
glfwSetMouseButtonCallback sets mouse-button callback function for
specified window
glfwGetMonitorCallback set monitor configuration callback func-
tion

Callback Registration (Continued 2)

Function Description
glfwSetCursorPosCallback sets cursor-position callback function
for specified window
glfwSetCursorEnterCallback sets cursor-boundary-crossing callback
function for specified window
glfwSetScrollCallback sets scroll callback function for speci-
fied window
glfwSetDropCallback sets file-drop callback function for spec-
ified window
glfwSetJoystickCallback sets joystick-configuration callback
function

Event Handling
Function Description
glfwPostEmptyEvent post empty event to event queue
glfwPollEvents process any pending events and return imme-
diately
glfwWaitEvents wait until at least one event is pending, then
process all pending events and return
glfwWaitEventsTimeout wait until at least one event pending or timeout
expires, then process any pending events and
return

Timing
Function Description
glfwGetTime get value of timer in seconds
glfwSetTime set value of timer
glfwGetTimerValue get value of timer in clock ticks
glfwGetTimerFrequency get frequency of clock tick

Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, and Cursor

Function Description
glfwGetInputMode get value of input option for specified window
(e.g., cursor, sticky keys/buttons)
glfwSetInputMode set input option for specified window
glfwGetKeyName get localized name of specified printable key
glfwGetKey get last reported state of keyboard key for
specified window
glfwGetMouseButton get last reported state of mouse button for
specified window
glfwGetCursorPos get position of cursor relative to client area of
specified window
glfwSetCursorPos set position of cursor relative to client area of
specified window

Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, and Cursor (Continued)

Function Description
glfwCreateCursor create custom cursor
glfwCreateStandardCursor creates cursor with standard shape
glfwDestroyCursor destroys cursor
glfwSetCursor set cursor for use in specified window
glfwJoystickPresent test if joystick is present
glfwGetJoystickAxes get values of all axes of specified joystick
glfwGetJoystickButtons get state of all buttons of specified joystick
glfwGetJoystickName get name of specified joystick

Clipboard
Function Description
glfwGetClipboardString gets contents of clipboard as string
glfwSetClipboardString sets clipboard to specified string

Monitor Management
Function Description
glfwGetMonitors get currently connected monitors
glfwGetPrimaryMonitor get primary monitor
glfwGetMonitorPos get position of specified monitor’s viewport on
virtual screen
glfwGetMonitorPhysicalSize get physical size of specified monitor
glfwGetMonitorName get name of specified monitor
glfwGetVideoModes get available video modes for specified monitor
glfwGetVideoMode get current video mode of specified monitor
glfwSetGamma set gamma for specified monitor
glfwGetGammaRamp get current gamma ramp for specified monitor
glfwSetGammaRamp set current gamma ramp for specified monitor

Contexts and Extensions

Function Description
glfwMakeContextCurrent make context of specified window current for
calling thread
glfwGetCurrentContext get window whose context is current on calling
thread
glfwExtensionSupported tests if specified API extension is supported by
current OpenGL or OpenGL ES context
glfwGetProcAddress get address of specified OpenGL or OpenGL
ES core or extension function (if supported) for
current context

Vulkan
Function Description
glfwVulkanSupported tests if Vulkan loader has
been found
glfwGetRequiredInstanceExtensions get Vulkan instance exten-
sions required by GLFW
glfwGetInstanceProcAddress get address of specified
Vulkan instance function
glfwGetPhysicalDevicePresentationSupport test if specified queue fam-
ily can present images
glfwCreateWindowSurface create Vulkan surface for
specified Window

minimalist program using GLFW

create window that is cleared to particular color

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1285
Minimalist GLFW Program: Source Code
1 #include <cstdlib>
2 #include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
3
4 void display(GLFWwindow* window) {
5 glClearColor(0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0);
6 glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
7 glfwSwapBuffers(window);
8 }
9
10 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
11 if (!glfwInit()) {return EXIT_FAILURE;}
12 glfwSwapInterval(1);
13 GLFWwindow* window = glfwCreateWindow(512, 512, argv[0],
14 nullptr, nullptr);
15 if (!window) {
16 glfwTerminate();
17 return EXIT_FAILURE;
18 }
19 glfwMakeContextCurrent(window);
20 glfwSetWindowRefreshCallback(window, display);
21 while (!glfwWindowShouldClose(window)) {
22 glfwWaitEvents();
23 }
24 glfwTerminate();
25 return EXIT_SUCCESS;
26 }

1 GLFW Reference Manual, http://www.glfw.org/docs/latest

OpenGL Mathematics (GLM) Library

open-source mathematics library for graphics software based on OpenGL

Shading Language (GLSL)
intended for use with OpenGL
written in C++
developed by Christophe Riccio
provides classes and functions with similar naming conventions and
functionality as in GLSL
web site: http://glm.g-truc.net

library has numerous header files

header files under glm directory
all header files for core GLM functionality can be included by including
header file glm.hpp
for matrix transformation functionality, include
gtc/matrix_transform.hpp
for string conversion functionality, include gtx/string_cast.hpp
for type value functionality, include gtc/type_ptr.hpp
all identifiers placed in namespace glm

provides vector and matrix types similar to GLSL

vector types:
vec2, vec3, vec4

bvec2, bvec3, bvec4

ivec2, ivec3, ivec4
uvec2, uvec3, uvec4

dvec2, dvec3, dvec4

matrix types:
mat2x2, mat2x3, mat2x4, mat2,

mat3x2, mat3x3, mat3x4, mat3,

mat4x2, mat4x3, mat4x4, mat4
dmat2x2, dmat2x3, dmat2x4, dmat2,

dmat3x2, dmat3x3, dmat3x4, dmat3,

dmat4x2, dmat4x3, dmat4x4, dmat4

provides GLSL functions (e.g., inverse and transpose)

provides functions that offer functionality similar to legacy OpenGL/GLU
functions (e.g., rotate, scale, translate, frustum, ortho, lookAt,
perspective, pickMatrix, project, and unProject)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <glm/glm.hpp>
3 #include <glm/gtc/matrix_transform.hpp>
4 #include <glm/gtx/string_cast.hpp>
5 #include <cmath>
6
7 int main() {
8 glm::mat4 mv(1.0f);
9 mv = mv * glm::lookAt(glm::vec3(0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f),
10 glm::vec3(1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f),
11 glm::vec3(0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f));
12 mv = mv * glm::translate(mv, glm::vec3(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f));
13 mv = mv * glm::rotate(mv, glm::radians(90.0f),
14 glm::vec3(0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f));
15 mv = mv * glm::scale(mv, glm::vec3(1.0f, 1.0f, 2.0f));
16 glm::mat4 p = glm::perspective(glm::radians(90.0f), 1.0f,
17 1.0f, 2.0f);
18 glm::mat4 mvp = p * mv;
19 glm::vec4 v(1.0f, -1.0f, -1.0f, 1.0f);
20 std::cout << glm::to_string(glm::vec3(mv * v)) << ’\n’;
21 std::cout << glm::to_string(glm::vec3(mvp * v)) << ’\n’;
22 std::cout << glm::radians(180.0f) << ’\n’;
23 std::cout << glm::degrees(M_PI) << ’\n’;
24 }

1 #include <GL/glew.h>
2 #include <GL/gl.h>
3 #include <glm/glm.hpp>
4 #include <glm/gtc/type_ptr.hpp>
5
6 void setUniform(GLint loc) {
7 glm::mat4 m(1.0f);
8 // ...
9 glUniform4fv(loc, 4, glm::value_ptr(m));
10 }

Open Graphics Library (OpenGL)

application programming interface (API) for high-performance high-quality

2-D and 3-D graphics rendering
most widely adopted 2-D and 3-D graphics API in industry
bindings for numerous programming languages (i.e., C, Java, and Fortran)
focus exclusively on C language binding herein
window-system and operating-system independent
available on all mainstream systems (e.g., Microsoft Windows, OS X, and
Linux/Unix)
vendor-neutral, controlled by independent consortium with many
organizations as members (including companies such as Intel, NVIDIA,
and AMD)
official web site: http://www.opengl.org
OpenGL ES provides (simplified) subset of OpenGL API for embedded
systems (e.g., mobile phones, game consoles, personal navigation
devices, personal media players, automotive systems, settop boxes)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1296
OpenGL Functionality

geometric primitives include points, line segments, and triangles

arrange geometric primitives in 3-D space and select desired vantage
point for viewing composed scene
calculate colors of objects (e.g., by explicit assignment, lighting, texture
mapping, or combination thereof)
convert mathematical description of objects to pixels on screen (i.e.,
rasterization)
can eliminate hidden parts of objects (via depth buffering), perform
antialiasing, and so on
some functionality relies on shaders provided by application program
only concerned with rendering
no mechanism provided for creating windows or obtaining user input (e.g.,
via mouse or keyboard)
another library must be used in conjunction with OpenGL in order to
manage windows and handle user input
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1297
Modern OpenGL
Input Devices Processor Graphics Output Device
(e.g., keyboard (CPU) Processor Framebuffer (e.g., monitor)
and mouse) (GPU)

CPU GPU
Memory Memory

main responsibility of application is to provide graphics data to GPU

application program running on CPU sends graphics data to GPU
programs running on GPU called shaders control rendering
GPU performs all rendering
high performance achieved by offloading rendering work to GPU, with
GPU being highly specialized for rendering
image formed and stored in framebuffer
shaders written in OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL)
application program uses OpenGL to compile and link shader source code
to yield executable shader program that runs on GPU

OpenGL is state machine

OpenGL functions can be roughly classified into two categories:
1 primitive generation
2 state management
primitive-generation functions:
produce graphics output if primitive is visible
how vertices are processed and appearance of primitive controlled by
OpenGL state
state-management functions:
enabling/disabling OpenGL functionality (e.g., depth buffering)
configuring shader programs
setting/querying shader variables

feature that may be removed in future version of OpenGL is said to be

deprecated
profile defines subset of OpenGL functionality targeted to specific
application domains
two profiles: core and compatibility
core profile provides functionality mandated by particular version of
OpenGL (which does not include deprecated and removed features)
compatibility profile restores support for all functionality that has been
removed from OpenGL
all OpenGL implementations must support core profile, but are not
required to support compatibility profile
for given profile, two types of contexts: full or forward compatible
forward compatible context does not support deprecated features from
profile
full context supports deprecated features from profile
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1300
Header Files

header files for OpenGL located in GL (or OpenGL) directory

definitions necessary for OpenGL can be found in header file gl.h
above header file provides definitions of all constants and data types (e.g.,
GLint and GLfloat) and function declarations for OpenGL
on some platforms, in order to access newer OpenGL functionality, may
need to include glew.h (typically in GL directory) before gl.h
normally, OpenGL used in conjunction with another helper library such as
GLFW or GLUT
other helper libraries also have header files of their own that must be
included
often header files for helper libraries include gl.h

Type Description
GLboolean boolean
GLbyte 8-bit signed two’s complement integer
GLubyte 8-bit unsigned integer
GLchar 8-bit character
GLshort 16-bit signed two’s complement integer
GLushort 16-bit unsigned integer
GLint 32-bit signed two’s complement integer
GLuint 32-bit unsigned integer
GLfloat single-precision floating-point value
GLdouble double-precision floating-point value

OpenGL types do not necessarily correspond to similarly named C types

(e.g., GLint is not necessarily int)

all OpenGL functions begin with gl

some OpenGL commands have numerous variants that differ in number
and type of parameters
such commands are named using following pattern:
generic name N T V
where generic name is generic name of function, N is digit (i.e., 2, 3, 4)
indicating number of components, T is one or two letters indicating data
type of components, V is either nothing or letter v to indicate component
data specified as individual values or as vector (i.e., pointer to array),
respectively
Data Type T
Number N
2 (x, y) b GLbyte ub GLubyte
3 (x, y, z) s GLshort us GLushort
4 (x, y, z, w) i GLint ui GLuint
f GLfloat d GLdouble

glUniform3f: specific version of generic glUniform function that takes

data in form of three GLfloat parameters
glUniform3fv: specific version of generic glUniform function that takes
data in form of pointer to array of triples of GLfloat values
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1303
Representing Geometric Objects

geometric objects represented using vertices

each vertex has variety of attributes, such as:
positional coordinates
color
texture coordinates
surface normal
any other data associated with point in space
position represented using homogeneous coordinates
vertex data must be stored in vertex buffer objects (VBOs)
VBOs must be associated with vertex array objects (VAOs)
VAOs/VBOs allow application program to transfer data to GPU once and
then select between different data on GPU by activating different
VAOs/VBOs

v3 v2 v3 v2 v3 v2 v3 v2

v0 v1 v0 v1 v0 v1 v0 v1
points lines line strip line loop

v3
v4 v3 v2 v5 v3 v1
v4 v2

v0
v5 v0 v1 v4 v2 v0
v5
triangles triangle strip v1 , v6
triangle fan

all primitives specified by vertices

each primitive has provoking vertex

one of two conventions can be used to determine provoking vertex: first
vertex or last vertex
for example, with last vertex convention, provoking vertex for triangle is
third (i.e., last) vertex of triangle
convention defaults to last vertex
convention can be set with glProvokingVertex
provoking vertex becomes important, for example, when using flat
interpolation

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1306
Vertex Array and Vertex Buffer Objects (VAOs and VBOs)

Vertex Buffer
Vertex Positions Vertex Normals
Object

Vertex Array
Vertex Attribute Vertex Attribute
Object

vertex buffer objects (VBOs) store vertex attributes (e.g., positions,

normals, colors, and texture coordinates)
storage for VBOs resides in GPU memory
vertex array objects (VAOs) allow data stored in VBOs to be associated
with vertex attributes for vertex shader
VAOs specify layout (e.g., offset and stride) and format (e.g., type) of data
in VBOs
to render primitives need VAO (which, in turn, is associated with one or
more VBOs)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1307
Vertex Array Objects (VAOs)

VAOs store data for geometric object

VAO identified by name, which is integer of type GLuint
create one or more VAOs by generating VAO names via
glGenVertexArrays
VAO initialized as follows:
1 bind specific VAO for initialization via glBindVertexArray
2 update VBOs associated with VAO, and specify layout and format of VBO
data and its correspondence with vertex attributes for rendering via
glVertexAttribPointer
data in VAO rendered as follows:
1 bind VAO for use in rendering via glBindVertexArray
2 draw content of currently enabled arrays via glDrawArrays
only enabled attributes will be used for rendering (where attributes are
enabled with glEnableVertexAttribArray)

vertex buffer objects (VBOs) provide means to transfer data to GPU

memory
vertex data must be stored in VBO associated with VAO
each VBO associated with name, which is integer of type GLuint
generate VBO names via glGenBuffers
bind specific VBO for initialization via glBindBuffer (after first binding
associated VAO)
allocate underlying storage for VBO (and optionally load data into VBO)
via glBufferData
load data into VBO via glBufferSubData

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1309
Coordinate Systems
Object World Eye Clip
Coordinates Modelling Coordinates Viewing Coordinates Projection Coordinates
Transformation Transformation Transformation

Normalized
Device Window
Clipping and Coordinates Viewport Coordinates
Perspective Transformation
Division

object coordinates: coordinates of object relative to its local origin

world coordinates: coordinates of three-dimensional environment (i.e.,
world) being rendered
eye coordinates: coordinates relative to camera from which world is being
viewed
clip coordinates: coordinates normalized such that viewing volume falls
in [−1, 1] × [−1, 1] × [−1, 1]
normalized device coordinates: result of converting clip coordinates to
Cartesian coordinates by perspective division (i.e., dividing by w
coordinate)
window coordinates: coordinates relative to graphics window
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1310
OpenGL Camera

appearance of rendered scene determined by camera position,

orientation, and viewing volume
camera positioned at origin
camera oriented to point in negative z direction with positive y axis
pointing up
orthographic projection in direction of z axis with clipping planes x = −1,
x = 1, y = −1, y = 1, z = −1, and z = 1
viewing volume is [−1, 1] × [−1, 1] × [−1, 1] (i.e., cube centered at origin
with sides of length 2)
different camera position, orientation, and viewing volume can be
achieved by employing transformations
perspective projection accomplished by applying transformation that
warps viewing volume into frustum

Object Eye Clip

Coordinates Modelview Coordinates Projection Coordinates
Transformation Transformation
pobj Mmv peye Mp pclip

Normalized
Device Window
Clipping and Coordinates Viewport Coordinates
Perspective Transformation
Division

often modelling and viewing transformations combined into single

transformation called modelview transformation
peye = Mmv pobj
pclip = Mp peye = Mp Mmv pobj
clip coordinates and normalized device coordinates still retain depth (i.e.,
z) information in order to facilitate depth buffering

viewport transformation determines drawable region within window

viewport transformation set via glViewport

in above figure, darker triangle is partially occluded by lighter triangle from

vantage point of camera
in OpenGL, camera always pointing in direction of negative z axis
therefore, z coordinate can be used to determine distance of fragment
from eye, with lesser value (i.e., closer to −∞) corresponding to greater
distance
if depth buffering enabled, fragment not drawn if its z coordinate less than
z coordinate of previously drawn pixel

v2 v2

v0 v1 v1 v0
Counterclockwise (CCW) Clockwise (CW)
Winding Order Winding Order

winding order used to distinguish front and back sides of triangles

which winding order corresponds to front side of triangle specified via
glFrontFace
which side (or sides) of triangle should be culled specified via
glCullFace
if face culling enabled, culled side of triangles not rendered

glEnable and glDisable used to enable and disable specific

functionality
Value Meaning
GL_CULL_FACE if enabled, cull polygons based on their winding in
window coordinates (e.g., do not render backs of faces)
GL_DEPTH_TEST if enabled, do depth comparisons and update
depth buffer
GL_LINE_SMOOTH if enabled, draw lines with antialiasing

Function Description
glClear clear buffer to preset values
glClearColor specify clear values for color buffers

program typically consists of steps like following:

1 create window associated with OpenGL context
2 initialize shaders (e.g., compile and link) and other OpenGL state (e.g.,
depth buffering and clear color)
3 initialize data to be drawn
4 register callback functions to process events
5 enter main event-processing loop, which repeatedly waits for event of
interest and then handles it by invoking appropriate callback function
events of interest typically include such things as:
request to redraw window
window-resize notification
keyboard input
mouse-button press/release

Simple OpenGL Program

consider very simple OpenGL application program (which utilizes GLFW)

draws triangle in window
rendered output shown below

1 #include <cstdlib>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <GL/glew.h>
4 #include <GLFW/glfw3.h>

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1321
Main Function
6 GLuint vao = 0;
103 void fatalError() {
104 glfwTerminate();
105 std::exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
106 }
108 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
109 if (!glfwInit()) {return EXIT_FAILURE;}
110 GLFWwindow* window = makeWindow(512, 512, argv[0]);
111 if (!window) {fatalError();}
112 glfwMakeContextCurrent(window);
113 glewExperimental = GL_TRUE;
114 if (glewInit() != GLEW_OK) {fatalError();}
115 GLuint program = makeProgram(vShaderSource,
116 fShaderSource);
117 if (!program) {fatalError();}
118 glUseProgram(program);
119 glClearColor(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
120 GLuint vbo;
121 makeVao(program, vao, vbo);
122 glfwSetWindowRefreshCallback(window, refresh);
123 while (!glfwWindowShouldClose(window))
124 {glfwWaitEvents();}
125 glfwTerminate();
126 return EXIT_SUCCESS;
127 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1322
Make Window

84 GLFWwindow* makeWindow(int width, int height,

85 const std::string& title) {
86 glfwWindowHint(GLFW_CONTEXT_VERSION_MAJOR, 3);
87 glfwWindowHint(GLFW_CONTEXT_VERSION_MINOR, 3);
88 glfwWindowHint(GLFW_OPENGL_FORWARD_COMPAT, GL_TRUE);
89 glfwWindowHint(GLFW_OPENGL_PROFILE,
90 GLFW_OPENGL_CORE_PROFILE);
91 GLFWwindow* window = glfwCreateWindow(width, height,
92 title.c_str(), nullptr, nullptr);
93 return window;
94 }

8 const std::basic_string<GLchar> vShaderSource = R"(

9 #version 330
10 in vec3 aPosition;
11 void main() {
12 gl_Position = vec4(aPosition, 1.0);
13 }
14 )";
15
16 const std::basic_string<GLchar> fShaderSource = R"(
17 #version 330
18 out vec4 fColor;
19 void main() {
20 fColor = vec4(0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0);
21 }
22 )";

24 GLuint compileShader(GLuint type,

25 const std::basic_string<GLchar>& source) {
26 GLuint shader = glCreateShader(type);
27 if (!shader) {return 0;}
28 const GLchar* cp = &source[0];
29 GLint len = source.size();
30 glShaderSource(shader, 1, &cp, &len);
31 glCompileShader(shader);
32 GLint status = GL_FALSE;
33 glGetShaderiv(shader, GL_COMPILE_STATUS, &status);
34 if (status != GL_TRUE)
35 {glDeleteShader(shader); return 0;}
36 return shader;
37 }

39 GLuint makeProgram(
40 const std::basic_string<GLchar>& vShaderSource,
41 const std::basic_string<GLchar>& fShaderSource) {
42 GLuint vShader = compileShader(GL_VERTEX_SHADER,
43 vShaderSource);
44 if (!vShader) {return 0;}
45 GLuint fShader = compileShader(GL_FRAGMENT_SHADER,
46 fShaderSource);
47 if (!fShader) {glDeleteShader(vShader); return 0;}
48 GLuint program = glCreateProgram();
49 GLint status = GL_FALSE;
50 if (program) {
51 glAttachShader(program, vShader);
52 glAttachShader(program, fShader);
53 glLinkProgram(program);
54 glGetProgramiv(program, GL_LINK_STATUS, &status);
55 }
56 glDeleteShader(vShader);
57 glDeleteShader(fShader);
58 if (!program) {return 0;}
59 if (status != GL_TRUE)
60 {glDeleteProgram(program); return 0;}
61 return program;
62 }

64 void makeVao(GLuint program, GLuint& vao,

65 GLuint& vbo) {
66 static const GLfloat vertices[][3] = {
67 {-0.50, -0.50, 0.0},
68 { 0.50, -0.50, 0.0},
69 { 0.00, 0.50, 0.0}
70 };
71 glGenVertexArrays(1, &vao);
72 glGenBuffers(1, &vbo);
73 glBindVertexArray(vao);
74 glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vbo);
75 glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, sizeof(vertices),
76 vertices, GL_STATIC_DRAW);
77 GLuint aPosition = glGetAttribLocation(program,
78 "aPosition");
79 glVertexAttribPointer(aPosition, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE,
80 0, 0);
81 glEnableVertexAttribArray(aPosition);
82 }

6 GLuint vao = 0;

96 void refresh(GLFWwindow* window) {

97 glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
98 glBindVertexArray(vao);
99 glDrawArrays(GL_TRIANGLES, 0, 3);
100 glfwSwapBuffers(window);
101 }

Shaders

shader is user-defined program that runs on GPU and provides

functionality associated with some particular stage of rendering pipeline
shaders written in OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL)
as of OpenGL 3.1, application program must provide shaders as no
default shaders provided (in core profile)
several types of shaders:
vertex shader
tessellation control shader
tessellation evaluation shader
geometry shader
fragment shader
compute shader
each type of shader performs specific type of task on GPU

GPU

Vertices Vertex Clipper and Fragment Pixels

Processor Primitive Rasterizer Processor
Assembler

each type of shader performs distinct task within rendering pipeline

vertex shader (which is associated with vertex processor block) provides
any last geometric transformation of vertices before being fed to
remainder of rendering pipeline
geometry shader (which is associated with vertex processor block)
generates actual primitives to be rendered based on primitives received
from previous pipeline stage
fragment shader (which is associated with fragment processor block)
provides color to each pixel in framebuffer

shaders written in GLSL

GLSL is portable multiplatform C-like language
GLSL borrows heavily from C syntax
provides simplified subset of C language with numerous modifications:
adds new data types, such as matrix and vector types
adds overloaded operators and constructors
supports C and C++ style comments
GLSL keywords cannot be used as identifiers
names beginning with “gl_” prefix reserved by GLSL

attribute inout mat4x4

const float vec2
uniform int vec3
varying void vec4
layout bool ivec2
centroid true ivec3
flat false ivec4
smooth invariant bvec2
noperspective discard bvec3
break return bvec4
continue mat2 uint
do mat3 uvec2
for mat4 uvec3
while mat2x2 uvec4
switch mat2x3 lowp
case mat2x4 mediump
default mat3x2 highp
if mat3x3 precision
else mat3x4 sampler1D
in mat4x2 sampler2D
out mat4x3 sampler3D

samplerCube usamplerCube
sampler1DShadow usampler1DArray
sampler2DShadow usampler2DArray
samplerCubeShadow sampler2DRect
sampler1DArray sampler2DRectShadow
sampler2DArray isampler2DRect
sampler1DArrayShadow usampler2DRect
sampler2DArrayShadow samplerBuffer
isampler1D isamplerBuffer
isampler2D usamplerBuffer
isampler3D sampler2DMS
isamplerCube isampler2DMS
isampler1DArray usampler2DMS
isampler2DArray sampler2DMSArray
usampler1D isampler2DMSArray
usampler2D usampler2DMSArray
usampler3D struct

plus other keywords added since OpenGL 3.3

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1334
The #version Directive
#version directive specifies which version of GLSL should be used to
compile/link shader
if #version directive specified, must be first statement in source
if no #version directive given, version 1.10 is assumed
#version directive takes two parameters (with second being optional):
1 integer specifying GLSL version (scaled by a factor of 100)
2 profile name, which can be either core or compatibility with core being
default
for OpenGL 3.3 and above, corresponding GLSL version matches
OpenGL version (e.g., OpenGL 4.1 uses GLSL 4.1); for earlier OpenGL
versions, relationship between OpenGL and GLSL versions as follows:
OpenGL Version GLSL Version
2.0 1.10
2.1 1.20
3.0 1.30
3.1 1.40
3.2 1.50
for example, to specify use of GLSL 3.30 with core profile:
#version 330
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1335
Basic Types
Scalar and Void Types
Type Description
void dummy type for functions without return value
bool boolean type
int signed integer type
uint unsigned integer type
float single-precision floating-point type

Vector of float Types

Type Description
vec2 two-component vector of float
vec3 three-component vector of float
vec4 four-component vector of float

Vector of bool Types

Type Description
bvec2 two-component vector of bool
bvec3 three-component vector of bool
bvec4 four-component vector of bool

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1336
Basic Types (Continued 1)
Vector of int Types
Type Description
ivec2 two-component vector of int
ivec3 three-component vector of int
ivec4 four-component vector of int

Vector of uint Types

Type Description
uvec2 two-component vector of uint
uvec3 three-component vector of uint
uvec4 four-component vector of uint

Matrix of float Types

Type Description Type Description
mat2 2 × 2 matrix of float mat3x2 3 × 2 matrix of float
mat3 3 × 3 matrix of float mat3x3 same as mat3
mat4 4 × 4 matrix of float mat3x4 3 × 4 matrix of float
mat2x2 same as mat2 mat4x2 4 × 2 matrix of float
mat2x3 2 × 3 matrix of float mat4x3 4 × 3 matrix of float
mat2x4 2 × 4 matrix of float mat4x4 same as mat4

numerous sampler types

numerous other types added since OpenGL 3.3
matrix types stored in column-major order
no pointer types
const qualifier similar to C
struct can be used to construct user-defined types

standard C/C++ arithmetic and logical operators

operators overloaded for matrix and vector types
for two operands of vector type, multiplication operator performs
component-wise multiplication
for two operands of matrix type or one operand of matrix type and one of
vector type, multiplication operator performs standard matrix/vector
multiplication
example:
mat4 a; mat4 b; mat4 c;
vec4 u; vec4 v; vec4 w;
// ...
v = a * u; // standard matrix-vector multiplication
c = a * b; // standard matrix-vector multiplication
w = u * v; // component-wise multiplication

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1339
Operators (Continued 1)
first, second, third, and fourth components of vector (if they exist) can be
selected by:
subscripting operator with subscripts 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively; or
selection operator with x, y, z, and w, respectively; or
selection operator with r, g, b, and a, respectively; or
selection operator with s, t, p, and q, respectively
example:
vec3 v;
// ...
float x = v.x;
float y = v.y;
float z = v.z;
components of matrices can be accessed by subscripting operator
single subscripting on matrix results in column of matrix
double subscripting on matrix results in element of matrix
example:
mat2 a;
// ...
vec2 v = a[0];
float f = a[0][0];
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1340
Operators (Continued 2)

can also form vectors by selecting multiple elements from vector (e.g.,
swizzling and smearing)
example:
vec4 v; vec4 u;
vec3 a;
// ...
u = v.wzyx; // vec4(v.w, v.z, v.y, v.x)
u = v.xxyy; // vec4(v.x, v.x, v.y, v.y)
a = v.xyz; // vec3(v.x, v.y, v.z)
u = a.xxxx; // vec4(a.x, a.x, a.x, a.x)

selection statements
if

if-else
ternary operator
switch
looping statements
for
while
do-while

also has break and continue

no goto statement
only in fragment shader: discard statement

numerous built-in functions provided (e.g., abs, sin, cos, sqrt)

user-defined functions are supported
recursion not allowed
function overloading supported (including for user-defined functions)
return statement to return from function

constructor is function with same name as type

used to create value of type named by function
constructor parameters for matrix types specified in column-major order
example:
vec3 v3 = vec3(1.0, 2.0, 3.0);
mat2 m2 = mat2(1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0);
// first column of m2 is 1.0, 2.0
// second column of m2 is 3.0, 4.0
mat4 m4 = mat4(1.0); // identity matrix
vec4 v4 = vec4(0.0); // zero vector
const int lut[3] = int[3](1, 2, 4);
vec2 va[2] =
vec2[](vec2(1.0, 2.0), vec2(3.0, 4.0));
bool b = bool(1);

number of implicit conversions allowed, some of which identified below

integer types (e.g., int and uint) can be implicitly converted to float
each integer vector type (e.g., ivec4) can be implicitly converted to
floating-point vector type of same dimension (e.g., vec4)
floating-point type cannot be implicitly converted to integer type
unsigned integer type (e.g., uint) cannot be implicitly converted to
signed integer type (e.g., int)
example:
int i; uint ui; float f; vec4 v4; ivec4 iv4;
// ...
f = i; // OK
// i = f; // ERROR: no implicit conversion
i = int(f); // OK
// iv4 = v4; // ERROR: no implicit conversion
iv4 = ivec4(v4); // OK
// i = 0u; // ERROR: no implicit conversion
// i = ui; // ERROR: no implicit conversion
i = int(ui); // OK
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1345
Built-In Functions

Angle and Trigonometric Functions

Function Description
radians convert from degrees to radians
degrees convert from radians to degrees
sin sine function
cos cosine function
tan tangent function
asin arcsine function
acos arccosine function
atan arctangent function

Exponential Functions
Function Description
pow exponentiation function
exp base-e exponentiation function
log natural logarithm function
exp2 base-2 exponentiation function
log2 base-2 logarithm function
sqrt square-root function
inversesqrt reciprocal of square-root function

Common Functions
Function Description
abs absolute-value function
sign signum function
floor floor function
ceil ceiling function
fract fractional-part function
mod modulo function
min minimum of two values
max maximum of two values
clamp clamp value to specified range
mix affine combination of two values
step step function
smoothstep smooth step function

Geometric Functions
Function Description
length length of vector
distance distance between two points
dot dot product
cross cross product
normalize get vector of unit length
faceforward get vector that points in same direction as ref-
erence vector
reflect get vector that points in direction of reflection
refract get vector that points in direction of refraction

Fragment Processing Functions

Function Description
dFdx partial derivative of argument with respect to x
dFdy partial derivative of argument with respect to y
fwidth sum of absolute value of derivatives in x and y

Matrix Functions
Function Description
matrixCompMult multiply matrices component-wise

Texture Lookup
Function Description
texture2D perform 2D texture lookup
textureCube perform cubemap texture lookup

Vector Relational Functions

Function Description
lessThan component-wise less-than comparison
lessThanEqual component-wise less-than-or-equal compari-
son
greaterThan component-wise greater-than comparison
greaterThanEqual component-wise greater-than-or-equal com-
parison
equal component-wise equality comparison
notEqual component-wise inequality comparison
any any component is true
all all components are true
not component-wise logical complement operation

shader parameters (i.e., input and output variables of shaders) and

function parameters can be qualified with in and out qualifiers
parameter declared in:
value given to parameter will be copied into parameter when function called
function may then modify parameter but changes will not affect caller
essentially pass-by-value semantics
parameter declared out:
parameter will not have its value initialized by caller so initial value of
parameter at start of function is undefined
function must modify parameter
after function’s execution is complete, value of parameter will be copied into
variable that user specified when calling function
default qualifier is in
example:
float foo(float x, int i, out int n);
float calculate(in float x, in float y, in int n);

example:
void calc(float x, int i, out float y, out int j) {
// at this point, y and j are undefined
y = ++x;
j = ++i;
}
void func() {
float a = 0.0;
int b = 0;
float c = 0.0;
int d = 0;
calc(a, b, c, d);
// a and b are unchanged by function call
// c is 1.0, d is 1
}

global variables and interface blocks can be declared with uniform

qualifier
uniform qualifier indicates that value of variable does not change
across multiple shader invocations during rendering of single primitive
(i.e., during glDraw* call)
uniform variables form linkage between shader and application program
used to declare variables shared between shader and application program
(e.g., projection matrix, light source position, material color)
uniform variable cannot be modified in shader
uniform variable can only be modified by application program
uniform variable can be used in multiple shaders (e.g., vertex and
fragment shaders)
if used in multiple shaders, must have identical declaration in each
example:
uniform mat4 projectionMatrix;
uniform mat4 modelViewMatrix;
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1354
Interpolation Qualifiers

outputs from and inputs to shader can be qualified with interpolation

qualifier
interpolation qualifier controls how value of particular variable is
interpolated
interpolation qualifiers: smooth, noperspective, flat
smooth qualifier: perspective-correct interpolation is performed
noperspective qualifier: linear interpolation is performed
flat qualifier: no interpolation is performed (i.e., value taken from
provoking vertex of primitive)
default qualifier is smooth
example:
flat out vec4 color;

single triangle rendered with vertices having color attributes of red, green,
and blue, with provoking vertex being last vertex

Without Interpolation (I.e., Flat) With Interpolation (E.g., Smooth)

layout qualifiers used to specify how storage for variable allocated

amongst other things
layout qualifiers (e.g., location) provided by using layout keyword
location layout qualifier can be used to specify location associated with
variable
vertex shaders allow input layout qualifiers on input variable declarations
example: following will establish vertex shader input vPosition to be
copied in from location number 1:
layout(location = 1) in vec4 vPosition;
example: following will establish vertex shader input colors copied in
from location numbers 6, 7, and 8:
layout(location = 6) in vec4 colors[3];

Application Program

Shader Program

Uniform
Variables
Vertex Shader Fragment Shader

Vertex Input Output Input Output Fragments

Attributes Variables Variables Variables Variables

Vertex Fragment
Shader Primitive Shader
Assembly
and
Rasterization
Vertex and Fragment Shaders

Vertex Geometry Fragment

Shader Shader Shader
Primitive Primitive
Assembly Assembly
and
Rasterization
Vertex, Geometry, and Fragment Shaders

Vertex Tessellation Tessellation Geometry Fragment

Shader Control Evaluation Shader Shader
Shader Shader
Primitive Tessellation Primitive Primitive
Assembly Primitive Assembly Assembly
Generator and
Rasterization
Vertex, Tessellation, Geometry, and Fragment Shaders

vertex shader is programmable shader stage in rendering pipeline that

handles processing of individual vertices
vertex shader provided with vertex attribute data (e.g., position, normal,
color, and texture coordinates) from VAO from drawing command
for each vertex in input vertex stream, produces one vertex for output
vertex stream
must be one to one correspondence between input vertices and output
vertices
processes each vertex independently
some uses of vertex shaders include:
vertex position transformation using modelview and projection matrices
normal transformation and (if needed) normalization
texture coordinate generation and transformation
per-vertex lighting
color computation

built-in input variables:

int gl_VertexID: index of vertex currently being processed
int gl_InstanceID: index of current instance when doing some form of

instanced rendering
other inputs associated with vertex attributes from VAO/VBO
built-in output variables:
vec4 gl_Position: clip-space output position of current vertex
float gl_PointSize: pixel width/height of point being rasterized; only

has meaning for point primitives

float gl_ClipDistance[]: distance from vertex to each user-defined
clipping half-space
vertex shader must set gl_Position

1 // use version 3.30 of GLSL (core profile)

2 #version 330
3
4 // input attribute variable for vertex position
5 in vec4 aPosition;
6
7 // uniform variable for modelview-projection matrix
8 uniform mat4 uModelViewProjMatrix;
9
10 void main() {
11 // set output position for vertex
12 gl_Position = uModelViewProjMatrix * aPosition;
13 }

fragment shader is programmable shader stage that processes fragment

generated by rasterization into set of colors and single depth value
for each sample of pixels covered by primitive, fragment is generated
each fragment has window space position, some other values, and all of
interpolated per-vertex output values from last vertex processing stage
takes single fragment as input and produces single fragment as output
some uses of fragment shaders include:
per-fragment lighting
computing colors and texture coordinates per fragment
texture application (texture and bump mapping)
environment mapping
fog computation

built-in input variables:

vec4 gl_FragCoord: location of fragment in window space

bool gl_FrontFacing: indicates if fragment was generated by front face

of primitive (only triangles can have back face)

int vec2 gl_PointCoord: location within point primitive that defines
position of fragment relative to side of point
other input variables correspond to outputs of previous shader stage
built-in output variables:
float gl_fragDepth: depth of fragment which defaults to

gl_FragCoord.z
vec4 output variable for fragment color

1 // use version 3.30 of GLSL (core profile)

2 #version 330
3
4 // output variable for color
5 out vec4 fColor;
6
7 void main() {
8 // set output color to white
9 fColor = vec4(1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0);
10 }

controls processing of primitives between vertex shader (or optional

tessellation stage) and fixed-function vertex post-processing stage
use of geometry shader optional
takes single primitive as input and outputs zero or more primitives
some uses of geometry shaders include:
layered rendering
transform feedback

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1366
Geometry Shader Inputs
one input primitive per geometry shader invocation
type of input primitives specified by layout qualifier, which is one of:
points, lines, lines_adjacency, triangles,
triangles_adjacency
number of input vertices determined by input primitive type (e.g., three for
triangles)
per-vertex inputs available as members of elements in array gl_in:
vec4 gl_Position: vertex position
float gl_PointSize: pixel width/height of point being rasterized; only

used for point primitive

float gl_ClipDistance[]: distance to clipping planes
gl_in contains N elements (with indices starting from 0), where N is
number of vertices in input primitive
each shader input produced by previous pipeline stage is always array
with one element per vertex
per-primitive inputs:
gl_PrimitiveIDIn: current input primitive’s ID

gl_InvocationID: current instance

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1367
Geometry Shader Outputs
type of output primitive generated specified by layout qualifier, which is
one of: points, line_strip, triangle_strip
can generate zero or more output primitives
maximum number of vertices that can be generated specified by
max_vertices layout qualifier
per-vertex outputs:
vec4 gl_Position: vertex position
float gl_PointSize: pixel width/height of point being rasterized; only

used for point primitive

float gl_ClipDistance[]: distance to clipping planes
per-primitive outputs:
vec4 gl_PrimitiveID: primitive ID to pass to fragment shader

EmitVertex called to process vertex outputs after all per-vertex outputs

set
after EmitVertex called, output variables have undefined values
EndPrimitive called to signal end of primitive in order to start next
output primitive
not required to call EndPrimitive after last output primitive
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1368
Geometry Shader Example (Passthrough)
1 // use version 3.30 of GLSL (core profile)
2 #version 330
3
4 // input primitives are triangles
5 layout(triangles) in;
6
7 // input variable for color
8 in vec3 vColor[];
9
10 // output primitives are triangle strips
11 // at most three vertices will be generated
12 layout(triangle_strip, max_vertices = 3) out;
13
14 // output variable for color
15 out vec3 gColor;
16
17 void main() {
18 // for each vertex of input triangle...
19 for (int i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {
20 // set position and color of output vertex
21 gl_Position = gl_in[i].gl_Position;
22 gColor = vColor[i];
23 // mark vertex as finished
24 EmitVertex();
25 }
26 EndPrimitive(); // optional
27 }

shaders need to be compiled and linked to yield executable shader

program
OpenGL provides compiler and linker
normally, program should have vertex and fragment shaders
to generate executable shader program:
1 create program via glCreateProgram

2 for each shader in program:

1 create shader via glCreateShader

2 load shader source via glShaderSource

3 compile shader source to object code via glCompileShader and check

status of compile via glGetShaderiv
4 attach shader object code to program via glAttachShader
3 link program glLinkProgram and check status of link via glGetProgramiv
shader program currently in use selected via glUseProgram
shader and program can be deleted when no longer needed via
glDeleteShader and glDeleteProgram
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1370
Identifying Shader Variables in Application

application program needs means to refer to attribute and uniform

variables in shaders (e.g., in order to associate data with such variables)
each attribute and uniform variable has integer identifier known as
location
location used as means to unambiguously name shader variable
GLSL provides mechanism to force variable to have particular location via
location layout qualifier
location of variable can be queried by name (which is most useful when
location layout qualifier not employed)
can force attribute variable to use particular location via
glBindAttribLocation prior to linking shader program

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1371
Identifying Shader Variables in Application (Continued)

get location of shader variable via glGetAttribLocation

example: query location of attribute variable aPosition:
GLuint program; // shader program ID
// ...
GLint loc = glGetAttribLocation(program,
"aPosition");

get location of uniform variable via glGetUniformLocation

example: query location of uniform variable uModelViewProjMatrix:
GLuint program; // shader program ID
// ...
GLint loc = glGetUniformLocation(program,
"uModelViewProjMatrix");

application program needs to be able to associate shader attribute

variable with data source (namely, data in VBO of VAO)
to associate data in (VBO of) VAO with attribute variable in vertex shader,
call glVertexAttribPointer when VAO/VBO containing attribute data
is bound
invocation of glVertexAttribPointer specifies:
location of vertex attribute variable
number of components per vertex attribute (e.g., 1, 2, 3, or 4)
type of each component (e.g., GL_FLOAT or GL_DOUBLE)
whether fixed-point values should be normalized (e.g., to [−1, 1] for signed
values and [0, 1] for unsigned values)
stride (i.e., byte offset) between consecutive vertex attributes in array
offset of first component of first vertex attribute in array
to enable use of attribute data associated with VAO, call
glEnableVertexAttribArray when VAO containing attribute data is
bound

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1373
Example: Associating Data in VAO with Attribute Variable

Part of Vertex Shader

1 in vec3 aPosition;

Part of Application Program

1 GLuint program; // program ID
2 GLuint vao; // VAO ID
3 GLuint vbo; // VBO ID
4 GLuint offset; // offset of data in VBO
5 GLsizei stride; // stride of data in VBO
6 // ...
7 GLint loc = glGetAttribLocation(program,
8 "aPosition");
9 glBindVertexArray(vao);
10 glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vbo);
11 glVertexAttribPointer(loc, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE,
12 stride, reinterpret_cast<GLvoid*>(offset));
13 glEnableVertexAttribArray(loc);

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1374
Accessing Uniform Variables from Application Program
application program needs to be able to access uniform variables in
shader
application can only write to uniform variables since data flows in one
direction only (i.e., from application to shader)
uniform variable identified by location
to modify uniform variable, must know its location
modify uniform variable via glUniform* (which identifies variable to
change by its location)
example:
Part of Shader
uniform float uTime;
Part of Application Program
GLuint program; // shader program ID
// ...
GLint loc = glGetUniformLocation(program, "uTime");
glUniform1f(loc, 1.5f);
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1375
Section 5.6.3

Shader Examples

vertex shader provided with two attributes per vertex (position and color)
want smooth interpolation of color across faces
rending output shown below for mesh consisting of single triangle

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1377
Simple: Vertex and Fragment Shaders
Vertex Shader
1 #version 330
2
3 in vec4 aPosition; // input vertex position attribute
4 in vec4 aColor; // input vertex color attribute
5
6 out vec4 vColor; // output vertex color (interpolated)
7
8 // uniform variable for modelview-projection
9 // matrix product
10 uniform mat4 uModelViewProjMatrix;
11
12 void main() {
13 vColor = aColor;
14 gl_Position = uModelViewProjMatrix * aPosition;
15 }

Fragment Shader
1 #version 330
2
3 in vec4 vColor; // input color (interpolated)
4
5 out vec4 fColor; // output fragment color
6
7 void main() {
8 fColor = vColor;
9 }

render triangles to cover entire drawing area and texture map Mandelbrot
set onto triangles using fragment shader
some examples of rendering results shown below

Mandelbrot set: set of all complex numbers c such that sequence

z0 , z1 , z2 , . . . does not tend toward infinity, where
(
z2n−1 + c if n ≥ 1
zn =
c if n = 0
associate rectangular region in complex plane with graphics viewport
for point corresponding to each pixel in viewport, determine number of
steps in above iterative process for which result does not become too
large (i.e., tending towards infinity)
assign color to each pixel depending on obtained iteration count

v3 = (−1, 1) v2 = (1, 1)
t3 = (− 12 , 12 ) t2 = ( 21 , 12 )

scale/2

center
scale/2

v0 = (−1, −1) v1 = (1, −1)

t0 = (− 21 , − 21 ) t1 = ( 21 , − 21 ) scale/2 scale/2

application program simply renders two triangles that cover full extent of
viewport ({vk } are positional coordinates; {tk } are texture coordinates)
texture coordinate region [− 21 , 21 ] × [− 12 , 12 ] corresponds to full viewport
square region in complex plane of width/height scale centered at point
center is mapped onto region [− 21 , 21 ] × [− 12 , 21 ] in texture coordinates

1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 aPosition; // position vertex attribute
4 in vec3 aTexCoord; // texture-coordinate vertex attribute
5
6 out vec3 vTexCoord; // texture coordinate (interpolated)
7
8 void main() {
9 vTexCoord = aTexCoord;
10 gl_Position = vec4(aPosition, 1.0);
11 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1382
Mandelbrot: Fragment Shader
1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 vTexCoord; // texture coordinates
4
5 out vec4 fColor; // vertex color
6
7 uniform vec2 center; // center of viewing region
8 uniform float scale; // width/height of viewing region
9 uniform int maxIters; // maximum iteration count
10
11 int mandelbrot(vec2 c) {
12 vec2 z = vec2(0.0, 0.0);
13 int i;
14 for (i = 0; i < maxIters; ++i) {
15 z = vec2(z.x * z.x - z.y * z.y + c.x, 2.0 * z.x * z.y + c.y);
16 if (length(z) > 2.0) {break;}
17 }
18 return i;
19 }
20
21 float lookup(float x, float c) {return c * mod(x, 1.0 / c);}
22
23 void main() {
24 int i = mandelbrot(vec2(scale * vTexCoord.x + center.x,
25 scale * vTexCoord.y + center.y));
26 float t = float(i) / maxIters;
27 fColor = vec4(lookup(t, 2.0), lookup(t, 4.0), lookup(t, 8.0), 1.0);
28 }

use geometry shader to shrink triangles sent to rendering pipeline

triangles contracted towards their centroid so that triangles that were
originally touching now have gap between them
example rendering results are shown below

Rendered Normally Rendered with Shrunk Faces

v′1

c
v′2 v′0

v2 v0

each vertex vk moved in direction of centroid c to new position

v′k = 21 (vk + c) (i.e., midpoint of vk and c)
gap formed by shrinking of triangle is filled with new triangles drawn in
black

v′1

c
v′2 v′0

v2 v0

gap can be filled with triangle strip with vertices: v2 , v′2 , v1 , v′1 , v0 , v′0 , v2 , v′2

1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 aPosition; // position vertex attribute
4 in vec3 aColor; // color vertex attribute
5
6 out vec3 vColor; // color (interpolated)
7
8 void main() {
9 gl_Position = vec4(aPosition, 1.0);
10 vColor = aColor;
11 }

1 #version 330
2
3 layout(triangles) in; // triangle primitives as input
4 in vec3 vColor[]; // input vertex colors
5
6 layout(triangle_strip, max_vertices=11) out;
7 // triangle strips as output; at most 11 vertices
8 out vec3 gColor; // output color (interpolated)
9
10 uniform mat4 uModelViewProjMatrix;
11 // modelview-projection matrix product

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1388
ShrinkFace: Geometry Shader (Continued)
13 void main() {
14 vec3 v[6];
15 for (int i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {v[i] = gl_in[i].gl_Position.xyz;}
16
17 // compute centroid of triangle
18 vec3 c = (v[0] + v[1] + v[2]) / 3.0;
19
20 // compute vertices of shrunk triangle and generate
21 // triangle strip consisting only of shrunk triangle
22 for (int i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {
23 v[i + 3] = c + 0.5 * (v[i] - c);
24 gl_Position = uModelViewProjMatrix * vec4(v[i + 3], 1.0);
25 gColor = vColor[i];
26 EmitVertex();
27 }
28 EndPrimitive();
29
30 // generate triangle strip to fill gap between triangles
31 // introduced by shrinking
32 const int lut[] = int[](2, 5, 1, 4, 0, 3, 2, 5);
33 for (int i = 0; i < 8; ++i) {
34 gl_Position = uModelViewProjMatrix * vec4(v[lut[i]], 1.0);
35 gColor = vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
36 EmitVertex();
37 }
38 }

1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 gColor; // input color
4
5 out vec4 fColor; // output color
6
7 void main() {
8 fColor = vec4(gColor, 1.0);
9 }

use geometry shader to assist in superimposing wireframe on rendered

surface
example rendering output shown below

Without Edges Shown Edges Shown Using Shader

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1391
Wireframe: General Approach
p2
0p0 + 0p1 + 1p2
≡ (0, 0, 1)

1 1
2 p0 + 0p1 + 2 p2 0p0 + 21 p1 + 12 p2
1 1
≡ ( 2 , 0, 2 ) ≡ (0, 21 , 12 )

1 1 1
3 p0 + 3 p1 + 3 p2
≡ ( 13 , 31 , 31 )

1 1
p0 2 p0 + 2 p1 + 0p2 p1
1p0 + 0p1 + 0p2 ≡ ( 12 , 21 , 0) 0p0 + 1p1 + 0p2
≡ (1, 0, 0) ≡ (0, 1, 0)

points on edge of triangle must have exactly one or two barycentric

coordinates equal to zero, while points in the interior must have three
nonzero coordinates
if at least one of barycentric coordinates is small, must be in vicinity of
edge
if in vicinity of edge, use different color

1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 aPosition; // position vertex attribute
4 in vec3 aColor; // color vertex attribute
5
6 out vec3 vColor; // output color (interpolated)
7
8 uniform mat4 uModelViewProjMatrix;
9 // modelview-projection matrix product
10
11 void main() {
12 gl_Position = uModelViewProjMatrix * vec4(aPosition, 1.0);
13 vColor = aColor;
14 }

1 #version 330
2
3 layout(triangles) in; // triangles as input
4 in vec3 vColor[]; // vertex colors
5
6 layout(triangle_strip, max_vertices=3) out;
7 // triangle strips as output; at most 3 vertices
8 out vec3 gColor; // output color
9 noperspective out vec3 gBaryCoord;
10 // output barycentric coordinates (interpolated)
11
12 void main() {
13 const vec3 lut[3] = vec3[3](
14 vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0),
15 vec3(0.0, 1.0, 0.0),
16 vec3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0));
17 for (int i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {
18 gl_Position = gl_in[i].gl_Position;
19 gBaryCoord = lut[i];
20 gColor = vColor[i];
21 EmitVertex();
22 }
23 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1394
Wireframe: Fragment Shader
1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 gColor; // input color
4 noperspective in vec3 gBaryCoord;
5 // input barycentric coordinates
6
7 out vec4 fColor; // output color
8
9 void main() {
10 const vec3 edgeColor = vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
11 const float edgeWidth = 1.0;
12 vec3 d = fwidth(gBaryCoord);
13 vec3 a3 = smoothstep(vec3(0.0), d * edgeWidth, gBaryCoord);
14 float v = min(min(a3.x, a3.y), a3.z);
15 fColor = vec4(mix(edgeColor, gColor, v), 1.0);
16 }

upper threshold for smoothstep chosen relative to approximate gradient

magnitude so thickness of edges in wireframe same regardless of triangle
size
simpler code for calculating a3 shown below would cause thickness of
edges in wireframe to depend on triangle size, which would be less
aesthetically pleasing:
vec3 a3 = smoothstep(vec3(0.0), vec3(0.02), gBaryCoord);
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1395
Ambient-Diffuse-Specular (ADS) Lighting Model
light properties:
ℓa : ambient component of light source
ℓ : diffuse component of light source
d
ℓs : specular component of light source

material properties:
ka : ambient reflection constant

k : diffuse reflection constant

d
ks : specular reflection constant
α: shininess constant

vectors:
ℓ: unit vector vector in direction from point on surface to light source

n: unit normal at point on surface

v: unit vector in direction from point on surface to viewer
r : unit vector in direction that perfectly reflected light ray would take from

this point on surface (i.e., r = 2(l · n)n − ℓ)

illumination i of point on surface given by:

i = ka ℓa + max{(ℓ · n), 0}kd ℓd + max{(r · v)α , 0}u(ℓ · n)ks ℓs

where u is unit-step function
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1396
ADS Lighting Model: Diagram

Light Source

n
r
Eye
v θ θ −ℓ
Surface

ℓ: unit vector vector in direction from point on surface to light source

n: unit normal at point on surface
v: unit vector in direction from point on surface to viewer
r: unit vector in direction that perfectly reflected light ray would take from
this point on surface

per-vertex lighting using ambient-diffuse-specular (ADS) model

example rendering result shown below

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1398
Per-Vertex Lighting: Vertex Shader
1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 aPosition; // position vertex attribute
4 in vec3 aNormal; // normal vertex attribute
5
6 out vec3 vColor; // output color (interpolated)
7
8 uniform mat4 uModelViewMatrix; // modelview matrix
9 uniform mat3 uNormalMatrix; // normal transformation matrix
10 uniform mat4 uModelViewProjMatrix;
11 // modelview-projection matrix product
12
13 struct LightSourceParams {
14 vec4 position; // position
15 vec3 ambient; // ambient component
16 vec3 diffuse; // diffuse component
17 vec3 specular; // specular component
18 };
19 uniform LightSourceParams uLight; // light parameters
20
21 struct MaterialParams {
22 vec3 ambient; // ambient reflectance
23 vec3 diffuse; // diffuse reflectance
24 vec3 specular; // specular reflectance
25 float shininess; // specular exponent
26 };
27 uniform MaterialParams uMaterial; // material parameters

29 vec3 ads(vec4 position, vec3 normal) {

30 vec3 s = normalize(vec3(uLight.position - position));
31 vec3 v = normalize(-position.xyz);
32 vec3 r = reflect(-s, normal);
33 float sn = dot(s, normal);
34 vec3 ambient = uLight.ambient * uMaterial.ambient;
35 vec3 diffuse = uLight.diffuse * uMaterial.diffuse *
36 max(sn, 0.0);
37 diffuse = clamp(diffuse, 0.0, 1.0);
38 vec3 specular = (sn > 0.0) ? (uLight.specular *
39 uMaterial.specular * pow(max(dot(r, v), 0.0),
40 uMaterial.shininess)) : vec3(0.0);
41 specular = clamp(specular, 0.0, 1.0);
42 return clamp(ambient + diffuse + specular, 0.0, 1.0);
43 }
44
45 void main() {
46 vec3 eyeNorm = normalize(uNormalMatrix * aNormal);
47 vec4 eyePos = uModelViewMatrix * vec4(aPosition, 1.0);
48 vColor = ads(eyePos, eyeNorm);
49 gl_Position = uModelViewProjMatrix *
50 vec4(aPosition, 1.0);
51 }

1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 vColor; // input color
4
5 out vec4 fColor; // output color
6
7 void main() {
8 fColor = vec4(vColor, 1.0);
9 }

per-fragment lighting using ambient-diffuse-specular (ADS) model

example rendering result shown along with per-vertex lighting result for
comparison

Per-Vertex Lighting Per-Fragment Lighting

1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 aPosition; // position vertex attribute
4 in vec3 aNormal; // normal vertex attribute
5
6 out vec3 vPosition; // output position (interpolated)
7 out vec3 vNormal; // output normal (interpolated)
8
9 uniform mat4 uModelViewMatrix; // modelview matrix
10 uniform mat3 uNormalMatrix; // normal transformation matrix
11 uniform mat4 uModelViewProjMatrix;
12 // modelview-projection matrix product
13
14 void main() {
15 vNormal = normalize(uNormalMatrix * aNormal);
16 vPosition = vec3(uModelViewMatrix * vec4(aPosition, 1.0));
17 gl_Position = uModelViewProjMatrix * vec4(aPosition, 1.0);
18 }

1 #version 330
2
3 in vec3 vNormal; // input normal
4 in vec3 vPosition; // input position
5
6 out vec4 fColor; // output color
7
8 struct LightSourceParams {
9 vec4 position; // position
10 vec3 ambient; // ambient component
11 vec3 diffuse; // diffuse component
12 vec3 specular; // specular component
13 };
14 uniform LightSourceParams uLight; // light parameters
15
16 struct MaterialParams {
17 vec3 ambient; // ambient reflectance
18 vec3 diffuse; // diffuse reflectance
19 vec3 specular; // specular reflectance
20 float shininess; // specular exponent
21 };
22 uniform MaterialParams uMaterial; // material parameters

24 vec3 ads(vec4 position, vec3 normal) {

25 vec3 s = normalize(vec3(uLight.position - position));
26 vec3 v = normalize(-position.xyz);
27 vec3 r = reflect(-s, normal);
28 float sn = dot(s, normal);
29 vec3 ambient = uLight.ambient * uMaterial.ambient;
30 vec3 diffuse = uLight.diffuse * uMaterial.diffuse *
31 max(sn, 0.0);
32 diffuse = clamp(diffuse, 0.0, 1.0);
33 vec3 specular = (sn > 0.0) ? uLight.specular *
34 uMaterial.specular * pow(max(dot(r, v), 0.0),
35 uMaterial.shininess) : vec3(0.0);
36 specular = clamp(specular, 0.0, 1.0);
37 return clamp(ambient + diffuse + specular, 0.0, 1.0);
38 }
39
40 void main() {
41 fColor = vec4(ads(vec4(vPosition, 1.0), vNormal), 1.0);
42 }

OpenGL Example Programs

simple 2-D graphics

draws points, lines, triangle, and quadrilateral

simple 3-D graphics

draws and animates several simple polyhedra

3-D graphics with lighting

draws cube with lighting

wireframe mesh viewer

allows polygon mesh to viewed as wireframe

References

1 D. Shreiner, G. Sellers, J. Kessenich, and B. Licea-Kane. OpenGL

Programming Guide.
Addison-Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 8th edition, 2013.

2 R. S. Wright Jr., N. Haemel, G. Sellers, and B. Lipchak. OpenGL

Superbible.
Addison-Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 5th edition, 2011.

3 E. Angel and D. Shreiner. Interactive Compute Graphics — A Top-Down

Approach with Shader-Based OpenGL.
Addison-Wesley, Boston, MA, USA, 6th edition, 2012.

4 M. Bailey and S. Cunningham. Graphics Shaders — Theory and Practice.

CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2nd edition, 2012.
5 R. J. Rost. OpenGL Shading Language.
Addison-Wesley, Boston, MA, USA, 2nd edition, 2006.

6 D. Wolff. OpenGL 4.0 Shading Language Cookbook.

Packt Publishing, Birmingham, UK, 2011.
7 The OpenGL graphics system: A specification (version 4.4 (core profile)),
Mar. 2014.
8 The OpenGL shading language — language version 4.40, June 2014.
9 OpenGL Web Site, http://www.opengl.org.
10 OpenGL Software Development Kit (SDK), https://www.opengl.org/
sdk (full documentation on each OpenGL function can be found at
http://www.opengl.org/sdk/docs/man).
11 Khronos Group on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/
khronosgroup.

1 Ed Angel and Dave Shreiner, An Introduction to OpenGL Programming,

SIGGRAPH 2013, Available online at https://youtu.be/6-9XFm7XAT8.

OpenGL Extension Wrangler Library (GLEW)

http://glew.sourceforge.net
http://www.opengl.org/sdk/libs/GLEW
OpenGL FrameWork (GLFW) Library
http://www.glfw.org
OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT) Library
http://sourceforge.net/projects/freeglut
OpenGL Mathematics (GLM) Library
http://glm.g-truc.net
Qt Library
http://www.qt.io
http://www.qt.io/developers

Other Libraries

Eigen
C++ library for linear algebra
web site: http://eigen.tuxfamily.org
Lapack++
C++ library for high-performance linear-algebra computations
C++ wrapper for LAPACK and BLAS
web site: http://lapackpp.sourceforge.net
Armadillo
C++ library for linear algebra
web site: http://arma.sourceforge.net
GNU Scientific Library
C library for numerical analysis
web site: http://www.gnu.org/software/gsl
GNU Multiprecision Library
C library for arbitrary-precision arithmetic
web site: http://gmplib.org

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1417
Numerical Libraries II
Boost.uBLAS
C++ library for numerical computation
web site: http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/release/libs/numeric/
ublas
Boost.Rational
C++ rational number library
web site: www.boost.org/doc/libs/release/libs/rational
Boost.Interval
C++ interval arithmetic library
web site: www.boost.org/doc/libs/release/libs/numeric/
interval/doc/interval.htm
Boost.Math
C++ library
provides math constants, GCD, LCM, quaternions, and more
web site: http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/release/libs/math
Linear Algebra Package (LAPACK)
Fortran library for numerical computing

web site: http://www.netlib.org/lapack

Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS)
de facto API for publishing libraries to perform basic linear algebra
operations
written in Fortran
web site: http://www.netlib.org/blas

Programming

Good Programming Practices

Be consistent with the formatting of the source code (e.g., indentation

strategy, tabs versus spaces, spacing, brackets/parentheses).
Avoid a formatting style that runs against common practices.
Be consistent in the naming conventions used for identifiers (e.g., names
of objects, functions, namespaces, types) and files.
Avoid bizarre naming conventions that run against common practices.
Comment your code. If code is well documented, it should be possible to
quickly ascertain what the code is doing without any prior knowledge of
the code.
Use meaningful names for identifiers (e.g., names of objects, functions,
types, etc.). This improves the readability of code.
Avoid magic literal constants. Define a constant object and give it a
meaningful name.
const int maxTableSize = 100;
std::vector<TableEntry> table(maxTableSize);

If a program requires that certain constraints on user input be satisfied in

order to work correctly, do not assume that these constraints will be
satisfied. Instead, always check them.
Always handle errors gracefully.
Provide useful error messages.
Always check return codes. Even if the operation/function theoretically
cannot fail (under the assumption of bug-free code), in practice it may fail
due to a bug.
If an operation is performed that can fail, check the status of the
operation to ensure that it did not fail (even if you think that it should not
fail). For example, check for error conditions on streams.
If a function can fail, always check its return value.

Do not unnecessarily complicate code. Use the simplest solution that will
meet the needs of the problem at hand.
Do not impose bogus limitations. If a more general case can be handled
without complicating the code and this more general case is likely to be
helpful to handle, then handle this case.
Do not unnecessarily optimize code. Highly optimized code is often much
less readable. Also, highly optimized code is often more difficult to write
correctly (i.e., without bugs). Do not write grossly inefficient code that is
obviously going to cause performance problems, but do not optimize
things beyond avoiding gross inefficiencies that you know will cause
performance problems.

Avoid duplication of code. If similar code is needed is more than place,

put the code in a function. Also, utilize templates to avoid code duplication.
The avoidance of code duplication has many advantages.
1 It simplifies code understanding. (Understand once, instead of n times.)
2 It simplifies testing. (Test once, instead of n times.)
3 It simplifies debugging. (Fix bugs in one place, instead of n places.)
4 It simplifies code maintenance. (Change code in one place, instead of n
places.)
Make good use of the available libraries. Do not reinvent the wheel. If a
library provides code with the needed functionality, use the code in the
library.

Avoid multiple returns paths (i.e., multiple points of exit) in functions

when they serve to complicate (rather than simplify) code structure.
Avoid the use of global objects. For example, use static data members
instead of global objects. In well designed code, global objects are rarely
needed.
Ensure that the code is const correct.
If an object does not need to change, make it const. This improves the
readability of code. This also helps to ensure const correctness of code.
Avoid bringing many unknown identifiers into scope. For example, avoid
constructs like:
using namespace std;
Only bring identifiers into scope if you need them.

Do not rely on undefined/unspecified/implementation-defined behavior.

Do not rely on any behavior that is not promised by the language. Do not
rely on undocumented features of libraries. That is, do not write code in a
way that it may only work on certain computing platforms or when the
moon is full.
Enable compiler warning messages. Pay attention to warning messages
issued by the compiler.
Learn how to use a source-level debugger. There will be times when you
will absolutely need it.
Be careful to avoid using references, pointers, iterators that do not
reference valid data. Always be clear about which operations invalidate
references, pointers, and iterators.

precondition: condition that must be true before function is called

for example, precondition for function that computes square root of x:
x≥0
postcondition: condition that must be true after function is called
for example, postcondition for function that removes entry from table of
size n: new size of table n − 1
whenever feasible, check for violations of preconditions and
postconditions for functions
if precondition or postcondition is violated, terminate program immediately
in order to help in localizing bug (e.g., by calling std::abort or
std::terminate)

The single most important thing when writing code is that it does the job it
was intended to do correctly. That is, there should not be any bugs.
Test your code. If you do not spend as much time testing your code as you
do writing it, you are likely not doing enough testing.
Tests should exercise as much of the code as possible (i.e., provide good
code coverage).
Design and structure your code so that it is easy to test. In other words,
testing should be considered during design.
Your code will have bugs. Design your code so that it will help you to
isolate bugs. Use assertions. Use preconditions and postconditions.
Design your code so that is modular and can be written and tested in
pieces. The first testing of the software should never be testing the entire
software as a whole.
Often in order to adequately test code, one has to write separate
specialized test code.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1429
Code Examples
subscripting operator for 1-D array class:
template <class T>
const T& Array_1<T>::operator[](int i) const {
// Precondition: index is in allowable range
assert(i >= 0 && i < data_.size());
return data_[i];
}
function taking pointer parameter:
int stringLength(const char* ptr) {
// Precondition: pointer is not null
assert(ptr);
// Code to compute and return string length.
// ...
}
function that modifies highly complicated data structure:
void modifyDataStructure(Type& dataStructure) {
// Precondition: data structure is in valid state
assert(isDataStructureValid(dataStructure));
// Complicated code to update data structure.
// ...
// Postcondition: data structure is in valid state
assert(isDataStructureValid(dataStructure));
}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1430
Section 6.2

Algorithms

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1431
Software Performance
two most basic performance measures, which are often of most interest:
1 time complexity
2 space complexity
time complexity: amount of time required to execute code
space complexity: amount of memory needed for code execution
normally must consider both time and space complexities, since one type
of complexity can often be traded off for other
from practical standpoint, real-world time and memory usage are what
matter most (as opposed to some approximate theoretical measures of
code complexity)
need techniques that can provide guidance when designing software so
that more likely that later implementation (of design) will have acceptable
performance
many factors can potentially impact performance, including:
CPU instruction count
cache efficiency
degree of parallelism and concurrency
resource utilization (e.g., memory, disk, and network)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1432
Random-Access Machine (RAM) Model

algorithms can be measured in machine-independent way using

random-access machine (RAM) model
model assumes single processor
instructions executed sequentially with no concurrent operations
elementary types: integer and floating point numbers
each elementary operation takes one time unit
elementary operations include:
arithmetic operations (e.g., addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) on
elementary types
loads and stores of elementary types
branch operations (e.g., conditional branch, jump)
subroutine call
loops and subroutines are not considered elementary operations, but
rather as composition of numerous elementary operations
each memory access takes one time unit
unbounded amount of memory available
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1433
Worst-Case, Average, and Amortized Complexity

complexity expressed as function of input problem size

worst-case complexity: gives upper bound on complexity of algorithm for
any input of given size
average complexity: gives average complexity of algorithm in statistical
sense if probability measure assigned to all inputs of given size
often algorithm may only approach worst-case complexity for very small
fraction of possible inputs, in which case average complexity might be
more practically useful than worst-case complexity
sometimes algorithm may be invoked many times and cost of single
invocation difficult to determine in isolation (e.g., time complexity of
push_back member function of std::vector)
amortized complexity: complexity per invocation of algorithm evaluated
over sequence of invocations
amortized complexity makes guarantee about total expense of sequence
of invocations of algorithm, rather than single invocation (e.g., push_back
member function of std::vector takes amortized constant time)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1434
Asymptotic Analysis of Algorithms

asymptotic analysis deals with behavior of algorithm as problem size

becomes arbitrarily large
asymptotic complexity: complexity of algorithm in limit as problem size
becomes arbitrarily large
often interested in:
asymptotic time complexity
asymptotic space complexity
asymptotic time and space complexities of algorithm often much easier to
determine than exact running time and memory usage
often (but not always!) algorithm that is asymptotically more efficient will
be best choice for all but very small inputs
asymptotic notation (to be discussed next) provides way to describe
functions that is very useful for asymptotic analysis

big-theta (Θ) notation: for function g, Θ(g) denotes set of all functions f
for which positive constants c1 , c2 , and n0 exist such that
0 ≤ c1 g(n) ≤ f (n) ≤ c2 g(n) for all n ≥ n0
functions in Θ(g) grow asymptotically at same rate as g (to within constant
factor)
effectively, f (n) is sandwiched between c1 g(n) and c2 g(n) for sufficiently
large n (i.e., n ≥ n0 )
used to provide (asymptotic) lower and upper bounds on function, each
to within constant factor (provides asymptotically tight bound)
if f ∈ Θ(g), then for sufficiently large n, f (n) equals g(n) to within
constant factor
examples:
f (n) = an2 + bn + c where a, b, c are constants and a > 0;

f ∈ Θ(n2 ) but f 6∈ Θ(n) and f 6∈ Θ(n3 )

f (n) = ∑d i
i=0 ai n where {ai } are constants and ad > 0;
f ∈ Θ(nd ) but f 6∈ Θ(nd+1 ) and f 6∈ Θ(nd−1 )
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1436
Big-Theta (Θ) Notation (Continued)
c2 g(n)

f (n)

c1 g(n)

n
n0
f ∈ Θ(g)
for n ≥ n0 , f (n) is lower bounded by c1 g(n) and upper bounded by
c2 g(n)
asymptotically, f grows at same rate as g to within constant factor

big-oh (O) notation: for function g, O(g) denotes set of all functions f for
which positive constants c and n0 exist such that
0 ≤ f (n) ≤ cg(n) for all n ≥ n0
functions in O(g) grow asymptotically at rate at most that of g (to within
constant factor)
used to provide (asymptotic) upper bound on function to within constant
factor
if f ∈ O(g), then for sufficiently large n, f (n) is less than or equal to g(n)
to within constant factor
since Θ(g(n)) ⊂ O(g(n)), f (n) ∈ Θ(g(n)) implies f (n) ∈ O(g(n))
often used to bound worst-case running time of algorithm
examples:
f (n) = 3n2 + 2n + 1; f ∈ O(n2 ) and f ∈ O(n3 ) but f 6∈ O(n)
f (n) = 5n + 42; f ∈ O(n) and f ∈ O(n2 ) but f 6∈ O(1)
f (n) = ∑d i
i=0 ai n where {ai } are constants and ad > 0;
f ∈ O(nd ) and f ∈ O(nd+1 ) but f 6∈ O(nd−1 )
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1438
Big-Oh (O) Notation (Continued)
cg(n)

f (n)

n
n0
f ∈ O(g)
for n ≥ n0 , f (n) is upper bounded by cg(n)
asymptotically, f grows at rate no greater than that of g to within constant
factor

big-omega (Ω) notation: for function g, Ω(g) denotes set of all functions
f for which positive constants c and n0 exist such that
0 ≤ cg(n) ≤ f (n) for all n ≥ n0
functions in Ω(g) grow asymptotically at rate at least that of g (to within
constant factor)
used to provide (asymptotic) lower bound on function to within constant
factor
if f ∈ Ω(g), then for sufficiently large n, f (n) is greater than or equal to
g(n) to within constant factor
since Θ(g(n)) ⊂ Ω(g(n)), f (n) ∈ Θ(g(n)) implies f (n) ∈ Ω(g(n))
examples:
f (n) = 5n3 + n; f ∈ Ω(n3 ) and f ∈ Ω(n2 ) but f 6∈ Ω(n4 )
f (n) = an2 + bn + c where a, b, c are constants and a > 0;

f ∈ Ω(n2 ) and f ∈ Ω(n) but f 6∈ Ω(n3 )

f (n) = ∑d i
i=0 ai n where {ai } are constants and ad > 0;
f ∈ Ω(nd ) and f ∈ Ω(nd−1 ) but f 6∈ Ω(nd+1 )
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1440
Big-Omega (Ω) Notation (Continued)

f (n)

cg(n)

n
n0
f ∈ Ω(g)
for n ≥ n0 , f (n) lower bounded by cg(n)
asymptotically, f grows at rate no less than that of g to within constant
factor

small-oh (o) notation: for function g, o(g) denotes set of all functions f
such that, for any positive constant c, positive constant n0 exists such that
0 ≤ f (n) < cg(n) for all n ≥ n0
functions in o(g) grow asymptotically at strictly lesser rate than g (to
within constant factor)
used to provide upper bound on function that is not asymptotically tight
f ∈ o(g) implies that f (n) becomes insignificant relative to g(n) as n
f (n)
becomes arbitrarily large (i.e., limn→∞ g(n) = 0)
examples:
f (n) = 3n3 + 2n + 1; f ∈ o(n5 ) and f ∈ o(n4 ) but f 6∈ o(n3 )
f (n) = 2n2 ; f 6∈ o(n2 ) but f ∈ O(n2 )

f (n) = ∑d i
i=0 ai n where {ai } are constants and ad > 0;
f ∈ o(nd+1 ) and f ∈ o(nd+2 ) but f 6∈ o(nd ) and f 6∈ o(nd−1 )

small-omega (ω) notation: for function g, ω(g) denotes set of all

functions f such that, for any positive constant c, positive constant n0
exists such that
0 ≤ cg(n) < f (n) for all n ≥ n0
functions in ω(g) grow asymptotically at strictly greater rate than g (to
within constant factor)
used to provide lower bound on function that is not asymptotically tight
f ∈ ω(g) implies that f (n) becomes arbitrarily large relative to g(n) as n
f (n)
becomes arbitrarily large (i.e., limn→∞ g(n) = ∞)
examples:
f (n) = 3n2 ; f ∈ ω(n) but f 6∈ ω(n2 )
f (n) = an2 + bn + c where a, b, c are constants and a > 0;

f ∈ ω(n) and f ∈ ω(1) but f 6∈ ω(n2 ) and f 6∈ ω(n3 )

f (n) = ∑d ai ni where {a } are constants and a > 0;
i
i=0 d
f ∈ ω(nd−1 ) but f 6∈ ω(nd ) and f 6∈ ω(nd+1 )

when asymptotic notation stands alone on right-hand side of equation,

equal sign means set membership
for example:
f (n) = Θ(g(n)) means f (n) ∈ Θ(g(n))

more generally, when asymptotic notation appears in formula, interpreted

as placeholder for some anonymous function
for example:
3n2 + 2n + 1 = 3n2 + Θ(n) means 3n2 + 2n + 1 = 3n2 + f (n) where f (n) is

some function in Θ(n) (i.e., f (n) = 2n + 1 ∈ Θ(n))

using asymptotic notation in this way can help to reduce clutter in formulas

sum of functions:
if f 1 ∈ Θ(g) and f 2 ∈ Θ(g), then f 1 + f 2 ∈ Θ(g)

if f 1 ∈ O(g) and f 2 ∈ O(g), then f 1 + f 2 ∈ O(g)

if f 1 ∈ Ω(g) and f 2 ∈ Ω(g), then f 1 + f 2 ∈ Ω(g)

multiplication by constant:
for all positive functions f and all positive constants a, a f ∈ Θ( f ),
a f ∈ O( f ), and a f ∈ Ω( f )
product of functions:
for all positive functions f1 , f2 , g1 , g2 , if f1 ∈ Θ(g1 ) and f2 ∈ Θ(g2 ), then
f1 f2 ∈ Θ(g1 g2 )
for all positive functions f1 , f2 , g1 , g2 , if f1 ∈ O(g1 ) and f2 ∈ O(g2 ), then
f1 f2 ∈ O(g1 g2 )
for all positive functions f1 , f2 , g1 , g2 , if f1 ∈ Ω(g1 ) and f2 ∈ Ω(g2 ), then
f1 f2 ∈ Ω(g1 g2 )
examples:
if f ∈ Θ(n), then n f (n) ∈ Θ(n2 )
if f and g are positive functions in Θ(1), then f + g ∈ Θ(1)

log2 n ∈ Θ(logb n) for all b > 1 (i.e., base of logarithm does not impact
asymptotic analysis)

one must be careful in interpreting results of asymptotic complexity

analysis
asymptotic complexity only considers algorithm behavior when problem
size becomes arbitrarily large
for example: for problems of size n < 10 10 , algorithm A with time
1
2
complexity f (n) = 1010 n will take less time than Algorithm B with time
complexity g(n) = n, in spite of fact that f (n) = Θ(n2 ) and g(n) = Θ(n)
(i.e., algorithm A has greater asymptotic complexity than algorithm B)
asymptotic complexity hides constant factors
for example: for problems of size n, algorithm A with time complexity
f (n) = n is clearly preferable to algorithm B with time complexity
g(n) = 1000n, but both f and g are in Θ(n) (i.e., both algorithms have
same asymptotic complexity)
asymptotic complexities can be used for guidance but should not be
followed blindly

Name Complexity
constant O(1)
logarithmic O(log n)
fractional power O(nc ), c ∈ (0, 1)
linear O(n)
log-linear O(n log n)
quadratic O(n2 )
cubic O(n3 )
exponential O(an )
factorial O(n!)
b n
double exponential O(a )

above complexities listed in order of increasing (asymptotic) growth rate

that is, for sufficiently large n,
√ n
1 < log n < n < n < n log n < n2 < n3 < ... < 2n < n! < 22

recurrence relation is equation that implicitly defines sequence in terms

of itself
for example, Fibonacci number sequence f is solution to recurrence
relation:
f (n − 1) + f (n − 2) n ≥ 2
f (n) =
1 n ∈ {0, 1}
recurrence relations often arise when trying to determine complexity of
algorithm that employs recursion
for example, consider time complexity of recursive Fibonacci algorithm:
1 unsigned long long fibonacci(unsigned int n) {
2 if (n <= 2) {
3 return 1;
4 } else {
5 return fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2);
6 }
7 }
time complexity T of above algorithm leads to recurrence relation
T (n) = c + T (n − 1) + T (n − 2)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1449
Solving Recurrence Relations
no known general technique for solving recurrence relations
solving recurrence relations somewhat of an art
linear constant coefficient difference equations can be solved using z
transform
Master theorem can be used to solve some recurrence relations of form:
f (n) = g(n) + a f (n/b)
Akra-Bazzi theorem can be used to solve some recurrence relations of
form:
f (n) = g(n) + ∑L−1
i=0 ai f (bi n + hi (n))
need to be careful about non-integer sequence indices arising in
recurrence relations like:
T (n) = ∑L−1
i=0 ai T (n/bi ) + f (n)
preceding formula does not make sense if n/bi is not integer
in many cases, if this issue ignored, correct asymptotic bound still
obtained, although without being correctly justified
numerous software tools available for solving recurrence relations, such
as WolframAlpha and PURRS
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1450
Solutions for Some Common Recurrence Relations

Recurrence Relation Solution

b + f (n − 1) n ≥ 2
f (n) = a n=1 f (n) = b(n − 1) + a ∈ Θ(n)

bn + f (n − 1) n ≥ 2
f (n) = a n=1 f (n) = 12 bn(n + 1) + b − a ∈ Θ(n2 )

b + f (⌊n/2⌋) n ≥ 2
f (n) = a n=1 f (n) ∈ Θ(log n)

b + f (⌈n/2⌉) n ≥ 2
f (n) = a n=1 f (n) ∈ Θ(log n)

b + f (⌊n/2⌋) + f (⌈n/2⌉) n ≥ 2
f (n) = a n=1 f (n) ∈ Θ(n)

bn + f (⌊n/2⌋) + f (⌈n/2⌉) n ≥ 2
f (n) = a n=1 f (n) ∈ Θ(n log n)
c + f (n − 1) + f (n − 2) n ≥ 3
(
f (n) = b n=2 f ∈ Θ(2n )
a n=1

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1451
Matrix Multiplication Algorithm: Time Complexity
consider algorithm for multiplying m × n matrix by n × p matrix:
1 template <class T, int m, int n, int p>
2 void multiply(const T (&a)[m][n], const T (&b)[n][p],
3 T (&c)[m][p]) {
4 for (int i = 0; i < m; ++i) {
5 for (int j = 0; j < p; ++j) {
6 T sum = T(0);
7 for (int k = 0; k < n; ++k) {
8 sum += a[i][k] * b[k][j];
9 }
10 c[i][j] = sum;
11 }
12 }
13 }
total time cost per line (assuming basic operations on T are O(1)):
Line Total Time Cost
4 c4,1 m + c4,2
5 m(c5,1 p + c5,2 )
6 mp(c6 )
7 mp(c7,1 n + c7,2 )
8 mpn(c8 )
10 mp(c10 )
asymptotic time complexity is a1 mnp + a2 mp + a3 m + a4 = Θ(mnp)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1452
Matrix Multiplication Algorithm: Space Complexity
again, consider algorithm for multiplying m × n matrix by n × p matrix:
1 template <class T, int m, int n, int p>
2 void multiply(const T (&a)[m][n], const T (&b)[n][p],
3 T (&c)[m][p]) {
4 for (int i = 0; i < m; ++i) {
5 for (int j = 0; j < p; ++j) {
6 T sum = T(0);
7 for (int k = 0; k < n; ++k) {
8 sum += a[i][k] * b[k][j];
9 }
10 c[i][j] = sum;
11 }
12 }
13 }
a, b, and c are references and each effectively incur memory cost of
pointer
m, n, and p are constant expressions are require no storage
assuming objects of type T require O(1) space, each of a, b, c, i, j, k,
and sum, require Θ(1) space
asymptotic space complexity is Θ(1)

consider iterative algorithm for computing nth Fibonacci number:

1 unsigned long long fibonacci(unsigned int n) {
2 unsigned long long a[3] = {1, 1, 1};
3 for (int i = 3; i <= n; ++i) {
4 a[0] = a[1];
5 a[1] = a[2];
6 a[2] = a[0] + a[1];
7 }
8 return a[2];
9 }

total time cost per line:

Line Total Time Cost
2 c1
3 (n − 2)c3,1 + c3,2
4 (n − 2)c4
5 (n − 2)c5
6 (n − 2)c6
8 c8
asymptotic time complexity is a1 n + a2 = Θ(n)

again, consider iterative algorithm for computing nth Fibonacci number:

1 unsigned long long fibonacci(unsigned int n) {
2 unsigned long long a[3] = {1, 1, 1};
3 for (int i = 3; i <= n; ++i) {
4 a[0] = a[1];
5 a[1] = a[2];
6 a[2] = a[0] + a[1];
7 }
8 return a[2];
9 }

storage cost per variable:

Variable Storage Cost
n c1
a c2
i c3
asymptotic space complexity is c1 + c2 + c3 = a2 = Θ(1)

consider recursive algorithm for computing nth Fibonacci number:

1 unsigned long long fibonacci(unsigned int n) {
2 if (n <= 2) {
3 return 1;
4 } else {
5 return fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2);
6 }
7 }

time cost(T (n) satisfies recurrence relation:

T (n − 1) + T (n − 2) + c1 n ≥ 3
T (n) =
c2 n ∈ {1, 2}
asymptotic time complexity is Θ(2n )

again, consider recursive algorithm for computing nth Fibonacci number:

1 unsigned long long fibonacci(unsigned int n) {
2 if (n <= 2) {
3 return 1;
4 } else {
5 return fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2);
6 }
7 }

during recursion, function calls nest to depth of at most n − 2 = Θ(n)

each invocation of function incurs memory cost for local variable n
each function call also incurs space on stack for return address and
possibly other saved state
asymptotic space complexity S is S(n) = (n − 2)c1 + c0 = a1 n + a0 = Θ(n)

may want to determine overall speedup that can be achieved by

introducing speedup into some part of task
overall speedup so of whole task given by
1
so = fe
,
(1 − fe ) + se
where se is speedup of part of task that benefits from enhancement and fe
is fraction of time consumed by part of task benefitting from enhancement
preceding result known as Amdahl’s law
overall speedup is limited by fraction of time that enhancement can be
exploited:
1 1
so ≤ and lim so =
1 − fe se →∞ 1 − fe
for example, if fe = 25% and se = 2, then so = 1.1429

References

1 WolframAlpha Recurrence Relation Solver, https://www.

wolframalpha.com/examples/Recurrences.html.
2 Parma University’s Recurrence Relation Solver (PURRS), http://www.
cs.unipr.it/purrs.
3 T. H. Cormen, C. E. Leiserson, R. L. Rivest, and C. Stein. Introduction to
Algorithms.
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 3rd edition, 2009.

4 A. Levitin. Introduction to the Design and Analysis of Algorithms.

Pearson, Boston, MA, USA, 3rd edition, 2012.
5 J. Erickson. Algorithms, Jan. 2015.
Available online from http://www.cs.illinois.edu/˜jeffe/
teaching/algorithms/.
6 M. Akra and L. Bazzi. On the solution of linear recurrence equations.
Computational Optimization and Applications, 10(2):195–210, May 1998.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1460
References II

7 M. Drmota and W. Szpankowski. A master theorem for discrete divide and

conquer recurrences.
In Proc. of ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms, pages
342–361, 2011.

8 S. Roura. Improved master theorems for divide-and-conquer recurrences.

Communications of the ACM, 48(2):170–205, Mar. 2001.

Data Structures

abstract data type (ADT) is model for data type where behavior
specified from point of view of user of type (i.e., with implementation
details hidden)
ADT specifies:
general nature of entity represented by type
set of allowable states/values that type can assume
set of operations that can be performed on type
any preconditions or postconditions for operations
often, ADT also provides complexity guarantees (e.g., time or space
complexity guarantees for various operations)
for example, (generic) integer type is ADT:
can assume integer values
provides basic arithmetic operations, relational operations, and so on
particular representation used for integers not specified by ADT
in contrast to ADT, concrete (i.e., non-abstract) data type provides very
specific details as to how type is implemented

container ADT (also called collection ADT): stores collection of objects,

organized in way that follows some specific access rules
operations for container ADT often include:
clear: remove all elements from container
is empty: test if container is empty (i.e., contains no elements)
size: query number of elements in container
insert: insert element in container
remove: remove element from container
find: locate element in container if present
often container ADT provides means to traverse elements in container
(e.g., via iterator ADT)
if elements in container consist of key-value pairs where key used to find
corresponding value in container, container said to be associative
if elements in container have well-defined order, container said to be
ordered; otherwise, unordered
if all elements stored in container of same type, container said to be
homogeneous; otherwise, heterogeneous
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1464
Container ADTs (Continued)

examples of realizations of container ADTs:

std::array, std::vector, std::list, std::forward_list

std::set, std::multiset, std::map, std::multimap

std::unordered_set, std::unordered_multiset,

std::unordered_map, std::unordered_multimap
boost::intrusive::slist, boost::intrusive::list

container ADTs can differ in many ways:

number of elements container can store (e.g., one versus multiple)
whether values stored by container must be unique
associative versus non-associative
ordered versus unordered
homogeneous versus heterogeneous
intrusive versus nonintrusive
concurrency properties (e.g., not thread safe, thread safe, lock free)

iterator ADT is ADT used to traverse collection of elements, which are

often stored in container
typically iterator ADT provided as part of container ADT
operations provided by iterator ADT may include:
dereference: access element to which iterator refers
next: go to next element
previous: go to previous element
advance: advance by n elements (where n can be negative for backwards
direction)
iterator specifies order in which elements can be accessed; for example:
forward, bidirectional (i.e., forward and backward), random access
iterator may only permit certain types of element access; for example:
read only (const), read and write (non-const), write only (output)
one dereference per element or multiple dereferences per element
examples of realizations of iterator ADT:
iterator and const_iterator types in numerous C++ standard library

containers, such as std::vector and std::set

are elements in container stored contiguously in memory?

what is fixed storage overhead of container (if any)?
what is per-element storage overhead of container (if any)?
is container limited in size (e.g., container based on fixed size array)?
is container dynamic (i.e., can it be changed once created) or static?
can element be inserted at start, end, or arbitrary position in container in
worst-case or amortized O(1) time?
can element be removed at start, end, or arbitrary position in container in
O(1) time?
can element be accessed at start, end, or arbitrary position in O(1) time?
can element be located in container efficiently (e.g., O(log n) time or
better)?

can container be traversed (e.g., via iterator) efficiently?

what is storage cost of iterator (e.g., 1 pointer)?
in what order can iterator access elements (e.g., forward, bidirectional,
random access)?
what circumstances result in element references (e.g., pointers,
references, iterators) being invalidated?
what is per-element and amortized time cost of traversing elements in
container?

Lists, Stacks, and Queues

list ADT is ADT that stores countable number of ordered values, where
same value may occur more than once
operations for list ADT include:
clear: remove all elements from list
is empty: test if list empty
size: query number of elements in list
insert: insert element in list
remove: remove element from list
operations for traversing elements in list (which are often provided via
iterator ADT) include:
successor: get next element in list
predecessor (optional): get previous element in list
examples of realizations of list ADT:
std::vector, std::forward_list, and std::list
boost::intrusive::slist and boost::intrusive::list

can represent list with array

code example:
1 template <class T> class Iterator {
2 // ...
3 T* ptr_; // pointer to referenced element
4 };
5
6 template <class T> class List {
7 // ...
8 T* start_; // pointer to start of element data
9 T* finish_; // pointer to end of element data
10 T* end_; // pointer to end of allocated storage
11 };

array capacity (i.e., allocated size) is end_ - start_

array size (i.e., number of elements) is finish_ - start_

List Array of T Iterator

x0
start_ ptr_
x1
finish_ ..
.
end_ xn−1
xn
xn+1
..
.
xm−1

advantages:
elements stored contiguously in memory (which is cache friendly)
no per-element storage overhead
can insert at end of list in amortized O(1) time
can remove at end of list in O(1) time
can access element in any position in O(1) time
(random-access) iterator has storage cost of one pointer
disadvantages:
cannot insert or remove at start or arbitrary position in O(1) time
if capacity of array exceeded, memory reallocation and copying required
if array can be reallocated, insert at end can only at best guarantee
amortized (not worst-case) O(1) time
if array reallocated, element references invalidated
useful when insertion and removal only performed at end of list and stable
references to elements not needed

singly-linked list is node-based implementation of list where each node

tracks its successor (but not predecessor)
null pointer used as sentinel value to denote “no such node”; for example,
null pointer used to indicate:
no successor node for last node in list
no head (i.e., first) node for empty list
for singly-linked list, insertion and removal normally defined to take place
at position after that specified by iterator
to specify insertion or removal at start of list requires “before-begin”
iterator

1 // list node
2 template <class T> struct Node {
3 Node* next_; // pointer to next node in list
4 T elem_; // element data
5 };
6
7 // list
8 template <class T> class List {
9 // ...
10 Node<T>* head_; // pointer to first node in list
11 std::size_t size_; // number of elements in list
12 };
13
14 // iterator
15 template <class T> class Iterator {
16 // ...
17 Node<T>* node_; // pointer to node with referenced element
18 Node<T>** head_;
19 // if before begin, pointer to list head pointer
20 // otherwise, null
21 };

List Node Node Node

head_ next_ next_ next_ 0

size_ 3 elem_ elem_ elem_

Iterator

node_

head_

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1476
Remarks on Singly-Linked Lists
advantages:
can insert element after (but not before) particular position in O(1) time
can remove element at start of list in O(1) time
no capacity exceeded problem like with array
reduced memory cost relative to doubly-linked list as consequence of node
not tracking predecessor
element references are stable
can find successor in list in O(1) time
disadvantages:
element data not contiguous in memory
has per-element storage overhead (1 pointer for successor)
cannot insert element before particular position in O(1) time
cannot remove element at arbitrary position in O(1) time
cannot efficiently iterate backwards over elements in list
cannot find predecessor in list in O(1) time
(forward) iterator requires two pointers for state (due to need for
“before-begin” iterator)
typically useful when insertions and removals always performed at start of
list
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1477
Singly-Linked List With Header Node

singly-linked list with header node is node-based implementation of list

where each node tracks its successor (but not predecessor)
null pointer used as sentinel value to denote “no such node”; for example,
null pointer used to indicate:
no successor for last node in list
no head node for empty list
header node used as placeholder for one-before start of list (i.e.,
“before-begin” position)

1 // list node base class

2 struct node_base {
3 // ...
4 node_base* next_;
5 };
6
7 // list node derived class (with list element)
8 template <class T> struct node : public node_base {
9 T elem_;
10 };
11
12 // list iterator class
13 template <class T> class slist_iter {
14 // ...
15 node_base* node_;
16 };
17
18 // list class
19 template <class T> class list {
20 // ...
21 node_base node_;
22 std::size_t size_;
23 };

List Node Node Node

next_ next_ next_ 0

node_ next_

elem_ elem_ elem_

size_ 3

Iterator

node_

advantages and disadvantages mostly similar to those of classic

singly-linked list
effectively no memory cost for header node over standard singly-linked list
use of header node facilitates more efficient iterator type
in absence of header node, special representation of before-begin iterator
needed
this causes problems for efficient implementation of forward iterator
use of header node avoids this problem
(forward) iterator can be implemented with single pointer as state
typically, singly-linked list with header node used to implement
std::forward_list

doubly-linked list: node-based implementation of list where each node

tracks both its successor and predecessor
null pointer used as sentinel value to indicate “no such node”; for example,
null pointer used to indicate:
no successor for last node in list
no predecessor for first node in list
no head or tail node for empty list

1 // list node class

2 template <class T> struct Node {
3 Node* next_; // pointer to next node in list
4 Node* prev_; // pointer to previous node in list
5 T elem_; // element
6 };
7
8 // iterator class
9 template <class T> class Iterator {
10 // ...
11 Node<T>* node_; // node of referenced element
12 Node<T>** tail_; // pointer to tail pointer of list
13 };
14
15 // list class
16 template <class T> class List {
17 // ...
18 Node<T>* head__; // pointer to first node in list
19 Node<T>* tail_; // pointer to last node in list
20 std::size_t size_; // number of elements in list
21 };

List Node Node Node

head_ next_ next_ next_ 0

tail_ prev_ 0 prev_ prev_

size_ 3 elem_ elem_ elem_

Iterator

node_

tail_

advantages:
stable references to elements
can insert or remove at arbitrary position in O(1) time
no capacity-exceeded problem like in array case
can find successor and predecessor in O(1) time
can efficiently iterate both forwards and backwards over elements in list
disadvantages:
elements not stored contiguously in memory
per-element storage overhead (2 pointers)
relative to singly-linked list, has greater per-element storage overhead (1
additional pointer for predecessor)
iterator storage cost is more than single pointer (i.e., 2 pointers)
most useful for lists where insertion and removal can happen anywhere in
list

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1485
Doubly-Linked List With Sentinel Node
list has one dummy node called sentinel node and zero or more regular
(i.e., non-sentinel) nodes
list object itself has sentinel node as member
each regular node is associated with list element
sentinel node is not associated with any list element
each (regular and sentinel) node has pointer to its successor and
predecessor
if list not empty, successor of sentinel node is node corresponding to first
element in list; otherwise, successor is sentinel node itself
if list not empty, predecessor of sentinel node is node corresponding to
last element in list; otherwise, predecessor is sentinel node itself
thus, sentinel and regular nodes effectively form augmented list that is
circular
augmented list never empty, since always contains sentinel node
augmented list has has no beginning or end, since circular
using sentinel node eliminates many special cases for insertion and
removal, which leads to simpler and more efficient code
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1486
Doubly-Linked List With Sentinel Node: Code

1 // list node base class (which does not have element data)
2 struct Node_base {
3 Node_base* next_; // pointer to next node in list
4 Node_base* prev_; // pointer to previous node in list
5 };
6
7 // list node (which has element data)
8 template <class T> struct Node : public Node_base {
9 T elem_; // element data
10 };
11
12 // list
13 template <class T> class List {
14 // ...
15 Node_base node_; // sentinel node
16 };
17
18 // list iterator
19 template <class T> class Iterator {
20 // ...
21 Node_base* node_; // pointer to referenced node
22 };

List Node Node Node

next_ next_ next_

next_
node_
prev_ prev_ prev_
prev_
elem_ elem_ elem_
size_ 3

Iterator

node_

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1488
Remarks on Doubly-Linked Lists With Sentinel Node
advantages and disadvantages mostly similar to those of classic
doubly-linked list
effectively no memory cost for sentinel node over standard doubly-linked
list
sentinel node effectively makes list circular and always nonempty
sentinel node eliminates special cases caused by empty list and insertion
and removal at start and end of list (simplifying code)
use of sentinel node facilitates more efficient iterator type
in absence of sentinel node, null pointer would need to be used to indicate
end of list
this causes problems for efficient implementation of bidirectional iterator
(namely, consider predecessor operation for iterator that refers to end of
list)
use of sentinel node avoids this problem
(bidirectional) iterator can be implemented with single pointer as state
typically, doubly-linked list with sentinel node used to implement
std::list
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1489
Stack ADT

stack ADT is ADT for container where elements can only be inserted or
removed in last-in first-out (LIFO) order
can only insert and remove elements at top of stack
operations provided by stack ADT:
clear: remove all elements from stack
is empty: test if stack is empty
top: access element at top of stack (without removing)
push: add element to top of stack
pop: remove element from top of stack
stack overflow: attempting to perform push operation when insufficient
space available for element being added
stack underflow: attempting to perform pop operation when stack empty
example realizations of stack ADT:
std::stack

boost::lockfree::stack

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1490
Array Implementation of Stack
stack can be efficiently implemented using array
code example:
1 template <class T> class Stack {
2 // ...
3 T* start_; // pointer to start of element storage
4 T* end_; // pointer to end of element storage
5 T* ptr_; // pointer to next free slot on stack
6 };
stack empty if ptr_ equals start_
stack has reached capacity if ptr_ equals end_
push operation stores element at *ptr_ and then increments ptr_
pop operation decrements ptr_
top operation provides access to ptr_[-1]
due to possibility of exceeding array capacity, cannot guarantee each
push operation takes constant time; can only hope for amortized (not
worst-case) O(1) time
memory efficient: only per-element storage cost is element data itself
cache-efficient: element data is contiguous in memory
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1491
Array Implementation of Stack: Diagram

Stack Array of T
x0
start_
x1
end_ ..
.
ptr_ xn−1

..
.

advantages:
elements stored contiguously in memory
no per-element storage overhead
disadvantages:
if capacity of array exceeded, must reallocate and copy
if array grown, can only guarantee amortized (not worst-case) O(1) time for
push
if array reallocated, elements references are invalidated

stack can be efficiently implemented using node-based singly-linked list

code example:
1 // stack node
2 template <class T> struct Node {
3 Node* next_; // pointer to next node in stack
4 T elem_; // element data
5 };
6
7 // stack
8 template <class T> class Stack {
9 // ...
10 Node<T>* top_; // pointer to node at top of stack
11 };

only need list to be singly linked (as opposed to doubly linked), since all
insertions and removals performed at start of list (i.e., top of stack)

Stack Node Node Node

top_ next_ next_ next_ 0

size_ 3 elem_ elem_ elem_

advantages:
no capacity-exceeded problem as in array case
can perform push operation in O(1) time in worst case
element references are stable
disadvantages:
element data not contiguous in memory
has per-element storage overhead (i.e., 1 pointer for successor)
relative to array-based implementation, requires more space

queue ADT is container where elements can only be inserted and

removed in first-in first-out (FIFO) order
elements removed from front (a.k.a. head) of queue
elements inserted at back (a.k.a. tail) of queue
operations for queue ADT include:
clear: remove all elements from queue
is empty: test if queue is empty
front: access element at front of queue (without removing)
enqueue: insert element at back of queue
dequeue: remove element from front of queue
examples of realizations of queue ADT:
std::queue
boost::lockfree::queue

double-ended queue ADT is similar to queue ADT except allows elements

to be inserted or removed at either front or back

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1497
Array Implementation of Queue
array implementation of bounded queue
code example:
1 // bounded queue
2 template <class T> Queue {
3 // ...
4 T* start_; // start of array for queue elements
5 T* end_; // end of array for queue elements
6 T* head_; // pointer to element at front of queue
7 T* tail_; // pointer to back of queue
8 std::size_t size_; // number of entries in queue
9 };
array used in circular fashion
queue is empty if size_ is zero
queue is full if size_ equals max_size
if queue not full, enqueue operation places element at tail_ and then
increments tail_ with wraparound and increments size_
if queue not empty, dequeue operation increments head_ with
wraparound and decrements size_
front operation provides access to *head_
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1498
Array Implementation of Queue: Diagram

Queue Array of T

start_

end_ ..
.
head_
x0
tail_
x1
size_ n ..
.
xn−1

..
.

although only consider queue of bounded size, could extend to

unbounded case by using dynamically-resizable array
advantages:
elements stored in contiguous buffer, occupying at most two contiguous
regions of memory (i.e., contiguous region with potential hole in middle)
can insert and remove in O(1) time
can access front element in O(1) time
disadvantages:
queue must be of bounded size
relaxing restriction of bounded size raises other issues associated with
reallocation of array when capacity exceeded (e.g., worst case enqueue
time not O(1), element references not stable)

array of arrays can be used to implement (unbounded) queue

code example:
1 // how many Ts held in each block?
2 template <class T> constexpr std::size_t block_size
3 = sizeof(T) < 512 ? 512 / sizeof(T) : 1;
4
5 template <class T> class Iterator {
6 // ...
7 T* cur_; // pointer to referenced element
8 T* first_; // pointer to first element in block
9 T* last_; // pointer to end element in block
10 T** node_; // pointer to current block
11 };
12
13 template <class T> class Queue {
14 // ...
15 T** map_; // array of block pointers
16 std::size_t size_; // size of map array
17 Iterator start_; // iterator for first element in queue
18 Iterator finish_; // iterator for end element in queue
19 };

Queue Block

map_
size_ 6 x0
x1
cur_
first_ Map
start_ Block
last_ 0 x2
0 x3
block_
x4
x5
cur_
0
first_
finish_ Block
last_
x6
block_ x7

advantages:
elements never change their location so pointers and references to
elements are stable
disadvantages:
although each individual block holding element data is contiguous, blocks
not contiguous
although elements are never relocated by insertions and removals, iterators
can be invalidated
similar data structure used in some implementations of std::deque

doubly-linked list implementation of queue

code example:
1 // queue node
2 template <class T> struct Node {
3 Node* next_; // pointer to next entry in queue
4 Node* prev_; // pointer to previous entry in queue
5 T elem_; // element data
6 };
7
8 template <class T> class Queue {
9 // ...
10 Node<T>* first_; // first entry in queue
11 Node<T>* last_; // last entry in queue
12 std::size_t size_; // number of queued elements
13 };

enqueue operation uses insert operation of linked list to insert element at

end of list
dequeue operation uses remove operation of linked list to remove element
at head of list
front operation provides access to element at head of list
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1504
Node-Based Implementation of Queue: Diagram

Queue Node Node Node

head_ next_ next_ next_ 0

tail_ prev_ 0 prev_ prev_

size_ 3 elem_ elem_ elem_

Iterator

node_

tail_

advantages:
enqueue and dequeue operations can be performed in O(1) time
stable element references
disadvantages:
elements not stored contiguously in memory

Multiway and Binary Trees

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1507
Trees
tree is non-linear hierarchical data type
tree consists of zero or more nodes
except root, each node has parent
each node has zero or more children
tree containing no nodes is empty
node q said to be parent of node n if n is child of q
root node: node in tree with no parent
node q said to be sibling of node n if q and n have same parent
tree said to be ordered if linear ordering of children of each node

example:
A A is root node
B is child of A
B C D
A is parent of B
E F G H C and D are siblings of B
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1508
Tree Terminology

path of length k in tree is sequence of k + 1 nodes n0 , n1 , . . . , nk where ni

is parent of ni+1
node q said to be ancestor of node n if q is on path from root node to n
node q is said to be descendant of node n if q on path from n to leaf
every node is both ancestor and descendant of itself
node q said to be proper ancestor of n if ancestor of, and distinct from, n
node q is said to be proper descendant of n if q is descendant of, and
distinct from, n

example:
A A, B, F is path of length 2
A and B are proper ancestors of E
B C D
E and F are proper descendants of B
E F G H B is ancestor and descendant of B
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1509
Tree Terminology (Continued 1)
subtree rooted at node n is tree that consists of n and all of its
descendants (e.g., subtree of root is entire tree)
degree of node is number of its children
degree of tree is maximum node degree taken over all nodes in tree
internal node is node that has at least one child
external node (also called leaf node) is node that does not have any
children

example:
tree consisting of nodes B, E , and F
A is subtree associated with node B
degree of node B is 2
B C D
degree of tree is 3

E F G H A, B, and D are internal nodes

C, E , F , G, and H are leaf nodes
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1510
Tree Terminology (Continued 2)
depth of node (also called level) is length of path from root to node (or
equivalently, number of proper ancestors of node) (e.g., root node has
depth of zero)
dth level of tree is all nodes at depth d in tree
height of node is length of longest path from node to any leaf (e.g., leaf
node has height of zero)
height of tree is maximum node height taken over all nodes in tree (i.e.,
height of root) if tree is nonempty; otherwise, defined to be −1

example:
A
depths of nodes C and E are 1 and 2,
respectively

B C D nodes B, C, and D are at level 1

height of node D is 1
E F G H
height of tree is 2
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1511
Tree Terminology (Continued 3)

weight of node n is number of descendant leaf nodes possessed by n

weight of tree is number of leaf nodes in tree (i.e., weight of root node)

example:
A
weights of nodes B and C are 2 and
B C D 0, respectively
weight of tree is 5
E F G H

preorder traversal: node visited before its descendants (i.e., parent

before children)
postorder traversal: node visited after its descendants (i.e., children
before parent)
preorder traversal might be used, for example, to print hierarchical
document, where nodes correspond to sections in document
postorder traversal might be used, for example, to compute space used by
files in directory and its subdirectories

example:
A
preorder traversal visits nodes in
order: A, B, E , F , C, D, G, H
B C D
postorder traversal visits nodes in
order: E , F , B, C, G, H , D, A
E F G H

representing directory tree in hierarchical file system

each internal node corresponds to directory
each leaf node corresponds to file (or empty directory)
representing arithmetic expressions
each internal node corresponds to operator
each leaf node corresponds to operand
representing decision-making process
each internal node corresponds to question with yes/no answer
each leaf node corresponds to final outcome of decision-making process
searching for elements in collection
nodes correspond to elements in collection
nodes positioned in tree based on element keys

tree ADT provides abstraction of tree data type

operations provides by tree ADT include:
clear: remove all nodes from tree
size: get number of nodes in tree
is empty: test if tree is empty (i.e., contains no nodes)
root: get root node of tree
parent: get parent of node (which is not root)
children: get children of node
is internal: test if node is internal node
is external: test if node is external node
is root: test if node is root
replace: replace element in node
may provide iterator ADT for traversing tree
often tree ADT by itself is not particularly useful
instead, tree ADT typically used to build other more task-specific ADTs
(e.g., set ADT, multiset ADT, and so on)

node-based implementation of tree

each node has pointer to first child and next sibling
subsequent children can be accessed by following sibling pointers from
first child
allows size of node data structure to be constant (i.e., independent of
maximum number of children)
code example:
1 template <class T> struct Node {
2 Node* parent_; // pointer to parent
3 Node* child_; // pointer to first child
4 Node *sibling_; // pointer to next sibling
5 T elem_;
6 };
7
8 template <class T> class Tree {
9 // ...
10 Node<T>* root_; // pointer to root node
11 std::size_t size_; // number of nodes in tree
12 };

root_ parent_ 0
size_ 6 child_
sibling_ 0
elem_

Node Node Node

parent_ parent_ parent_

child_ 0 child_ child_ 0
sibling_ sibling_ sibling_ 0
elem_ elem_ elem_

Node Node

parent_ parent_
child_ 0 child_ 0
sibling_ sibling_ 0
elem_ elem_

each internal node has at most two children

each node, excluding root node, labelled as either left or right child
left subtree is tree rooted at left child
right subtree is tree rooted at right child

example:
root node is A
A
left child of A is B
B C right child of A is C

D E F
left subtree of A is tree consisting of nodes B, D, and E
right subtree of A is tree consisting of nodes C and F

binary tree said to be perfect (or full) if each internal node has exactly
two children (which results in all leaves being at same level)
binary tree said to be complete if perfect except possibly for deepest level
which must be filled from left to right
perfect implies complete

Perfect Complete

binary tree said to be perfectly balanced all leaf nodes have same depth
binary tree said to be strictly balanced if, for any two leaf nodes,
difference in their depth is at most one
binary tree said to be height balanced if height of left and right subtrees
of each (interior) node differ by at most one
perfectly balanced implies strictly balanced (but converse does not hold)
strictly balanced implies height balanced (but converse does not hold)

Perfectly Balanced
Strictly Balanced Height Balanced

preorder traversal: visit node, then left subtree, then right subtree
postorder traversal: visit left subtree, then right subtree, then node
level-order traversal: visit nodes from left to right within level from top
downwards
one additional traversal order for binary trees: in order
in-order traversal: visit left subtree, then node, then right subtree

example:
A preorder traversal order: A, B, D, E , C, F
postorder traversal order: D, E , B, F , C, A
B C
inorder traversal order: D, B, E , A, C, F
D E F
level order traversal order: A, B, C, D, E , F

binary tree ADT provides abstraction of binary tree

operations provided by binary tree ADT that are common to general (i.e.,
m-ary) tree ADT include:
create: make empty tree
root: get root node
parent: get parent of node
is internal: test if node is internal (i.e., non-leaf)
is external: test if node is external (i.e., leaf)
is root: test if node is root of tree
is empty: test if binary tree is empty (i.e., contains no nodes)
size: get number of nodes in tree
clear: remove all nodes from tree
replace: replace element in node
add root: add root node (to empty tree)

other operations provided by binary tree ADT include:

left child: get left child of node
right child: get right child of node
has left child: test if node has left child
has right child: test if node has right child
insert left: insert node as left child of node (which must be leaf)
insert right: insert node as right child of node (which must be leaf)
remove: remove node (which must be leaf)
may provide iterator ADT for traversing tree

node-based implementation of binary tree

node data structure and tree data structure
null pointer used as sentinel to indicate “no such node” (e.g., child of leaf,
parent of root, etc.)
code example:
1 template <class T> struct Node {
2 Node* parent_; // pointer to parent
3 Node* left_; // pointer to left child
4 Node* right_; // pointer to right child
5 T elem_; // element data
6 };
7
8 template <class T> class Tree {
9 // ...
10 Node<T>* root_; // pointer to root node
11 std::size_t size_; // number of nodes in tree
12 };

node-based implementation preferred for trees that are not complete

in practice, sentinel node often preferred when iterator functionality must
be provided
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1524
Node-Based Binary Tree: Diagram
Tree Node

root_ parent_ 0
size_ 5 left_
right_
elem_

Node Node

parent_ parent_
left_ left_ 0
right_ right_ 0
elem_ elem_

Node Node

parent_ parent_
left_ 0 left_ 0
right_ 0 right_ 0
elem_ elem_

advantages:
can handle case of tree that is not complete without gross memory
inefficiency
can provide stable element references
disadvantages:
has per-element storage overhead (3 pointers: 1 for parent, 1 for first child,
and 1 for second child or next sibling)
element data not contiguous

complete binary tree can be implemented using array

position in array determines position in tree
let index(n) denote index of node n
let parent(n), left(n), and right(n) denote parent, left child, and right child
of node n
root node has index 0; and
index(left(n)) = 2 index(n) + 1
index(right(n)) = 2 index(n) + 2
index(parent(n)) = ⌊(index(n) − 1)/2⌋
code example:
1 template <class T> class Tree {
2 // ...
3 T* start_; // start of element data
4 T* end_; // end of element data
5 std::size_t size_; // allocated size of data
6 };

example of complete tree with nodes labelled with corresponding array

indices:
0
A
1 2
B C
3 4 5 6
D E F G
7 8 9
H I J

advantages:
memory efficient: no per-element storage overhead (i.e., no memory cost
for representing connectivity of nodes in tree)
cache efficient: element data stored contiguously in memory
disadvantages:
can only handle complete trees
although could generalize this approach to handle non-complete tree,
would be grossly inefficient in terms of memory usage
if array capacity exceeded, costly reallocation and copy required
if array reallocation occurs, cannot provide stable references to elements
array implementation should be preferred for complete trees (unless
inability to guarantee stable element references is problematic)

binary tree is said to have binary search tree property if, for each node
node n with key k, following holds:
every key in left subtree of n is less than or equal to k; and
every key in right subtree of n is greater than or equal to k

for tree of height h, can find element in O(h) time

example of binary search tree:
40

20 60

10 30 50 70

5 25 35 45 80

tree said to have heap property if, for each node n in tree, following
holds:
key of n is greater than or equal to key of each descendant of n

heap is tree that satisfies heap property

inserting or removing node can be done in O(log n) time without breaking
heap property (but may need rearrangement of some nodes)
example of heap:
80

70 60

55 45 35 42

10 20 30 15 16

Hash Tables

rather than navigating through search tree comparing search key to

element key, hashing tries to reference element directly in table based on
key
effectively, hashing transforms key into address in table
basic operations provided by hash table:
insert: add element to hash table
remove: remove element from hash table
find: search for element in hash table based on key
want above operations to take O(1) time on average
order of elements in table unimportant

hash table of size m consists of m slots (also called buckets) numbered

from 0 to m − 1 (inclusive)
each element stored in hash table has key and possibly some associated
value
each slot can be empty or contain element data
slot in which element stored determined by applying hash function to key
load factor is ratio of number of elements in hash table to hash table size
collision said to occur when two distinct keys map to same index in hash
table
often, choosing table size as prime number helps to ensure more uniform
distribution of elements over slots

collection of 10-digit employee numbers

employee number is key
hash function yields last four digits of employee number

Index Slot

0000
0001 0019910001
0002 5919870002
0003
..
.
9997 1212009997
9998
9999 1122339999

hash function: maps key k of given type to integer in {0, 1, . . . , m − 1}

hash function usually specified as composition of two functions:
1 hash code map
2 compression map
hash code map: maps key to integer
compression map: maps integer to integer in {0, 1, . . . , m − 1}
first hash-code map h1 applied to key k and then compression map h2
applied to result to yield hash function h(k) = h2 (h1 (k))
hash function is typically many-to-one mapping (which can therefore result
in collisions)
goal of hash function is to distribute keys uniformly across elements of
{0, 1, . . . , m − 1}, which will reduce likelihood of collisions
hash function should be fast to compute

various strategies can be used to generate hash-code map

integer cast:
reinterpret bits of key as integer
component sum:
partition key into integers of fixed size
then, sum these integers ignoring overflow
polynomial accumulation:
partition bits of key into sequence of components of fixed length
a0 , a1 , . . . , an−1
then, evaluate polynomial p(z) = ∑n−1 i
i=0 ai zi for some fixed value of z,
ignoring overflow

various strategies can be used to generate compression map

let m denote size of hash table
m usually chosen to be prime in order to better distribute keys over hash
values
division:
h2 (i) = i mod m

multiply, add, and divide:

h2 (i) = (ai + b) mod m, where a and b nonnegative integers and

a mod m 6= 0

chaining also called closed addressing

with chaining, collisions handled by allowing multiple elements to be
placed in single slot
elements in slot stored in linked list
simple uniform hashing: keys equally likely to hash into any of slots
for load factor α, successful and unsuccessful searches take
average-case time Θ(1 + α) under assumption of simple uniform hashing
if insertion of elements already in hash table not allowed, insert operation
has worst-case O(1) time
removal of element has worst-case O(1) time
can support insert, remove, and search all in O(1) time on average (under
assumption of simple uniform hashing)
hash table cannot fill since each slot can potentially hold any number of
elements

with open addressing, only one element allowed to be stored per slot in
table so in case of collision alternate choice must be made for slot to store
element
sequence of indices to consider (in order) when inserting (or searching
for) element with given key called probe sequence
examine table at each position in probe sequence until slot for element is
found (e.g., empty slot for insertion)
for each possible key k, probe sequence should be permutation of
{0, 1, . . . , m − 1} so that all slots are reachable
many possible choices for probe sequence (e.g., linear, quadratic, double
hashing, and random hashing)
load factor α must satisfy α ≤ 1 (since only one element stored per slot)
uniform hashing: probe sequence of each key equally likely to be any of
m! permutations of {0, 1, . . . , m − 1}
1
number of probes in unsuccessful search is at most 1−α , assuming
uniform hashing
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1540
Linear Probing

with linear probing, probe sequence starts at hash value of key and then
proceeds as necessary sequentially, wrapping around to beginning of
table when end of table reached
ith value in probe sequence for key k given by h(k, i) = (h′ (k) + i) mod m,
where h′ is hash function
suffers from primary clustering, where colliding elements clump together
causing future collisions to generate longer sequence of probes
expected
number
of probes for insertion or unsuccessful search is
1 1
2 1 + (1−α) 2

1 1

expected number of probes for successful search is 2 1+ 1−α

integer key; hash function h(k) = k mod 13

insert 18, 15, 23, 31, 44, and 9 (in order):
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
18

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
15 18
k h(k)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
18 5
15 18 23
15 2
23 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
31 5
15 18 31 23
44 5
9 9
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
15 18 31 44 23

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
15 18 31 44 9 23

with quadratic probing, distance between probes is determined by

quadratic polynomial
ith value in probe sequence for key k given by
h(k, i) = (h′ (k) + c1 i + c2 i2 ) mod m, where h′ is hash function and c1 and
c2 are nonnegative integer constants
c1 , c2 , and m must be carefully chosen to guarantee successful insertion
is possible
most often c1 = 0 and c2 = 1 and m prime
must ensure that loading factor α ≤ 12 in order to guarantee successful
insertion
eliminates primary clustering, but suffers from secondary clustering

integer key; hash function h(k) = k mod 13; c1 = 0 and c2 = 1

insert 18, 15, 23, 31, 44, and 9 (in order):
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
18

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
15 18

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 k h(k)
15 18 23 18 5
15 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 23 10
15 18 31 23 31 5
44 5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 9 9
15 18 31 44 23

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
9 15 18 31 44 23

with double hashing, distance between successive probes determined by

secondary hash function
ith value in probe sequence for key k given by
h(k, i) = (h1 (k) + ih2 (k)) mod m, where h1 is (primary) hash function and
h2 is secondary hash function
h2 must never be zero
h2 must be coprime with m for entire hash table to be searched
for example, could let m be prime and have h2 always yield strictly positive
integer less than m

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1545
Double Hashing Example
integer key; hash function h(k) = k mod 13; secondary hash function
d(k) = 7 − k mod 7
insert 18, 15, 23, 31, 44, and 9 (in order):
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
18

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
15 18

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
k h(k) d(k)
15 18 23
18 5 3
15 2 6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 23 10 5
15 18 31 23 31 5 4
44 5 5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 9 9 5
15 18 44 31 23

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
9 15 18 44 31 23

with random hashing, probe sequence generated by output of

pseudorandom number generator seeded by key
random number generation is relatively expensive
in practice, double hashing tends to work about as well

with open addressing, removal of elements can be problematic; in earlier

linear probing example, consider removal of element with key 31 followed
by search for element with key 44
simplest solution is to distinguish between slot that has always been
empty and slot from which element was deleted
to perform search:
probe until:
element with query key is found; or
empty slot is found; or
all slots have been unsuccessfully probed
to insert element (assuming not already in table):
examine successive slots in probe sequence until
slot found that is empty or “deleted”
if all slots have been unsuccessfully probed, error
store element in located slot
to remove element:
remove element and mark occupied slot with special “deleted” marker
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1548
Rehashing

if keep adding elements to hash table, eventually size of table will need to
be increased, due to loading factor becoming too large (for good
performance or correct behavior)
rehashing: rebuilding hash table with different number of slots
typical threshold for load factor α for rehashing:
1 for chaining
1

2 for open addressing

dictionary searches (e.g., spelling checkers, natural language

understanding)
accessing tree or graph nodes by name (e.g., city names on geographical
maps)
symbol tables in compilers
transposition tables used in some games (e.g., chess)

Sets, Multisets, Maps, and Multimaps

set ADT is container that stores collection of unique values

set can be ordered (i.e., elements have well-defined order) or unordered
operations provided by set ADT include:
clear: remove all elements from set
is empty: test if set is empty
size: query cardinality of set (i.e., number of elements in set)
insert: insert value in set
remove: remove value from set
find: locate value in set if present (i.e., for testing set membership)
multiset ADT similar to set ADT except that duplicate values allowed
example realizations of set/multiset ADT:
std::set and std::multiset

std::unordered_set and std::unordered_multiset

boost::intrusive::unordered_set and

boost::intrusive::unordered_multiset
boost::intrusive::set and boost::intrusive::multiset

map (or associative array) ADT is container that stores pairs each
consisting of key and value, where keys are unique
each element in map consists of key and value
operations provided by map ADT include:
clear: remove all elements from map
is empty: test if map is empty
size: query number of elements in map
insert: insert element in map
remove: remove element from map
find: locate element in map if present based on its key
multimap ADT similar to map ADT except that restriction that keys must
be unique is dropped
example realizations of map/multimap ADT:
std::map and std::multimap

std::unordered_map and std::unordered_multimap

boost::intrusive::set and boost::intrusive::multiset

ordered sets, multisets, maps, and multimaps typically implemented using

balanced binary search tree [link: binary search trees]
unordered sets, multisets, maps, and multimaps typically implemented
using hash table

red-black trees first proposed by Bayer (1972)

red-black tree is approximately height-balanced binary search tree
requires one additional field per node, namely, color (i.e., red or black)
binary search tree with following invariants:
each node is either red or black
root node is black
if node is red, then both of its children are black
every path from given node to any of its descendant nil nodes (i.e., null
pointer) contains same number of black nodes
invariants guarantee approximate height balancing
path from root to farthest leaf no more than twice as long as path from
root to nearest leaf
height h of tree with n nodes is bounded by h ≤ 2 log2 (n + 1)
invariants maintained by rotation and color flipping operations
memory cost only 1 additional bit per node (for color), relative to classic
binary tree
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1555
Red-Black Trees (Continued)

some C++ standard library implementations use red-black trees for types
that provide binary search tree functionality (e.g., std::set and
std::map)
example realizations of red-black trees:
boost::intrusive::rbtree, boost::intrusive::set, and

boost::intrusive::multiset
example of red-black tree (where red nodes are shaded gray):
40

20 60

10 30 50 70

5 45 55 65 75

42 48

AVL trees first proposed by Adelson-Velsky and Landis (1962)

AVL tree is height-balanced binary search tree
balance factor b of node n is defined as b = r − ℓ, where ℓ and r are
heights of left and right subtrees of n, respectively
AVL tree is binary search tree such that, for every node n, balance factor b
of n satisfies b ∈ {−1, 0, 1} (i.e., for each node in tree, height of left and
right subtrees differ by at most one)
need to store balance factor in each node
AVL trees more rigidly balanced than red-black trees
height h of tree with n nodes is bounded by
h ≤ c log2 (n + d) + b ≈ 1.440 log2 (n + 1.065) − 0.328,
√
1+ 5
where c = log1 ϕ , b = 2c log2 5 − 2, d = 1 + 41√ , and ϕ = 2
2 ϕ 5
memory cost is 2 bits per node (for balance factor), relative to classic
binary tree
rebalancing achieved by rotation operations
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1557
AVL Trees (Continued)

since AVL trees more rigidly balanced than red-black trees, search
operations typically faster in AVL tree
insertion and removal operations typically slower in AVL tree than in
red-black tree, due to more work being required for tree re-balancing
example realizations of AVL trees:
boost::intrusive::avltree, boost::intrusive::avl_set, and

boost::intrusive::avl_multiset
example of AVL tree:
40
(+1)

20 60
(−1) (+1)

10 30 50 70
(−1) (0) (−1) (−1)

5 45 65 75
(0) (0) (0) (0)

62 66
(0) (0)

treap is combination of binary search tree and heap

each node has key and priority
nodes arranged to form binary search tree with respect to key
nodes also arranged to form heap with respect to priority
if priorities chosen randomly, tree will be well balanced with high
probability
treaps provide benefits of balanced search trees, but rebalancing (which
is driven by heap property) is less complicated than with some other types
of balanced search trees
example realizations of treaps:
boost::intrusive::treap, boost::intrusive::treap_set, and

boost::intrusive::treap_multiset

splay tree is self-adjusting binary search tree with property that searches
for more frequently accessed elements can be performed more quickly
splay tree keeps more recently accessed elements closer to root
caching effect comes at cost of tree rebalancing being required each time
search is performed
significant disadvantage of splay tree is that height of tree can become
linear in number of elements
in worst case, insertion, removal, and search operations take amortized
O(log n) time
example realizations of splay trees:
boost::intrusive::splay_tree, boost::intrusive::splay_set,

and boost::intrusive::splay_multiset

scapegoat tree is self-balancing binary search tree

provides worst-case O(log n) search time
provides insertion and removal in amortized O(log n) time
unlike other self-balancing binary search trees that provide worst-case
O(log n) search time, scapegoat trees have no additional per-node
overhead compared to regular binary search tree
rebalancing can potentially be very expensive, although only infrequently
consequently, insertion and removal operations have worst-case O(n)
time
example realizations of scapegoat trees:
boost::intrusive::sgtree, boost::intrusive::sg_set, and

boost::intrusive::sg_multiset

Priority Queues

priority queue ADT is ADT similar to queue except that each element on
queue also has corresponding priority
element at front of queue is always element with highest priority
operations provided by priority queue ADT include:
front: access element at front of queue (i.e., element with highest priority)
insert: insert element in queue with specified priority
remove: remove element from front of queue (i.e.. element with highest
priority)
update priority (optional): update priority of element in queue
if priority queue has stability property, elements with equal priority will
be removed in FIFO order
examples of realization of priority queue ADT:
std::priority_queue,

boost::heap::priority_queue and boost::heap::fibonacci_heap

priority queues typically implemented with heaps [link: heaps]

heaps can always be constructed to be complete trees
consequently, can reasonably choose to implement priority queue with
either array-based or node-based tree
in practice, stability often ensured by augmenting priority with integer
sequence number, which is incremented with each insertion
array-based implementation more memory efficient but does not have
stable element references (if underlying array can be reallocated)
node-based implementation can offer stable element references

Graphs

graph is concept from discrete mathematics

collection of nodes and edges
nodes can be connected by edges
directed graph: edges are directed (i.e., have direction)
undirected graph: edges are undirected
examples of graphs:
A A

B C D B C D

E E

Undirected Directed

graph ADT is abstraction of mathematical notion of graph

operations for graph ADT include:
adjacent: tests if edge from one vertex to another
neighbours: list all vertices that have edge to another vertex
insert vertex: add vertex to graph
remove vertex: remove vertex from graph
insert edge: add edge from one vertex to another
remove edge: remove edge from one vertex to another
get vertex value: get value associated with vertex
set vertex value: set value associated with vertex
get edge value: get value associated with edge
set edge value: set value associated with edge
examples of realization of graph ADT:
boost::adjacency_list and boost::adjacency_matrix

adjacency (i.e., connectivity) of n nodes can be represented using n × n

binary matrix called adjacency matrix
(i, j)th element of adjacency matrix is 1 if graph has edge from node i to
node j and 0 otherwise
if graph is undirected, adjacency matrix is symmetric and only lower
triangular part of matrix need be stored
if graph is directed, adjacency matrix is not necessarily symmetric, and
entire matrix must be stored
can test adjacency of two nodes (which requires examining element in
matrix) in O(1) time
identifying all neighbours of given node takes O(n) time
iterating over all edges is slow
storage cost of adjacency matrix is Θ(n2 )
high storage cost easier to justify if graph has large number of edges

adjacency (i.e., connectivity) of v nodes can be represented using v linked

lists
ith list contains node j if and only if graph has edge from node i to node j
can test adjacency of two nodes (which requires traversing linked list) in
worst-case O(d) time, where d is largest valence of nodes in graph
identifying all neighbours of given node very cheap
storage cost of adjacency list is O(v + e), where v and e is number of
node and edges, respectively

Intrusive Containers

container said to be intrusive if it requires help from elements it intends to

store in order to store them
intrusive container directly places user’s objects in container (not copies
of user’s objects)
node pointers exposed to user of container, which allows some operations
to be performed more efficiently
intrusive container does not own elements it stores
lifetime of stored object not bound to or managed by container (i.e.,
lifetime of stored objects managed by user)
can store element in multiple intrusive containers simultaneously (which is
not possible with nonintrusive containers)
more coupling between code for container and code using container

object can only belong to one container

only copies of objects stored in nonintrusive containers
creating copies of values can become bottleneck (due to memory
allocation and copying)
noncopyable and nonmovable objects cannot be stored in nonintrusive
containers (unless objects can be directly constructed inside container
and are guaranteed not to be copied/moved subsequently)
cannot store derived object in nonintrusive container and retain original
type (i.e., copying derived object into container would result in slicing)

same object can be placed in multiple intrusive containers simultaneously

intrusive containers do not invoke memory management operations since
do not own stored elements
complexity of inserting and removing elements in intrusive containers
more predictable since no memory allocation involved
intrusive containers tend to allow stronger complexity guarantees (since
no memory allocation or copying performed)
intrusive containers offer better exception safety guarantees (since do not
need to make copy of element to place in container)
for intrusive container, computation of iterator from pointer or reference to
element is O(1) time operation, which is not usually true for nonintrusive
containers (e.g., for nonintrusive linked list, this operation takes O(n) time)

in order to use type with intrusive container, must change definition of type
each type stored in intrusive container needs additional memory to hold
information for container
intrusive containers unavoidably expose some implementation details of
container to user
since some implementation details are exposed, easier to break invariants
of container; for example:
changing key of element in map
corrupting pointers used to link nodes in container
user must assume responsibility for memory management (since
container does not)
user must manage lifetime of objects placed in container independent
from lifetime of container itself, which can be error prone:
when destroying container before object, must be careful to avoid resource
leaks
destroying object while in container, likely to be disasterous since container
uses part of object to implement container
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Disadvantages of Intrusive Containers (Continued)

intrusive containers typically not copyable or movable since such

containers do not directly perform memory allocation
analyzing thread safety of program using intrusive containers often more
difficult since container contents can be modified without going through
container interface

node-based implementation of list where each node tracks both its

successor and predecessor
value type (which stores user data) and node type (which is used to
maintain list) are same
null pointer used as sentinel value to indicate “no such node” (e.g., no
successor/predecessor node or no head/tail node)
in order for elements of type T to be used with container, T must include
special type as data member (which encapsulates next/previous pointers
for linked list)
uses pointer to member to identify member that holds list node state [link:
pointers to members

1 // type encapsulating links for list (i.e., part of list node)

2 template <class T> struct list_hook {
3 // ...
4 T* next_; // pointer to next node in list
5 T* prev_; // pointer to previous node in list
6 };
7
8 // iterator class (C determines if const_iterator)
9 template <class T, list_hook<T> T::* P, bool C> class list_iterator {
10 // ...
11 // node_ptr is either T* or const T* depending on C
12 node_ptr node_; // pointer to node of referenced element
13 node_ptr const* tail_; // pointer to list tail node pointer
14 };
15
16 template <class T, list_hook<T> T::* P> class list {
17 // ...
18 T* head_; // pointer to first node in list
19 T* tail_; // pointer to last node in list
20 std::size_t size_; // number of elements in list
21 };

1 // list node with user data

2 struct Widget {
3 // ...
4 list_hook<Widget> hook; // public
5 // ...
6 };
7
8 // type for list of Widget objects
9 using Widget_list = list<Widget, &Widget::hook>;

List Widget Widget Widget

.. .. ..
head_ . . .
hook hook hook
tail_
next_ next_ next_ 0
size_ 3
prev_ 0 prev_ prev_

.. .. ..
. . .

Iterator

node_

tail_

node pointer and value pointer are equivalent (i.e., pointers to next and
previous nodes have type T*)
storage cost of iterator is two pointers (but one pointer would be more
desirable)
iterator state requires pointer to list tail pointer in order to handle case of
decrementing end iterator (which has null node pointer)
implementation does not require any non-portable constructs

intrusive doubly-linked list with sentinel node is circular doubly-linked

list with dummy node that serves as sentinel (instead of using null pointer)
value type (which stores user data) and node type (which is used to
maintain list) are distinct
in particular, value type contains node type as data member
effectively sentinel node makes list circular
in order for elements of type T to be used with container, T must include
special type as data member (which encapsulates next/previous pointers
for linked list)

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Intrusive Doubly-Linked List With Sentinel Node: Code
1 // list node class
2 struct list_hook {
3 // ...
4 list_hook* next_; // pointer to next node in list
5 list_hook* prev_; // pointer to previous node in list
6 };
7
8 // list traits class (no data members)
9 template <class T, list_hook<T> T::* P> class list_traits {
10 // functions for mapping between object and node pointers
11 };
12
13 // list iterator class (C determines if const_iterator)
14 template <class T, list_hook<T> T::* P, bool C> class list_iterator :
15 list_traits<T, P>{
16 // ...
17 list_hook* node_; // pointer to node of referenced element
18 };
19
20 // list
21 template <class T, list_hook<T> T::* P> class list :
22 list_traits<T, P> {
23 // ...
24 list_hook node_; // sentinel node
25 std::size_t size_; // number of elements in list
26 };

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Intrusive Doubly-Linked List With Sentinel Node: Code (Continued)

1 // list node with user data

2 struct Widget {
3 // ...
4 list_hook hook; // public
5 // ...
6 };
7
8 // type of list of Widget objects
9 using Widget_list = list<Widget, &Widget::hook>;

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Intrusive Doubly-Linked List With Sentinel Node: Diagram

List Widget Widget Widget

.. .. ..
. . .
next_
hook hook hook
node_
prev_ next_ next_ next_

size_ 3 prev_ prev_ prev_

.. .. ..
. . .

Iterator

node_

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Remarks on Intrusive Doubly-Linked List With Sentinel Node

circular list avoids many special cases in implementation of list class

(since circular list never empty and list has no beginning or end)
node and value types are distinct (i.e., node pointers are of type
list_hook, not T)
storage cost of iterator is one pointer
implementation requires non-portable construct to determine value pointer
from node pointer
determining value pointer from node pointer cannot work in all cases (in
particular, if value type uses virtual inheritance)
limitations on what types can be placed in container
another variation on this intrusive list approach can be obtained by using
inheritance to add required list state to user’s type (instead of adding by
data members), which has some advantages

as of C++17, all container classes in standard library are nonintrusive

Boost library has good selection of intrusive containers, which includes
(amongst others):
boost::intrusive::slist (intrusive singly-linked list)

boost::intrusive::list (intrusive doubly-linked list)

boost::intrusive::set (intrusive set/map)

boost::intrusive::multiset (intrusive multiset/multimap)

boost::intrusive::unordered_set (intrusive unordered set/map)
boost::intrusive::unordered_multiset (intrusive unordered

multiset/multimap)
boost::intrusive_ptr (intrusive reference-counted smart pointer)

Miscellany

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Memory Management for Containers
for reasons of efficiency or functionality (or even correctness), often
necessary to:
separate memory allocation from construction
separate memory deallocation from destruction
operator new can be used to perform only memory allocation (without
construction)
placement new can be used to perform only construction (without memory
allocation)
operator delete can be used to perform only memory deallocation (without
destruction)
direct invocation of destructor can be used to perform only destruction
(without memory deallocation)
allocator type provides interface that decouples allocation/deallocation
and construction/destruction
numerous convenience functions provided by standard library for dealing
with uninitialized storage
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1588
Section 6.3.9

References

1 T. H. Cormen, C. E. Leiserson, R. L. Rivest, and C. Stein. Introduction to

Algorithms.
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 3rd edition, 2009.

2 N. Dale. C++ Plus Data Structures.

Jones and Bartlett, Sudbury, MA, USA, 3rd edition, 2003.

3 M. A. Weiss. Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in C++.

Pearson, Boston, MA, USA, 4th edition, 2014.
4 F. M. Carrano and J. J. Prichard. Data Abstraction and Problem Solving
With C++: Walls and Mirrors.
Addison Wesley, 3rd edition, 2001.

5 A. Drozdek. Data Structures and Algorithms in C++.

Brooks/Cole, Pacific Grove, CA, USA, 2nd edition, 2001.

6 G. Adelson-Velskii and E. M. Landis. An algorithm for the organization of

information.
Proc. of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 146:263–266, 1962.
In Russian.
7 R. Bayer. Symmetric binary B-trees: Data structure and maintenance
algorithms.
Acta Informatica, 1(4):290–306, 1972.
8 Boost C++ Libraries Web Site, http://www.boost.org.
9 M. Austern, The Standard Librarian: Defining Iterators and Const
Iterators, Dr. Dobb’s Journal, Jan. 2001, Available online at http://www.
drdobbs.com/the-standard-librarian-defining-iterato/
184401331.
10 R. Mattethat, Implementing Splay Trees in C++, Dr. Dobb’s Journal,
Sept. 2005, Available online at http://www.drdobbs.com/cpp/
implementing-splay-trees-in-c/184402007.

Finite-Precision Arithmetic

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1592
Code Example
What do each of the following functions output when executed?
void func1() {
double x = 0.1;
double y = 0.3;
double z = 0.4;
if (x + y == z) {
std::cout << "true\n";
} else {
std::cout << "false\n";
}
}
void func2() {
double x = 1e50;
double y = -1e50;
double z = 1.0;
if (x + y + z == z + y + x) {
std::cout << "true\n";
} else {
std::cout << "false\n";
}
}
void func3() {
for (double x = 0.0; x != 1.0; x += 0.1) {
std::cout << "hello\n";
}
}
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Number Representations Using Different Radixes

Note: All numbers are base 10, unless explicitly indicated otherwise.
What is the representation of 31 in base 3?
1
3 = 0.3 = 0.13
1
What is the representation of 10 in base 2?
1
10 = 0.1 = 0.000112
A number may have a representation with a finite number of non-zero
digits in one particular number base but not in another.
Therefore, when a value must be represented with a limited number of
significant digits, the number base matters (i.e., affects the approximation
error).
1
For example, in base 2, 10 cannot be represented exactly using only a
finite number of significant digits.
0.000112 = 0.09375
0.0001100112 = 0.099609375
...
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Finite-Precision Number Representations

finite-precision number representation only capable of representing small

fixed number of digits
due to limited number of digits, many values cannot be represented
exactly
in cases that desired value cannot be represented exactly, choose nearest
representable value (i.e., round to nearest representable value)
finite-precision representations can suffer from error due to roundoff,
underflow, and overflow
two general classes of finite-precision representations:
1 fixed-point representations
2 floating-point representations

fixed-point representation: radix point remains fixed at same position in

number
if radix point fixed to right of least significant digit position, integer format
results
Integer Format an−1 an−2 · · · a1 a0 .
if radix point fixed to left of most significant digit position, purely fractional
format results
Fractional Format .a n−1 an−2 · · · a1 a0
fixed-point representations quite limited in range of values that can be
represented
numbers that vary greatly in magnitude cannot be represented easily
using fixed-point representations
one solution to range problem would be for programmer to maintain
scaling factor for each fixed-point number, but this is clumsy and error
prone
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Floating-Point Number Representations

floating-point representation: radix point is not fixed at particular

position within number; instead radix point allowed to move and scaling
factor automatically maintained to track position of radix point
in general, floating-point value represents number x of form
x = sre ,
s is signed integer with fixed number of digits, and called significand
e is signed integer with fixed number of digits, and called exponent
r is integer satisfying r ≥ 2, and called radix
in practice, r typically 2
for fixed r, representation of particular x not unique if no constraints
placed on s and e (e.g., 5 · 100 = 0.5 · 101 = 0.05 · 102 )

to maximize number of significant digits in significand, s and e usually

chosen such that first nonzero digit in significand is to immediate left of
radix point (i.e., 1 ≤ |s| < r); number in this form called normalized;
otherwise called denormalized
other definitions of normalized/denormalized sometimes used but above
one consistent with IEEE 754 standard
Example:
0.75 = 0.112 = 1.12 · 2−1
1.25 = 1.012 = 1.012 · 20
−0.5 = −0.12 = −1.02 · 2−1

most widely used standard for (binary) floating-point arithmetic

specifies four floating-point formats: single, double, single extended, and
double extended
single and double formats called basic formats
radix 2
three integer parameters determine values representable in given format:
number p of significand bits (i.e., precision)
maximum exponent Emax
minimum exponent Emin

parameters for four formats are as follows:

Parameter Single Single Double Double
Extended Extended
p 24 ≥ 32 53 ≥ 64
Emax 127 > 1023 1023 ≥ 16383
Emin −126 ≤ −1022 −1022 ≤ −16382
Exponent bias 127 unspecified 1023 unspecified
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IEEE 754 Standard (Continued)

with each format, numbers of following form can be represented

(−1)s 2E (b0 .b1 b2 · · · b p−1 )
where s ∈ {0, 1}, E is integer satisfying Emin ≤ E ≤ Emax , and bi ∈ {0, 1}
in addition, can represent four special values: +∞, −∞, signaling NaN,
and quiet NaN
NaNs produced by:
operations with at least one NaN operand
operations yielding indeterminate forms, such as 0/0, (±∞)/(±∞),
0 · (±∞), (±∞) · 0, (+∞) + (−∞), and (−∞) + (∞)
real operations that yield complex results, such as square root of negative
number, logarithm of negative number, inverse sine/cosine of number that
lies outside [−1, 1]

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IEEE 754 Basic Formats
always represent number in normalized form whenever possible; in such
cases, b0 = 1 and b0 need not be stored explicitly as part of significand
bit patterns with reserved exponent values (i.e., exponent values that lie
outside the range Emin ≤ E ≤ Emax ) used to represent ±0, ±∞,
denormalized numbers, and NaNs
each of (basic) formats consist of three fields:
a sign bit, s
a biased exponent, e = E+ bias
a fraction, f = .b1 b2 · · · b p−1

only difference between formats is size of biased exponent and fraction

fields
value represented by basic format number related to its sign, exponent,
and fraction field, but relationship is complicated by the presence of zeros,
infinities, and NaNs
“strange” combination of biased and sign-magnitude formats used to
encode floating-point value chosen so that nonnegative floating-point
values ordered in same way as integers, allowing integer comparison to
compare floating-point numbers
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IEEE 754 Basic Formats (Continued)

single format:
1 8 23

s e f
MSB LSB MSB LSB

double format:
1 11 52

s e f
MSB LSB MSB LSB

summary of encodings:
Case Exponent Fraction Value
Normal Emin ≤ E ≤ Emax — (−1)s 2E (1 + f )
Denormal E = Emin − 1 f 6= 0 (−1)s 2Emin f
Zero E = Emin − 1 f =0 (−1)s 0
Infinity E = Emax + 1 f =0 (−1)s ∞
NaN E = Emax + 1 f 6= 0 NaN

How would the number 5.2510 be represented in single format?

5.2510 = 101.012 · 20 = 1.01012 · 22
Therefore, s = 0, e = 210 + 12710 = 12910 = 100000012 , and
f = 0101000 · · · 0, resulting in the word:
0 10000001 01010000000000000000000
s e f
How would the number −9.12510 be represented in double format?
−9.12510 = −1001.0012 · 20 = −1.0010012 · 23
Therefore, s = 1, e = 310 + 102310 = 102610 = 100000000102 , and
f = 001001000 · · · 0, resulting in the word:
1 10000000010 0010010000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
s e f

Understand the impact of using finite-precision arithmetic.

Do not make invalid assumptions about the set of values that can be
represented by a particular fixed-point or floating-point type.
Integer arithmetic can overflow. Be careful to avoid overflow.
Floating-point arithmetic can overflow and underflow.
Perhaps, more importantly, however, floating-point arithmetic has
roundoff error. If you are not deeply troubled by the presence of roundoff
error, you should be as it can cause major problems in many situations.

1 D. Goldberg. What every computer scientist should know about

floating-point arithmetic.
ACM Computing Surveys, 23(1):5–48, Mar. 1991
2 IEEE Std. 754-1985 — IEEE standard for binary floating-point arithmetic,
1985
3 IEEE Std. 754-2008 — IEEE standard for floating-point arithmetic, 2008

1 John Farrier, Demystifying Floating Point, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA,

Sept. 24, 2015. Available online at https://youtu.be/k12BJGSc2Nc.

Interval Arithmetic

interval arithmetic is technique for placing bounds on error in numerical

computation
often values provided as input to numerical computation not known
exactly, rather only known to within certain tolerance
uncertainty may be due to measurement error or other factors
consider numerous measured quantities that are provided as input to
some numerical computation
since measured quantity never known exactly (as measurement always
introduces uncertainty), more natural to represent quantity by range
therefore, would be convenient to have form of arithmetic that operates on
values that correspond to ranges
this is essentially what interval arithmetic does
interval arithmetic represents each value as range of possibilities and
defines set of rules for performing arithmetic on these ranges

rounding error analysis in numerical algorithms

filtered robust geometric predicates
robustly finding intersection of curves and surfaces
more robust root finding in ray tracing
computing optimal solutions to geometric matching problems under
bounded error
finding polygonal approximations of implicit curves
computer-assisted mathematical proofs

in real interval arithmetic, each value is represented as real interval:

[a1 , a2 ] = {x ∈ R | a1 ≤ x ≤ a2 }
addition, subtraction, and multiplication defined as:
A + B = {a + b | a ∈ A ∧ b ∈ B}
A − B = {a − b | a ∈ A ∧ b ∈ B}
A · B = {a · b | a ∈ A ∧ b ∈ B}
assuming division by interval containing 0 is not allowed, division defined
as:
A/B = {a/b | a ∈ A ∧ b ∈ B}

addition:
A + B = [a1 , a2 ] + [b1 , b2 ] = [a1 + b1 , a2 + b2 ]
negation:
−B = −[b1 , b2 ] = [−b2 , −b1 ]
formula for negation follows from fact that:
x ≥ b1 ⇒ −x ≤ −b1 and

x ≤ b2 ⇒ −x ≥ −b2

subtraction:
A − B = [a1 , a2 ] − [b1 , b2 ] = [a1 − b2 , a2 − b1 ]
formula for subtraction follows from combining addition and negation

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Multiplication and Division
multiplication:
A · B = [a1 , a2 ] · [b1 , b2 ] =[min{a1 b1 , a1 b2 , a2 b1 , a2 b2 },
max{a1 b1 , a1 b2 , a2 b1 , a2 b2 }]
(e.g., [a1 , a2 ] · [b1 , b2 ] = [a1 b1 , a2 b2 ] if 0 ≤ a1 ≤ a2 and 0 ≤ b1 ≤ b2 )
reciprocal (assuming division by interval containing 0 not allowed):
1/B = 1/[b1 , b2 ] = [1/b2 , 1/b1 ]
formula for reciprocal follows from fact that, since 0 6∈ [b1 , b2 ],
x ∈ [b1 , b2 ], b1 , b2 all have same sign (implying b1 x > 0 and b2 x > 0) and
consequently:
x ≥ b1 ⇒ x ≥
b1
b1 x b1 x ⇒ 1/b1 ≥ 1/x ⇒ 1/x ≤ 1/b1
b2
x ≤ b2 ⇒ bx2 x ≤ ⇒ 1/b2 ≤ 1/x ⇒ 1/x ≥ 1/b2
b2 x
division (assuming division by interval containing 0 not allowed):
A/B = [a1 , a2 ]/[b1 , b2 ] =[min{a1 /b1 , a1 /b2 , a2 /b1 , a2 /b2 },
max{a1 /b1 , a1 /b2 , a2 /b1 , a2 /b2 }]
formula for division follows from fact that division is simply multiplication by
reciprocal
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Allowing Division By Interval Containing Zero

consider implications of allowing division by interval containing zero

reciprocal, if 0 ∈ [b1
, b2 ]:


 (−∞, 1/b1 ] b1 6= 0, b2 = 0

[1/b , +∞)
2 b1 = 0, b2 6= 0
1/B = 1/[b1 , b2 ] =


 (−∞, 1/b1 ] ∪ [1/b2 , +∞) b1 6= 0, b2 6= 0

0/ b1 = b2 = 0
thus, if division by interval containing 0 is allowed, result cannot always be
represented by interval of form
[a1 , a2 ] = {x ∈ R | a1 ≤ x ≤ a2 }
in particular, arithmetic can yield result that corresponds to:
interval unbounded at one end
empty set
union of two separate intervals

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Allowing Division By Interval Containing Zero (Continued)

to accommodate division by interval containing zero, represent sets of

following forms:
[a1 , a2 ] = {x ∈ R | a1 ≤ x ≤ a2 }
[a1 , +∞) = {x ∈ R | x ≥ a1 }
(−∞, a2 ] = {x ∈ R | x ≤ a2 }
(−∞, +∞)
0/
for sake of simplicity, result of form (−∞, β1 ] ∪ [β2 , +∞) (where β1 < β2 ) is
mapped to (−∞, +∞)

in case of floating-point interval arithmetic, interval bounds are

floating-point values
that is, represent intervals of following form, where F is set of
machine-representable real numbers:
[a1 , a2 ] = {x ∈ F | a1 ≤ x ≤ a2 }
since floating-point value can only represent finite number of real
numbers, some real numbers cannot be represented exactly
when arithmetic operation performed, result must always be rounded to
machine-representable value
processor typically allows for control over how rounding performed by
supporting several rounding modes, such as:
round to nearest
round towards zero
round upwards (i.e., towards +∞)
round downwards (i.e., towards −∞)

must ensure that rounding does not cause interval to no longer bracket
result that would be obtained by (exact) real interval arithmetic
need to select shortest interval that contains result that would be obtained
from (exact) real interval arithmetic
lower bound of result must be computed with rounding downwards
upper bound of result must be computed with rounding upwards
using rounding in this way ensures that resulting interval will bracket
idealized (exact real) interval

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1616
Floating-Point Interval Arithmetic Operations
+
A + B = [a1 , a2 ] + [b1 , b2 ] = [a1 b1 , a2 + b2 ]
−
A − B = [a1 , a2 ] − [b1 , b2 ] = [a1 b2 , a2 − b1 ]

A · B = [a1 , a2 ] · [b1 , b2 ]
b2 ≤ 0 b1 < 0 < b2 b1 ≥ 0
a2 ≤ 0 [a2 ∗ b2 , a1 ∗ b1 ] [a1 ∗ b2 , a1 ∗ b1 ] [a1 ∗ b2 , a2 ∗ b1 ]
a1 < 0 < a2 [a2 ∗ b1 , a1 ∗ b1 ] [min{a1 ∗ b2 , a2 ∗ b1 }, [a1 ∗ b2 , a2 ∗ b2 ]
max{a1 ∗ b1 , a2 ∗ b2 ]}
a1 ≥ 0 [a2 ∗ b1 , a1 ∗ b2 ] [a2 ∗ b1 , a2 ∗ b2 ] [a1 ∗ b1 , a2 ∗ b2 ]

A/B = [a1 , a2 ]/[b1 , b2 ] where 0 6∈ [b1 , b2 ]

b2 < 0 b1 > 0
/ /
a2 ≤ 0 [a2 b1 , a1 /
b2 ] [a1 b1 , a2 /
b2 ]
/ /
a1 < 0 < a2 [a2 b2 , a1 /
b2 ] [a1 b1 , a2 /
b1 ]
/ /
a1 ≥ 0 [a2 b2 , a1 /
b1 ] [a1 b2 , a2 /
b1 ]
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1617
Allowing Division by Intervals Containing Zero

to accommodate division by intervals containing zero, represent intervals

of form
[a1 , a2 ] = {x ∈ R | a1 ≤ x ≤ a2 }
[a1 , +∞) = {x ∈ R | x ≥ a1 }
(−∞, a2 ] = {x ∈ R | x ≤ a2 }
(−∞, +∞)
0/
arithmetic operations as defined on subsequent slides
if any operand is 0/ , result of operation is also 0/

A+B
(−∞, b2 ] [b1 , b2 ] [b1 , +∞) (−∞, +∞)
(−∞, a2 ] (−∞, a2 + b2 ] (−∞, a2 + b2 ] (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
+ +
[a1 , a2 ] (−∞, a2 + b2 ] [a1 b1 , a2 + b2 ] [a1 b1 , +∞) (−∞, +∞)
+ +
[a1 , +∞) (−∞, +∞) [a1 b1 , +∞) [a1 b1 , +∞) (−∞, +∞)
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)

A−B
(−∞, b2 ] [b1 , b2 ] [b1 , +∞) (−∞, +∞)
(−∞, a2 ] (−∞, +∞) (−∞, a2 − b1 ] (−∞, a2 − b1 ] (−∞, +∞)
− −
[a1 , a2 ] [a1 b2 , +∞) [a1 b2 , a2 − b1 ] (−∞, a2 − b1 ] (−∞, +∞)
− −
[a1 , +∞) [a1 b2 , +∞) [a1 b2 , +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)

A·B
[b1 , b2 ] [b1 , b2 ] [b1 , b2 ]
[0, 0]
b2 ≤ 0 b1 < 0 < b2 b1 ≥ 0
[a1 , a2 ]
[a2 ∗ b2 , a1 ∗ b1 ] [a1 ∗ b2 , a1 ∗ b1 ] [a1 ∗ b2 , a2 ∗ b1 ] [0, 0]
a2 ≤ 0
[a1 , a2 ] [min{a1 ∗ b2 , a2 ∗ b1 },
[a2 ∗
b1 , a1 ∗ b1 ] [a1 ∗ b2 , a2 ∗ b2 ] [0, 0]
a1 < 0 < a2 max{a1 ∗ b1 , a2 ∗ b2 }]
[a1 , a2 ]
[a2 ∗ b1 , a1 ∗ b2 ] [a2 ∗ b1 , a2 ∗ b2 ] [a1 ∗ b1 , a2 ∗ b2 ] [0, 0]
a2 ≥ 0
[0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0]
(−∞, a2 ]
[a2 ∗ b2 , +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, a2 ∗ b1 ] [0, 0]
a2 ≤ 0
(−∞, a2 ]
[a2 ∗ b1 , +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, a2 ∗ b2 ] [0, 0]
a2 ≥ 0
[a1 , +∞)
(−∞, a1 ∗ b1 ] (−∞, +∞) [a1 ∗ b2 , +∞) [0, 0]
a1 ≤ 0
[a1 , +∞)
(−∞, a1 ∗ b2 ] (−∞, +∞) [a1 ∗ b1 , +∞) [0, 0]
a1 ≥ 0
(−∞, ∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) [0, 0]

A·B
(−∞, b2 ] (−∞, b2 ] [b1 , +∞) [b1 , +∞)
(−∞, +∞)
b2 ≤ 0 b2 ≥ 0 b1 ≤ 0 b1 ≥ 0
[a1 , a2 ]
[a2 ∗ b2 , +∞) [a1 ∗ b2 , +∞) (−∞, a1 ∗ b1 ] (−∞, a2 ∗ b1 ] (−∞, +∞)
a2 ≤ 0
[a1 , a2 ]
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a1 < 0 < a2
[a1 , a2 ]
(−∞, a1 ∗ b2 ] (−∞, a2 ∗ b2 ] [a2 ∗ b1 , +∞) [a1 ∗ b1 , +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a2 ≥ 0
[0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0]
(−∞, a2 ]
[a2 ∗ b2 , +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, a2 ∗ b1 ] (−∞, +∞)
a2 ≤ 0
(−∞, a2 ]
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a2 ≥ 0
[a1 , +∞)
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a1 ≤ 0
[a1 , +∞)
(−∞, a1 ∗ b2 ] (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) [a1 ∗ b1 , +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a1 ≥ 0
(−∞, ∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)

A/B, 0 6∈ B
[b1 , b2 ] [b1 , b2 ] (−∞, b2 ] [b1 , +∞)
b2 < 0 b1 > 0 b2 < 0 b1 > 0
[a1 , a2 ] / / /
[a2 b1 , a1 /
b2 ] [a2 b1 , a2 /
b2 ] [0, a1 /
b2 ] [a1 b1 , 0]
a2 ≤ 0
[a1 , a2 ] / / / /
[a2 b2 , a1 /
b2 ] [a1 b1 , a2 /
b1 ] [a2 b2 , a1 /
b2 ] [a1 b1 , a2 /
b1 ]
a1 < 0 < a2
[a1 , a2 ] / / /
[a2 b2 , a1 /
b1 ] [a1 b2 , a2 /
b1 ] [a2 b2 , 0] [0, a2 /
b1 ]
a1 ≥ 0
[0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0] [0, 0]
(−∞, a2 ] /
[a2 b1 , +∞) (−∞, a2 /
b2 ] [0, +∞) (−∞, 0]
a2 ≤ 0
(−∞, a2 ] / /
[a2 b2 , +∞) (−∞, a2 /
b1 ] [a2 b2 , +∞) (−∞, a2 /
b1 ]
a2 ≥ 0
[a1 , +∞) / /
(−∞, a1 /
b2 ] [a1 b1 , +∞) (−∞, a1 /
b2 ] [a1 b1 , +∞)
a1 ≤ 0
[a1 , +∞) /
(−∞, a1 /
b1 ] (a1 b2 , +∞) (−∞, 0] [0, +∞)
a1 ≥ 0
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)

A/B, 0 ∈ B
[b1 , b2 ] [b1 , b2 ] (−∞, b2 ] [b1 , +∞)
[0, 0] (−∞, +∞)
b1 < b2 = 0 0 = b1 < b2 b2 = 0 b1 = 0
[a1 , a2 ] /
0/ [a2 b1 , +∞) (−∞, a2 /
b2 ] [0, +∞) (−∞, 0] (−∞, +∞)
a2 < 0
[a1 , a2 ]
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a1 ≤ 0 ≤ a2
[a1 , a2 ] /
0/ (−∞, a1 /
b1 ] [a1 b2 , +∞) (−∞, 0] [0, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a1 > 0
(−∞, a2 ] /
0/ [a2 b1 , +∞) (−∞, a2 /
b2 ] [0, +∞) (−∞, 0] (−∞, +∞)
a2 < 0
(−∞, a2 ]
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a2 > 0
[a1 , +∞)
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a1 < 0
(a1 , +∞) /
0/ (−∞, a1 /
b1 ] [a1 b2 , +∞) (−∞, 0] [0, +∞) (−∞, +∞)
a1 > 0
(−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞) (−∞, +∞)

definition of comparison operations introduces some complications

many ways in which comparison operations might be defined
for comparison operator ◦ (i.e., equality, inequality, less than, greater than,
less than or equal, greater than or equal), one possible way to define
[a1 , a2 ] ◦ [b1 , b2 ] would be as follows:
yields true if x ◦ y is satisfied for all x ∈ [a1 , a2 ] and all y ∈ [b1 , b2 ],
yields false if x ◦ y is violated for all x ∈ [a1 , a2 ] and all y ∈ [b1 , b2 ],
yields indeterminate (or throws exception) otherwise
for example, with preceding definition:
[0, 1] ≤ [1, 2] would be true

[0, 1] ≤ [−2, −1] would be false

[0, 2] ≤ [1, 3] would be indeterminate
[0, 1] = [0, 0] would be indeterminate

above definition of comparison operations is particularly useful in number

applications

header file cfenv contains various information relevant to floating-point

environment
defines macros (which expand to nonnegative integral constants) for
following rounding modes:
FE_TOWARDZERO: round towards zero

FE_TONEAREST: round to nearest representable value

FE_UPWARD: round towards positive infinity
FE_DOWNWARD: round towards negative infinity

current rounding mode can be set with std::fesetround

int fesetround(int round)
attempts to set current rounding mode to round
returns 0 upon success non-zero value otherwise
current rounding mode can be queried with std::fegetround
int fegetround()
returns value of current rounding mode
floating-point environment access and modification only meaningful when
#pragma STDC FENV_ACCESS is supported and set to ON
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1625
Impact of Current Rounding Mode

current rounding mode affects:

results of floating-point arithmetic operations outside of constant
expressions
results of standard library mathematical functions (e.g., sin, cos, tan, exp,
log, and sqrt)
floating-point to floating-point implicit conversion and casts
string conversions (e.g., strtod)
library rounding functions nearbyint, rint, and lrint
current rounding mode does not affect:
floating-point to integer implicit conversions and casts (which are always
towards zero)
results of floating-point arithmetic operations in constant expressions (which
are always to nearest)
library functions round, lround, ceil, floor, and trunc
behavior of many things affected by current rounding mode
since some algorithms may rely on use of particular rounding mode, one
must be careful to always restore previous rounding mode
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1626
Rounding Mode Example

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cmath>
3 #include <cfenv>
4 #include <limits>
5
6 #pragma STDC FENV_ACCESS ON
7
8 int main() {
9 std::cout.precision(std::numeric_limits<double>::max_digits10);
10 int old_mode = std::fegetround();
11 int modes[] = {FE_TONEAREST, FE_TOWARDZERO, FE_UPWARD, FE_DOWNWARD};
12 for (auto mode : modes) {
13 if (std::fesetround(mode)) {abort();}
14 std::cout << std::sqrt(2.0) << ’\n’;
15 }
16 if (std::fesetround(old_mode)) {abort();}
17 std::cout << std::sqrt(2.0) << ’\n’;
18 }
19
20 /* Example output:
21 1.4142135623730951
22 1.4142135623730951
23 1.4142135623730952
24 1.4142135623730951
25 1.4142135623730951
26 */

Applications in Geometry Processing

interval arithmetic frequently employed in geometry processing

one application of interval arithmetic is for efficient implementation of
exact geometric predicates
geometric predicate tests for one of small number of possibilities involving
geometric objects such as points, lines, and planes
some basic geometric predicates include tests for such things as:
on which side of oriented line point located (i.e., 2-dimensional orientation
test)
on which side of oriented plane point located (i.e., 3-dimensional orientation
test)
on which side of circle point located (i.e., in-circle test)
on which side of sphere point located (i.e., in-sphere test)
geometric predicates like those above essential in many geometric
algorithms
exact predicate is one that must always yield correct result

determining result of geometric predicate involves arithmetic computation

if arithmetic used for computation not exact, predicate may yield incorrect
result
vast majority of algorithms cannot tolerate incorrect results from
predicates
unfortunately, using exact arithmetic extremely costly
use interval arithmetic to quickly determine bound on numerical results of
interest
if bound obtained from interval arithmetic sufficient to make determination
of predicate result, high cost of using exact arithmetic avoided
only if bound insufficient, recompute result using exact arithmetic
in practice, interval arithmetic often sufficient to determine predicate
result, leading to great increase in efficiency

given three points a = (ax , ay ), b = (bx , by ), and c = (cx , cy ) in R2 ,

determine to which side of directed line through a and b point c lies
can be determined from sign of determinant of 2 × 2 matrix

ax − cx bx − cx
orient2d(a, b, c) = det
ay − cy by − cy
if orient2d(a, b, c) is positive, negative, or zero, then c is to left of, to right
of, or collinear with directed line (through a and b), respectively

c b a c
c
b a

b
a

let a, b, and c be three consecutive vertices of polygon in

counterclockwise (CCW) order
polygon is strictly convex if and only if, for every choice of a, b, c, c is to
left of directed line through ab (i.e., orient2d(a, b, c) > 0)
polygon is convex if and only if, for every choice of a, b, and c, c is to left
of or collinear with directed line through ab (i.e., orient2d(a, b, c) ≥ 0)

b
a

given four points a = (ax , ay , az ), b = (bx , by , bz ), c = (cx , cy , cz ), and

d = (dx , dy , dz ) in R3 , determine to which side of oriented plane through a,
b, and c point d lies
can be determined from sign of determinant of 3 × 3 matrix
 
ax − dx bx − dx cx − dx
orient3d(a, b, c, d) = det ay − dy by − dy cy − dy 
az − dz bz − dz cz − dz
if orient3d(a, b, c, d) is positive, negative, or zero, then d lies below, above,
or is coplanar with oriented plane (through a, b, and c), respectively

a b

given four points a = (ax , ay ), b = (bx , by ), c = (cx , cy ), and d = (dx , dy ) in

R2 , determine whether d is inside, outside, or on the circle through a, b,
and c
can be determined from sign of determinant of 3 × 3 matrix
project points a, b, c, and d upwards (in third dimension) onto paraboloid
f (x, y) = x2 + y2 to obtain four points (in R3 ) a′ , b′ , c′ , and d ′ ; then
perform 3-dimensional orientation test on resulting four points
inCircle(a, b, c, d) = orient3d(a′ , b′ , c′ , d ′ ), where a′ = (ax , ay , a2x + a2y ),
b′ = (bx , by , b2x + b2y ), c′ = (cx , cy , c2x + c2y ), and d ′ = (dx , dy , dx2 + dy2 )
if inCircle(a, b, c, d) is positive, negative, or zero, then d lies respectively
inside, outside, or on the circle through a, b, and c
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1634
Preferred-Direction Test

d
v b

a c
given two line segments ab and cd and vector v, determine if, compared
to orientation of cd , orientation of ab is more close, less close, or equally
close to the orientation of v
can be determined from result of computation involving dot products
prefDir(a, b, c, d, v) = |d − c|2 ((b − a) · v)2 − |b − a|2 ((d − c) · v)2
if prefDir(a, b, c, d, v) is positive, negative, or zero, then compared to
orientation of cd , orientation of ab is more close, less close, or equally
close to orientation of v, respectively

A triangulation of a set V of vertices is a set T of triangles such that:

the union of the vertices of all triangles in T is V ;
the interiors of any two triangles in T are disjoint; and
the union of the triangles in T is the convex hull of V .

Triangulation
Triangulation Invalid Triangulation

A triangulation is said to be Delaunay if each triangle in the triangulation

is such that the interior of its circumcircle contains no vertices.

Delaunay
Triangulation Non-Delaunay
Delaunay Triangulation Triangulation Showing
Showing Circumcircles Violation of Circumcircle
Condition

Delaunay triangulation maximizes minimum interior angle of all triangles in

triangulation
avoids long-thin triangles to whatever extent is possible
long-thin triangles often undesirable for interpolation purposes; can lead
to large discretization error and large errors in derivatives
Delaunay triangulation only guaranteed to be unique if no four points are
cocircular
when not unique, schemes exist for making unique choice from set of all
possible Delaunay triangulations, such as one proposed in:
C. Dyken and M. S. Floater. Preferred directions for resolving the
non-uniqueness of Delaunay triangulations.
Computational Geometry—Theory and Applications, 34:96–101, 2006.
dual graph of Delaunay triangulation is Voronoi diagram (circumcircle
centers become vertices, original vertices become faces)

edge e in triangulation said to be flippable if e has two incident faces (i.e.,

is not on triangulation boundary) and union of these two faces is strictly
convex quadrilateral q.
if e is flippable, valid triangulation obtained if e deleted from triangulation
and replaced by other diagonal e′ of quadrilateral q
such transformation known as edge flip
edge-flip example:
vk vk

vℓ e vj −→ vℓ
e′
vj

vi vi
number of different triangulations of n vertices upper bounded by
n 2
n −n 2)

2 = 2 , which is O(n
all triangulations of set of vertices have same number of edges
every triangulation reachable from every other triangulation by edge flips
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1639
Local-Delaunay Test
c
d
e

a b
given flippable edge e in triangulation with incident faces abc and dcb
(whose union is strictly convex quadrilateral), determine if e is locally
Delaunay
result of predicate can be determined using in-circle test
define:
localDelaunay(a,
( b, c, d)
1 inCircle(a, b, c, d) ≥ 0
=
0 inCircle(a, b, c, d) < 0
if localDelaunay(a, b, c, d) 6= 0, edge e is locally Delaunay
if every flippable edge in triangulation is locally Delaunay, triangulation is
Delaunay
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1640
Preferred-Directions Local-Delaunay Test
c
d
e

a b
given flippable edge e in triangulation with incident faces abc and dcb
(whose union is strictly convex quadrilateral), determine if e is locally
Delaunay with preferred directions given by vectors u and v (where u and
v are nonzero and neither parallel nor orthogonal)
result of predicate can be determined using in-circle and
preferred-direction tests
define:
α(a,
b, c, d, u, v)

 1 prefDir(b, c, a, d, u) > 0
0 prefDir(b, c, a, d, u) < 0

=

 1 prefDir(b, c, a, d, u) = 0 and prefDir(b, c, a, d, v) > 0
0 otherwise


define:
localPrefDirDelaunay(a,
 b, c, d, u, v)
1
 inCircle(a, b, c, d) > 0
= 0 inCircle(a, b, c, d) < 0
α(a, b, c, d, u, v) otherwise


if (and only if) localPrefDirDelaunay(a, b, c, d, u, v) 6= 0, edge e is locally

Delaunay with preferred directions u and v
if every flippable edge in triangulation is locally preferred-directions
Delaunay, triangulation is preferred-directions Delaunay

Lawson local optimization procedure (LOP) finds optimal triangulation of

set of points via edge flips
flippable edge said to be optimal if: 1) it is not flippable; or 2) it is flippable
and satisfies some optimality criterion, such as the locally-Delaunay or
preferred-directions locally-Delaunay condition
edge said to be suspect if its optimality is currently uncertain
initially, all flippable edges are marked as suspect
while at least one suspect edge remains, perform following:
select suspect edge e
if edge e is optimal, mark e as not suspect; otherwise, flip e to obtain edge

e′ , mark e′ as not suspect, and mark any edges whose optimality might be
affected by flip of e as suspect
essentially, LOP simply keeps flipping (flippable) edges that are not
optimal until all edges are optimal

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1643
Finding Delaunay Triangulations with Lawson LOP
given any triangulation of set P of points, can compute Delaunay
triangulation of P using Lawson LOP
select optimality criterion as locally-Delaunay or preferred-directions
locally-Delaunay condition
when edge flipped, which edges can have their optimality affected?
let e denote edge being flipped
let q denote quadrilateral formed by union of two faces incident on e
let e′ denote edge obtained by applying edge flip to e
edges that should be marked as suspect are all flippable edges belonging
to q
for example, if edge e′ was produced by flipping edge e, would need to
mark all edges drawn with thicker line (as shown below) as suspect

e −→ e′

References

1 U. W. Kulisch. Complete interval arithmetic and its implementation on the

computer.
In A. Cuyt, W. Kramer, W. Luther, and P. Markstein, editors, Numerical
Validation in Current Hardware Architectures, pages 7–26.
Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2009.

2 G. Bohlender, U. Kulisch, and R. Lohner. Definition of the arithmetic

operations and comparison relations for an interval arithmetic standard,
Nov. 2008.
3 IEEE Std. 1788-2015 — IEEE standard for interval arithmetic, 2015.
4 H. Bronnimann, C. Burnikel, and S. Pion. Interval arithmetic yields efficient
dynamic filters for computational geometry.
Discrete Applied Mathematics, 109:25–47, 2001.

5 C. Dyken and M. S. Floater. Preferred directions for resolving the

non-uniqueness of Delaunay triangulations.
Computational Geometry—Theory and Applications, 34:96–101, 2006.

6 C. L. Lawson. Software for C1 surface interpolation.

In J. R. Rice, editor, Mathematical Software III, pages 161–194. Academic
Press, New York, NY, USA, 1977.
7 B. Delaunay. Sur la sphere vide.
Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Classe des Sciences
Mathematiques et Naturelle, 7(6):793–800, 1934.

8 J. R. Shewchuk. Adaptive precision floating-point arithmetic and fast

robust geometric predicates.
Discrete & Computational Geometry, 18:305–363, 1997.

9 S. Fortune and C. J. Van Wyk. Efficient exact arithmetic for computational

geometry.
In Proc. of Symposium on Computational Geometry, pages 163–172,
1993.
10 V. Lefevre. Correctly rounded arbitrary-precision floating-point summation.
IEEE Trans. on Computers, 2017.
To appear.

Cache-Efficient Code

over time, processors have continued to become faster

speed improvements in memory, however, have not kept pace with
processors
compared to speed of processor, main memory is very slow
consequently, bottlenecks in algorithms can often be due to memory
speed
very substantial amount of complexity in modern processors devoted to
reducing impact of memory latency
particularly important feature for hiding memory latency is cache
effective utilization of cache often critical to writing high-performance code

Memory Hierarchy and Caches

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1651
Principle of Locality
locality of reference: programs do not access all code or data uniformly
two basic types of locality:
1 temporal
2 spatial
temporal locality: tendency to reuse same information stored in memory
within relatively small time interval (e.g., code in loops, top of stack)
example (where accesses to i and sum have good temporal locality, due
to their repeated use in loop):
int func(int);
int sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < 10000; ++i) {sum += func(i);}
spatial locality: tendency to use information stored in nearby locations in
memory together (e.g., sequential code, neighbouring elements in array)
example (where accesses to neighbouring elements of a have good
spatial locality):
int a[1024];
// ...
a[42] = a[43] * a[44] + a[45];
to exploit locality, memory hierarchy is employed
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Memory Hierarchy

Registers

Cache
(E.g., L1, L2, L3)

Increasing Latency
Memory
Increasing Capacity
(E.g., DRAM)
Decreasing Cost Per Byte

Secondary Storage
(E.g., Disk)

Tertiary Storage
(E.g., Tape)

cache: fast (but relatively small) memory

data cache (a.k.a. D cache): cache that holds only data
instruction cache (a.k.a., I cache): cache that holds only instructions
unified cache: cache that holds both instructions and data
translation lookaside buffer (TLB): memory cache that stores recent
translations of virtual to physical addresses
may be several levels to cache hierarchy
level-1 (L1) cache closest to processor, while last-level (LL) cache
farthest
when processor needs to read or write location, checks cache
when data needed is available in cache, cache hit said to occur
when data needed cannot be supplied by cache, cache miss said to occur
cache may be local to single core or shared between multiple cores
L1 cache usually on core and local to core, while higher-level caches often
shared between some or all cores
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1654
Memory and Cache
Memory Cache
Memory B bytes Block Block B bytes
Address Number Number
0B b0 0 0 b0
1B 1 1 b5
2B 2 2
3B b3 3 3 b3
4B 4 ..
.
5B b5 5
N −1
6B 6
7B 7
..
.
(M − 1)B M−1
memory partitioned into blocks of B bytes (where B is typically power of
two)
memory comprised of M blocks for total memory size of BM bytes
cache can hold N blocks for total cache size of BN bytes
size of cache much less than size of memory (i.e., BN ≪ BM )

block placement policy: strategy used to determine where block can be

placed in cache
three basic block placement polices:
1 direct mapped
2 set associative
3 fully associative
direct mapped: each block has only one place it can appear in cache
typically, memory block i mapped to cache block mod(i, n), where n is
number of blocks in cache
set associative: block can be placed in restricted number of places in
cache; block first mapped to group of blocks in cache called set, and then
block can be placed anywhere within that set
typically, memory block i can be placed in any cache block in set
mod(i, S), where S is number of sets in cache
if each set contains k blocks, called k-way set associative
fully associative: block can be placed anywhere in cache
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1656
Block Placement (Continued)

strictly speaking, set associative includes direct mapped and fully

associative as special cases
direct mapped equivalent to 1-way set associative
fully associative equivalent to N -way set associative, where N is total
number of blocks in cache
block placement policies typically employ expressions of form mod(n, m)
where m = 2k , since result is simply given by k least significant bits
(LSBs) of n
for example:
mod(10, 4) = mod(10102 , 22 ) = 102 = 2
mod(42, 16) = mod(1010102 , 24 ) = 10102 = 10

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1657
Direct-Mapped Cache Example
Memory Cache
Block B bytes Block B bytes
Number Number
0 0
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8
9
10
11
..
.
M−1

memory block i can only be placed in cache block mod(i, N), where N is
number of blocks in cache
for example, if N = 8 (as above), memory block 10 can only be placed in
cache block mod(10, 8) = 2 [recall: mod(10102 , 23 ) = 0102 = 2]
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1658
K -Way Set-Associative Cache Example
Memory Cache
Block B bytes Block B bytes
Number Number
0 0
Set 0
1 1
2 2
Set 1
3 3
4 4
Set 2
5 5
6 6
Set 3
7 7
8
9
10
11
..
.
M−1

memory block i can be placed in any of K cache blocks in set mod(i, S),
where S is number of sets
for example, if S = 4 and K = 2 (as above), memory block 10 can be
placed in any of cache blocks in set mod(10, 4) = 2 [recall:
mod(10102 , 22 ) = 102 = 2]
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1659
Fully-Associative Cache Example
Memory Cache
Block B bytes Block B bytes
Number Number
0 0
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8
9
10
11
..
.
M−1

any memory block can be placed in any cache block

for example, memory block 10 could be placed in any cache block

block identification strategy: method used to find block if in cache

when address is referenced, need to determine if associated data in
cache, and if it is, find it
without loss of generality, we can consider case of K -way set associative
cache
memory block i can be mapped to any block in set s = mod(i, S), where S
is number of sets in cache
each cache entry is associated with one particular set in cache and
contains:
valid bit to indicate if cache entry in use
tag to identify which block is in cache entry (if block is valid)
data for block (if block is valid)

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Decomposition of Memory Address
ηA bits
Memory Address

ηBA bits log2 B bits

Block Address Block Offset

ηT bits log2 S bits

Tag Index

B is cache block size, N is number of blocks in cache, K is cache

associativity, and S is number of sets (where S = N/K )
memory address decomposed into block address and block offset
block address then decomposed into tag and index
in fully associative case (i.e., S = 1), index not present
index s identifies set in which block i can be placed (i.e., s = mod(i, S))

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1662
Block Identification
Cache Entries for ith Set (for K -Way Set Associative Cache)

Valid Tag Data

vi,0 ti,0 di,0
vi,1 ti,1 di,1
.. .. ..
. . .
vi,K−1 ti,K−1 di,K−1

need to determine if any entry matches tag and (if not fully associative)
index
first determine set in which block can be placed:
if not fully associative, determined by index
otherwise, cache only has one set
then look in this set for matching tag
if match found, cache hit; otherwise, cache miss

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1663
Block Replacement
block replacement policy: strategy used to determine which block
should be replaced (i.e., evicted) upon miss when no unused cache entry
available
in case of direct mapped cache, only one choice for block to replace so no
freedom in choice of replacement policy
in case of set-associative or fully-associative cache, have some choice in
block to replace
some commonly-used replacement policies include:
1 random
2 least recently used (LRU)
3 first-in first-out (FIFO)
4 approximate LRU
random: block to be replaced is randomly chosen (often using
pseudorandom number generator)
least-recently used (LRU): block that has not been used for longest time
is replaced
first-in first-out (FIFO): block that has been in cache longest is replaced

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1664
Write Policy
write policy: strategy used to handle writes to memory
two aspects to write policy:
1 cache-hit policy (i.e., how to handle cache hit)
2 cache-miss policy (i.e., how to handle cache miss)
two basic write-hit policies:
1 write through: information written to both block in cache and block in

lower-level memory
2 write back: information written only to block in cache; modified cache block
written to main memory only when replaced
two basic write-miss policies:
1 write allocate (a.k.a. fetch on write): write miss brings block into cache,

followed by write-hit action

2 no write allocate (a.k.a. write around): write miss only updates lower-level
memory, leaving cache unchanged
usually, write through used with no write allocate, and write back used
with write allocate
write through always combined with write buffer to avoid always having to
wait for lower-level memory
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1665
Cache Misses

compulsory miss (a.k.a. cold miss): miss due to address being accessed
for first time (impossible to avoid; misses even with infinite sized cache)
capacity miss: miss due to cache not being large enough (i.e., program
working set is much larger than cache capacity resulting in block being
evicted from cache and later accessed again)
conflict miss: miss due to limited associativity (i.e., miss that would have
been avoided with fully associative cache); occurs when too many blocks
mapped to same set resulting in memory locations being mapped to same
cache entry
coherence miss: miss due to cache flushes to keep multiple caches
consistent (i.e., coherent) in multiprocessor system
true sharing miss: coherence miss that is due to multiple threads sharing
same data in cache block
false sharing miss: coherence miss that is due to threads accessing
different data that happens to reside in same cache block (i.e., cache
block is shared between threads but not data within cache block)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1666
Virtual Memory

virtual memory is memory management technique that maps addresses

called virtual address into physical addresses in computer memory
allows amount of memory used by system to exceed that which is
physically available
allows processes to share memory
provides memory protection
each process has its own virtual address space
programs access memory using virtual addresses
memory management unit (MMU) translates virtual addresses to physical
addresses

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1667
Virtual Address Space
Physical Virtual
Address Space Address Space
Physical P bytes Physical Page Virtual P bytes Virtual Page
Address Number Address Number
0P 0 0P 0
1P 1 1P 1
2P 2 2P 2
3P 3 3P 3
4P 4 4P 4
5P 5 5P 5
6P 6 6P 6
7P 7 7P 7
.. ..
. .
(M − 1)P M−1 (N − 1)P N −1

memory partitioned into pages of size P bytes (where P is typically power

of two)
physical address space comprised of M pages
virtual address space comprised of N pages
virtual address space typically at least as large as physical address space
(i.e., PN ≥ PM )
can arbitrarily map pages in virtual address space to physical pages
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Address Translation

ηV PN bits log2 P bits

Virtual Page Number Page Offset Virtual Address

ηPPN bits log2 P bits

Physical Page Number Page Offset Physical Address

P is page size
virtual address and physical address both decomposed into page number
and page offset
address translation only changes page number part of address
when virtual address translated to physical address, page offset does not
change

address translation is slow process

to reduce translation time, use cache called translation lookaside buffer
(TLB)
TLB caches information for address-translation mappings

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1670
Virtual and Physical Caches
if virtual memory employed, question arises as to whether memory
caches should use virtual or physical addressing
cache that employs physical addressing called physical cache (or
physically-addressed cache)
cache that employs virtual addressing called virtual cache (or
virtually-addressed cache)
key difference between use of virtual and physical cache is where address
translation takes place:
Virtual Physical Physical
Address Address Address
CPU TLB Physical Memory
Cache

Virtual Virtual Physical

Address Address Address
CPU Virtual TLB Memory
Cache

in case of accessing physical cache, always require address translation

in case of accessing virtual cache, only need address translation on
cache miss
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1671
Virtual Versus Physical Caches

virtual cache has advantage of eliminating address translation time for

cache hit
virtual cache has disadvantage of introducing numerous complications:
same virtual address (in different processes) can refer to distinct physical
addresses (which is typically resolved by adding process ID to virtual
address instead of flushing cache on each context switch)
two distinct virtual addresses can refer to same physical address, which is
called aliasing (aliasing typically resolved, in case of direct-mapped cache,
by restricting address mapping such that aliases map to same cache set)

cache accesses require tag and index

in case of virtually-indexed physically-tagged cache, index derived from
virtual address and tag derived from physical address
virtually-indexed physically-tagged cache tries to achieve simplicity of
physical cache with speed closer to that of virtual cache
recall that page offset is unaffected by address translation
use page offset part of virtual address (which is unaffected by address
translation) to determine index for cache (i.e., select set in cache)
doing this allow us to overlap reading of tags and performing address
translation
this approach faster, but imposes some restrictions on cache parameters
in particular, number of sets in cache cannot exceed number of cache
blocks per page (without additional complications)
L1 cache often virtually indexed and physically tagged

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1673
VIPT Cache Example
Virtual Address (48 bits)
Virtual Page Number (36 bits) Virtual Page Offset (12 bits)
Cache Tag (36 bits) Cache Index (6 bits) Cache Block Offset (6 bits)

TLB

Physical Page Number (24 bit) Physical Page Offset (12 bits) Cache

Cache Tags

Cache Tag Comparison

Cache Result

48-bit virtual address, 36-bit physical address

64-byte cache block
4 KB page size
L1 data cache: 32 KB, 8-way set associative, 64 entries per set

hit rate: fraction of memory access that hit in cache

miss rate: fraction of memory access that miss in cache (1 - hit rate)
miss penalty: time to replace block from lower level in memory hierarchy
to cache
hit time: time to access cache memory (including tag comparison)
average memory access time (AMAT):
AMAT = hit time + miss rate · miss penalty

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1675
Intel Core i7
64-bit processor, x86-64 instruction set
36-bit physical addresses and 48-bit virtual addresses
three-level cache hierarchy; all levels use 64-byte block size; two-level TLB
L1 cache:
I cache: 32 KB 4-way set associative; D cache: 32 KB 8-way set
associative; per core, pseudo LRU replacement, virtually indexed and
physically tagged
L2 cache:
256 KB, 8-way set associative, per core, pseudo-LRU replacement,
physically indexed (and tagged)
L3 cache:
2 MB per core, 16-way set associative, pseudo-LRU replacement (with
ordered selection algorithm), physically indexed (and tagged)
first-level TLB:
I TLB: 128 entries, 4-way set associative, pseudo-LRU replacement; D TLB:
64 entries, 4-way set associative, pseudo-LRU replacement
second-level TLB:
512 entries, 4-way set associative, pseudo-LRU replacement, 4 KB page
size
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1676
ARM Cortex A8

32-bit processor, ARM v7 instruction set

32-bit physical and virtual addresses
two-level cache hierarchy; both levels use 64-byte block size
L1 cache:
separate I and D caches; 16 KB or 32 KB 4-way set associative using way
prediction and random replacement; virtually indexed and physically tagged
optional L2 cache:
8-way set associative, 128 KB to 1 MB; physically indexed and physically
tagged
TLB:
pair of TLBs (I and D), each of which fully associative with 32 entries and
variable page size (4 KB, 16 KB, 64 KB, 1 MB, 16 MB); replacements done
by round robin
TLB misses handled in hardware, which walks page table structure in
memory

Cache-Efficient Algorithms

to effectively exploit cache, need to maximize locality

various transformations can be applied to code in order to increase locality
algorithm may be either cache aware or cache oblivious
cache aware: has knowledge of memory hierarchy such as cache
parameters (e.g., cache size, cache block size)
cache oblivious: has no knowledge of particulars of memory hierarchy

numerous transformations can be applied to code in order to improve

spatial and/or temporal locality
merging arrays: improve spatial locality by using array of aggregate type
instead of multiple arrays
loop interchange: change nesting of loops to access data in order stored
in memory
loop fusion: combine two or more independent loops that have same
looping and some variables overlap
blocking: improve temporal locality by accessing blocks of data
repeatedly

before array merging:

constexpr int num_points = 32’768;
static double x[num_points]; // x coordinates
static double y[num_points]; // y coordinates
static double z[num_points]; // z coordinates
after array merging:
constexpr int num_points = 32’768;
struct Point {
double x; // x coordinate
double y; // y coordinate
double z; // z coordinate
};
static Point p[num_points];
x, y, and z coordinates of particular point likely to be accessed together
use array of aggregate type instead of three separate arrays in order to
improve spatial locality and reduce potential conflicts

before loop interchange:

constexpr int n = 2’048;
static double a[n][n];
// ...
for (int j = 0; j < n; ++j) {
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
a[i][j] *= 2.0;
}
}
after loop interchange:
constexpr int n = 2’048;
static double a[n][n];
// ...
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
for (int j = 0; j < n; ++j) {
a[i][j] *= 2.0;
}
}
interchange loops so that array elements accessed consecutively instead
of with large stride in order to improve locality and reduce potential
conflicts
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1682
Loop Fusion Example
before loop fusion:
constexpr int n = 2’048;
static float a[n][n], b[n][n], c[n][n], d[n][n];
// ...
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
for (int j = 0; j < n; ++j)
{a[i][j] = b[i][j] * c[i][j];}
}
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
for (int j = 0; j < n; ++j)
{d[i][j] = a[i][j] + c[i][j];}
}
after loop fusion:
constexpr int n = 2’048;
static float a[n][n], b[n][n], c[n][n], d[n][n];
// ...
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
for (int j = 0; j < n; ++j) {
a[i][j] = b[i][j] * c[i][j];
d[i][j] = a[i][j] + c[i][j];
}
}
merge loops in order to improve temporal locality (due to reuse of
a[i][j] and c[i][j] in each innermost loop iteration)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1683
Blocking Example

for square matrices A and B, compute matrix product AB and add result to
matrix C
before blocking:
template <class T, int N>
void naive_multiply(const T (&a)[N][N], const T (&b)[N][N],
T (&c)[N][N]) {
for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i) {
for (int j = 0; j < N; ++j) {
double s = 0;
for (int k = 0; k < N; ++k) {
s += a[i][k] * b[k][j];
}
c[i][j] += s;
}
}
}

want to partition computation into blocks of size B × B, where B chosen so

that each block fits in cache

after blocking (with blocking factor B):

template <int B, class T, int N>
void blocked_multiply(const T (&a)[N][N], const T (&b)[N][N],
T (&c)[N][N]) {
for (int kk = 0; kk < N; kk += B) {
for (int jj = 0; jj < N; jj += B) {
for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i) {
for (int j = jj; j < std::min(jj + B, N); ++j) {
double s = 0;
for (int k = kk; k < std::min(kk + B, N); ++k) {
s += a[i][k] * b[k][j];
}
c[i][j] += s;
}
}
}
}
}

performing computation using blocking significantly improves locality

potentially many fewer cache misses
unfortunately, code using blocking much less readable (i.e., more difficult
to understand)
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1685
Blocking Example (Continued 2)
graphical interpretation of blocked matrix multiply:
kk jj jj

1 1
B B B

i kk B
i

a b c
use 1 × B row sliver use B × B block update successive elements of
B times N times in succession 1 × B row sliver

key idea is that block of b brought into cache, fully utilized, then discarded
innermost loop pair (i.e., for j and k) multiplies 1 × B sliver of a by B × B
block of b and accumulates result in 1 × B sliver of c
references to a have: good spatial locality, since elements accessed
consecutively in loop for k; and good temporal locality, since each sliver
accessed B times in succession in loop for j
references to b have good temporal locality, since entire block accessed N
times in succession in loop for i
references to c have good spatial locality since each element of sliver
written in succession in loop for j
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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1686
Cache-Aware Versus Cache-Oblivious Algorithms

cache-aware approaches require knowledge of memory hierarchy and

caches (e.g., cache size and cache block size for each level of cache) in
order to choose key tuning parameters
often, such knowledge of memory hierarchy difficult to obtain in reliable
manner
furthermore, effective cache size may differ significantly from true cache
size, if multiple threads using cache (which reduces effective cache size)
if tuning parameters not well chosen, performance can potentially be very
poor
in contrast, cache oblivious approaches:
require no knowledge of memory hierarchy and caches
require no “magical” tuning parameters
effectively autotune
handle multilevel caches automatically
well accommodate multiprogrammed environments

Cache-Oblivious Algorithms

idealized cache model employs two-level memory hierarchy (i.e., cache

and main memory)
cache size is M bytes
cache block size is B bytes
number of cache blocks is N = M/B
cache said to be tall if N > c′ B for some sufficiently large constant c′ ≥ 1
(or loosely speaking, number of cache blocks exceeds block size)
assumptions of ideal cache model:
fully associative
optimal replacement policy (i.e., evict cache block whose next access will
be furthest in future)
tall cache
idealized model only crude approximation to real-world caches
real-world caches usually not fully associative and never employ optimal
replacement policy (which requires noncausal hardware)
real-world caches, however, usually tend to be tall
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1689
Remarks on Tall Caches
suppose that cache has size M with block size B and N = M/B entries
cache is said to be tall if N > c′ B for some sufficiently large constant
c′ ≥ 1; otherwise, said to be short
essentially, tall property ensures that N exceeds B by large enough
margin that any (possibily non-contiguous) data of size D is guaranteed to
fit in cache if D ≤ M
that is, if size of some data does not exceed cache size, then that data
must fit in cache
this is not the case for short caches
for example, n × n block of elements inside larger array stored in
row-major order with n2 < M will not necessarily fit in cache
n

n
N

reasonable to question validity of assumption of optimal-replacement

policy in idealized cache model
Sleator and Tarjan (1985) have shown that amortized cost of LRU
replacement policy within constant factor of optimal replacement policy
suppose that algorithm that incurs Q cache misses on ideal cache of size
M
then, on fully-associative cache of size 2M that uses LRU replacement
policy, at most 2Q cache misses
therefore, to within constant factor, LRU replacement as good as optimal
replacement
implication is that for asymptotic analysis can assume optimal or LRU
replacement as convenient
in this sense, assumption of optimal-replacement policy is quite
reasonable

when analyzing algorithms with respect to idealized cache model typically

we are interested in
amount of work W (ordinary running time)
number of cache misses Q

cache oblivious algorithms often based on divide and conquer

a0 a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 a8 a9

B B B

a0 a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 a8 a9

B B B B
cache block holds B array elements
consider scanning N elements of array in order (e.g., to compute sum or
minimum/maximum)
requires Θ(N) work (assuming work per element is O(1))
scanning N elements stored contiguously in memory incurs either
⌈N/B⌉ + 1 or ⌈N/B⌉ cache misses (i.e., Θ(N/B) cache misses)
may require one more than ⌈N/B⌉ cache misses due to arbitrary
alignment
cache oblivious and optimal
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1693
Array Reversal

1 2 3 4 5
a 0 a1 a2 a 3 a 4 a5 a6 a7 a8 a9

B B B B
cache block holds B array elements
consider reversing elements of N -element array a
use two parallel scans, one from each end of array, and each step swaps
two corresponding elements
for i in 0, 1, . . . , ⌊N/2⌋ − 1, swap a[i] and a[N − 1 − i]
requires Θ(N) work
incurs either ⌈N/B⌉ + 1 or ⌈N/B⌉ cache misses, assuming at least two
blocks fit in cache (i.e., Θ(N/B) cache misses)
cache oblivious and optimal

naive matrix transpose code has following form:

1 template <class T, int M, int N>
2 void transpose(const T (&a)[M][N], T (&b)[N][M]) {
3 for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
4 for (int j = 0; j < N; ++j) {
5 b[j][i] = a[i][j];
6 }
7 }
8 }

arrays stored in row-major order

although data in a being accessed sequentially, data in b being accessed
with large stride
many unnecessary cache misses on accesses to b if number of rows in b
sufficiently large

j
i j

a b

requires Θ(mn) work (which is optimal)

in innermost loop, accesses to b use potentially large stride
strided access to b can potentially result in large number of cache misses
if all blocks for entire column of b cannot be kept resident in cache
simultaneously, every access to b will miss
in this case, at most ⌈mn/L⌉ + 1 + mn cache misses
any matrix-transpose algorithm must access all mn elements of a and all
mn elements of b, which incurs at most 2(⌈mn/L⌉ + 1) cache misses
naive matrix-transposition incurs mn more cache misses than this
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1696
Cache-Oblivious Matrix Transposition

given m × n matrix A and n × m matrix B, place AT into B

based on divide and conquer strategy
algorithm halves largest of dimensions m and n, and recurs
if m = max{m, n} (i.e., number of rows in A largest):

B1
A = A1 A2 , B=
B2
if n = max{m, n} (i.e., number of columns in A largest):

A1
A= , B = B1 B2
A2
conceptually, base case for recursion occurs when m = n = 1
in practice, stop recursion earlier

a11 a12 b11 b12
,
a21 a22 b21 b22

b11 b12
a11 a12 , a21 a22 ,
b21 b22

a11 , b11 a12 , b21 a21 , b12 a22 , b22

let L denote number of array elements per cache block

for m × n matrix, cache-oblivious matrix-transposition algorithm:
requires Θ(mn) work

incurs Θ(1 + mn/L) cache misses

any matrix-transposition algorithm must write to mn distinct elements,

which occupy at least ⌈mn/L⌉ = Ω(1 + mn/L) cache lines
therefore, cache-oblivious algorithm is asymptotically optimal

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1699
Naive Matrix Multiplication
naive matrix multiply code has following form:
1 template <class T, int m, int n, int p>
2 void multiply(const T (&a)[m][n], const T (&b)[n][p],
3 T (&c)[m][p]) {
4 for (int i = 0; i < m; ++i) {
5 for (int j = 0; j < p; ++j) {
6 T sum = T(0);
7 for (int k = 0; k < n; ++k) {
8 sum += a[i][k] * b[k][j];
9 }
10 c[i][j] = sum;
11 }
12 }
13 }

arrays stored in row-major order

in innermost loop, b accessed with potentially large stride, which is
problematic
in second innermost loop, row of a is accessed p times in succession,
which is problematic if row does not fit in cache
many unnecessary cache misses likely to result in case of larger matrices
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1700
Naive Matrix Multiplication: Performance
j j

k
i k i

a b c
cache block holds B matrix elements
innermost loop (in which k varies) computes dot product of ith row of a
with kth column of b to yield (i, j)th element of c
second innermost loop (over j) changes column of b to use in dot product
with ith row of a (reusing ith row of a p times)
requires Θ(mnp) work, which is Θ(n3 ) in case of square matrices
assuming that row of a and column of b do not fit in cache simultaneously,
algorithm incurs Θ(mnp/B + n2 p/B + mp/B) cache misses, which is
Θ(n3 /B) in case of square matrices
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1701
Cache-Oblivious Matrix Multiplication

given m × n matrix A and n × p matrix B, compute AB

based on divide and conquer strategy
algorithm halves largest of three dimensions m, n, and p, and recurs
if m = max{m, n, p} (i.e., number of rows in A largest):

A1 A B
AB = B= 1
A2 A2 B
if n = max{m, n, p} (i.e., number of columns in A and rows in B largest):

B1
AB = A1 A2 = A1 B1 + A2 B2
B2
if p = max{m, n, p} (i.e., number of columns in B largest):

AB = A B1 B2 = AB1 AB2
conceptually, base case for recursion occurs when m = n = p = 1, in
which case two elements multiplied and added into result matrix
in practice, however, stop recursion at higher level
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1702
Cache-Oblivious Matrix Multiplication (Example)

c11 c12 a a12 b11 b12
= 11
c21 c22 a21 a22 b21 b22

b11 b12 b11 b12
c11 c12 = a11 a12 c21 c22 = a21 a22
b21 b22 b21 b22

b11 b12 b11 b12
[c11 ] = a11 a12 [c12 ] = a11 a12 [c21 ] = a21 a22 [c22 ] = a21 a22
b21 b22 b21 b22

[c11 ] += [c11 ] += [c12 ] += [c12 ] += [c21 ] += [c21 ] += [c22 ] += [c22 ] +=

[a11 ][b11 ] [a12 ][b21 ] [a11 ][b12 ] [a12 ][b22 ] [a21 ][b11 ] [a22 ][b21 ] [a21 ][b12 ] [a22 ][b22 ]

to mutiply m × n matrix by n × p matrix:

requires Θ(mnp) work

incurs Θ m + n + p + L1 (mn + np + mp) + 11/2 mnp cache misses
BM
to multiply two square matrices (i.e., m = n = p):
requires Θ(n3 ) work

1 3
incurs Θ 1/2 n cache misses
BM
Hong and Kung (1981) have shown this to be optimal bound for cache
misses for matrix multiplication
therefore, cache-oblivious algorithm is optimal

given two n × n matrices A and B where n is power of two, compute

C = AB
approach based on divide and conquer
partition A, B, and C into equally sized block matrices:

A1,1 A1,2 B1,1 B1,2 C1,1 C1,2
A= , B= , C=
A2,1 A2,2 B2,1 B2,2 C2,1 C2,2
define (using only 7 matrix multiplications instead of 8):
M1 =(A1,1 + A2,2 )(B1,1 + B2,2 ), M2 =(A2,1 + A2,2 )B1,1 ,
M3 =A1,1 (B1,2 − B2,2 ), M4 =A2,2 (B2,1 − B1,1 ),
M5 =(A1,1 + A1,2 )B2,2 , M6 =(A2,1 − A1,1 )(B1,1 + B1,2 ),
M7 =(A1,2 − A2,2 )(B2,1 + B2,2 )
can compute C as follows:
C1,1 = M1 + M4 − M5 + M7 , C1,2 = M3 + M5 ,
C2,1 = M2 + M4 , C2,2 = M1 − M2 + M3 + M6
Strassen’s matrix multiplication algorithm optimal in cache-oblivious sense
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1705
Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT)

discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of vector x of n complex numbers is

vector y (of n complex numbers) given by
n−1 √
y(i) = ∑ x( j)ω−i
n
j
where ωn = e 2π −1/n
j=0
for any factorization n = n1 n2 of n, we have
" ! #
n2 −1 n1 −1
y(i1 + i2 n1 ) = ∑ ∑ x( j1 n2 + j2 ]ω−i
n1
1 j1
ω −i1 j2
n ω −i2 j2
n2
j2 =0 j1 =0
in preceding equation, inner and outer summations are DFTs
operationally, computation specified in above equation can be performed
by:
1 computing n DFTs of size n (i.e., inner summmation)
2 1
−i j
2 multiplying result by factors wn 1 2 (called twiddle factors)

3 computing n DFTs of size n (i.e., outer summmation)

1 2

“six-step” variant of Cooley-Tukey FFT algorithm

want to compute (one-dimensional) FFT of n element array x, where n is
composite and preferably power of two
FFT is computed in place (i.e., output in x)
algorithm consists of following steps (in order):
√
1 factor n as n = n n , where n is as close to n as possible
1 2 1
2 treat input vector x as row-major n × n matrix A, and use cache-oblivious
1 2
transpose algorithm to transpose A to auxiliary array B and then copy B
back to A
3 inner summation corresponds to DFT of n rows of transposed matrix;
2
compute n2 DFTs of size n1 recursively
4 multiply A by twiddle factors

5 transpose A in place so that inputs to next stage placed in contiguous

locations
6 compute n1 DFTs of rows of matrix recursively
7 transpose A in place to yield output array x with elements in correct order

can be proven by induction that algorithm requires O(n log2 n) work

cache block holds L elements of array
Z cache size in units of array element size
can be shown that algorithm incurs O(1 + (n/L)(1 + logZ n)) cache
misses
preceding cache miss result asymptotically optimal for Cooley-Tukey
algorithm, matching lower bound by Hong and Kung when n is exact
power of two

References

1 H. Prokop. Cache-oblivious algorithms.

Master’s thesis, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA,
June 1999.
2 E. D. Demaine. Cache-oblivious algorithms and data structures.
In Lecture Notes from the EEF Summer School on Massive Data Sets,
BRICS, University of Aarhus, Denmark, June 2002.
3 M. Frigo, C. E. Leiserson, H. Prokop, and S. Ramachandran.
Cache-oblivious algorithms.
ACM Transactions on Algorithms, 8(1):4:1–4:22, Jan. 2012.

4 J. Hennessy and D. A. Patterson. Computer Architecture — A Quantitative

Approach.
Morgan-Kaufmann, San Francisco, CA, USA, 4th edition edition, 2007.

5 D. H. Bailey. FFTs in external or hierarchical memory.

Journal of Supercomputing, 4:23–35, 1990.

6 J. S. Vitter and E. A. M. Shriver. Algorithms for parallel memory, II:

Hierarchical multilevel memories.
Algorithmica, 12:148–169, 1994.

7 P. Kumar. Cache-oblivious algorithms.

In Algorithms for Memory Hierarchies, pages 192–212. Springer Verlag,
2003.
8 V. Strassen. Gaussian elimination is not optimal.
Numerische Mathematik, 13(4):354–356, Aug. 1969.

9 D. D. Sleator and R. E. Tarjan. Amortized efficiency of list update and

paging rules.
Communications of the ACM, 28(2):202–208, Feb. 1985.

10 J.-W. Hong and H. T. Kung. I/O complexity: the red-blue pebbling game.
In Proc. of ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing, pages 326–333,
Milwaukee, WI, USA, 1981.
11 B. Jacob and T. Mudge. Virtual memory in contemporary
microprocessors.
IEEE Micro, 18(4):60–75, July 1998.

12 S. Chatterjee and S. Sen. Cache-efficient matrix transposition.

In Proc. of IEEE International Symposium on High-Performance Computer
Architecture, Toulouse, France, 2000.
13 J. W. Cooley and J. W. Tukey. An algorithm for the machine calculation of
complex Fourier series.
Mathematics of Computation, 19:297–301, 1965.

Vectorization

Vector Processing

vector processor has instruction set that can operate on one-dimensional

arrays of data called vectors
vector processing has its roots in early supercomputers
approach has been refined significantly over the years
attempts to exploit data-level parallelism
most modern processors provide some level of vector processing
functionality

Scalar Operation Vector Operation

With Two Operands With Two Operands

first first
a operand a0 a1 ··· aL−1 operand
op op
second second
b operand b0 b1 ··· bL−1 operand

a op b result a0 op b0 a1 op b1 ··· aL−1 op bL−1 result

each operand of scalar instruction is single value

each operand of vector instruction is set of L values known as vector
L called vector length
same operation applied to each of L elements of vector
operation might, for example, be: load/store, arithmetic operation, logical
operation, comparison, conversion operation, or shuffle operation

two basic approaches to vector processing:

1 vector-memory architecture
2 vector-register architecture
vector-memory architecture:
for all vector operations, operands fetched from main memory and results
written back to main memory
includes early vector machines through mid 1980s
no longer used much (if at all) in modern processors
large startup time for vector operations
vector-register architecture:
for all vector operations except loads and stores, operands read from and
written to vector registers
used by most modern processors that support vector operations

vector register is collection of N elements of same type, where each

element is M bits in size
N called vector length
vector register size NM typically 128 to 512
advantages of vector processing:
potential speedup by factor of N
often more energy efficient relative to other approaches for increasing
performance (such as wider superscalar or higher clock rate)
potentially smaller code size, since single instruction can perform multiple
operations

modern high-performance CPU architectures have specialized

instructions to exploit parallelism in loops
commonly referred as single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) extensions
operate on multiple elements of wide vector register simultaneously
reduces runtime trip count of loop by vectorization factor
requires sophisticated analysis and heuristics in order to make good
decisions about vectorization safety and profitability
widen each operation in loop from scalar type to vector type
applies same operation in parallel to number of data items packed into
large register (e.g., 64, 128, 256, 512 bits)
particularly useful for algorithms with high degree of data-level parallelism,
such as those often found in multimedia systems, graphics, and
image/video/audio processing

Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE) is family of vector extensions to Intel

x86/x86-64 instruction set architecture (namely, SSE, SSE2, SSE3,
SSSE3, SSE4.1, and SSE 4.2)
collectively, SSE family added:
in case of x86: 8 128-bit vector registers, known as XMM0 to XMM7
in case of x86-64: 16 128-bit vector registers, known as XMM0 through
XMM15
each vector register can be used to hold:
16 8-bit bytes
8 16-bit integers
4 32-bit integers
2 64-bit integers
4 32-bit single-precision floating-point numbers
2 64-bit double-precision floating-point numbers

Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) is family of vector extensions to Intel

x86/x86-64 instruction set architecture (namely, AVX, AVX2, and
AVX-512) that builds upon SSE
AVX extends 16 vector registers of SSE from 128 to 256 bits
renames vector registers as YMM0 to YMM7 for x86 and YMM0 to
YMM15 for x86-64
each 256-bit vector register can be used to hold:
32 8-bit bytes
16 16-bit integers
8 32-bit integers
4 64-bit integers
8 32-bit single-precision floating-point numbers
4 64-bit double-precision floating-point numbers
8 32-bit single-precision floating-point numbers
4 64-bit double-precision floating-point numbers
AVX-512 extends vector registers to 512 bits

NEON is vector extension to ARM Cortex-A series and Cortex-R52

processors
16 128-bit vector registers
NEON instructions perform same operations in all lanes of vectors
vector registers can hold:
16 8-bit character
8 16-bit integer
4 32-bit integer
2 64-bit integer
8 16-bit floating-point (only in Armv8.2-A)
4 32-bit floating-point
2 64-bit floating-point (only in Armv8-A/R)

on Linux systems, information on processor can be found in

/proc/cpuinfo
level of processor support for vector operations can be determined by
checking for various processor flags/features in this file
on Intel x86/x86-64 systems, look for flags/features:
mmx, sse, sse2, ssse3, sse4_1, sse4_2, avx, avx2

on ARM systems, look for flags/features:

neon

Code Vectorization

consider loop in function:

void axpy(float a, float* x, float y, int n) {
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
x[i] = a * x[i] + y;
}
}
loop vectorization: scalar computations in body of above loop could be
grouped to allow use of vector operations
consider code in basic block:
a = b + c * d;
e = f + g * h;
i = j + k * l;
m = n + o * p;
basic-block vectorization: four statements in preceding code follow similar
pattern and could be grouped together to allow vector operations to be
used

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1725
Conceptualizing Loop Vectorization
can think of loop vectorization in terms of loop unrolling
consider following loop where, for simplicity, we assume n multiple of 4:
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {c[i] = a[i] + b[i];}
can partially unroll loop to obtain following, where each iteration of new
loop corresponds to 4 iterations of original loop:
for (int i = 0; i < n; i += 4) {
c[i + 0] = a[i + 0] + b[i + 0]; // iteration i
c[i + 1] = a[i + 1] + b[i + 1]; // iteration i + 1
c[i + 2] = a[i + 2] + b[i + 2]; // iteration i + 2
c[i + 3] = a[i + 3] + b[i + 3]; // iteration i + 3
}
code in body of new loop can be mapped to vector operations of length 4
on vector registers v0, v1, and v2:
1 load a[i] to a[i + 3] into v0
2 load b[i] to b[i + 3] into v1
3 add v0 and v1, writing result into v2
4 store v2 into c[i] to c[i + 3]
using non-standard C++ syntax, vectorized loop can be expressed as:
for (int i = 0; i < n; i += 4)
{c[i : i + 3] = a[i : i + 3] + b[i : i + 3];}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1726
Approaches to Vectorization

several approaches to vectorization can be taken:

1 auto-vectorization
compiler automatically vectorizes code when deemed both safe and profitable
2 auto-vectorization with compiler hints
annotations added to source code to guide auto-vectorization
3 explicit directives
special directives added to source code to exercise control over vectorization
(e.g., OpenMP, Cilk Plus)
4 computation using vector data types
use special vector types provided by compiler
5 compiler intrinsics
use special low-level functions provided by compiler
6 inline assembly language
use SIMD instructions directly by using assembly language
above approaches listed in order of decreasing ease of use and
increasing degree of programmer control

easiest way to vectorize code is to have compiler do this automatically

called auto-vectorization
most compilers have support for auto-vectorization
advantages of auto-vectorization:
easy to use
less error prone (no bugs, unless compiler has bug)
sometimes compiler may be able to make better judgement as to whether
vectorization would be beneficial
compiler, however, must be very conservative when vectorizing code
compiler cannot transform code in way that changes its behavior
unfortunately, compiler often does not have sufficient knowledge of code
behavior to perform vectorization well (or at all)

GCC supports auto-vectorization

GCC has two vectorizers:
1 loop vectorizer
2 basic-block vectorizer
both vectorizers enabled by default for optimization level of at least 3
(where optimization level specified with -O option)
GCC fully supports OpenMP 4.5 for C/C++ (but not Fortran) as of GCC
6.1 and fully supports OpenMP 4.0 as of GCC 4.9.1

-ftree-vectorize and -fno-tree-vectorize

enable and disable all vectorization, respectively
-ftree-loop-vectorize and -fno-tree-loop-vectorize
enable and disable loop vectorizer, respectively
-ftree-slp-vectorize and -fno-tree-slp-vectorize
enable and disable basic-block vectorizer, respectively
-fopt-info-vec-optimized
enable remarks that identify places in code where vectorization successfully
applied
-fopt-info-vec-missed
enable remarks that identify places in code where vectorization could not
be applied
-march=native
use instructions supported by local CPU
to see which flags are enabled with -march=native, use:
g++ -march=native -Q --help=target

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1730
GCC Compiler Options Related to Vectorization (Continued)

-fopenmp
enable OpenMP support (which requires GOMP library)
-fopenmp-simd
enable OpenMP SIMD support (which does not require run-time library)
-S
produce assembly language output only (instead of object code)
-fverbose-asm
enable generation of more verbose assembly language output (e.g.,
compiler version and command-line options, source-code lines associated
with assembly instructions, hints on which high-level expressions
correspond to various assembly instruction operands)

Clang supports auto-vectorization

Clang has two vectorizers:
1 loop vectorizer
2 superword-level parallelism (SLP) vectorizer
loop vectorizer widens instructions in loops to operate on multiple
consecutive iterations (i.e., performs loop vectorization)
SLP vectorizer combines similar independent scalar instructions into
vector instructions
both loop and SLP vectorizers enabled by default for optimization level of
at least 1 (where optimization level specified by -O option)
Clang supports all non-offloading features of OpenMP 4.5 as of Clang 3.9

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1732
Clang Compiler Options Related to Vectorization
-fvectorize and -fno-vectorize
enable and disable loop vectorizer, respectively
-fslp-vectorize and -no-fslp-vectorize
enable and disable SLP vectorizer, respectively
-fslp-vectorize-aggressive
enable more aggressive vectorization in SLP vectorizer
-Rpass=loop-vectorize
enable remarks that identify loops that were successfully vectorized
-Rpass-missed=loop-vectorize
enable remarks that identify loops that failed vectorization and indicate if
vectorization specified
-Rpass-analysis=loop-vectorize
enable remarks that identify statements that caused vectorization to fail
-fopenmp
enable OpenMP support (which requires OMP library)
-S
produce assembly language output only (instead of object code)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1733
Assessing Quality of Vectorized Code

to assess quality of vectorized code generated by compiler, often very

helpful to view assembly code generated by compiler
quick inspection of assembly code can often give clear indication as to
how well particular part of code was vectorized
most compilers provide option to generate assembly source as
compilation output (instead of object code)
to assist in locating assembly source corresponding to particular part of
C++/C source code (such as loop) can inject comments into assembly
code using asm
example:
1 float innerprod(float* a, float* b, int n) {
2 float result = 0.0f;
3 asm volatile ("# loop start");
4 for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {result += a[i] * b[i];}
5 asm volatile ("# loop end");
6 return result;
7 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1734
Assessing Quality of Vectorized Code (Continued)
1 .file "inner_product_1.cpp"
2 .text
3 .globl _Z9innerprodPfS_i
4 .type _Z9innerprodPfS_i, @function
5 _Z9innerprodPfS_i:
6 .LFB0:
7 .cfi_startproc
8 #APP
9 # 3 "inner_product_1.cpp" 1
10 # loop start
11 # 0 "" 2
12 #NO_APP
13 xorl %eax, %eax
14 vxorps %xmm0, %xmm0, %xmm0
15 .L3:
16 cmpl %eax, %edx
17 jle .L2
18 vmovss (%rdi,%rax,4), %xmm1
19 vfmadd231ss (%rsi,%rax,4), %xmm1, %xmm0
20 incq %rax
21 jmp .L3
22 .L2:
23 #APP
24 # 5 "inner_product_1.cpp" 1
25 # loop end
26 # 0 "" 2
27 #NO_APP
28 ret
29 .cfi_endproc

in order to allow compiler to perform auto-vectorization more effectively,

can provide hints to compiler
place annotations in code to provide compiler with additional information
to guide vectorization
annotations typically provide information that compiler could not
reasonably deduce on its own but is important in making decisions
regarding vectorization
approach is relatively easy to use since compiler still does most of work
must be careful to provide correct information to compiler, however;
otherwise, compiler may generate incorrect code

numerous obstacles to vectorization:

data dependencies
control-flow dependencies
aliasing
noncontiguous memory accesses
misaligned data
by eliminating such obstacles, compiler can perform auto-vectorization
more effectively

vectorization changes order of computation compared to sequential case

changing order of computation may yield different result
cannot replace sequential loop with vectorized version if this would
change result of computation
need to consider independence of unrolled loop operations, which
depends on vectorization factor
three types of data dependencies:
1 flow dependency (read after write)
2 output dependency (write after write)
3 antidependency (write after read)
flow and output dependencies are of most concern for vectorization

flow dependency (also called read-after-write dependency) is type of

data dependency that occurs when variable is written in one iteration of
loop and read in subsequent iteration
dependency distance is difference in iteration number in which read and
write of variable occur
example of flow dependency with dependency distance of 1:
for (int i = 1; i < n; ++i)
{a[i] = a[i - 1] + 1;}
if dependency distance less than vectorization factor, vectorized loop
cannot be guaranteed to yield same result as sequential version

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1739
Flow Dependence Example
consider vectorization of following loop with vectorization factor of 4:
for (int i = 1; i < n; ++i)
{a[i] = a[i - 1] + b[i];}
loop exhibits flow dependence (i.e., read after write) on a[i-1]
(dependence distance 1)
loop in partially unrolled form (assuming number of iterations multiple of
4):
for (int i = 1; i < n; i += 4) {
a[i + 0] = a[i - 1] + b[i + 0];
a[i + 1] = a[i + 0] + b[i + 1];
a[i + 2] = a[i + 1] + b[i + 2];
a[i + 3] = a[i + 2] + b[i + 3];
}
loop in vectorized form (assuming number of iterations multiple of 4):
for (int i = 1; i < n; i += 4)
{a[i : i + 3] = a[i - 1 : i + 2] + b[i : i + 3];}
vectorized loop will not always produce same results as sequential loop
(due to flow dependence with dependence distance 1)
therefore, with vectorization factor of 4, loop not legal to vectorize
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1740
Flow Dependence Example: Sequential Loop

suppose that:
constexpr int n = 5;
int a_data[n] = {-1, -2, -3, -4, -5};
int b_data[n] = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4};
int* a = a_data;
int* b = b_data;
sequential loop:
for (int i = 1; i < n; ++i) {
a[i] = a[i - 1] + b[i]
}
computation for loop iteration:
i a[i - 1] b[i] a[i]
1 -1 1 0
2 0 2 2
3 2 3 5
4 5 4 9
upon loop termination, array pointed to by a contains:
{-1, 0, 2, 5, 9}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1741
Flow Dependence Example: Vectorized Loop

again, suppose that:

constexpr int n = 5;
int a_data[n] = {-1, -2, -3, -4, -5};
int b_data[n] = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4};
int* a = a_data;
int* b = b_data;
vectorized loop:
for (int i = 1; i < n; i += 4) {
a[i : i + 3] = a[i - 1 : i + 2] + b[i : i + 3];
}
computation for loop iteration:
i a[i - 1 : i + 2] b[i : i + 3] a[i : i + 3]
1 {-1, -2, -3, -4} {1, 2, 3, 4} {0, 0, 0, 0}
upon loop termination, array pointed to by a contains:
{-1, 0, 0, 0, 0}

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1742
Flow Dependence Example
consider vectorizing following loop using vectorization factor of 4:
for (int i = 5; i < n; ++i)
{a[i] = a[i - 5] + b[i];}
loop exhibits flow dependence (i.e., read after write) on a[i-5]
(dependence distance 5)
loop in partially unrolled form (assuming number of iterations multiple of
4):
for (int i = 5; i < n; i += 4) {
a[i + 0] = a[i - 5] + b[i + 0];
a[i + 1] = a[i - 4] + b[i + 1];
a[i + 2] = a[i - 3] + b[i + 2];
a[i + 3] = a[i - 2] + b[i + 3];
}
loop in vectorized form (assuming number of iterations multiple of 4):
for (int i = 5; i < n; i += 4)
{a[i : i + 3] = a[i - 5 : i - 2] + b[i : i + 3];}
vectorized loop will always yield same result as sequential loop since no
flow dependence occurs within single iteration of vectorized loop
with vectorization factor of 4, loop legal to vectorize
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1743
Output Dependencies

output dependency (also called write-after-write dependency) is type

of data dependency that occurs when same variable is written in more
than one iteration
example of output dependency:
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i)
{a[i % 2] = b[i] + c[i];}
generally unsafe to perform vectorization of loops with output
dependencies

control-flow dependencies can lead to different operations for elements in

vector
consider loop in following function:
void func(float* a, float* b, int n) {
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
a[i] = (a[i] > 1.0) ? a[i] / b[i] : a[i];
}
}
code has control-flow dependence on a[i] (code behavior depends on
condition a[i] > 1.0)
good compiler might be able to vectorize above function
when control-flow dependencies become more complex, however,
vectorization extremely difficult or impossible to perform
therefore, control-flow dependencies are best avoided

when same memory location can be accessed through different names,

aliasing said to occur
example of aliasing:
code:
float v[64];
float* p = &v[0];
float* q = &v[1];
// p and q can be used to access same memory
// e.g., p[1] and q[0] refer to same object
memory layout:
v[0] v[1] v[2] v[3] ··· v[63]

p q
aliasing often limits ability of compiler to perform optimization
in effect, aliasing can introduce new data dependencies that would not
otherwise exist
failing to take aliasing into account could lead to illegal optimizations (i.e.,
optimizations that change code behavior)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1746
Aliasing and Optimization: An Example

consider code:
1 void func(int* a, int* b, int* c) {
2 *a = 42;
3 *b = 0;
4 *c = *a;
5 }
at first glance, might seem that code can be optimized to yield:
1 void func(int* a, int* b, int* c) {
2 *a = 42;
3 *b = 0;
4 *c = 42;
5 }
above optimized code is incorrect, since a might equal b, in which case *c
should be assigned 0, not 42

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1747
Aliasing and Vectorization: An Example
consider code:
1 void add(float* a, float* b, float* c) {
2 for (int i = 0; i < 1024; ++i) {
3 a[i] = b[i] + c[i];
4 }
5 }
if only this code visible to compiler, simply vectorizing loop in this function
is not legal
a could be aliased to b or c (i.e., storage pointed to by a, b, and c could
overlap)
in this case, sequential and parallel execution of loop would yield different
results
best compiler could do might be to:
generate two different versions of code for loop, one without vectorization
for aliasing case and one with vectorization for case of no aliasing
emit runtime aliasing check that decides which version of code for loop to
execute
this solution less than ideal as it incurs cost of runtime check and results
in increased code size
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1748
The __restrict__ Keyword
sometimes highly beneficial to have means to indicate to compiler that
aliasing cannot occur (so that compiler can better optimize code)
although not part of C++ standard, some compilers support special
keyword for this purpose; for example:
GCC and Clang support __restrict__ keyword
MSVC supports __restrict keyword

keyword can be applied to pointer or reference

during execution of block in which restricted pointer/reference p is
declared, if some object that is accessible through p (directly or indirectly)
is modified by any means, then all access to that object in that block must
occur through p (directly or indirectly)
important only to use __restrict__ if certain that no aliasing can occur;
otherwise, code behavior likely to be incorrect
example:
void func(int* __restrict__ p, int* __restrict__ q) {
// compiler can safely assume that any data modified though p
// will only be accessed through p; and similarly for q
// thus, data pointed to by p and q cannot overlap
// ... (code modifies data pointed to by p and q)
}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1749
Noncontiguous Memory Accesses

vector load/store operation typically reads/writes contiguous block of

memory (that is appropriately aligned)
noncontiguous data typically needs multiple instructions to be read/written
example of code with noncontiguous memory accesses:
// in loop, array elements accesses with stride 2
for (int i = 0; i < n; i += 2) {
c[i] = a[i] + b[i];
}
sometimes noncontiguous memory access problem can be addressed by
choosing different layout for data in memory (e.g., struct of arrays instead
of array of structs)
other times, problem may be resolvable by restructuring code to perform
computations in different order

for reasons of performance, vector load and store operations often impose
restrictions on data alignment
typically, target address for vector load or store of n-byte register needs to
be aligned on n-byte boundary
for some architectures, such alignment is strict requirement (i.e., code will
not work if data misaligned)
for other architectures, such alignment is not strictly required, but
substantial performance penalty may be incurred in case of misaligned
data
for this reason, important to align data appropriately whenever possible
also, to allow compiler to vectorize in most effective manner possible,
important to let compiler know when data is appropriately aligned

sometimes not possible or practical to avoid misaligned data

in such cases, can still partially vectorize
peel first few iterations of loop where data is misaligned and process data
using scalar operations
peel last few iterations (as necessary) where insufficient data to fill vector
register and process data using scalar operations
use vector operations for remainder of iterations
compared to case of properly aligned data that is multiple of vector size,
above approach likely to be slower and have larger code size
alternatively, could add padding before and/or after data to ensure data
with padding is appropriately aligned and multiple of vector length, but this
approach often not practical

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1752
Controlling Alignment of Data
for non-heap allocation, can use alignas qualifier to control alignment
of object
for heap allocation, can use std::aligned_alloc to allocate memory
with particular alignment
std::free can be used to free memory allocated by
std::aligned_alloc
example:
1 #include <cassert>
2 #include <cstdlib>
3 #include <cstdint>
4
5 int main() {
6 alignas(4096) static char buffer[65536];
7 static_assert(alignof(buffer) == 4096);
8 float* fp = static_cast<float*>(
9 std::aligned_alloc(4096, sizeof(float)));
10 if (!fp) {return 1;}
11 assert(!(reinterpret_cast<intptr_t>(fp) % 4096));
12 std::free(fp);
13 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1753
Informing Compiler of Data Alignment
to facilitate more effective vectorization by compiler, important to be able
to indicate data alignment in code
unfortunately, C++ standard does not provide mechanism for doing this
some compilers (such as GCC and Clang) support intrinsic function called
__builtin_assume_aligned that can be used to indicate alignment
__builtin_assume_aligned declared as:
void* __builtin_assume_aligned(const void *p, size_t align, ...);
this function simply returns its first argument p and allows compiler to
assume that returned pointer is at least align bytes aligned (when
invoked with two arguments)
example:
void func(float* a, float* b, int n) {
// *a and *b can be assumed aligned to 64-byte boundary
a = static_cast<float*>(__builtin_assume_aligned(a, 64));
b = static_cast<float*>(__builtin_assume_aligned(b, 64));
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {/* ... */}
}
in case of compilers that do not support __builtin_assume_aligned,
another approach would need to be found
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1754
Profitability of Vectorization

vectorization can often provide significant speedup (in some cases linear
with vectorization factor), but costs need to be considered
vector loop bodies can be larger than their scalar forms, as more complex
operations may be needed, increasing code size
vector loop may have increased startup costs to prepare for vectorized
execution
if aliasing is potential problem, require overhead of runtime aliasing check
vector instructions may take more cycles

source code:
1 #include <cstddef>
2
3 template <std::size_t n, class T>
4 void add(const T (&a)[n], T (&b)[n]) {
5 for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
6 b[i] += a[i];
7 }
8 }
since a and b may be aliased, compiler must generate code that correcly
handles aliased case (as well as non-aliased case)
often, will generate code that tests for aliasing at run time and uses result
to decide between code for aliased case or non aliased case
since compiler does not know alignment of a and b, must generate code
that handles any valid alignment

source code:
1 #include <cstddef>
2
3 template <std::size_t n, class T>
4 void add(const T (&__restrict__ a)[n],
5 T (&__restrict__ b)[n]) {
6 for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
7 b[i] += a[i];
8 }
9 }
compiler can assume no aliasing (due to use of __restrict__)
since compiler does not know alignment of a and b, must generate code
that handles any valid alignment

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1757
Vectorization Example (Version 3)
source code:
1 #include <cstddef>
2
3 template <std::size_t n, std::size_t align, class T>
4 void add(const T (& __restrict__ a)[n],
5 T (& __restrict__ b)[n]) {
6 const T* ap = static_cast<const T*>(
7 __builtin_assume_aligned(&a, align));
8 T* bp = static_cast<T*>(
9 __builtin_assume_aligned(&b, align));
10 for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
11 bp[i] += ap[i];
12 }
13 }
compiler can assume no aliasing (due to use of __restrict__) and
align-byte alignment (due to use of __builtin_assume_aligned)
code generated for vectorized loop in case of
add<65536, 16 * alignof(float), float>:
12 .L2:
13 vmovaps (%rsi,%rax), %ymm0
14 vaddps (%rdi,%rax), %ymm0, %ymm0
15 vmovaps %ymm0, (%rsi,%rax)
16 addq $32, %rax
17 cmpq $262144, %rax
18 jne .L2
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1758
Vectorization Example
when using add function, must be careful to ensure that assumptions
about data alignment are not violated
source code:
1 #include <cstddef>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <algorithm>
4 #include <numeric>
5 #include "example4_util.hpp"
6
7 int main() {
8 constexpr std::size_t n = 65536;
9 constexpr std::size_t align = 16 * alignof(float);
10 alignas(align) static float a[n];
11 alignas(align) static float b[n];
12 std::iota(&a[0], &a[n], 1);
13 std::fill(&b[0], &b[n], -1);
14 add<n, align>(a, b);
15 for (auto i : b) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;}
16 }
if code does not ensure correct alignment of data, code will not work
correctly (and probably will result in crash)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1759
Basic Requirements for Vectorizable Loops

countable: number of loop iterations known at run time upon entry to loop
(e.g., implies no conditional termination of loop)
straight-line code (i.e., no control flow); no switch statements; if statements
only allowable when can be implemented as masked assignments
must be innermost loop if nested
no function calls, except some basic math functions (such as std::pow,
std::sqrt, and std::sin) and some inline functions

OpenMP is industry standard API for parallel computing

supports C++, C, and Fortran
OpenMP 4.0 added constructs for expressing SIMD data-level parallelism
although OpenMP offers large amount of functionality, we only focus on
SIMD-related functionality here
use pragmas to control vectorization
simd pragma allows explicit control of vectorization of for loops
declare simd pragma instructs compiler to generate vectorized version
of function (which can be used to vectorize loops containing function calls)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1761
OpenMP simd Pragma
vectorized loop can be achieved with OpenMP simd pragma
syntax:
#pragma omp simd [clause. . .]
/* for statement in canonical form */
simd pragma must be immediately followed by for loop in canonical form
optional clauses may be specified to affect behavior of pragma (i.e.,
safelen, linear, aligned, private, lastprivate, reduction, and
collapse)
amongst other things, canonical form of for loop implies:
induction variable has integer, pointer, or random-access iterator type
limited test and increment/decrement for induction varaible
iteration count known before execution of loop
can target inner or outer loops
loop must be suitable for vectorization (e.g., no data-dependence
problems)
example:
#pragma omp simd
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {c[i] = a[i] + b[i];}
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1762
OpenMP declare simd Pragma

can generate vectorized versions of functions with declare simd pragma

syntax:
#pragma omp declare simd [clause. . .]
/* function declaration/definition */
optional clauses may be specified to affect behavior of pragma (i.e.,
simdlen, linear, aligned, uniform, inbranch, and notinbranch)
example:
#pragma omp declare simd
float foo(float a, float b, float c) {
return a * b + c;
}

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1763
OpenMP SIMD-Related Pragma Clauses
safelen(length)
specifies length as maximum number of iterations that can be run
concurrently in safe manner (i.e., without data-dependence problems)
collapse(n)
specifies how many (nested) loops to associate with loop construct (i.e.,
how many nested loops to combine)
simdlen(length)
specifies length as prefered length of vector registers used
aligned(argument-list[:alignment])
specifies items in argument-list as having given alignment (e.g., alignment)
uniform(argument-list)
indicates each argument in argument-list has constant value between
iterations of given loop (i.e., constant value across all SIMD lanes)
inbranch
specifies that function will always be called from inside conditional
statement of SIMD loop
notinbranch
specifies that function will never be called from inside conditional statement
of SIMD loop
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1764
OpenMP SIMD-Related Pragma Clauses (Continued)

linear(list[:linear-step])
specifies that, for every iteration of original scalar loop, each variable in list
is incremented by particular step step (i.e., variable is incremented by step
times vector length for vectorized loop)
private(list)
declares variables in list to be private to each iteration
lastprivate(list)
declares variables in list to be private to each iteration, and last value is
copied out from last iteration instance
reduction(operator:list)
specifies variables in list are reduction variables for operator operator

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1765
Example: Vectorized Loop
1 #include <cstddef>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <numeric>
4
5 template <std::size_t align, std::size_t n, class T>
6 [[ gnu::noinline ]]
7 void multiply(const T (&a)[n], const T (&b)[n], T (&c)[n]) {
8 #pragma omp simd aligned(a, b, c : align)
9 for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
10 c[i] = a[i] * b[i];
11 }
12 }
13
14 int main() {
15 constexpr std::size_t n = 65536;
16 constexpr std::size_t align = 16 * alignof(float);
17 alignas(align) static float a[n];
18 alignas(align) static float b[n];
19 alignas(align) static float c[n];
20 std::iota(a, &a[n], 0);
21 std::iota(b, &b[n], 0);
22 multiply<align>(a, b, c);
23 for (auto x : c) {
24 std::cout << x << ’\n’;
25 }
26 }

1 #include <cstddef>
2 #include <iostream>
3 #include <numeric>
4
5 #pragma omp declare simd notinbranch
6 float func(float a, float b) {
7 return a * a + b * b;
8 }
9
10 int main() {
11 constexpr std::size_t n = 65536;
12 constexpr std::size_t align = 16 * alignof(float);
13 alignas(align) static float a[n];
14 alignas(align) static float b[n];
15 alignas(align) static float c[n];
16 std::iota(a, &a[n], 0);
17 std::iota(b, &b[n], 0);
18 #pragma omp simd aligned(a, b, c : align)
19 for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
20 c[i] = func(a[i], b[i]);
21 }
22 for (auto x : c) {
23 std::cout << x << ’\n’;
24 }
25 }

References

1 Pablo Halpern, Introduction to Vector Parallelism, CppCon, Bellevue, WA,

USA, Sept. 21, 2016. Available online at https://youtu.be/h6Q-
5Q2N5ck.
2 Georg Zitzlsberger, C++ SIMD parallelism with Intel Cilk Plus and
OpenMP 4.0, Meeting C++, Berlin, Germany, Dec. 5–6, 2014. Available
online at https://youtu.be/6oKRL7jz2LY.

1 OpenMP web site, http://www.openmp.org.

2 Clang OpenMP page, http://openmp.llvm.org.
3 Cilk Plus web site, http://www.cilkplus.org.

4 A. Peleg, S. Wilkie, and U. Weiser. Intel MMX for multimedia PCs.

Communications of the ACM, 40(1):25–38, Jan. 1997.

Documentation for Software Development

documentation plays essential role in software development process

many benefits to formalizing in writing various aspects of software at
different points in development process
consider two types of documents:
1 software requirements specification
2 software design description
software requirements specification (SRS): describes what software
should do (from external viewpoint)
software design description (SDD): describes how software works
internally

establishes agreement between consumer and contractors on what

software is expected to do as well as what it is not expected to do
can be thought of as contract between customer and contractor
functionality: what does software do? (what problem does it solve?)
external interfaces: how does software interact with external agents, such
as humans, hardware, and software (e.g., command-line interface,
graphical user interface, application program interface)
performance: speed, availability, response time, recovery time of various
functions
attributes: considerations regarding reliability, availability, maintainability,
portability, security
design constraints imposed on implementation: implementation language,
resource limits, operating environments
assumptions upon which requirements are based

distinguish classes of requirements:

essential: software will be unacceptable unless requirement met
conditional: would enhance software if requirement met, but not
unacceptable if requirement not met
optional: class of functionality that may or may not be worthwhile
should not leave details of software requirements to be determined
only focus on what the software needs to do, not how done (i.e., should
not describe any design or implementation details)
typical use cases
constraints imposed on software:
time constraints
memory constraints
software limitations:
restrictions on input data
allowable ranges for parameters of methods
dependencies on other software (e.g., other programs needed to function)

external interfaces: how software interacts with external agents, such as

humans, hardware, and software
command line interface (CLI) (for program)
options (e.g., required versus optional, default settings)
standard input, output, error
exit status
graphical user interface (GUI) (for program)
window layout
user interaction (e.g., mouse/keyboard actions)
application program interface (API) (for library)
constants
types, classes/methods
functions
namespaces
format of all data used by software

establishes basis for agreement between customer and contractors

reduces development effort by thoroughly considering all requirements
before starting design
provides basis for estimating costs and schedules
provides baseline for validation and verification
facilitates transfer of software product to new users or machines
serves as basis for enhancement

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1776
SRS Example: Sorting Program
single program that performs sorting
given records as input, program sorts records and outputs records in
sorted order
record data format (for input and output):
records delimited by single newline character
each record consists of one or more fields, separated by one or more
whitespace characters
restrictions/constraints:
may assume sufficient memory to buffer all records
software must work without any modification to source code on any platform
with C++ compiler compliant with C++11 standard
records read from standard input
sorted records written to standard output
any error/warning messages written to standard error
sorts records using nth field in record as key
can sort in ascending or descending order
sort key may be numeric or string
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1777
SRS Example: Sorting Program (Continued)

command line interface:

sort [-r] [-k $n] [-n]
Option Description
-k $n Sort using nth field in record; if not specified, n
defaults to 1.
-n Treat key as real number (instead of string) for
sorting purposes; if not specified, key treated as
string.
-r Sort in descending (instead of ascending) order; if
not specified, defaults to ascending order.
give examples illustrating expected use cases

high-level design: overview of entire system, identifying all its components

at some level of abstraction (i.e., overall software architecture)
detailed design (a.k.a. low-level design): full details of system and its
components (e.g., types, functions, APIs, pseudocode, etc.)
describes high-level and detailed design of software
some context regarding functionality provided by software
how design is recursively structured into constituent parts and role of
those parts
types and interfaces (e.g., classes and public members)
data structures used to represent information to be processed
internal interfaces (and external interfaces not described in SRS)
interaction amongst entities
algorithms

describe overall structure of software

carefully consider choice of data structures used to represent information
being processed, as choice will almost always have performance
implications
specify any data formats used internally by software
provide pseudocode for key parts of software
state any potentially limiting assumptions made

encourages better planning by forcing design ideas to be more carefully

considered and organized
allows greater scrutiny of design
captures important design decisions, such as rationale for particular
design choices
allows newcomers to development team to become acquainted with
software more easily
provides point of reference to be used throughout project
promotes reuse of code (since well documented code more likely to be
reused)
facilitates better software testing (since certain types of testing benefit
from understanding of software design)

Key alias for type that represents sort key (alias for std::string)
Compare functor class for comparing Key objects
Dataset class represents collection of all records
specify all class interfaces (i.e., public members)
Dataset class provides:
constructor that creates dataset by reading all records from input stream
function to output all records in sorted order to output stream
Dataset class to use std::multimap<Key, std::string, Compare>
allows n records to be sorted in O(n log n) time [n insertions, each
requiring O(log n) time]
handling n records requires O(n) memory
only uses C++ standard library

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1782
Requirements/Design Document for Degree Project
document is combination of SRS and SDD with some added information
about testing strategies
briefly introduce problem being addressed by software
describe each program and library to be developed
identify parts of any external software (e.g., programs or libraries) that will
be used
describe user interface (e.g., CLI, GUI) for each program
fully specify all data formats used
describe overall structure of each program and library
identify all key data structures and algorithms to be used
provide pseudocode for key parts of the software
state any potentially limiting assumptions made by software
indicate how programs and library code will be tested
offer any other information that may be helpful (since above list is not
exhaustive)
provide sufficient detail for other people to understand how software is to
be structured and how it will be implemented and tested
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1783
References

1 IEEE Std. 1016-2009 — IEEE standard for information technology —

systems design — software design descriptions, July 2009.
2 IEEE Std. 830-1998 — IEEE recommended practice for software
requirements specifications, Oct. 1998.

Debugging and Testing Tools

Debuggers

unfortunately, software does not always work as intended due to errors in

code (i.e., bugs)
how does one go about fixing bugs in time-efficient manner?
source-level debugger is essential tool
single stepping: step through execution of code, one source-code line at a
time
breakpoints: pause execution at particular points in code
watchpoints: pause execution when the value of variable is changed
print values of variables

GNU Debugger (GDB) is powerful source-level debugger

home page: http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb
available on most platforms (e.g., Unix, Microsoft Windows)
most popular source-level debugger on Unix systems
allows one to see what is happening inside program as it executes or what
a program was doing at the moment it crashed
has all of the standard functionality of a source-level debugger (e.g.,
breakpoints, watchpoints, single-stepping)
gdb command
command-line usage:
gdb [options] executable

help
Print help information.
quit
Exit debugger.
run [arglist]
Start the program (with arglist if specified).
print expr
Display the value of the expression expr.
bt
Display a stack backtrace.
list
Type the source code lines in the vicinity of where the program is currently
stopped.

break function
Set a breakpoint at the function function.
watch expr
Set a watchpoint for the expression expr.
c
Continue running the program (e.g., after stopping at a breakpoint).
next
Execute the next program line, stepping over any function calls in the line.
step
Execute the next program line, stepping into any function calls in the line.

graphical front-end to command-line debuggers such as GDB

has some fancy graphical data display functionality
all gdb commands available in text window, but can use graphical
interface to enter commands as well
home page: http://www.gnu.org/software/ddd
ddd command

Code Sanitizers

code sanitizer: tool for automatically performing variety of run-time

checks on code
typically requires compiler to instrument code
may also need library for run-time support
several code sanitizers supported by Clang and/or GCC
address sanitizer
thread sanitizer
memory sanitizer
undefined-behavior sanitizer
leak sanitizer
sanitizers easy to use
can easily catch many bugs
overhead of code sanitizer typically much less than that of other
competing approaches for detecting similar types of bugs

Address Sanitizer (ASan) can be used to detect numerous errors related

to memory addressing, such as:
out of bounds accesses to heap, stack, and globals
heap use after free
stack use after return
stack use after scope
double or invalid free
memory leaks
initialization order problems
supported by both Clang and GCC
compiler instruments all loads/stores and inserts redzones around stack
and global variables
run-time library provides malloc replacement (with redzone and
quarantine functionality) and bookkeeping for error messages
typically introduces about 2 times slowdown
about 1.5 to 3 times memory overhead

need to enable address sanitizer at compile and link time using

-fsanitize=address option for Clang and GCC
environment variable ASAN_OPTIONS can be set to whitespace-separated
list of options to control some sanitizer behavior at run time
some sanitizer options include:
strip_path_prefix
verbosity
detect_leaks

allocator_may_return_null
check_initialization_order
detect_stack_use_after_return

new_delete_type_mismatch
exitcode

to enable checking for initialization order problems, use

ASAN_OPTIONS="check_initialization_order=1"

global_buffer_overflow.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 int a[4] = {1, 2, 3, 4};
3 int main() {
4 for (int i = 0; i <= 4; ++i) {
5 std::cout << a[i] << ’\n’;
6 }
7 }

program output (truncated):

=================================================================
==3359==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: global-buffer-overflow on address 0
x0000006020d0 at pc 0x000000400d31 bp 0x7ffeb78d2350 sp 0
x7ffeb78d2348
READ of size 4 at 0x0000006020d0 thread T0
#0 0x400d30 in main global_buffer_overflow.cpp:5
#1 0x7f83da8d4fdf in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ffdf)
#2 0x400bf8 (global_buffer_overflow+0x400bf8)
0x0000006020d0 is located 0 bytes to the right of global variable ’a’
defined in ’global_buffer_overflow.cpp:2:5’ (0x6020c0) of size 16
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: global-buffer-overflow
global_buffer_overflow.cpp:5 in main
Shadow bytes around the buggy address:

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1796
Out-of-Bounds Access to Stack
stack_buffer_overflow.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 int main() {
3 int a[4] = {1, 2, 3, 4};
4 for (int i = 0; i <= 4; ++i)
5 {std::cout << a[i] << ’\n’;}
6 }

program output (truncated):

=================================================================
==3364==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: stack-buffer-overflow on address 0x7ffc3e811cf0
at pc 0x000000400e53 bp 0x7ffc3e811c70 sp 0x7ffc3e811c68
READ of size 4 at 0x7ffc3e811cf0 thread T0
#0 0x400e52 in main stack_buffer_overflow.cpp:5
#1 0x7f10c1c7afdf in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ffdf)
#2 0x400c48 (stack_buffer_overflow+0x400c48)
Address 0x7ffc3e811cf0 is located in stack of thread T0 at offset 112 in frame
#0 0x400d06 in main stack_buffer_overflow.cpp:2
This frame has 2 object(s):
[32, 33) ’__c’
[96, 112) ’a’ <== Memory access at offset 112 overflows this variable
HINT: this may be a false positive if your program uses some custom stack unwind
mechanism or swapcontext
(longjmp and C++ exceptions *are* supported)
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: stack-buffer-overflow stack_buffer_overflow.cpp:5 in
main
Shadow bytes around the buggy address:

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1797
Out-of-Bounds Access to Heap
heap_buffer_overflow.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cstring>
3 int main() {
4 char* p = new char[5];
5 std::strcpy(p, "Hello");
6 std::cout << p << ’\n’;
7 delete[] p;
8 }

program output (truncated):

=================================================================
==3360==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: heap-buffer-overflow on address 0x602000000015
at pc 0x7f7497932399 bp 0x7ffd8defc240 sp 0x7ffd8defb9f0
WRITE of size 6 at 0x602000000015 thread T0
#0 0x7f7497932398 in __interceptor_memcpy ../../../../src/libsanitizer/asan/
asan_interceptors.cc:456
#1 0x400dd4 in main heap_buffer_overflow.cpp:5
#2 0x7f7496c7dfdf in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ffdf)
#3 0x400ca8 (heap_buffer_overflow+0x400ca8)
0x602000000015 is located 0 bytes to the right of 5-byte region [0x602000000010,0
x602000000015)
allocated by thread T0 here:
#0 0x7f7497997170 in operator new[](unsigned long) ../../../../src/
libsanitizer/asan/asan_new_delete.cc:82
#1 0x400dbf in main heap_buffer_overflow.cpp:4
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: heap-buffer-overflow ../../../../src/libsanitizer/asan
/asan_interceptors.cc:456 in __interceptor_memcpy
Shadow bytes around the buggy address:
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1798
Use After Free
use_after_free.cpp
1 int main() {
2 int* p = new int[16];
3 delete[] p;
4 *p = 42;
5 }

program output (truncated):

=================================================================
==3366==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: heap-use-after-free on address 0x606000000020 at
pc 0x000000400836 bp 0x7ffc752b5c20 sp 0x7ffc752b5c18
WRITE of size 4 at 0x606000000020 thread T0
#0 0x400835 in main use_after_free.cpp:4
#1 0x7f0b6dab5fdf in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ffdf)
#2 0x400738 (use_after_free+0x400738)
0x606000000020 is located 0 bytes inside of 64-byte region [0x606000000020,0
x606000000060)
freed by thread T0 here:
#0 0x7f0b6e7cfe70 in operator delete[](void*) ../../../../src/libsanitizer/
asan/asan_new_delete.cc:128
#1 0x400801 in main use_after_free.cpp:3
previously allocated by thread T0 here:
#0 0x7f0b6e7cf170 in operator new[](unsigned long) ../../../../src/
libsanitizer/asan/asan_new_delete.cc:82
#1 0x4007f1 in main use_after_free.cpp:2
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: heap-use-after-free use_after_free.cpp:4 in main
Shadow bytes around the buggy address:

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1799
Stack Use After Return
stack_use_after_return.cpp
1 int* g = nullptr;
2 void foobar() {int i = 42; g = &i;}
3 int main() {
4 foobar();
5 return *g;
6 }

program output (truncated) (with ASAN_OPTIONS=detect_stack_use_after_return=1):

=================================================================
==3365==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: stack-use-after-return on address 0x7f74e7500020
at pc 0x000000400a88 bp 0x7ffdbd534e20 sp 0x7ffdbd534e18
READ of size 4 at 0x7f74e7500020 thread T0
#0 0x400a87 in main stack_use_after_return.cpp:5
#1 0x7f74eb1dffdf in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ffdf)
#2 0x4008b8 (stack_use_after_return+0x4008b8)
Address 0x7f74e7500020 is located in stack of thread T0 at offset 32 in frame
#0 0x400976 in foobar() stack_use_after_return.cpp:2
This frame has 1 object(s):
[32, 36) ’i’ <== Memory access at offset 32 is inside this variable
HINT: this may be a false positive if your program uses some custom stack unwind
mechanism or swapcontext
(longjmp and C++ exceptions *are* supported)
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: stack-use-after-return stack_use_after_return.cpp:5 in
main
Shadow bytes around the buggy address:

use_after_scope.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 int main() {
3 int* p;
4 {int x = 0; p = &x;}
5 std::cout << *p << ’\n’;
6 }

program output (truncated):

=================================================================
==3367==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: stack-use-after-scope on address 0x7ffe1d6a6c40
at pc 0x000000400b6b bp 0x7ffe1d6a6c10 sp 0x7ffe1d6a6c08
READ of size 4 at 0x7ffe1d6a6c40 thread T0
#0 0x400b6a in main use_after_scope.cpp:5
#1 0x7fea2e596fdf in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ffdf)
#2 0x400a58 (use_after_scope+0x400a58)
Address 0x7ffe1d6a6c40 is located in stack of thread T0 at offset 32 in frame
#0 0x400b16 in main use_after_scope.cpp:2
This frame has 1 object(s):
[32, 36) ’x’ <== Memory access at offset 32 is inside this variable
HINT: this may be a false positive if your program uses some custom stack unwind
mechanism or swapcontext
(longjmp and C++ exceptions *are* supported)
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: stack-use-after-scope use_after_scope.cpp:5 in main
Shadow bytes around the buggy address:

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1801
Double Free
double_free.cpp
1 int main() {
2 int* p = new int[16];
3 delete[] p;
4 delete[] p;
5 }

program output (truncated):

=================================================================
==3358==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: attempting double-free on 0x606000000020 in
thread T0:
#0 0x7fdc05ed8e70 in operator delete[](void*) ../../../../src/libsanitizer/
asan/asan_new_delete.cc:128
#1 0x4007b9 in main double_free.cpp:4
#2 0x7fdc051befdf in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ffdf)
#3 0x4006e8 (double_free+0x4006e8)
0x606000000020 is located 0 bytes inside of 64-byte region [0x606000000020,0
x606000000060)
freed by thread T0 here:
#0 0x7fdc05ed8e70 in operator delete[](void*) ../../../../src/libsanitizer/
asan/asan_new_delete.cc:128
#1 0x4007b1 in main double_free.cpp:3
previously allocated by thread T0 here:
#0 0x7fdc05ed8170 in operator new[](unsigned long) ../../../../src/
libsanitizer/asan/asan_new_delete.cc:82
#1 0x4007a1 in main double_free.cpp:2
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: double-free ../../../../src/libsanitizer/asan/
asan_new_delete.cc:128 in operator delete[](void*)

memory_leak.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cstring>
3 int main() {
4 char* p = new char[1024];
5 std::strcpy(p, "Hello, World!\n");
6 std::cout << p;
7 }

program output (truncated):

Hello, World!
=================================================================
==3362==ERROR: LeakSanitizer: detected memory leaks
Direct leak of 1024 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from:
#0 0x7f7413651170 in operator new[](unsigned long) ../../../../src/
libsanitizer/asan/asan_new_delete.cc:82
#1 0x400b51 in main memory_leak.cpp:4
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: 1024 byte(s) leaked in 1 allocation(s).

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1803
Initialization Order Problems
init_order_main.cpp
1 #include <iostream> init_order_other.cpp
2 extern int B; 1 #include <cstdlib>
3 int A = B; 2 int B = std::atoi("42");
4 int main()
5 {std::cout << A << ’\n’;}

program output (truncated) (with ASAN_OPTIONS=check_initialization_order=1):

=================================================================
==3361==ERROR: AddressSanitizer: initialization-order-fiasco on address 0
x000000602440 at pc 0x000000400f14 bp 0x7fff92151540 sp 0x7fff92151538
READ of size 4 at 0x000000602440 thread T0
#0 0x400f13 in __static_initialization_and_destruction_0 init_order_main.cpp
:3
#1 0x400f13 in _GLOBAL__sub_I_A init_order_main.cpp:5
#2 0x40103c in __libc_csu_init (init_order+0x40103c)
#3 0x7f933e2e7f6e in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ff6e)
#4 0x400c98 (init_order+0x400c98)
0x000000602440 is located 0 bytes inside of global variable ’B’ defined in ’
init_order_other.cpp:2:5’ (0x602440) of size 4
registered at:
#0 0x7f933ef5b7c8 in __asan_register_globals ../../../../src/libsanitizer/
asan/asan_globals.cc:317
#1 0x400fe9 in _GLOBAL__sub_I_00099_1_B (init_order+0x400fe9)
SUMMARY: AddressSanitizer: initialization-order-fiasco init_order_main.cpp:3 in
__static_initialization_and_destruction_0
Shadow bytes around the buggy address:

Thread Sanitizer (TSan) detects data races and deadlocks

supported by Clang and GCC
compiler instruments code to intercept all loads/stores
run-time library provides malloc replacement, intercepts all
synchronization, and handles loads/stores
does not instrument prebuilt libraries and inline assembly
about 4 to 10 times slower
about 5 to 8 times more memory
only supported on 64-bit Linux

need to enable sanitizer at compile and link time using

-fsanitize=thread option for Clang and GCC
environment variable TSAN_OPTIONS can be set to whitespace-separated
list of options to control some sanitizer behavior at run time
some sanitizer options include:
strip_path_prefix
verbosity
report_bugs

history_size
suppressions
exitcode

for example, to set per-thread history size value to 7, use

TSAN_OPTIONS="history_size=7"
at least some versions of TSan do not detect potential deadlock if it
actually happens (although arguably if deadlock happens, probably it will
be noticed)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1806
Data Race
data_race.cpp
1 #include <thread>
2 int x = 0;
3 int main() {
4 std::thread t([&]{x = 42;});
5 x = 43;
6 t.join();
7 }

program output (truncated):

==================
WARNING: ThreadSanitizer: data race (pid=10305)
Write of size 4 at 0x000001553848 by thread T1:
#0 main::$_0::operator()() const data_race.cpp:4:22 (data_race+0x4bfc81)
#1 void std::_Bind_simple<main::$_0 ()>::_M_invoke<>(std::_Index_tuple<>) /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-redhat-
linux/4.9.2/../../../../include/c++/4.9.2/functional:1699:18 (data_race+0x4bfbf8)
#2 std::_Bind_simple<main::$_0 ()>::operator()() /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux/4.9.2/../../../../
include/c++/4.9.2/functional:1688:16 (data_race+0x4bfb98)
#3 std::thread::_Impl<std::_Bind_simple<main::$_0 ()> >::_M_run() /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux
/4.9.2/../../../../include/c++/4.9.2/thread:115:13 (data_race+0x4bf94c)
#4 execute_native_thread_routine_compat /gcc-7.1.0/build/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/libstdc++-v3/src/c
++11/../../../../../src/libstdc++-v3/src/c++11/thread.cc:110 (libstdc++.so.6+0xba46f)
Previous write of size 4 at 0x000001553848 by main thread:
#0 main data_race.cpp:5:4 (data_race+0x4be2ce)
Location is global ’x’ of size 4 at 0x000001553848 (data_race+0x000001553848)
Thread T1 (tid=10310, running) created by main thread at:
#0 pthread_create /llvm-clang-4.0.0/src/projects/compiler-rt/lib/tsan/rtl/tsan_interceptors.cc:897 (
data_race+0x44f89b)
#1 __gthread_create /gcc-7.1.0/build/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/libstdc++-v3/include/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/bits/
gthr-default.h:662 (libstdc++.so.6+0xba5b2)
#2 std::thread::_M_start_thread(std::shared_ptr<std::thread::_Impl_base>, void (*)()) /gcc-7.1.0/build/
x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/libstdc++-v3/src/c++11/../../../../../src/libstdc++-v3/src/c++11/thread.cc:191
(libstdc++.so.6+0xba5b2)
#3 main data_race.cpp:4:14 (data_race+0x4be2bd)
SUMMARY: ThreadSanitizer: data race data_race.cpp:4:22 in main::$_0::operator()() const

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1807
Deadlock
deadlock.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <thread>
3 #include <mutex>
4 std::mutex m0;
5 std::mutex m1;
6 void func1(int n) {
7 for (auto i = n; i > 0; --i) {
8 std::lock_guard<std::mutex> l0(m0);
9 std::lock_guard<std::mutex> l1(m1);
10 std::cout << "a\n";
11 }
12 }
13 void func2(int n) {
14 for (auto i = n; i > 0; --i) {
15 std::lock_guard<std::mutex> l1(m1);
16 std::lock_guard<std::mutex> l0(m0);
17 std::cout << "b\n";
18 }
19 }
20 int main() {
21 std::thread t1([]{func1(1);});
22 std::thread t2([]{func2(1);});
23 t1.join(); t2.join();
24 }

program output (truncated):

==================
WARNING: ThreadSanitizer: lock-order-inversion (potential deadlock) (pid=3207)
Cycle in lock order graph: M9 (0x0000006022e0) => M10 (0x0000006022a0) => M9
Mutex M10 acquired here while holding mutex M9 in thread T1:
#0 pthread_mutex_lock ../../../../src/libsanitizer/sanitizer_common/sanitizer_common_interceptors.inc
:3608 (libtsan.so.0+0x000000038e0f)
#1 __gthread_mutex_lock /usr/local/sde-2.15.0/packages/gcc-7.1.0/include/c++/7.1.0/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/
bits/gthr-default.h:748 (deadlock+0x000000401511)
#2 std::mutex::lock() /usr/local/sde-2.15.0/packages/gcc-7.1.0/include/c++/7.1.0/bits/std_mutex.h:103 (
deadlock+0x000000401511)
#3 std::lock_guard<std::mutex>::lock_guard(std::mutex&) /usr/local/sde-2.15.0/packages/gcc-7.1.0/include/
c++/7.1.0/bits/std_mutex.h:162 (deadlock+0x000000401511)
#4 func1(int) deadlock.cpp:9 (deadlock+0x000000401511)
[text deleted]
Hint: use TSAN_OPTIONS=second_deadlock_stack=1 to get more informative warning message
Mutex M9 acquired here while holding mutex M10 in thread T2:
#0 pthread_mutex_lock ../../../../src/libsanitizer/sanitizer_common/sanitizer_common_interceptors.inc
:3608 (libtsan.so.0+0x000000038e0f)
#1 __gthread_mutex_lock /usr/local/sde-2.15.0/packages/gcc-7.1.0/include/c++/7.1.0/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/
bits/gthr-default.h:748 (deadlock+0x000000401451)
#2 std::mutex::lock() /usr/local/sde-2.15.0/packages/gcc-7.1.0/include/c++/7.1.0/bits/std_mutex.h:103 (
deadlock+0x000000401451)
#3 std::lock_guard<std::mutex>::lock_guard(std::mutex&) /usr/local/sde-2.15.0/packages/gcc-7.1.0/include/
c++/7.1.0/bits/std_mutex.h:162 (deadlock+0x000000401451)
#4 func2(int) deadlock.cpp:16 (deadlock+0x000000401451)
[text deleted]
SUMMARY: ThreadSanitizer: lock-order-inversion (potential deadlock) /usr/local/sde-2.15.0/packages/gcc-7.1.0/
include/c++/7.1.0/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/bits/gthr-default.h:748 in __gthread_mutex_lock
==================
a
b
ThreadSanitizer: reported 1 warnings

Memory Sanitizer (MSan) detects reads from uninitialized memory

in contrast, ASan cannot detect uninitialized reads
currently, MSan only supported by Clang (not GCC)
compiler instruments all loads/stores
uses bit to bit shadow mapping
if not all code instrumented (so that not all stores are observed), false
positives can result
about 3 to 6 times slowdown
about 2 to 3 times memory overhead

need to enable sanitizer at compile and link time using

-fsanitize=memory option for Clang
environment variable MSAN_OPTIONS can be set to whitespace-separated
list of options to control some sanitizer behavior at run time
some sanitizer options include:
strip_path_prefix
verbosity

for example, to set verbosity level to 2, use

MSAN_OPTIONS="verbosity=2"

uninitialized_1.cpp
1 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
2 int x[2];
3 x[0] = 1;
4 if (x[argc % 2]) {
5 return 1;
6 }
7 }

program output (truncated):

==22595==WARNING: MemorySanitizer: use-of-uninitialized-value
#0 0x4a46c3 in main uninitialized_1.cpp:4:6
#1 0x7f5d3908ffdf in __libc_start_main (/lib64/libc.so.6+0x1ffdf)
#2 0x41a77e in _start (uninitialized_1+0x41a77e)
SUMMARY: MemorySanitizer: use-of-uninitialized-value uninitialized_1.
cpp:4:6 in main
Exiting

Undefined-Behavior Sanitizer (UBSan) detects code that results in various

types of undefined behavior
some types of problems detected include:
using misaligned or null pointer
signed integer overflow
conversion to, from, or between floating-point types which would overflow
destination
reaching end of value-returning function with returning value
out of bounds array indexing where array bound can be statically
determined
compiler instruments code with extra checks
supported by Clang and GCC
slowdown varies between 0% and 50%

need to enable sanitizer at compile and link time using

-fsanitize=undefined option for Clang and GCC
environment variable UBSAN_OPTIONS can be set to
whitespace-separated list of options to control some sanitizer behavior at
run time
some sanitizer options include:
suppressions

strip_path_prefix
verbosity

signed_integer_overflow.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <limits>
3 int main() {
4 int x = std::numeric_limits<int>::max();
5 int y = x + 1;
6 std::cout << y << ’\n’;
7 }

program output:
signed_integer_overflow.cpp:5:14: runtime error: signed integer
overflow: 2147483647 + 1 cannot be represented in type ’int’
-2147483648

invalid_shift.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 int main() {
3 int x = 32678;
4 int y = 1 << x;
5 std::cout << y << ’\n’;
6 }

program output:
invalid_shift.cpp:4:12: runtime error: shift exponent 32678 is too
large for 32-bit type ’int’
0

Leak Sanitizer (LSan) detects memory leaks

supported by Clang and GCC
adds almost no performance overhead until end of program, at which
point extra leak-detection checks performed
need to enable sanitizer at compile and link time using -fsanitize=leak
option for Clang and GCC (or by using ASan, which includes LSan
functionality)
environment variable LSAN_OPTIONS can be set to whitespace-separated
list of options to control some sanitizer behavior at run time
some sanitizer options include:
strip_path_prefix
verbosity

heap_buffer_overflow.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cstring>
3 int main() {
4 char* p = new char[1024];
5 std::strcpy(p, "Hello, World!\n");
6 std::cout << p;
7 }

program output:
Hello, World!
=================================================================
==10786==ERROR: LeakSanitizer: detected memory leaks
Direct leak of 1024 byte(s) in 1 object(s) allocated from:
#0 0x7faa5e0a7436 in operator new[](unsigned long) ../../../../src/
libsanitizer/lsan/lsan_interceptors.cc:164
#1 0x400894 in main memory_leak.cpp:4
SUMMARY: LeakSanitizer: 1024 byte(s) leaked in 1 allocation(s).

References

1 Kostya Serebryany. Sanitize Your C++ Code, CppCon, 2014. Available

online at https://youtu.be/V2_80g0eOMc.
2 Kostya Serebryany, Beyond Sanitizers, CppCon, 2015. Available online at
https://youtu.be/qTkYDA0En6U.

Clang-Tidy

Clang-Tidy is static analysis tool for C/C++, which is part of Clang

supports many checks, which consider such things as:
correctness
efficiency
readability
modern style
can automatically fix code in many cases
by default, only small subset of checks enabled
probably not advisable to enable all checks, since many benign warnings
may result, obscuring warnings that indicate serious problems
web site: https://clang.llvm.org/extra/clang-tidy

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1822
The clang-tidy Command
to generate compile-commands file (i.e., compile_commands.json), add
following option to cmake command:
-DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON
command line has following form:
clang-tidy [options] [$source_file]...
some options include:
Option Description
-checks=string specify check to include/exclude
-p build path set build path to build path
-version print version information and exit
-help print help information and exit
-list-checks list all enabled checks and exit
-fix apply suggested fixes
-fix-errors apply suggested fixes even if com-
pilation errors found
-warnings-as-errors=string treat specified warnings as errors

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1823
Some Supported Checks
uninitialized arguments
dereferencing null pointers
division by zero
address of stack memory that escape function
undefined result of binary operator
uninitialized array subscript
assigning uninitialized values
uninitialized branch condition
blocks that capture uninitialized values
uninitialized value being returned from function
value-returning function that does not return value
new-delete mismatch
dead code (e.g., dead stores)
use of unsafe functions (e.g., getpw, gets, mktemp, strcpy, strcat)
use of inferior random number generating functions (e.g., drand48)
some specific examples on subsequent slides
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1824
Division By Zero

divide_by_zero.cpp
1 int func(int x) {
2 if (!x) {
3 return 1024 / x;
4 } else {
5 return x;
6 }
7 }

clang-tidy output:
divide_by_zero.cpp:3:15: warning: Division by zero [clang-analyzer-core
.DivideZero]
return 1024 / x;
ˆ
divide_by_zero.cpp:2:6: note: Assuming ’x’ is 0
if (!x) {
ˆ
divide_by_zero.cpp:2:2: note: Taking true branch
if (!x) {
ˆ
divide_by_zero.cpp:3:15: note: Division by zero
return 1024 / x;
ˆ

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1825
New-Delete Mismatch
new_delete_mismatch.cpp
1 int main() {
2 char* p = new char[1024];
3 delete p;
4 }

clang-tidy output:
new_delete_mismatch.cpp:3:2: warning: ’delete’ applied to a pointer that was
allocated with ’new[]’; did you mean ’delete[]’? [clang-diagnostic-
mismatched-new-delete]
delete p;
ˆ
[]
new_delete_mismatch.cpp:2:12: note: allocated with ’new[]’ here
char* p = new char[1024];
ˆ
new_delete_mismatch.cpp:3:2: warning: Memory allocated by ’new[]’ should be
deallocated by ’delete[]’, not ’delete’ [clang-analyzer-unix.
MismatchedDeallocator]
delete p;
ˆ
new_delete_mismatch.cpp:2:12: note: Memory is allocated
char* p = new char[1024];
ˆ
new_delete_mismatch.cpp:3:2: note: Memory allocated by ’new[]’ should be
deallocated by ’delete[]’, not ’delete’
delete p;
ˆ

no_return.cpp
1 int func(int x) {
2 if (x >= 0) {
3 return 1;
4 }
5 }

clang-tidy output:
no_return.cpp:5:1: warning: control may reach end of non-void function
[clang-diagnostic-return-type]
}
ˆ

stack_address_escape.cpp
1 int* p;
2
3 void test() {
4 int x = 42;
5 p = &x;
6 }

clang-tidy output:
stack_address_escape.cpp:6:1: warning: Address of stack memory
associated with local variable ’x’ is still referred to by the
global variable ’p’ upon returning to the caller. This will be a
dangling reference [clang-analyzer-core.StackAddressEscape]
}
ˆ
stack_address_escape.cpp:6:1: note: Address of stack memory associated
with local variable ’x’ is still referred to by the global variable
’p’ upon returning to the caller. This will be a dangling
reference
}
ˆ

undefined_operand.cpp
1 int test() {
2 int x;
3 return x + 1;
4 }

clang-tidy output:
undefined_operand.cpp:3:11: warning: The left operand of ’+’ is a
garbage value [clang-analyzer-core.UndefinedBinaryOperatorResult]
return x + 1;
ˆ
undefined_operand.cpp:2:2: note: ’x’ declared without an initial value
int x;
ˆ
undefined_operand.cpp:3:11: note: The left operand of ’+’ is a garbage
value
return x + 1;
ˆ

References

1 Daniel Jasper, Keep Your Code Sane With Clang Tidy, Meeting C++,
Berlin, Germany, Dec. 4–5, 2015. Available online at https://youtu.
be/nzCLcfH3pb0.

Valgrind

can detect many memory management and threading bugs

can profile programs in detail
home page: http://www.valgrind.org
valgrind command
valkyrie command (GUI for Memcheck and Helgrind tools in Valgrind)

References

1 P. Floyd. Valgrind part 1 — introduction.

Overload, 108:14–15, Apr. 2012.

2 P. Floyd. Valgrind part 2 — basic memcheck.

Overload, 109:24–28, June 2012.
3 P. Floyd. Valgrind part 3 — advanced memcheck.
Overload, 110:4–7, Aug. 2012.

4 P. Floyd. Valgrind part 4 — cachegrind and callgrind.

Overload, 111:4–7, Oct. 2012.
5 P. Floyd. Valgrind part 5 — massif.
Overload, 112:20–24, Dec. 2012.

Gcov and LLVM Cov

Gcov is code coverage analysis tool

can obtain basic statistics on how many times each line of code executes
can be used as guide for improving efficiency of code or to discover
untested parts of programs
GCov is part of GCC
can be used in conjunction with compiler from GCC or Clang
in order to generate data for GCov, program being run must be properly
instrumented
compiler instruments code to: count number of times each line of code
executes and write this information to data files upon program termination
when program run, coverage data files generated
coverage data files can then be processed and displayed with Gcov
web site: https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Gcov.html

LLVM provides program called llvm-cov with functionality similar to GCov

gcov subcommand of llvm-cov has very similar interface as gcov
consqeuently, we only will consider case of Gcov in detail herein
web site: http://llvm.org/docs/CommandGuide/llvm-cov.html

build each program for which code coverage information is desired

must compile and link with --coverage option with GCC or Clang
one block-graph description (.gcno extension) file generated for each
object file produced during compilation and placed in same directory as
corresponding object file
run each program for which coverage information is desired one or more
times
when program exits, one count (.gcda extension) file generated for each
object file associated with program
if output file does not yet exist, file created
if output file already exists, statistics are added to those already there
that is, statistics maintained in data files are cumulative

run gcov program to format data for display

gcov generates sourcefile.gcov (or transformed version of this name) for
sourcefile.cpp
optimization and inline functions can cause strange behaviors in coverage
statistics
for example, optimization can cause multiple lines of code to be merged
together, which will lead to unusual results for affected lines

example_main.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <cstdlib>
3 double signum(double x);
4 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
5 if (argc < 2) {
6 return 1;
7 }
8 double x = std::atof(argv[1]);
9 std::cout << signum(x) << ’\n’;
10 }

example_signum.cpp
1 double signum(double x) {
2 if (x > 0) {
3 return 1.0;
4 } else if (x < 0) {
5 return -1.0;
6 } else {
7 return 0.0;
8 }
9 }

build program example using GCC, ensuring that --coverage option is

used for both compiling and linking; for example, using command
sequence like:
g++ -c --coverage example_main.cpp
g++ -c --coverage example_signum.cpp
g++ -o example example_main.o example_signum.o --coverage
run example program twice as follows:
example
example 1.0
since example program run twice, statistics are accumulated from both
runs of program
run Gcov; for example, using command like:
gcov example_main.o example_signum.o
view resulting .gcov files

example_main.cpp.gcov
-: 0:Source:example_main.cpp
-: 0:Programs:2
-: 1:#include <iostream>
-: 2:#include <cstdlib>
-: 3:double signum(double x);
2: 4:int main(int argc, char** argv) {
2: 5: if (argc < 2) {
1: 6: return 1;
-: 7: }
1: 8: double x = std::atof(argv[1]);
1: 9: std::cout << signum(x) << ’\n’;
7: 10:}

example_signum.cpp.gcov
-: 0:Source:example_signum.cpp
-: 0:Programs:2
1: 1:double signum(double x) {
1: 2: if (x > 0) {
1: 3: return 1.0;
#####: 4: } else if (x < 0) {
#####: 5: return -1.0;
-: 6: } else {
#####: 7: return 0.0;
-: 8: }
-: 9:}

Lcov is graphical front end for Gcov

collects Gcov data from multiple source files and creates HTML pages
containing source code annotated with coverage information
also provides overview pages for easy navigation
Lcov supports statement, function, and branch coverage measurement
web site: http://ltp.sourceforge.net/coverage/lcov.php

build project with GCC or Clang and ensure that --coverage option is
used for compiling and linking as in earlier Gcov example
run program to collect coverage data as in earlier Gcov example
process coverage data with Lcov; for example, using command like:
lcov --capture --directory . --output-file coverage.info
generate HTML output using genhtml; for example, using command like:
genhtml coverage.info --output-directory output
view in browser; for example, using command like:
firefox output/index.html

References

1 B. J. Gough, An Introduction to GCC, Network Theory Limited, UK, 2004.

2 GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), https://gcc.gnu.org.
3 LLVM Clang, https://clang.llvm.org.

Catch2

Catch2 (originally known as Catch) is multiparadigm test framework for

C++
Catch2 stands for “C++ automated test cases in a header”
primarily distributed as single header library
open source; released under Boost Software License
written by Phil Nash
official Git repository: http://github.com/catchorg/Catch2
Google group: http://groups.google.com/group/catch-forum

1 #include <stdexcept>
2 #include <numeric>
3
4 class counter {
5 public:
6 using count_type = std::size_t;
7 static constexpr count_type max_count()
8 {return std::numeric_limits<count_type>::max();}
9 counter(count_type count = 0) : count_(count) {}
10 count_type get_count() const {return count_;}
11 void increment() {
12 if (count_ == max_count())
13 {throw std::overflow_error("counter overflow");}
14 ++count_;
15 }
16 private:
17 count_type count_;
18 };

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1852
Counter Class Example: Test Code
1 #define CATCH_CONFIG_MAIN
2 #include <catch/catch.hpp>
3 #include "counter.hpp"
4
5 TEST_CASE("constructor", "[counter]") {
6 counter x;
7 CHECK(x.get_count() == 0);
8 counter y(1);
9 CHECK(y.get_count() == 1);
10 }
11
12 TEST_CASE("maximum count", "[counter]") {
13 CHECK(counter::max_count() == std::numeric_limits<
14 counter::count_type>::max());
15 }
16
17 TEST_CASE("increment (no overflow)", "[counter]") {
18 counter x(0);
19 REQUIRE(x.get_count() == 0);
20 x.increment();
21 CHECK(x.get_count() == 1);
22 }
23
24 TEST_CASE("increment (overflow)", "[counter]") {
25 counter x(counter::max_count());
26 CHECK_THROWS_AS(x.increment(), std::overflow_error);
27 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1853
Approximate Comparison Example

1 #define CATCH_CONFIG_MAIN
2 #include <catch/catch.hpp>
3
4 TEST_CASE("addition") {
5 float x = 0.0f;
6 for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
7 x += 0.1f;
8 }
9 CHECK(x == 1.0f);
10 // may fail due to roundoff error
11 CHECK(x == Approx(1.0f));
12 // should pass
13 }

1 Phil Nash, Modern C++ Testing with Catch2, Meeting C++, Berlin,
Germany, Nov. 9, 2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/
3tIE6X5FjDE.
2 Phil Nash, Modern C++ Testing with Catch2, C++ Edinburgh, Edinburgh,
UK, Aug. 14, 2017. Available online at https://youtu.be/
grC0S6ZK59U.
3 Phil Nash, Test Driven C++ with Catch, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA,
Sept. 22, 2015. Available online at https://youtu.be/gdzP3pAC6UI.
4 Phil Nash, Testdriven C++ with Catch, Meeting C++, Berlin, Germany,
Dec. 5–6, 2014. Available online at https://youtu.be/C2LcIp56i-8.

Performance Analysis Tools

Perf

Linux kernel provides Perf Event (i.e., perf_event) interface for

performance monitoring
perf_event_open system call returns file descriptor that can then be
used to collect performance information
collection of performance data started and stopped with ioctl system call
performance data accessed either via read or mmap system call
Perf Event interface used by numerous performance analysis tools and
libraries on Linux systems (e.g., Perf and PAPI)
supports many profiling/tracing features, including:
CPU performance monitoring counters
statically defined tracepoints
user and kernel dynamic tracepoints
good documentation on Perf Event interface is scarce

open-source profiling tool

can collect aggregated counts of events during code execution
can perform event-driven sample-based profiling
uses Perf Event interface of Linux kernel
noninvasive (i.e., no code instrumentation required)
low overhead (i.e., code runs close to native speed)
sample-based profiling can collect stack traces in addition to instruction
pointer
does not provide call counts for functions
web site: https://perf.wiki.kernel.org

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1859
Events
hardware event:
event measurable by performance monitoring unit (PMU) of processor
examples: CPU cycles (cycles) and cache misses (cache-misses)
hardware cache event:
event measurable by PMU of processor
examples: L1 data cache load misses (L1-dcache-load-misses) and
data translation-lookaside-buffer load misses (dTLB-load-misses)
software event:
low-level events based on kernel counters
examples: CPU clock (cpu-clock) and page fault (page-faults)
kernel tracepoint event:
predefined static instrumentation points in kernel code where trace
information can be collected
examples: entering open system call (syscalls:sys_enter_open) and
context switch (sched:sched_switch)
probe event:
user-defined events dynamically inserted into kernel
created using uprobes or kprobes
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1860
Some Events

Event Description
cache-misses cache misses
cache-references cache accesses
cycles CPU cycles
cpu-clock CPU wall-time clock
instructions CPU instructions
cs context switches
faults page faults

stack trace is list of stack frames

with event-based sampling, sampling process driven by one or more types

of events
sample is taken upon occurrence of every nth event, where n is either:
directly specified by user; or
dynamically chosen by kernel in order to (approximately) meet average
sampling rate specified by user
default sampling event is cycles with average sampling rate that depends
on Perf version (typically 1000 Hz to 4000 Hz)
cycles event does not necessarily have constant relationship with time,
due to CPU frequency scaling
each sample captures:
timestamp
CPU number, process ID (PID), and thread ID (TID)
instruction pointer
stack trace (optional)
can perform sampling:
system wide, per processor, per program, or per thread
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1863
Event Specifiers

event specifier consists of event name, optionally followed by colon and

then one of more event modifiers
list of event modifiers as follows:
Modifier Description
u user-space counting
k kernel counting
h hypervisor counting
i non-idle counting
G guest counting (in KVM guests)
H host counting (not in KVM guests)
p preciseness level (i.e., amount of skid)
S read sample value
D pin event to PMU

number n of p’s in modifier influences preciseness of event measurement

as follows:
n Description
0 can have arbitrary skid
1 must have constant skid
2 requested (but not required) to have zero skid
3 must have zero skid
if zero skid required but not supported, error will be generated
some examples of event specifiers are as follows:
Event Specifier Meaning
cycles:u clock cycles in user space
cache-misses:u cache misses in user space
cache-misses:k cache misses in kernel
cache-misses:uppp cache misses in user space with zero skid

measurements involving hardware counters typically employ interrupts

when hardware counter for event overflows, interrupt occurs
when overflow interrupt occurs, takes CPU some amount of time to stop
processor and pointpoint exactly which instruction was active at time of
overflow
due to this delay, can often be offset in execution flow between instruction
claimed to be active at time of overflow and instruction that actually was
active
this offset known as skid
in some cases, for example, skid could result in caller function event being
recorded in callee function
due to skid, some care must be taken when interpreting profiling results

functionality of Perf software provided by perf program

command line interface has following form:
perf [options] command [args]
some common commands include:
Command Description
list list all symbolic event types
stat run command and gather performance count statistics
record run command and record its profile into Perf data file
report read Perf data (created by Perf record) and display profile
script read Perf data (created by Perf record) and display trace
output
annotate read Perf data (created by Perf record) and display anno-
tated code
some common options include:
Option Description
--help print help information and exit
--version print version information and exit

list all symbolic event types

command line interface has following form:
perf list [event_type]
event types include:
Event Type Description
hw hardware
sw software
cache cache
tracepoint tracepoint
pmu PMU
glob expr any event matching glob expression glob expr
only lists event types available to invoking user
some events only available to root user

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1868
Perf List Example
$ perf list
List of pre - defined events ( to be used in -e ):
branch - instructions OR branches [ Hardware event ]
branch - misses [ Hardware event ]
bus - cycles [ Hardware event ]
cache - misses [ Hardware event ]
cache - references [ Hardware event ]
cpu - cycles OR cycles [ Hardware event ]
instructions [ Hardware event ]
ref - cycles [ Hardware event ]
[ text deleted ]
alignment - faults [ Software event ]
context - switches OR cs [ Software event ]
cpu - clock [ Software event ]
cpu - migrations OR migrations [ Software event ]
[ text deleted ]
L1 - dcache - load - misses [ Hardware cache event ]
L1 - dcache - loads [ Hardware cache event ]
L1 - dcache - prefetch - misses [ Hardware cache event ]
L1 - dcache - store - misses [ Hardware cache event ]
L1 - dcache - stores [ Hardware cache event ]
L1 - icache - load - misses [ Hardware cache event ]
[ text deleted ]
cache - misses OR cpu / cache - misses / [ Kernel PMU event ]
cache - references OR cpu / cache - references / [ Kernel PMU event ]
cpu - cycles OR cpu /cpu - cycles / [ Kernel PMU event ]
instructions OR cpu / instructions / [ Kernel PMU event ]
mem - loads OR cpu /mem - loads / [ Kernel PMU event ]
mem - stores OR cpu /mem - stores / [ Kernel PMU event ]
[ text deleted ]

run command and gather performance count statistics

command line interface has following form:
perf stat [options] command [args]
some common options include:
Option Description
-e event specify event for which to gather statistics
-p pid consider events on existing process ID
-t tid consider events on existing thread ID
-a consider all processors (i.e., system wide)
-r n repeat command n times and print averages and stan-
dard deviations
-C cpu consider only CPUs specified by cpu

$ perf stat dd if =/ dev / urandom of =/ dev / null bs =1 K count =32 K status = none
Performance counter stats for
’dd if =/ dev / urandom of =/ dev / null bs =1 K count =32 K status = none ’:
1727.055828 task - clock ( msec ) # 0.999 CPUs utilized
1 context - switches # 0.001 K/ sec
13 cpu - migrations # 0.008 K/ sec
60 page - faults # 0.035 K/ sec
5 ,805 ,261 ,702 cycles # 3.361 GHz
2 ,115 ,865 ,103 stalled - cycles - frontend # 36.45% frontend
cycles idle
<not supported > stalled - cycles - backend
12 ,108 ,757 ,065 instructions # 2.09 insns per cycle
# 0.17 stalled cycles
per insn
254 ,471 ,634 branches # 147.344 M/ sec
257 ,282 branch - misses # 0.10% of all branches
1.728232622 seconds time elapsed

run command and record its profile into Perf data file
command line interface has following form:
perf record [options] command [args]
some common options include:
Option Description
-e event specify event name
-a collect data from all processors
-p pid collect data from existing process ID pid
-t tid collect data from existing thread ID tid
-C cpu collect data from CPUs cpu
-c count set event count between samples to count
-o file set output file to file
-F freq set sampling frequency to approximately freq
-g enable call graph (i.e., stack trace) recording
output file defaults to perf.data
by default, uses cycles event with sampling frequency set to
version-dependent value (typically, 1000 Hz to 4000 Hz)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1872
Perf Record Example

$ perf record -g -F 99 -o perf . data dd if =/ dev / urandom of =/ dev / null \

bs =1 K count =3200 K status = none
[ perf record : Woken up 9 times to write data ]
[ perf record : Captured and wrote 2.121 MB perf . data (16246 samples ) ]
$ ls
perf . data

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1873
Perf Report Command
read Perf data (created by Perf record) and display profile
command line interface has following form:
perf report [options]
some common options include:
Option Description
-i file set input file to file
-v increase verbosity level
-n show number of samples for each symbol
-C cpu only show events for CPU cpu
--pid pid only show events for process ID pid
--tid tid only show events for thread ID tid
-d dsos only consider symbols in DSO/object files dsos
-S syms only consider symbols syms
-s key sort data by key key (such as PID)
--stdio use stdio interface
-U only display entries that resolve to symbol
-D dump raw trace data
input file defaults to perf.data
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1874
Perf Report Example

$ perf record -g -e cycles :u -F 13000 -o perf . data ./ array_sum

1
1
$ perf report -i perf . data -d array_sum -- stdio
# To display the perf . data header info , please use -- header /-- header - only options .
#
# dso : array_sum
# Samples : 1K of event ’ cycles :u ’
# Event count ( approx .): 158559166
#
# Children Self Command Symbol
# ........ ........ ......... ................
#
79.94% 79.94% array_sum [.] naive_sum
|
--- naive_sum
main
__libc_start_main
0 x48e258d4c544155
7.56% 7.56% array_sum [.] improved_sum
|
--- improved_sum
main
__libc_start_main
0 x48e258d4c544155

#
# ( For a higher level overview , try : perf report -- sort comm , dso )
#

read Perf data (created by Perf record) and display trace output
command line interface has following form:
perf script [options]
some common options include:
Option Description
-i file set input file to file
--pid pid only show events for process ID pid
--tid tid only show events for thread ID tid
-C cpu only show events for CPU cpu
input file defaults to perf.data

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1876
Perf Script Example
$ perf record -g -e cycles :u -F 13000 -o perf . data ./ array_sum
1
1
$ perf script -i perf . data
array_sum 15602 2408817.214222: 1 cycles :u:
cf0 _start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214230: 1 cycles :u:
cf0 _start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214234: 2 cycles :u:
cf0 _start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214237: 7 cycles :u:
cf0 _start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214241: 25 cycles :u:
cf0 _start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214245: 88 cycles :u:
cf0 _start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214248: 308 cycles :u:
cf0 _start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214253: 1081 cycles :u:
ffffffff8179bef0 page_fault ([ kernel . kallsyms ])
cf0 _start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214270: 3147 cycles :u:
4980 _dl_start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
array_sum 15602 2408817.214274: 4536 cycles :u:
4 b8f _dl_start (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
cf8 _dl_start_user (/ usr / lib64 /ld -2.20. so )
[text deleted]

read Perf data (created by Perf record) and display annotated code
command line interface has following form:
perf annotate [options]
some common options include:
Option Description
-i file set input file to file
-s sym annotate symbol sym
-d dsos only consider symbols in DSO/object files dsos
-v increase verbosity level
-l print matching source lines
-P do not shorten displayed pathnames
-k file set vmlinux pathname to file
--stdio use stdio interface
--no-source disable displaying of source code
input file defaults to perf.data

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1878
Perf Annotate Example
$ perf record -g -e cycles :u -F 13000 -o perf . data ./ array_sum
[ text deleted ]
$ perf annotate -i perf . data -s naive_sum -l -- stdio
[ text deleted ]
: double naive_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
0.00 : 400807: push % rbp
0.00 : 400808: mov %rsp ,% rbp
0.00 : 40080 b: lea 0 x4000 (% rdi ) ,% rcx
: double sum = 0.0;
0.00 : 400812: pxor % xmm0 ,% xmm0
0.00 : 400816: lea 0 x2000000 (% rdi ) ,% rdx
0.00 : 40081 d: mov %rdi ,% rax
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
0.00 : 400820: addsd (% rax ) ,% xmm0
array_sum . cpp :11 100.00 : 400824: add $0x4000 ,% rax
[ text deleted ]
: double naive_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
: double sum = 0.0;
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
0.00 : 40082 a: cmp %rdx ,% rax
0.00 : 40082 d: jne 400820 < naive_sum ( double const (*) [2048])+0 x19 >
0.00 : 40082 f: add $0x8 ,% rdi
[ text deleted ]
0.00 : 400833: cmp %rcx ,% rdi
0.00 : 400836: jne 400816 < naive_sum ( double const (*) [2048])+0 xf >
[ text deleted ]
: }
: }
: return sum ;
: }
0.00 : 400838: pop % rbp
0.00 : 400839: retq

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <algorithm>
3
4 constexpr int M = 4096;
5 constexpr int N = 4096;
6
7 [[gnu::noinline]]
8 double naive_sum(const double a[][N]) {
9 double sum = 0.0;
10 for (int j = 0; j < N; ++j) {
11 for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
12 sum += a[i][j];
13 }
14 }
15 return sum;
16 }
17
18 [[gnu::noinline]]
19 double improved_sum(const double a[][N]) {
20 double sum = 0.0;
21 for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
22 for (int j = 0; j < N; ++j) {
23 sum += a[i][j];
24 }
25 }
26 return sum;
27 }

29 int main() {
30 for (int i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
31 static double a[M][N];
32 static double b[M][N];
33 std::fill_n(&a[0][0], M * N, 1.0 / (M * N));
34 std::fill_n(&b[0][0], M * N, 1.0 / (M * N));
35 std::cout << naive_sum(a) << ’ ’;
36 std::cout << improved_sum(b) << ’\n’;
37 }
38 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1881
Profile of Cycles
# To display the perf . data header info , please use -- header /-- header - only options .
#
# dso : array_sum
# Samples : 16 K of event ’ cycles :u ’
# Event count ( approx .): 14049539983
#
# Children Self Command Symbol
# ........ ........ ......... .....................
#
99.97% 0.00% array_sum [.] __libc_start_main
|
--- __libc_start_main
0 x46e258d4c544155
99.97% 10.92% array_sum [.] main
|
--- main
__libc_start_main
0 x46e258d4c544155
82.97% 82.97% array_sum [.] naive_sum
|
--- naive_sum
main
__libc_start_main
0 x46e258d4c544155
5.90% 5.90% array_sum [.] improved_sum
|
--- improved_sum
main
__libc_start_main
0 x46e258d4c544155
[ text deleted ]

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1882
Cycles for naive_sum
: 0000000000400807 < naive_sum ( double const (*) [4096]) >:
: _Z9naive_sumPA4096_Kd ():
[ text deleted ]
: [[ gnu :: noinline ]]
: double naive_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
0.00 : 400807: push % rbp
0.00 : 400808: mov %rsp ,% rbp
0.00 : 40080 b: lea 0 x8000 (% rdi ) ,% rcx
: double sum = 0.0;
0.00 : 400812: pxor % xmm0 ,% xmm0
0.00 : 400816: lea 0 x8000000 (% rdi ) ,% rdx
0.00 : 40081 d: mov %rdi ,% rax
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
0.00 : 400820: addsd (% rax ) ,% xmm0
array_sum . cpp :12 99.93 : 400824: add $0x8000 ,% rax
[ text deleted ]
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
0.07 : 40082 a: cmp %rdx ,% rax
0.00 : 40082 d: jne 400820 < naive_sum ( double const (*) [4096])+0 x19 >
0.00 : 40082 f: add $0x8 ,% rdi
[ text deleted ]
: [[ gnu :: noinline ]]
: double naive_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
: double sum = 0.0;
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
0.00 : 400833: cmp %rcx ,% rdi
0.00 : 400836: jne 400816 < naive_sum ( double const (*) [4096])+0 xf >
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
: }
: }
: return sum ;
: }
0.00 : 400838: pop % rbp
0.00 : 400839: retq
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1883
Cycles for improved_sum
: 000000000040083 a < improved_sum ( double const (*) [4096]) >:
: _Z12improved_sumPA4096_Kd ():
[ text deleted ]
: [[ gnu :: noinline ]]
: double improved_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
0.00 : 40083 a: push % rbp
0.00 : 40083 b: mov %rsp ,% rbp
0.00 : 40083 e: lea 0 x8000000 (% rdi ) ,% rdx
: double sum = 0.0;
0.00 : 400845: pxor % xmm0 ,% xmm0
0.00 : 400849: lea 0 x8000 (% rdi ) ,% rax
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
0.00 : 400850: addsd (% rdi ) ,% xmm0
array_sum . cpp :23 99.70 : 400854: add $0x8 ,% rdi
[ text deleted ]
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
0.30 : 400858: cmp %rax ,% rdi
0.00 : 40085 b: jne 400850 < improved_sum ( double const (*) [4096])+0 x16 >
: }
:
: [[ gnu :: noinline ]]
: double improved_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
: double sum = 0.0;
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
0.00 : 40085 d: cmp %rdx ,% rdi
0.00 : 400860: jne 400849 < improved_sum ( double const (*) [4096])+0 xf >
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
: }
: }
: return sum ;
: }
0.00 : 400862: pop % rbp
0.00 : 400863: retq

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1884
Profile of Cache Misses
# To display the perf . data header info , please use -- header /-- header - only options .
#
# dso : array_sum
# Samples : 25 K of event ’cache - misses :u ’
# Event count ( approx .): 256620000
#
# Children Self Command Symbol
# ........ ........ ......... .....................
#
99.99% 0.00% array_sum [.] __libc_start_main
|
--- __libc_start_main
0 x46e258d4c544155
99.99% 3.67% array_sum [.] main
|
--- main
__libc_start_main
0 x46e258d4c544155
93.74% 93.73% array_sum [.] naive_sum
|
--- naive_sum
main
__libc_start_main
0 x46e258d4c544155
2.58% 2.58% array_sum [.] improved_sum
|
--- improved_sum
main
__libc_start_main
0 x46e258d4c544155
[ text deleted ]

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1885
Cache Misses for naive_sum
: 0000000000400807 < naive_sum ( double const (*) [4096]) >:
: _Z9naive_sumPA4096_Kd ():
[ text deleted ]
: [[ gnu :: noinline ]]
: double naive_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
0.00 : 400807: push % rbp
0.00 : 400808: mov %rsp ,% rbp
0.00 : 40080 b: lea 0 x8000 (% rdi ) ,% rcx
: double sum = 0.0;
0.00 : 400812: pxor % xmm0 ,% xmm0
0.00 : 400816: lea 0 x8000000 (% rdi ) ,% rdx
0.00 : 40081 d: mov %rdi ,% rax
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
0.00 : 400820: addsd (% rax ) ,% xmm0
array_sum . cpp :12 99.93 : 400824: add $0x8000 ,% rax
[ text deleted ]
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
0.07 : 40082 a: cmp %rdx ,% rax
0.00 : 40082 d: jne 400820 < naive_sum ( double const (*) [4096])+0 x19 >
0.00 : 40082 f: add $0x8 ,% rdi
[ text deleted ]
: [[ gnu :: noinline ]]
: double naive_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
: double sum = 0.0;
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
0.00 : 400833: cmp %rcx ,% rdi
0.00 : 400836: jne 400816 < naive_sum ( double const (*) [4096])+0 xf >
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
: }
: }
: return sum ;
: }
0.00 : 400838: pop % rbp
0.00 : 400839: retq
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1886
Cache Misses for improved_sum
: 000000000040083 a < improved_sum ( double const (*) [4096]) >:
: _Z12improved_sumPA4096_Kd ():
[ text deleted ]
: [[ gnu :: noinline ]]
: double improved_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
0.00 : 40083 a: push % rbp
0.00 : 40083 b: mov %rsp ,% rbp
0.00 : 40083 e: lea 0 x8000000 (% rdi ) ,% rdx
: double sum = 0.0;
0.00 : 400845: pxor % xmm0 ,% xmm0
0.00 : 400849: lea 0 x8000 (% rdi ) ,% rax
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
0.00 : 400850: addsd (% rdi ) ,% xmm0
array_sum . cpp :23 99.70 : 400854: add $0x8 ,% rdi
[ text deleted ]
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
0.30 : 400858: cmp %rax ,% rdi
0.00 : 40085 b: jne 400850 < improved_sum ( double const (*) [4096])+0 x16 >
: }
:
: [[ gnu :: noinline ]]
: double improved_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
: double sum = 0.0;
: for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
0.00 : 40085 d: cmp %rdx ,% rdi
0.00 : 400860: jne 400849 < improved_sum ( double const (*) [4096])+0 xf >
: for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
: sum += a[i ][ j ];
: }
: }
: return sum ;
: }
0.00 : 400862: pop % rbp
0.00 : 400863: retq

avoid sampling in lockstep with periodic behavior exhibited by programs

(e.g., caused by timeouts or loops)
since programmers often choose timeout (and other timing related) values
to be “nice” numbers, such as integer multiples of 0.01 s, may be
beneficial to choose sampling frequency of 99 Hz instead of 100 Hz or
999 Hz instead of 1000 Hz
sample-based profiling only provides meaningful results if sufficient
number of samples collected
can use taskset command to pin process for particular CPU
might want to force single-threaded program to run on fixed CPU so that
migration does not impact measurements (e.g., due to cacheing effects)

flame graph provides way to visualize collection of stack traces

useful for visualizing output of profiler that collects stack traces using
sampling (e.g., Perf)
stack trace represented as column of boxes, with each box corresponding
to function in stack trace
function executing at time of stack trace shown at top of column
vertical direction corresponds to stack depth
horizontal direction spans stack trace collection (does not represent time)
left to right ordering has no special meaning
when identical function boxes horizontally adjacent, merged
width of each function box shows frequency with which function present in
part of stack trace ancestry
functions with wider boxes more frequent in stack traces than those with
narrower boxes

Reset Zoom Flame Graph Search

SPL.. SPL.. SPL::r.. S..

SPL::raster.. SPL::rasterize::Triangle scan line¡int, Mesh.. Me..
Mesh generator::calc face se Me..
Mesh generator::calc face priority se Me..
Mesh generator::calc triangulation cost Mes..
Mesh generator::lawson optimize
Mesh generator::operator
main make mesh
libc start main
[unknown]
make mesh

can generate flamegraphs from Perf data by using software available from
https://github.com/brendangregg/FlameGraph

need to use stackcollapse-perf.pl and flamegraph.pl programs

convert Perf data from binary to text format via Perf script command; for
example:
perf script -i perf.data > tmp.perf
fold stack samples into single lines via
stackcollapse-perf.pl command; for example:
stackcollapse-perf.pl tmp.perf > tmp.folded
generate flame graph in SVG format via flamegraph.pl command; for
example:
flamegraph.pl tmp.folded > flamegraph.svg

References

1 Brendan Gregg, Linux Profiling at Netflix, Southern California Linux Expo

(SCaLE), Los Angeles, CA, USA, Feb. 27, 2015. Available online at
https://youtu.be/_Ik8oiQvWgo.
2 Mans Rullgard, Performance Analysis Using the perf Suite, Embedded
Linux Conference, March 2015, San Jose, CA, USA. Available online at
https://youtu.be/kWnx6eOGVYo.
3 Chandler Carruth, Tuning C++: Benchmarks, and CPUs, and Compilers!
Oh My!, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept. 24, 2015. Available online at
https://youtu.be/nXaxk27zwlk.
4 Brendan Gregg, Blazing Performance with Flame Graphs, Large
Installation System Administration Conference (LISA), Washington, DC,
USA, Nov. 2013. Available online at https://youtu.be/nZfNehCzGdw.

1 B. Gregg The Flame Graph, ACM Queue, March 2016, pages 1–28.

Performance API (PAPI) Software

often easy to identify in general terms which parts of code are slow
sometimes more difficult to pinpoint precise reason why code is slow (i.e.,
what is precise cause of bottleneck)
often need to consider factors such as:
cache behavior
memory and resource contention
floating-point efficiency
branch behavior
often, processor itself in best position to provide information related to
above factors

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1896
Hardware Performance Counters
hardware performance counters are specialized registers used to
measure various aspects of processor performance
hardware counters can provide insight into:
timing
cache behaviors (e.g., cache misses and cache coherence protocol events)
branch behaviors (e.g., incorrect branch predictions)
pipeline behavior (e.g., stalls)
memory and resource access patterns
floating-point efficiency
instructions per cycle
hardware counter information can be obtained with:
subroutine or basic block resolution
process or thread attribution
provide low-level information that often cannot be obtained easily through
other means
useful for performance analysis and tuning (e.g., identifying bottlenecks in
code)
use of hardware performance counters has no or little overhead

Performance API (PAPI) software provides portable and efficient API for
accessing hardware performance counters found on modern processors
more generally allows monitoring of system information on range of
components, such as CPUs, network interface cards, and power monitors
consists of library and several utility programs
open source
written in C
supports most mainstream Unix-based operating systems (e.g., Linux, OS
X, and other Unix variants); older versions support Microsoft Windows
supports most modern processors (e.g., Intel and AMD 32- and 64-bit
x86, ARM, MIPS, Intel Itanium II, UltraSparc I, II, and III, and IBM Power
4, 5, 6, and 7)
web site: http://icl.utk.edu/papi

event is simply some action that can be counted

native event: event that is specified in platform-dependent manner and
directly corresponds to particular hardware counter
which native events are available will depend on underlying hardware
preset event: event that is specified in platform-independent manner,
which is then mapped to appropriate native event(s) (e.g., PAPI_TOT_INS)
derived event: preset event derived from multiple native events
if hardware does not directly support counting of particular event, event
count can sometimes be computed by using combination of native events
for example, PAPI_L1_TCM might be derived from L1 data misses plus L1
instruction misses
preset events usually available for most processors, where derived events
used in cases where no corresponding native event exists

which events supported and which combinations of supported events can

be used together depends on hardware
hardware will typically have some upper limit on number of events that can
be monitored simultaneously
some events often cannot be used with others (even if upper limit on
number of events not exceeded)
papi_avail or papi_native_avail utility (discussed later) can be used
to determine number of hardware counters available
papi_avail utility (discussed later) can be used to determine which
preset events are supported
papi_native_avail utility (discussed later) can be used to determine
which native events are supported
papi_event_chooser utility (discussed later) can be used to determine
which events can be used with which other events

must include header file papi.h

library initialized with function PAPI_library_init
depending on which functions used, may need to explicitly initialize library

calls low-level API

easier to use than low-level API
usually enough for more basic measurements
for preset events only
high-level interface functions will initialize library if needed (so
PAPI_library_init need not be explicitly called)

Function Description
PAPI_accum_counters add current counts to array and reset counters
PAPI_flips get floating-point instruction rate and real and proces-
sor time
PAPI_flops get floating-point operation rate and real and processor
time
PAPI_ipc get instructions per cycle and real and processor time
PAPI_num_counters get number of hardware counters available on system
PAPI_read_counters copy current counts to array and reset counters
PAPI_start_counters start counting hardware events
PAPI_stop_counters stop counters and return current counts

Instruction Mix
Name Description
PAPI_LD_INS number of load instructions
PAPI_SR_INS number of store instructions
PAPI_LST_INS number of load/store instructions
PAPI_BR_INS number of branch instructions
PAPI_INT_INS number of integer instructions
PAPI_FP_INS number of floating-point instructions
PAPI_VEC_INS number of vector/SIMD instructions
PAPI_VEC_SP number of single-precision vector/SIMD instructions
PAPI_VEC_DP number of double-precision vector/SIMD instructions
PAPI_TOT_INS number of instructions in total

Clock Cycles
Name Description
PAPI_TOT_CYC total number of clock cycles

FLOPS
Name Description
PAPI_FP_OPS number of floating-point operations
PAPI_SP_OPS number of floating-point operations executed, optimized to count
scaled single-precision vector operations
PAPI_DP_OPS number of floating-point operations executed, optimized to count
scaled double-precision vector operations

Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB)

Name Description
PAPI_TLB_DM number of data TLB misses
PAPI_TLB_IM number of instruction TLB misses
PAPI_TLB_TL number of TLB misses (in total)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1905
Some Commonly-Used Preset Events (Continued 2)
L1 Cache Behavior
Name Description
PAPI_L1_DCA number of L1 data cache accesses
PAPI_L1_DCH number of L1 data cache hits
PAPI_L1_DCM number of L1 data cache misses
PAPI_L1_DCR number of L1 data cache reads
PAPI_L1_DCW number of L1 data cache writes
PAPI_L1_ICA number of L1 instruction cache accesses
PAPI_L1_ICH number of L1 instruction cache hits
PAPI_L1_ICM number of L1 instruction cache misses
PAPI_L1_ICR number of L1 instruction cache reads
PAPI_L1_ICW number of L1 instruction cache writes
PAPI_L1_LDM number of L1 load misses
PAPI_L1_STM number of L1 store misses
PAPI_L1_TCA number of L1 cache accesses (in total)
PAPI_L1_TCH number of L1 cache hits (in total)
PAPI_L1_TCM number of L1 cache misses (in total)
PAPI_L1_TCR number of L1 cache reads (in total)
PAPI_L1_TCW number of L1 cache writes (in total)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1906
Some Commonly-Used Preset Events (Continued 3)

L2 and L3 Cache Behavior

Name Description
PAPI_L2_LDM number of L2 load misses
PAPI_L2_STM number of L2 store misses
PAPI_L2_TCA number of L2 cache accesses (in total)
PAPI_L2_TCH number of L2 cache hits (in total)
PAPI_L2_TCM number of L2 cache misses (in total)
PAPI_L2_TCR number of L2 cache reads (in total)
PAPI_L2_TCW number of L2 cache writes (in total)
PAPI_L3_LDM number of L3 load misses
PAPI_L3_STM number of L3 store misses
PAPI_L3_TCA number of L3 cache accesses (in total)
PAPI_L3_TCH number of L3 cache hits (in total)
PAPI_L3_TCM number of L3 cache misses (in total)
PAPI_L3_TCR number of L3 cache reads (in total)
PAPI_L3_TCW number of L3 cache writes (in total)

most frequently used events are often those related to cache behavior
instructions per cycle could be computed from events:
PAPI_TOT_CYC and PAPI_TOT_INS

L1 cache data miss rate could be computed from events:

PAPI_L1_DCM and PAPI_L1_DCA; or
PAPI_L1_DCM and PAPI_L1_DCH; or

PAPI_L1_DCM, PAPI_LD_INS, and PAPI_SR_INS

L2 cache (total) miss rate could be computed from events:

PAPI_L2_TCM and PAPI_L2_TCA; or
PAPI_L2_TCM and PAPI_L2_TCH; or

PAPI_L2_TCM, PAPI_LD_INS, and PAPI_SR_INS

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <papi.h>
3
4 void do_work() {for (volatile auto i = 1’000’000; i > 0; --i) {}}
5
6 int main() {
7 constexpr int num_events = 2;
8 int events[num_events] = {PAPI_TOT_INS, PAPI_TOT_CYC};
9 long long values[num_events];
10 if (PAPI_start_counters(events, num_events) != PAPI_OK)
11 {std::cerr << "cannot start counters\n"; return 1;}
12 do_work();
13 if (PAPI_stop_counters(values, num_events) != PAPI_OK)
14 {std::cerr << "cannot stop counters\n"; return 1;}
15 for (auto i : values) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;}
16 }

several dozen functions available in low-level API

provides increased efficiency and functionality
can obtain more detailed information about hardware
low-level interface works with event sets
event set: set of events to be monitored
some low-level API functions listed on next slide
low-level interface functions do not initialize library (so
PAPI_library_init must be called explicitly)

Function Description
PAPI_library_init initialize PAPI library
PAPI_shutdown cleanup PAPI library
PAPI_create_eventset create event set
PAPI_destroy_eventset destroys empty event set
PAPI_cleanup_eventset removes all events from event set
PAPI_add_event add preset or native hardware event to event set
PAPI_add_events add multiple preset or native hardware events to
event set
PAPI_start start counting hardware events in event set
PAPI_read read hardware counters from event set
PAPI_reset reset hardware event counts in event set
PAPI_accum adds hardware counters from event set to elements
in array and resets counters
PAPI_stop stop counting hardware events in event set

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1911
Code Example Using PAPI Low-Level Interface
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <papi.h>
3
4 void do_work() {for (volatile auto i = 1’000’000; i > 0; --i) {}}
5
6 int main() {
7 constexpr int num_events = 2;
8 int event_set = PAPI_NULL;
9 int events[num_events] = {PAPI_TOT_INS, PAPI_TOT_CYC};
10 long long values[num_events];
11 if (PAPI_library_init(PAPI_VER_CURRENT) != PAPI_VER_CURRENT)
12 {std::cerr << "cannot initialize\n"; return 1;}
13 if (PAPI_create_eventset(&event_set) != PAPI_OK)
14 {std::cerr << "cannot create event set\n"; return 1;}
15 if (PAPI_add_events(event_set, events, num_events) != PAPI_OK)
16 {std::cerr << "cannot add events\n"; return 1;}
17 if (PAPI_start(event_set) != PAPI_OK)
18 {std::cerr << "cannot start\n"; return 1;}
19 do_work();
20 if (PAPI_stop(event_set, values) != PAPI_OK)
21 {std::cerr << "cannot stop\n"; return 1;}
22 if (PAPI_cleanup_eventset(event_set) != PAPI_OK)
23 {std::cerr << "cannot cleanup event set\n"; return 1;}
24 if (PAPI_destroy_eventset(&event_set) != PAPI_OK)
25 {std::cerr << "cannot destroy event set\n"; return 1;}
26 for (auto i : values) {std::cout << i << ’\n’;}
27 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1912
PAPI Utilities

Name Description
papi_avail provides availability and detail information for PAPI pre-
set events
papi_clockres measures and reports clock latency and resolution for
PAPI timers
papi_cost computes execution time costs for basic PAPI opera-
tions
papi_command_line executes PAPI preset or native events from command
line
papi_decode provides availability and detail information for PAPI pre-
set events
papi_event_chooser given list of named events, lists other events that can
be counted with them
papi_mem_info provides information on memory architecture of current
processor
papi_native_avail provides detailed information for PAPI native events
papi_version provides version information for PAPI

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1913
Example papi_avail Output
Available events and hardware information .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAPI Version : 5.3.2.0
Vendor string and code : GenuineIntel (1)
Model string and code : Intel (R) Core ( TM ) i7 -3820 QM CPU @ 2.70 GHz (58)
CPU Revision : 9.000000
CPUID Info : Family : 6 Model : 58 Stepping : 9
CPU Max Megahertz : 3700
CPU Min Megahertz : 1200
Hdw Threads per core : 2
Cores per Socket : 4
Sockets : 1
NUMA Nodes : 1
CPUs per Node : 8
Total CPUs : 8
Running in a VM : no
Number Hardware Counters : 11
Max Multiplex Counters : 64
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name Code Avail Deriv Description ( Note )

PAPI_L1_DCM 0 x80000000 Yes No Level 1 data cache misses
PAPI_L1_ICM 0 x80000001 Yes No Level 1 instruction cache misses
PAPI_L2_DCM 0 x80000002 Yes Yes Level 2 data cache misses
PAPI_L2_ICM 0 x80000003 Yes No Level 2 instruction cache misses
PAPI_L3_DCM 0 x80000004 No No Level 3 data cache misses
PAPI_L3_ICM 0 x80000005 No No Level 3 instruction cache misses
PAPI_L1_TCM 0 x80000006 No Yes Level 1 cache misses
PAPI_L2_TCM 0 x80000007 Yes No Level 2 cache misses
PAPI_L3_TCM 0 x80000008 Yes No Level 3 cache misses
[99 lines deleted ]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of 108 possible events , 43 are available , of which 14 are derived .
avail .c PASSED

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1914
Example papi_mem_info Output
Memory Cache and TLB Hierarchy Information .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TLB Information .
There may be multiple descriptors for each level of TLB
if multiple page sizes are supported .
L1 Data TLB :
Page Size : 4 KB
Number of Entries : 64
Associativity : 4
[ other TLB information deleted ]

Cache Information .
L1 Data Cache :
Total size : 32 KB
Line size : 64 B
Number of Lines : 512
Associativity : 8
L1 Instruction Cache :
Total size : 32 KB
Line size : 64 B
Number of Lines : 512
Associativity : 8
L2 Unified Cache :
Total size : 256 KB
Line size : 64 B
Number of Lines : 4096
Associativity : 8

[ information for L3 Unified Cache deleted ]

mem_info .c PASSED

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1915
Example papi_native_avail Output
Available native events and hardware information .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAPI Version : 5.3.2.0
Vendor string and code : GenuineIntel (1)
Model string and code : Intel (R) Core ( TM ) i7 -3820 QM CPU @ 2.70 GHz (58)
CPU Revision : 9.000000
CPUID Info : Family : 6 Model : 58 Stepping : 9
CPU Max Megahertz : 3700
CPU Min Megahertz : 1200
Hdw Threads per core : 2
Cores per Socket : 4
Sockets : 1
NUMA Nodes : 1
CPUs per Node : 8
Total CPUs : 8
Running in a VM : no
Number Hardware Counters : 11
Max Multiplex Counters : 64
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
===============================================================================
Native Events in Component : perf_event
===============================================================================
[ lines deleted ]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| perf :: L1 - DCACHE - LOADS |
| L1 cache load accesses |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ lines deleted ]
===============================================================================
Native Events in Component : coretemp
===============================================================================
| coretemp ::: hwmon0 : temp1_input |
| degrees C , acpitz module , label ? |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ lines deleted ]
Total events reported : 322
native_avail .c PASSED

References

1 B. Sprunt. The basics of performance-monitoring hardware.

IEEE Micro, 22(4):64–71, July 2002.
2 P. Mucci, Performance Monitoring with PAPI, Dr. Dobb’s Journal, June
2005. Available online at http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/
performance-monitoring-with-papi/184406109.

Gprof

open-source tool for code-execution profiling

can be used to collect statistics from program run, including:
amount of time spent in each function
how many times each function called
callers and callees of each function (i.e., call graph information)
based on compiler instrumentation of code and sampling
works with GCC and Clang compilers
instrumentation added to code gathers function call information used to
generate call graphs and function call counts
timing of code execution accomplished by statistical sampling at run time
program counter probed at regular intervals by interrupting program
typical sampling period 100 or 1000 samples/second

since sampling is statistical process, timing measurements not exact (i.e.,

only statistical approximation)
if too few samples taken (e.g., in case of short-running program), timing
measurements very inaccurate
overhead caused by instrumentation can be quite high (about 30% to
260%)
overhead distorts timing measurements (e.g., instrumentation added to
code changes code timing) so timing of code with and without profiling
can potentially be quite different
may not correctly handle multi-threaded applications
cannot profile shared libraries
cannot measure time spent in kernel mode (e.g., system calls); only
user-space code profiled
has difficulties with call graphs containing non-trivial cycles (e.g., mutual
recursion)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1921
The gprof Command

command line interface has following form:

gprof [options] [executable_file] [profile_file...]
executable_file defaults to a.out
profile_file defaults to gmon.out
some common options include:
Option Description
-b omit explanations of meaning of all fields in output
-I dirs add directories dirs to search path for source files
-p show flat profile
-q show call graph
-h print help information and exit
-s summarize information in profile data files and
write to gmon.sum

compile and link program with -pg option; for example:

g++ -c -pg -g -O example_1.cpp
g++ -c -pg -g -O example_2.cpp
g++ -pg -g -O -o example example_1.o example_2.o
run program which will produce profiling data file gmon.out; for example:
example
run gprof to analyze profiling data; for example:
gprof example
several gmon files can be combined with gprof -s to accumulate data
over several runs of program
gprof2dot can be used to convert call graph to graphical form

output can be generated in following forms:

flat profile
call graph
flat profile reports:
how much of total execution time spent in each function
how many times each function called
output sorted by percentage
call graph reports:
for each function, which functions called it, which other functions it called,
and how many times
estimate of how much time spent in subroutines of each function
flat profile useful to identify most expensive functions
call graph useful to identify places where function calls could be eliminated

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1924
Example: Source Code
1 #include <algorithm>
2
3 constexpr int M = 1024;
4 constexpr int N = 1024;
5 constexpr int P = 1024;
6
7 // c += a * b
8 void naive_matmul(const double a[][N], const double b[][P],
9 double c[][P]) {
10 for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
11 for (int j = 0; j < N; ++j) {
12 for (int k = 0; k < P; ++k)
13 {c[i][j] += a[i][k] * b[k][j];}
14 }
15 }
16 }
17
18 // c += a * b
19 void improved_matmul(const double a[][N], const double b[][P],
20 double c[][P]) {
21 for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
22 for (int k = 0; k < P; ++k) {
23 for (int j = 0; j < N; ++j)
24 {c[i][j] += a[i][k] * b[k][j];}
25 }
26 }
27 }
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1925
Example: Source Code (Continued)

29 int main(int argc, char** argv) {

30 static double a[M][N];
31 static double b[N][P];
32 static double c0[M][P];
33 static double c1[M][P];
34 std::fill_n(&a[0][0], M * N, 1.0);
35 std::fill_n(&b[0][0], N * P, 1.0);
36 std::fill_n(&c0[0][0], M * P, 0.0);
37 naive_matmul(a, b, c0);
38 std::fill_n(&a[0][0], M * N, 1.0);
39 std::fill_n(&b[0][0], N * P, 1.0);
40 std::fill_n(&c1[0][0], M * P, 0.0);
41 improved_matmul(a, b, c1);
42 }

each row in table corresponds to function

columns in table have following meanings:
% time: percentage of total running time of program used by this function
cumulative seconds: running sum of number of seconds accounted for by
this function and those listed above it
self seconds: number of seconds accounted for by this function alone (i.e.,
excluding descendants)
calls: number of times this function was invoked if function is profiled, blank
otherwise
self ms/call: average number of milliseconds spent in this function per call
(excluding descendants) if function is profiled, blank otherwise
total ms/call: average number of milliseconds spent in this function and its
descendants per call if function is profiled, blank otherwise
name: name of function
entries in table sorted first by self seconds and then by function name

Flat profile :
Each sample counts as 0.01 seconds .
% cumulative self self total
time seconds seconds calls s/ call s/ call name
89.48 7.55 7.55 1 7.55 7.55 naive_matmul (
double const (*) [1024] ,
double const (*) [1024] ,
double (*) [1024])
11.23 8.50 0.95 1 0.95 0.95 improved_matmul (
double const (*) [1024] ,
double const (*) [1024] ,
double (*) [1024])
0.12 8.51 0.01 main
0.00 8.51 0.00 1 0.00 0.00
_GLOBAL__sub_I__Z12naive_matmulPA1024_KdS1_PA1024_d

table describes call graph of program

one multi-line entry in table per function, with each entry containing
information for function and its callers and callees
line with index number in left margin lists current function
lines above current function list its callers
lines below current function list its callees
for current function, fields have following meanings:
index: unique integer index for this function
% time: percentage of total time spent in this function and its children
self: total amount of time spent in this function
children: total amount of time propagated into this function by its children
called: number of times this function called nonrecursively (possibly
followed by “+” and number of recursive calls)
name: name of this function (with index printed after it)

for each parent of current function, fields have following meanings:

self: amount of time propagated directly from function into this parent
children: amount of time propagated from function’s children into this parent
called: number of times parent called function, followed by “/”, followed by
total number of times function called
name: name of this parent (with its index printed after name)
if parents of current function cannot be determined, “<spontaneous>” is
printed in name field
for each child of current function, fields have following meanings:
self: amount of time propagated directly from child to current function
children: amount of time propagated from child’s chidlren to current function
called: number of times current function called child, followed by “/”,
followed by total number of times child called
name: name of function (followed by its index)

granularity : each sample hit covers 2 byte (s) for 0.12% of 8.51 seconds

index % time self children called name

< spontaneous >
[1] 100.0 0.01 8.50 main [1]
7.55 0.00
1/1 naive_matmul ( double const (*) [1024] ,
double const (*) [1024] ,
double (*) [1024]) [2]
0.95 0.00 1/1 improved_matmul ( double const (*) [1024] ,
double const (*) [1024] ,
double (*) [1024]) [3]
-----------------------------------------------
7.55 0.00 1/1 main [1]
[2] 88.7 7.55 0.00 1 naive_matmul ( double const (*) [1024] ,
double const (*) [1024] ,
double (*) [1024]) [2]
-----------------------------------------------
0.95 0.00 1/1 main [1]
[3] 11.1 0.95 0.00 1 improved_matmul ( double const (*) [1024] ,
double const (*) [1024] ,
double (*) [1024]) [3]
-----------------------------------------------
0.00 0.00 1/1 __libc_csu_init [16]
[10] 0.0 0.00 0.00 1
_GLOBAL__sub_I__Z12naive_matmulPA1024_KdS1_PA1024_d [10]
-----------------------------------------------
Index by function name

[10] _GLOBAL__sub_I__Z12naive_matmulPA1024_KdS1_PA1024_d ( matmul_array . cpp ) [3]

improved_matmul ( double const (*) [1024] , double const (*) [1024] , double (*) [1024])
[2] naive_matmul ( double const (*) [1024] , double const (*) [1024] , double (*) [1024])
[1] main

References

1 S. L. Graham, P. B. Kessler, and M. K. McKusick. gprof: A call graph

execution profiler.
ACM SIGPLAN Notices, 17(6):120–126, June 1982.

2 S. L. Graham, P. B. Kessler, and M. K. McKusick. gprof: A call graph

execution profiler.
ACM SIGPLAN Notices, 39(4):49–57, Apr. 2004.

Valgrind/Callgrind

suite of simulation-based debugging and profiling tools

open source
simulates CPU in software
web site: http://valgrind.org

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1935
Callgrind
collects function call graph information and measures number of
instructions executed and cache behavior for program
does not measure execution time per se; but provides sufficient
information to make clock cycle estimates (as is done in KCachegrind)
can be used to determine cache hit/miss counts and miss rate on program
wide, per function, and per source-code line basis
simulates L1 instruction/data cache and L2 cache
parameters for each cache can be specified (i.e., size, associativity, and
line size) but default to values taken from machine’s cache
simplistic cache model only approximates real cache
handles code in shared libraries
typically 15 to 100 times slower (depending on whether cache and branch
simulation enabled)
does not fully support IEEE 754 (floating-point arithmetic standard)
consequently, code that uses floating-point arithmetic in particular ways
may not behave correctly
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1936
Support for Floating-Point Arithmetic in Valgrind

unfortunately, Valgrind does not fully support IEEE 754 floating-point

standard (at time of this writing, at least)
lacks support for floating-point exceptions
lacks full support for floating-point rounding modes (e.g., some
instructions always use round to nearest)
consequently, code that relies on control over rounding mode will not
behave correctly (e.g., code using interval arithmetic)
code using CGAL library, for example, is often problematic, due to heavy
use of interval arithmetic (which needs rounding-mode control) for efficient
exact geometric predicates
does not support extended floating-point formats used by some
architectures
consequently, can sometimes obtain less accurate results from
floating-point arithmetic (which in extreme cases might cause numerical
instability)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1937
The valgrind Command with Callgrind Tool

command line interface has following form:

valgrind [options] program [program_options]
to use Callgrind tool, must specify --tool=callgrind option
some tool-independent options include:
Option Description
--help print help information and exit
--log-file=file set file for log information to file

some Callgrind-specific options include:

Option Description
--callgrind-out-file=file sets output file to file; defaults to
callgrind.out-$pid where $pid is
process ID
--cache-sim=b specifies if information on cache use
should be collected, where b is yes or no
--branch-sim=b specifies if branching information should
be collected, where b is yes or no

command line interface has following form:

callgrind_annotate [options] $callgrind_out_file
some options include:
Option Description
--help print help information and exit
--auto=b specifies if all source files should be annotated, where
b is yes or no

build code as one would normally (no compile-time instrumentation is

needed); for example:
g++ -g -O -o array_sum array_sum.cpp
run program using valgrind with Callgrind tool; for example:
valgrind --tool=callgrind --cache-sim=yes \
--log-file=callgrind.log \
--callgrind-out-file=callgrind.out \
./array_sum
display results with callgrind_annotate; for example:
callgrind_annotate --auto=yes callgrind.out
alternatively, display results in graphical form with tool like KCachegrind
(discussed later)

1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <algorithm>
3
4 constexpr int M = 2048;
5 constexpr int N = 2048;
6
7 double naive_sum(const double a[][N]) {
8 double sum = 0.0;
9 for (int j = 0; j < N; ++j) {
10 for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i)
11 {sum += a[i][j];}
12 }
13 return sum;
14 }
15
16 double improved_sum(const double a[][N]) {
17 double sum = 0.0;
18 for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
19 for (int j = 0; j < N; ++j)
20 {sum += a[i][j];}
21 }
22 return sum;
23 }

25 int main() {
26 static double a[M][N];
27 std::fill_n(&a[0][0], M * N, 1.0 / (M * N));
28 std::cout << naive_sum(a) << ’\n’;
29 static double b[M][N];
30 std::fill_n(&b[0][0], M * N, 1.0 / (M * N));
31 std::cout << improved_sum(b) << ’\n’;
32 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1942
Example: Callgrind
$ valgrind -- tool = callgrind --cache - sim = yes -- branch - sim = yes --log - file = callgrind . log --
callgrind -out - file = callgrind . out ./ array_sum
$ cat callgrind . log
==23469== Callgrind , a call - graph generating cache profiler
==23469== Copyright (C) 2002 -2013 , and GNU GPL ’d , by Josef Weidendorfer et al .
==23469== Using Valgrind -3.10.1 and LibVEX ; rerun with -h for copyright info
==23469== Command : ./ array_sum
==23469== Parent PID : 23449
==23469==
- -23469 - - warning : L3 cache found , using its data for the LL simulation .
==23469== For interactive control , run ’ callgrind_control -h ’.
==23469==
==23469== Events : Ir Dr Dw I1mr D1mr D1mw ILmr DLmr DLmw Bc Bcm Bi Bim
==23469== Collected : 70339139 9142838 8663373 1601 4738282 1051026 1585 4728422 1050172
17247597 30398 4923 423
==23469==
==23469== I refs : 70 ,339 ,139
==23469== I1 misses : 1 ,601
==23469== LLi misses : 1 ,585
==23469== I1 miss rate : 0.0%
==23469== LLi miss rate : 0.0%
==23469==
==23469== D refs : 17 ,806 ,211 ( 9 ,142 ,838 rd + 8 ,663 ,373 wr )
==23469== D1 misses : 5 ,789 ,308 ( 4 ,738 ,282 rd + 1 ,051 ,026 wr )
==23469== LLd misses : 5 ,778 ,594 ( 4 ,728 ,422 rd + 1 ,050 ,172 wr )
==23469== D1 miss rate : 32.5% ( 51.8% + 12.1% )
==23469== LLd miss rate : 32.4% ( 51.7% + 12.1% )
==23469==
==23469== LL refs : 5 ,790 ,909 ( 4 ,739 ,883 rd + 1 ,051 ,026 wr )
==23469== LL misses : 5 ,780 ,179 ( 4 ,730 ,007 rd + 1 ,050 ,172 wr )
==23469== LL miss rate : 6.5% ( 5.9% + 12.1% )
==23469==
==23469== Branches : 17 ,252 ,520 (17 ,247 ,597 cond + 4 ,923 ind )
==23469== Mispredicts : 30 ,821 ( 30 ,398 cond + 423 ind )
==23469== Mispred rate : 0.1% ( 0.1% + 8.5% )

$ callgrind_annotate callgrind . out array_sum . cpp

[text deleted]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- User - annotated source : array_sum . cpp
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ir Dr Dw I1mr D1mr D1mw ILmr DLmr DLmw Bc Bcm Bi Bim

. . . . . . . . . . . . . # include < iostream >

. . . . . . . . . . . . . # include < algorithm >
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . constexpr int M = 2048;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . constexpr int N = 2048;
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 0 0 1 0 0 1 . . . . . . double naive_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
4 ,097 . . . . . . . . . . . . double sum = 0.0;
4 ,096 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 ,048 3 . . for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j) {
8 ,390 ,656 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 ,194 ,304 2 ,063 . . for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i)
8 ,388 ,608 4 ,194 ,304 0 0 4 ,194 ,304 0 0 4 ,194 ,304 . . . . . { sum += a[i ][ j ];}
. . . . . . . . . . . . . }
. . . . . . . . . . . . . return sum ;
1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 . . . . . }
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . double improved_sum ( const double a [][ N ]) {
2 ,049 . . . . . . . . . . . . double sum = 0.0;
4 ,096 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 ,048 3 . . for ( int i = 0; i < M; ++ i) {
8 ,388 ,608 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 ,194 ,304 2 ,058 . . for ( int j = 0; j < N; ++ j)
8 ,388 ,608 4 ,194 ,304 0 0 524 ,288 0 0 524 ,288 . . . . . { sum += a[i ][ j ];}
. . . . . . . . . . . . . }
. . . . . . . . . . . . . return sum ;
1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 . . . . . }
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 0 0 1 0 0 1 . . . . . . int main () {
. . . . . . . . . . . . . static double a[M ][ N ];
. . . . . . . . . . . . . std :: fill_n (& a [0][0] , M * N , 1.0 / (M * N ));
2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 . . . . std :: cout << naive_sum (a) << ’\n ’;
16 ,787 ,459 4 ,194 ,305 0 1 4 ,194 ,305 0 1 4 ,194 ,305 0 4 ,196 ,352 2 ,066 . . => array_sum . cpp : naive_sum ( double const (*) [2048]) (1 x)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . static double b[M ][ N ];
. . . . . . . . . . . . . std :: fill_n (& b [0][0] , M * N , 1.0 / (M * N ));
2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 . . . . std :: cout << improved_sum (b) << ’\n ’;
16 ,783 ,363 4 ,194 ,305 0 0 524 ,289 0 0 524 ,289 0 4 ,196 ,352 2 ,061 . . => array_sum . cpp : improved_sum ( double const (*) [2048]) (1 x)
6 2 0 1 2 0 1 1 . . . . . }
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ir Dr Dw I1mr D1mr D1mw ILmr DLmr DLmw Bc Bcm Bi Bim
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
48 92 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 49 14 0 0 percentage of events annotated

open-source call-graph profiling-data visualization tool

part of K Desktop Environment (KDE)
supports Callgrind data
allows graphical visualization of:
call-graph relationships between functions (e.g., callers and callees)
function costs/counts
annotated source/assembly with costs/counts
allows much easier intepretation of Callgrind data (relative to
callgrind_annotate)
to allow annotation of assembly, add --dump-instr=yes option to
valgrind command for Callgrind
use command of form:
kcachegrind $callgrind_out_file
web site: https://kcachegrind.github.io

References

1 P. Floyd. Valgrind part 4 — cachegrind and callgrind.

Overload, 111:4–7, Oct. 2012.

Build Tools

Build tools are programs that automate the creation of executable

programs, libraries, and other artifacts from source code.
Build tools also typically provide some basic facilities for testing and
packaging the artifacts generated by the build process.
Building software requires careful tracking of:
what items need to be built, and
the dependencies between these items.
Dependency tracking is necessary to:
determine the order in which items must be built, and
minimize the number of items that need to be re-built when a change is
made to the code.
In the case of very small projects, it may be feasible to perform the build
process manually.
For larger projects, however, the build process is far too complex to
manage by hand, and build tools are therefore needed.

Some examples of build tools include:

CMake (a cross-platform tool)
GNU Build System (also known as Autotools) (for Unix)
Make (for Unix)
MSBuild (for Microsoft Visual Studio under Microsoft Windows)
Xcodebuild (for Apple Xcode)

Make

make command
controls generation of executables and/or other non-source files from
program’s source files
extremely popular tool for automating build process
available on many platforms (e.g., Unix, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X);
used extensively on Unix systems
very flexible
can handle building multiple programs consisting of hundreds of source
files or single program consisting of only one source file
can be used to build almost anything (i.e., need not be a program)
for example, all materials for this course typeset using LATEX (e.g.,
coursepack, slides, handouts, exams), and make utility used to compile
LATEX source code into PDF documents
one of most popular implementations of make is GNU Make
GNU Make web site: http://www.gnu.org/software/make
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1955
The make Command

target is something that can be built, typically (but not necessarily) file
such as executable file or object file
make command driven by data file called makefile
makefile usually named Makefile or makefile
command-line usage:
make [options] [targets]
targets: zero or more targets to be built
options: zero or more options
by default, looks for makefile called makefile and then Makefile
if no targets are specified, will build first target specified in makefile
only builds files that are out of date
most common command-line options include:
-n show commands that would be executed but do not actu-
ally execute them
-f makefile use makefile makefile
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1956
Makefiles

comment starts at hash character (i.e., “#”) and continues until end of line;
example:
# This comment continues until the end of the line.
supports variables
some important variables used by built-in rules:
Name Description
CXX C++ compiler command
CXXFLAGS C++ compiler options
LDFLAGS linker options
to assign value to variable, use equal sign; example:
CXX = g++
to substitute value of variable, use dollar sign followed by variable name in
parentheses; example:
$(CXX)

makefile specifies targets and rules for building targets

each rule in makefile has following form:
targets : prerequisites
commands
...
indentation shown above must be with tab character and not spaces
targets: list of one or more targets
prerequisites: files on which targets depend (i.e., files used to produce
targets)
commands: actions that must be carried out to produce target from its
prerequisites

normally, each target associated with file of same name (and building
target will create this file)
phony target: target that is not associated with any file
to identify target as phony make it prerequisite of special target called
“.PHONY”; example (specify all as phony target):
.PHONY: all
some special built-in variables that can be used in rules:
Name Description
$@ target
$< name of first prerequisite
$ˆ names of all of prerequisites separated by spaces

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1959
Makefile for hello Program
1 CXX = g++ # The C++ compiler command.
2 CXXFLAGS = -g -O # The C++ compiler options.
3 LDFLAGS = # The linker options (if any).
4
5 # The all target builds all of the programs handled by
6 # the makefile.
7 # This target has the dependency chain:
8 # all -> hello -> hello.o -> hello.cpp
9 all: hello
10
11 # The clean target removes all of the executable files
12 # and object files produced by the build process.
13 clean:
14 rm -f hello *.o
15
16 # The hello target builds the hello executable.
17 hello: hello.o
18 $(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -o $@ $ˆ $(LDFLAGS)
19
20 # Indicate that the all and clean targets do not
21 # correspond to actual files.
22 .PHONY: all clean
23
24 # The following rule is effectively built into make and
25 # therefore need not be explicitly specified:
26 # hello.o: hello.cpp
27 # $(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $<

all target: builds all of the programs handled by the makefile (e.g.,
hello)
clean target: removes all of the executable files and object files produced
by build process (e.g., hello, hello.o)
although all and clean have no special meaning to make, very common
practice to provide targets with these particular names in all makefiles
hello target: compiles and links the hello program
chain of dependencies for all target:
all → hello → hello.o → hello.cpp
all and clean examples of phony targets

References

1 S. I. Feldman. Make — a program for maintaining computer programs.

Software: Practice and Experience, 9(4):255–265, Apr. 1979.

CMake

CMake is open-source cross-platform family of tools designed to build,

test, and package software
controls software build process (e.g., compiling and linking) using simple
platform- and compiler-independent configuration files
used in conjunction with native build environments
generates files appropriate for whatever build environment being used
supports native build environments such as Unix Make, Apple Xcode, and
Microsoft Visual Studio
automatically generates dependency information for source files
supports parallel builds
created by Kitware (http://www.kitware.com)
web site: https://cmake.org

CMake has very large user base and is employed in many open-source
and commercial projects
some users of CMake include:
Blender (https://www.blender.org)

Clang (http://clang.llvm.org)
Computational Geometry Algorithms Library (CGAL) (http://www.cgal.
org)
JasPer Image Processing/Coding Tool Kit (http://www.ece.uvic.ca/
˜mdadams/jasper)
K Desktop Environment (KDE) (https://www.kde.org)
MySQL (https://www.mysql.com)
Netflix (https://www.netflix.com)
OpenCV (http://opencv.org)
Qt (https://www.qt.io)
Second Life (http://secondlife.com)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1966
Build Process
Native
CMake CMake Native Build Tool
Built Code
Build Files Build Files

CMake build files: files used by CMake to describe build process for
software project (i.e., CMakeLists.txt and other build files it references)
native build tool: program used to build code for particular software
development environment being employed (e.g., make for Unix, MSBuild
for Microsoft Visual Studio, and xcodebuild for Apple Xcode)
native build files: files used by native build tool to control build process
(e.g., makefiles for Unix, project/solution files for Microsoft Visual Studio,
and project files for Apple Xcode)
build process consists of two steps:
1 CMake used, with CMake build files as input, to produce native build files
2 native build tool invoked to build code using native build files generated by
CMake
strictly speaking, CMake does not itself build code, but rather produces
build files that can be used by native build tool to build code
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1967
CMake Basics

source directory: top-level directory of source tree for code to be built

binary directory: directory under which all files generated by build
process will be placed
source directory must contain CMakeLists.txt file which is used to
describe build process
cache: file where CMake stores values of variables used for configuration
of build process (i.e., CMakeCache.txt in binary directory)
build-system generator: entity within CMake that produces native build
files (i.e., build files targetting particular native build tool)
CMake provides numerous generators (e.g., generators for Unix Make,
Apple Xcode, and Microsoft Visual Studio)
build configuration: description of build to be performed with particular
set of parameters (e.g., optimized or debug version)
some generators support multiple configurations using single build
for generators that support only single configuration, need to specify
which configuration to build
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1968
In-Source Versus Out-of-Source Builds
in-source build: when binary directory chosen to be inside source tree
(e.g., same as source directory)
out-of-source build: when binary directory chosen to be outside source
tree
when out-of-source build used, contents of source directory not modified
in any way by build process
in contrast, when in-source build used, build process can generate many
new files under source directory
out-of-source builds have numerous advantages over in-source builds; in
particular, out-of-source builds:
avoid cluttering source tree with many files generated by build process,
which can cause numerous difficulties (e.g., interacting poorly with version
control systems)
facilitate easy removal of all files generated by build process without risk of
accidently removing source files
allow for multiple builds from single source tree (e.g., debug and release
builds)
for above reasons, in-source builds should generally be avoided
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1969
The cmake Command

To generate build files for a native build tool, use a command of the form:
cmake [options] [$source_directory]
The binary directory is assumed to be the current directory.
The source directory $source_dir defaults to the current directory
(resulting in an in-source build).
Some options include:
Option Description
-D var=val Set the CMake variable var to value val.
-G gen Set the build-system generator to gen.
--version Print name/version banner and exit.
--help Print usage information and exit.
--debug-output Enable debugging output.
--trace Enable tracing output.

Some supported generators include:

Name Description
Unix Makefiles makefiles for Unix Make
Xcode project files for Apple Xcode
Visual Studio 12 2013 project files for Microsoft Visual Studio 12
The makefile generator produces a top-level makefile with standard
targets (e.g., all, clean, and install) as well as targets corresponding to
each CMake target in the project.
Some environment variables used by cmake include:
Option Description
CC The command for compiling C source.
CXX The command for compiling C++ source.
Although undocumented (and not officially supported), the source and
binary directories can both be specified on the command line by using the
options “-Hsource dir” and “-Bbinary dir”. (There cannot be a space
between the option letter and its corrresponding argument.)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1971
The cmake Command for Building

To invoke the native build tool in a platform-independent manner for the

build files in the binary directory $binary_directory, use a command of
the form:
cmake --build $binary_directory [$options]
Some options include:
Option Description
--target target Build the target target instead of the default tar-
gets.
--config config For a multi-configuration generator, select the
build configuration config. For a single-
configuration generator, this option is ignored.
--clean-first Build the “clean” target first.
-- Pass the remaining options to the native build
tool.

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1972
Hello World Example
source directory $SOURCE_DIR contains two files:
CMakeLists.txt and hello.cpp
commands to build with binary directory $BINARY_DIR:
cd $BINARY_DIR
cmake $SOURCE_DIR
cmake --build .
$SOURCE_DIR/hello.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 int main() {std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";}

$SOURCE_DIR/CMakeLists.txt
1 # Specify minimum required version of CMake.
2 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
3
4 # Specify project and identify languages used.
5 project(hello LANGUAGES CXX)
6
7 # Add program target called hello.
8 add_executable(hello hello.cpp)

CMakeLists Files

project: collection of source code to be built using CMake

target: something to be built by build process, such as executable or
library
target typically associated with one or more source files
target has numerous properties (e.g., compiler flags and linker flags)
target names cannot contain whitespace
by default, following build configurations are supported:
Name Description
Debug basic debugging code/information enabled
Release basic optimization enabled
RelWithDebInfo optimized build with debugging code/informa-
tion enabled as well
MinSizeRel smallest (but not necessarily fastest) code

comment starts with hash character (i.e., “#”) and continues until end of
line
file consists of sequence of commands
command consists of following (in order):
1 command name
2 opening parenthesis
3 whitespace-separated arguments
4 closing parenthesis
command example:
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.1)
command names are case insensitive
anything in double quotes treated as single argument; for example, as in:
message("Hello World")
backslash character can be used to escape character such as double
quote; for example, as in:
message("\${X} is not a variable expansion")
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1976
Variables

variable name is sequence of one or more letters, digits, and underscore

characters that does not begin with digit (e.g., MATH_LIBRARY, i)
variable names are case sensitive
value of variable can be treated as string or list of strings
value of variable X is accessed as ${X}
boolean tests are case insensitive
all of following considered false: OFF, 0, NO, FALSE, NOTFOUND,
*-NOTFOUND, IGNORE
variable can be internal or cache
cache variable persists across separate invocations of cmake while
internal variable does not
internal variable take precedence over cache varaible

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1977
Modules
module is file containing re-usable piece of CMakeLists code
normally use “.cmake” file name extension
most modules can be classified into one of following categories:
find
system introspection
utility
find module:
determines location of software elements such as header files and libraries
often module name starts with prefix “Find”
examples: FindBoost and FindOpenGL
system introspection module:
provides information about target system or compiler (e.g., size of various
types, availability of header files, compiler version)
often module name starts with prefix “Test” or “Check”
examples: CheckCXXSourceCompiles and CheckIncludeFile
utility module:
provides additional functions/macros for convenience
example: ExternalProject
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1978
Modules (Continued 1)

module can be accessed via include command

find module normally accessed via find_package command (instead of
directly using include command)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1979
Commonly-Used Variables
Source and binary directories:
CMAKE_BINARY_DIR. The full path to the top-level directory of the current

CMake build tree. For an in-source build, this is the same as

CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR.
CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR. The full path to the top-level directory of the current
CMake source tree. For an in-source build, this is the same as
CMAKE_BINARY_DIR.
CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR. The full path to the source directory that is
currently being processed by cmake.
CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR. The full path to the binary directory that is
currently being processed by cmake.
Build type:
CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE. In the case of single-configuration generators,

specifies the build type (e.g., Release, Debug, RelWithDebInfo,

MinSizeRel). In the case of multi-configuration generators, unused.
BUILD_SHARED_LIBS. Specifies if all libraries created should default to
shared (instead of static).
BUILD_TESTING. Specifies if testing is enabled (when the CTest module is
used).
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1980
Commonly-Used Variables (Continued 1)

C++ compiler:
CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID. The C++ compiler in use (e.g., Clang, GNU,

Intel, MSVC).
CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD. Used to initialize the CXX_STANDARD property on all
targets, which selects version of C++ standard (e.g., 98, 11, and 14).
CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED. Used to initialize the
CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED property of all targets. This property determines
whether the specified version of C++ standard is required.
CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER. The compiler command used for C++ source code.
CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS. The compiler flags for compiling C++ source code.
CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG. The compiler flags for compiling C++ source
code for a debug build.
CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE. The compiler flags for compiling C++ source
code for a release build.
CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELWITHDEBINFO. The compiler flags for compiling
C++ source code for a release build with debug flags.
CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_MINSIZEREL. The compiler flags for compiling C++
source code for a release build with minimum code size.

Linker:
CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS. The linker flags used to create executables.

This variable also has configuration-specific variants, such as

CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_RELEASE.
CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS. The linker flags used to create shared
libraries. This variable also has configuration-specific variants, such as
CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_RELEASE.
CMAKE_STATIC_LINKER_FLAGS. The linker flags used to create static
libraries. This variable also has configuration-specific variants, such as
CMAKE_STATIC_LINKER_FLAGS_RELEASE.
Target OS:
CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME. The name of the target system’s OS (e.g., Linux,

Windows, Darwin).
UNIX. Specifies if the target system’s OS is UNIX (or UNIX-like).
APPLE. Specifies if the target system’s OS is Mac OS X.
WIN32. Specifies if the target system’s OS is Microsoft Windows (32- or
64-bit).

Makefile builds:
CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE. Enable verbose output from Makefile builds.

CMAKE_RULE_MESSAGES. Specify if a progress message should be reported

by each makefile rule.

Other:
CMAKE_MODULE_PATH. The list of directories to search for CMake modules.

(This is used by commands like include and find_package.)

CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH. The list of directories specifying installation prefixes

to be searched by the find_package, find_program, find_library,

and find_file commands.
CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME. The name of the current project.
CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR. The directory of the listfile currently being

processed. (The values of CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR and

CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR can differ, for example, when a listfile outside
the current source directory is included.)

Initialization:
cmake_minimum_required. Set the minimum required version of Cmake

for a project.
cmake_policy. Manage CMake policy settings. (This is used to select
between old and new behaviors in CMake.)
project. Set a name, version, and enable languages for the entire project.
(If no languages specified, defaults to C and C++.)
option. Provide an option that the user can (optionally) select.
Adding targets:
add_executable. Add a program target.
add_library. Add a library target.

add_test. Add a test target. (This is used in conjunction with the module

CTest.)
add_custom_target. Add a target with no output file that is always out of

date.
add_custom_command. Add a custom build rule to the generated build
system.

Setting properties for a specific target:

target_compile_definitions. Add compile definitions to a target.

target_compile_options. Add compile options to a target

target_include_directories. Add include directories to a target.
target_link_libraries. Add libraries to the list of libraries to be used

for linking a target. (May be used multiple times for the same target.)
set_target_properties. Set properties for a target. (Some properies
include: OUTPUT_NAME, SOVERSION, and VERSION.)

Setting properties for all targets:

add_compile_options. Adds options to the compilation of source files in

the current directory and below. (This command should precede an

add_executable or add_library command.)
add_definitions. Adds -D define flags to the compilation of source files
in the current directory and below.
include_directories. Add directories to the list of include directories
used for compiling programs.
link_libraries. Add libraries to the list of libraries used for linking
programs. (This command appends to the list, each time it is invoked.)
link_directories. Specify directories in which the linker is to look for
libraries.
Processing other files or directories:
add_subdirectory. Add a subdirectory to the build.
include. Load and run CMake code from a file or module.

Querying external packages and programs:

find_package. Load settings for an external software package (e.g.,

Doxygen, Threads, Boost, OpenGL, GLEW, GLUT, CGAL, PkgConfig).

find_library. Find an external library.
find_program. Find an external program.
Assignment, control flow, functions, and macros:
set. Set a CMake, cache, or environment variable to a given value.

if, elseif, else, and endif. Conditionally execute a group of commands.

foreach and endforeach. Evaluate a group of commands for each value

in a list.
while and endwhile. Evaluate a group of commands while a condition is
true.
function and endfunction. Record a function for later invocation as a
command.
macro and endmacro. Record a macro for later invocation as a command.

String and list processing:

list. Perform operations on lists.

string. Perform operations on strings.

Other:
message. Display a message to the user.
configure_file. Copy a file to another location and modify its contents.

install. Specify rules to run at install time (e.g., rules to install programs,

libraries, and header files).

math. Evaluate mathematical expressions.
file. Manipulate files.
enable_language. Enable a language.

CheckIncludeFiles module, which provides:

check_include_files. Check if the specified files can be included.

CheckCXXSourceCompiles module, which provides:

check_cxx_source_compiles. Check if the specified C++ source code

compiles and links to produce an executable.

CheckFunctionExists module, which provides:
check_function_exists. Check if the specified C function is provided by
libraries on the system.
CTest module:
Configure a project for testing with CTest/CDash.
CPack module:
Configure a project to use CPack to build binary and source package
installers.
PkgConfig module, which requires pkg-config tool to be available and
provides:
pkg_search_module. Finds a package via pkg-config.

ExternalProject module, which provides:

externalproject_add. Create custom targets to build projects in external
trees.
GNUInstallDirs module:
Define GNU standard installation directories (e.g.,
CMAKE_INSTALL_INCLUDEDIR, CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR, and
CMAKE_INSTALL_MANDIR).
GenerateExportHeader module, which provides:
generate_export_header. Generate a header file containing export
macros to be used for a shared library.
CMakePackageConfigHelpers module, which provides:
configure_package_config_file. Create a package configuration file
for installing a project or library. (This should be used instead of
configure_file.)
write_basic_package_version_file. Write a package version file.

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1990
Some Find and Pkg-Config Modules
Boost
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.10/module/FindBoost.html
variables: Boost_FOUND, Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS, Boost_LIBRARY_DIRS,

Boost_LIBRARIES
imported targets: Boost::boost, Boost::component

CGAL (Computational Geometry Algorithms Library)

variables: CGAL_INCLUDE_DIRS, CGAL_LIBRARY, GMP_LIBRARIES

Doxygen
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.10/module/FindDoxygen.html

variables: DOXYGEN_FOUND, DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE

imported targets: Doxygen::doxygen, Doxygen::dot

GLEW (OpenGL Extension Wrangler Library)

https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.10/module/FindGLEW.html

variables: GLEW_FOUND, GLEW_INCLUDE_DIRS, GLEW_LIBRARIES

imported targets: GLEW::GLEW

GLFW (OpenGL Helper Library) [pkg-config module]

variables: GLFW_FOUND, GLFW_INCLUDE_DIRS, GLFW_LIBRARIES

GLUT (OpenGL Utility Toolkit)

https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.10/module/FindGLUT.html
variables: GLUT_FOUND, GLUT_INCLUDE_DIR, GLUT_LIBRARIES

imported targets: GLUT::GLUT

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library)

https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.10/module/FindOpenGL.html
variables: OPENGL_FOUND, OPENGL_INCLUDE_DIR, OPENGL_LIBRARIES

imported targets: OpenGL::GL, OpenGL::GLU, OpenGL::GLX

SPL (Signal/Geometry Processing Library)

variables: SPL_FOUND, SPL_INCLUDE_DIRS, SPL_LIBRARY_DIRS,

SPL_LIBRARIES, SNDFILE_INCLUDE_DIRS, SNDFILE_LIBRARIES

Threads
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.10/module/FindThreads.html

variables: CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT
imported targets: Threads::Threads

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1992
Using Per-Target Versus Global Settings
can set compiler options, compiler definitions, include directories, and link
libraries in two ways:
1 per target (e.g., using target_compile_options,

target_compile_definitions, target_include_directories, and

target_link_libraries)
2 globally (e.g., using add_compile_options, add_definitions,

include_directories, and link_libraries)

per-target approach allows properties to be specified with finer granularity
than global approach
finer-granularity control over properties often necessary, especially when
building more complex projects
if executable targets in project do not all use same set of libraries, global
specification of include directories and link libraries can introduce artificial
dependencies on some libraries
per-target specification of link libraries allows automatic propagation of
library dependencies when hierarchies of libraries used (which, for
example, may avoid need to link against same library multiple times)
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 1993
Section 9.3.2

Examples

hello.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 int main() {std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";}

CMakeLists.txt
1 # Specify minimum required version of CMake.
2 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
3
4 # Specify project and identify languages used.
5 project(hello LANGUAGES CXX)
6
7 # Print message indicating detected OS.
8 if (UNIX)
9 set(platform "Unix")
10 elseif (WIN32)
11 set(platform "Microsoft Windows")
12 else()
13 set(platform "Unknown")
14 endif()
15 message("OS is ${platform}")
16
17 # Add program target called hello.
18 add_executable(hello hello.cpp)

want to build and test hello-world program

code written in C++
files in project:
CMakeLists.txt
hello.cpp
test_wrapper.in
run_test
project has:
executable target hello
test target run_test

hello.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2
3 int main() {std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";}

test_wrapper.in (with execute permission set)

1 #! /bin/sh
2 # Initialize the environment for the command being invoked.
3 export CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR="@CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR@"
4 export CMAKE_BINARY_DIR="@CMAKE_BINARY_DIR@"
5 "$@"
run_test
1 #! /bin/sh
2 # Test if the hello program produces the desired output.
3 ($CMAKE_BINARY_DIR/hello | grep "ˆHello, World!$") || \
4 exit 1

CMakeLists.txt
1 # Specify minimum required version of CMake.
2 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
3
4 # Specify project and identify languages used.
5 project(hello LANGUAGES CXX)
6
7 # Include the CTest module for testing.
8 include(CTest)
9
10 # Find the Bourne shell.
11 find_program(sh SH_COMMAND)
12
13 # Add program target called hello.
14 add_executable(hello hello.cpp)
15
16 # Create a wrapper script that initializes the environment
17 # for any test scripts.
18 configure_file(${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/test_wrapper.in
19 ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/test_wrapper @ONLY)
20
21 # Add a test that invokes run_test via a wrapper script.
22 add_test(run_test ${SH_COMMAND}
23 ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/test_wrapper
24 ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/run_test)

want to build simple program using Boost Log

code written in C++
uses Log component of Boost library
files in project:
CMakeLists.txt
main.cpp
project has:
executable target my_app

main.cpp
1 #include <boost/log/trivial.hpp>
2
3 int main() {
4 BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(warning)
5 << "A warning severity message";
6 BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error)
7 << "An error severity message";
8 BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(fatal)
9 << "A fatal severity message";
10 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2000
Boost Log Example: CMakeLists File [Without Imported Targets]

CMakeLists.txt
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
2 project(boost_example LANGUAGES CXX)
3
4 # Find the required libraries (i.e., POSIX threads and Boost).
5 set(Boost_USE_MULTITHREADED ON)
6 find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
7 find_package(Boost 1.54.0 REQUIRED COMPONENTS log)
8
9 # Define a program target called my_app.
10 add_executable(my_app main.cpp)
11
12 # Set the includes, defines, and libraries for the my_app target.
13 target_include_directories(my_app PUBLIC ${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS})
14 target_compile_definitions(my_app PUBLIC "-DBOOST_LOG_DYN_LINK")
15 target_link_libraries(my_app ${Boost_LIBRARIES}
16 ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2001
Boost Log Example: CMakeLists File [With Imported Targets]

CMakeLists.txt
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
2 project(boost_example LANGUAGES CXX)
3
4 # Find the required libraries (i.e., POSIX threads and Boost).
5 set(Boost_USE_MULTITHREADED ON)
6 find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
7 find_package(Boost 1.54.0 REQUIRED COMPONENTS log)
8
9 # Define a program target called my_app.
10 add_executable(my_app main.cpp)
11
12 # Set the defines, includes, and libraries for the my_app target.
13 target_compile_definitions(my_app PUBLIC "-DBOOST_LOG_DYN_LINK")
14 target_link_libraries(my_app Boost::log Threads::Threads)

want to build simple OpenGL/GLFW application

code written in C++
uses OpenGL and GLFW libraries (as well as GLEW library)
files in project:
CMakeLists.txt
trivial.cpp
project has:
executable target trivial

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2003
OpenGL/GLFW Example: Source Code
trivial.cpp
1 #include <cstdlib>
2 #include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
3
4 void display(GLFWwindow* window) {
5 glfwMakeContextCurrent(window);
6 glClearColor(0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0);
7 glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
8 glfwSwapBuffers(window);
9 }
10
11 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
12 if (!glfwInit()) {return EXIT_FAILURE;}
13 glfwSwapInterval(1);
14 GLFWwindow* window = glfwCreateWindow(512, 512, argv[0],
15 nullptr, nullptr);
16 if (!window) {
17 glfwTerminate();
18 return EXIT_FAILURE;
19 }
20 glfwSetWindowRefreshCallback(window, display);
21 while (!glfwWindowShouldClose(window))
22 {glfwWaitEvents();}
23 glfwTerminate();
24 return EXIT_SUCCESS;
25 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2004
OpenGL/GLFW Example: CMakeLists File [Without Imported Targets]

CMakeLists.txt
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
2 project(opengl_example LANGUAGES CXX)
3 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 11)
4 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED TRUE)
5
6 # Find the required libraries (i.e., OpenGL, GLEW, and GLFW).
7 find_package(OpenGL REQUIRED)
8 find_package(GLEW REQUIRED)
9 find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
10 pkg_search_module(GLFW REQUIRED glfw3)
11
12 # Define a program target called trivial.
13 add_executable(trivial trivial.cpp)
14
15 # Set the includes and libraries for the trivial target.
16 target_include_directories(trivial PUBLIC ${GLFW_INCLUDE_DIRS}
17 ${GLEW_INCLUDE_DIRS} ${OPENGL_INCLUDE_DIR})
18 target_link_libraries(trivial ${GLFW_LIBRARIES} ${GLEW_LIBRARIES}
19 ${OPENGL_LIBRARIES})

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2005
OpenGL/GLFW Example: CMakeLists File [With Imported Targets]

CMakeLists.txt
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
2 project(opengl_example LANGUAGES CXX)
3 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 11)
4 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED TRUE)
5
6 # Find the required libraries (i.e., OpenGL, GLEW, and GLFW).
7 find_package(OpenGL REQUIRED)
8 find_package(GLEW REQUIRED)
9 find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
10 pkg_search_module(GLFW REQUIRED glfw3)
11
12 # Define a program target called trivial.
13 add_executable(trivial trivial.cpp)
14
15 # Set the includes and libraries for the trivial target.
16 target_include_directories(trivial PUBLIC ${GLFW_INCLUDE_DIRS})
17 target_link_libraries(trivial ${GLFW_LIBRARIES} GLEW::GLEW
18 OpenGL::GL)

want to build simple OpenGL/GLUT application

code written in C++
uses OpenGL and GLUT libraries
files in project:
CMakeLists.txt
trivial.cpp
project has:
executable target trivial

trivial.cpp
1 #include <GL/glut.h>
2
3 void display() {
4 glClearColor(0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0);
5 glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
6 glutSwapBuffers();
7 }
8
9 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
10 glutInit(&argc, argv);
11 glutInitDisplayMode(GLUT_DOUBLE | GLUT_RGB);
12 glutInitWindowSize(512, 512);
13 glutCreateWindow(argv[0]);
14 glutDisplayFunc(display);
15 glutMainLoop();
16 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2008
OpenGL/GLUT Example: CMakeLists File [Without Imported Targets]

CMakeLists.txt
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
2 project(opengl_example LANGUAGES CXX)
3
4 # Find the required libraries (i.e., OpenGL and GLUT).
5 find_package(OpenGL REQUIRED)
6 find_package(GLUT REQUIRED)
7
8 # Define a program target called trivial.
9 add_executable(trivial trivial.cpp)
10
11 # Set the includes and libraries for the trivial target.
12 target_include_directories(trivial PUBLIC ${GLUT_INCLUDE_DIR}
13 ${OPENGL_INCLUDE_DIR})
14 target_link_libraries(trivial ${GLUT_LIBRARIES} ${OPENGL_LIBRARIES})

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2009
OpenGL/GLUT Example: CMakeLists File [With Imported Targets]

want to build simple CGAL application

code written in C++
uses CGAL library (as well as GMP library)
files in project:
CMakeLists.txt
orient_test.cpp
project has:
executable target orient_test

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2011
CGAL Example: Source Code
orient_test.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <string>
3 #include <CGAL/Cartesian.h>
4 #include <CGAL/Filtered_kernel.h>
5
6 std::string toString(CGAL::Orientation orient) {
7 switch (orient) {
8 case CGAL::LEFT_TURN:
9 return "left turn";
10 case CGAL::RIGHT_TURN:
11 return "right turn";
12 case CGAL::COLLINEAR:
13 return "collinear";
14 }
15 }
16
17 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
18 using Point = CGAL::Point_2<CGAL::Filtered_kernel<
19 CGAL::Cartesian<double>>>;
20 Point a, b, q;
21 while (std::cin >> a >> b >> q) {
22 auto orient = CGAL::orientation(a, b, q);
23 std::cout << toString(orient) << ’\n’;
24 }
25 }

CMakeLists.txt
1 # Specify minimum required version of CMake.
2 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
3
4 # Specify project and enable the C++ language.
5 project(cgal_demo LANGUAGES CXX)
6
7 # Find the required CGAL package.
8 find_package(CGAL REQUIRED)
9
10 # On some systems, GCC may need the -frounding-math option.
11 if (CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID MATCHES GNU)
12 add_compile_options("-frounding-math")
13 endif()
14
15 # Add a program target called orient_test.
16 add_executable(orient_test orient_test.cpp)
17
18 # Specify the includes and libraries for the orient_test target.
19 target_include_directories(orient_test PUBLIC ${CGAL_INCLUDE_DIRS})
20 target_link_libraries(orient_test ${CGAL_LIBRARY} ${GMP_LIBRARIES})

want to be able to build and install HG2G library and application that uses
library
code written in C++
files in project:
CMakeLists.txt
app/CMakeLists.txt
app/answer.cpp
hg2g/CMakeLists.txt
hg2g/answer.cpp
hg2g/question.cpp
hg2g/include/hg2g/answer.hpp
hg2g/include/hg2g/config.hpp.in
project has:
library target hg2g
executable target answer
option HG2G_ZAPHOD (which takes a boolean value)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2014
HG2G Example: Library Source Code
hg2g/include/hg2g/config.hpp.in
1 #ifndef HG2G_CONFIG_H
2 #define HG2G_CONFIG_H
3 #define HG2G_VERSION "@HG2G_VERSION@"
4 #cmakedefine HG2G_ZAPHOD
5 #endif
hg2g/include/hg2g/answer.hpp
1 #include <string>
2 namespace hg2g {
3 std::string answer_to_ultimate_question();
4 std::string ultimate_question();
5 }
hg2g/answer.cpp
1 #include "hg2g/answer.hpp"
2 namespace hg2g {
3 std::string answer_to_ultimate_question() {return "42";}
4 }
hg2g/question.cpp
1 #include "hg2g/answer.hpp"
2 namespace hg2g {
3 std::string ultimate_question() {throw 42;}
4 }

app/answer.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include <hg2g/config.hpp>
3 #include <hg2g/answer.hpp>
4
5 int main() {
6 #ifdef HG2G_ZAPHOD
7 std::cout << "HG2G_ZAPHOD is defined\n";
8 #endif
9 std::cout << "According to version " << HG2G_VERSION <<
10 " of the HG2G library:\n";
11 std::cout <<
12 "The answer to the ultimate question is " <<
13 hg2g::answer_to_ultimate_question() << ".\n";
14 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2016
HG2G Example: CMakeLists Files
CMakeLists.txt
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
2 project(hg2g_example LANGUAGES CXX)
3 option(HG2G_ZAPHOD "Define HG2G_ZAPHOD" FALSE)
4
5 # Set the version number and name.
6 set(HG2G_VERSION_MAJOR 1)
7 set(HG2G_VERSION_MINOR 42)
8 set(HG2G_VERSION_PATCH 0)
9 string(CONCAT HG2G_VERSION "${HG2G_VERSION_MAJOR}"
10 ".${HG2G_VERSION_MINOR}" ".${HG2G_VERSION_PATCH}")
11
12 # Process the subdirectories hg2g and app.
13 add_subdirectory(hg2g)
14 add_subdirectory(app)

app/CMakeLists.txt
1 # Add a program target called answer.
2 add_executable(answer answer.cpp)
3
4 # Link the answer program against the hg2g library.
5 target_link_libraries(answer hg2g)
6
7 # Install the answer program in the bin directory.
8 install(TARGETS answer DESTINATION bin)

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2017
HG2G Example: CMakeLists Files (Continued 1)
hg2g/CMakeLists.txt
1 # Place the names of the header and source files into
2 # variables (for convenience).
3 set(hg2g_headers include/hg2g/answer.hpp
4 "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include/hg2g/config.hpp")
5 set(hg2g_sources answer.cpp question.cpp)
6
7 # Add a library target called hg2g.
8 add_library(hg2g ${hg2g_sources} ${hg2g_headers})
9
10 # Specify the include directories for library.
11 target_include_directories(hg2g PUBLIC
12 include
13 "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include")
14
15 # Create a header file containing the config information.
16 configure_file(
17 include/hg2g/config.hpp.in
18 "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include/hg2g/config.hpp")
19
20 # Install the library in the lib directory.
21 install(TARGETS hg2g DESTINATION lib)
22
23 # Install the header files in the include/hg2g directory.
24 install(FILES ${hg2g_headers} DESTINATION include/hg2g)

hello, hg2g, and example 100 are subdirectories containing CMake projects
CMakeLists.txt
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
2 # Specify the project and do not enable any languages.
3 project(examples LANGUAGES CXX)
4 # Include the module for external project functionality.
5 include(ExternalProject)
6 # Create a list of the subdirectories containing
7 # CMake projects to be built.
8 list(APPEND dirs hello hg2g "example 100")
9 # Add each project as an external project.
10 foreach(dir IN LISTS dirs)
11 # Set target name to directory name with any
12 # spaces changed to underscores.
13 string(REPLACE " " "_" target "${dir}")
14 # Add external project.
15 externalproject_add("${target}"
16 SOURCE_DIR "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/${dir}"
17 BINARY_DIR "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${dir}"
18 CMAKE_ARGS
19 "-DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}"
20 INSTALL_COMMAND "")
21 endforeach()

want to build LATEX document (i.e., produce PDF document from LATEX
source)
files in project:
CMakeLists.txt
main.tex
bib.bib
cmake_modules/UseLATEX.cmake

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2020
LATEX Example: Source Code
main.tex
1 \documentclass{article}
2 \usepackage{graphicx}
3 \author{John Doe}
4 \title{Why I Like C++}
5 \begin{document}
6 \maketitle
7 \section{Why I Like C++}
8 What can I say?
9 C++˜\cite{TCPL4} is a great language!\newline
10 \includegraphics[width=1in,height=1in,keepaspectratio]
11 {cpp.png}
12 \bibliographystyle{plain}
13 \bibliography{bib}
14 \end{document}

bib.bib
1 @book{
2 TCPL4,
3 author = "B. Stroustrup",
4 title = "The {C++} Programming Language",
5 edition = "4th",
6 publisher = "Addison Wesley",
7 year = 2013
8 }

CMakeLists.txt
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10 FATAL_ERROR)
2
3 # Specify the project name and indicate that no languages
4 # should be enabled.
5 project(my_doc NONE)
6
7 # Add the cmake_modules directory to the module search path.
8 set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}
9 ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake_modules)
10
11 # Include the UseLATEX module.
12 include(UseLATEX)
13
14 # Specify the properties of the LaTeX document such as its
15 # constituent source files (e.g., LaTeX, BibTeX, images,
16 # figures, etc.)
17 add_latex_document(main.tex IMAGES cpp.png BIBFILES bib.bib)

cmake_modules/UseLATEX.cmake
This file is taken from https://cmake.org/Wiki/images/8/80/
UseLATEX.cmake.

References

1 Ken Martin and Bill Hoffman, Mastering CMake — A Cross-Platform Build

System — CMake 3.1, Kitware, 2015. ISBN 978-1-930934-31-3.
2 CMake Tutorial (excerpt from the book “Mastering CMake”), https://
cmake.org/cmake-tutorial.
3 CMake FAQ, https://cmake.org/Wiki/CMake_FAQ.
4 CMake Wiki, https://cmake.org/Wiki/CMake.
5 Kenneth Moreland, “UseLATEX.cmake: LATEX Document Building Made
Easy,” Version 2.4.0. Available online at https://cmake.org/Wiki/
images/d/d7/UseLATEX.pdf.
6 CMakeUserUseLATEX https://cmake.org/Wiki/
CMakeUserUseLATEX
7 UseLATEX GitHub Site https://github.com/kmorel/UseLATEX

1 Bill Hoffman, Google Tech Talk — Building Science With CMake, October
8, 2015. Available online at https://youtu.be/TqjtN8NGtl4.
A very basic introduction to CMake.
2 Daniel Pfeifer, Effective CMake, C++ Now, May 19, 2017, Aspen, CO,
USA. Available online at https://youtu.be/bsXLMQ6WgIk.

Version Control Systems

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2027
Version Control Systems
Version control (also known as revision control) is the management of
changes to programs, documents, and other collections of information.
In practice, multiple versions of the same software will often be in
existence at any given time.
For the purposes of locating and fixing a bug, it is critically important to be
able to access different versions of the software, since only certain
versions of the software may have the bug.
When concurrently developing multiple versions of some software, it is
necessary to be able to keep track of what information belongs to which
versions.
Having developers manually maintain version information themselves is
impractical, as this would be very error prone.
Therefore, a version control system (VCS) is used to manage changes in
a systematic manner.
Some examples of VCSes include: Source Code Control System (SCCS),
Revision Control System (RCS), Concurrent Versions System (CVS)
Subversion, Mercurial, and Git.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2028
Centralized Version Control

Server

Repository

Working Copy Working Copy Working Copy

User 1 User 2 User 3

repository resides only on server

users do not have their own local copy of repository
examples: CVS and Subversion

Repository

Repository Repository Repository

Working Copy Working Copy Working Copy

User 1 User 2 User 3

each user has their own local copy of repository

examples: Git and Mercurial

advantages of distributed (over centralized) version control:

most operations (namely, ones that do not synchronize with other
repositories) are local and extremely fast
all operations, except those that synchronize with other repositories, can be
performed without network connection
more robust (e.g., data loss less likely due to replication of information
across repositories, less reliance on network/server connectivity)
committing new changesets can be done locally without anyone else seeing
them
easier to share changes with only, say, one or two people before showing
changes to everyone
disadvantages of distributed (relative to centralized) version control:
since repository is stored locally, more local disk space is required
if repository becomes large, downloading it can require considerable
amount of time

Git

Git is open-source distributed (i.e., decentralized) version control system

created by Linus Torvalds
development started in 2005 with first release made later in same year
designed to support projects varying in size from very small to very large
with speed and efficiency
can efficiently handle very large numbers of files
can efficiently handle large numbers of parallel branches
revision history of file modelled as directed acyclic graph (DAG)
official web site: https://git-scm.com

Git has a very large user base and is employed heavily in industry
some organizations using Git include:
Apple (https://github.com/apple)
eBay (https://github.com/eBay)

Facebook (https://github.com/facebook)
Google (https://github.com/google)
Intel (https://github.com/intel)

Microsoft (https://github.com/Microsoft)
NVIDIA (https://github.com/NVIDIA)

Twitter (https://github.com/twitter)

some projects using Git include:

Linux Kernel (https://github.com/torvalds/linux)
Android (https://android-review.googlesource.com)
Qt (http://code.qt.io)

Gnome (https://git.gnome.org)
Eclipse (https://git.eclipse.org)
KDE (https://github.com/KDE)

FreeDesktop (https://cgit.freedesktop.org)

A repository is effectively a database that records the information for all

of the versions of all of the files in the directory tree under version control.
A commit is simply a record (i.e., snapshot) of all of the files that
comprise a particular version in the repository.
This record includes, for each file, the location of the file in the directory
tree as well as the contents of the file.
For each version of the directory tree, the repository has a corresponding
commit (i.e., snapshot).

The revision history can be represented as a directed acyclic graph (DAG).

Each node in the graph corresponds to a commit in the repository.
Each edge in the graph points to the immediately preceding commit in the
revision history.
Example of DAG:
C0 C1 C2 C4 C6 C7

C3 C5

C1 based on changing content from C0 ;

C2 based on changing content from C1 ;
C4 based on changing content from C2 ;
C6 based on merging content from C4 and C5 ;
...

master

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6

master, development, and topic branches:

master

M1 M2 develop

D1 D2 D3 topic

T1 T2

master branch: used for releases (highly stable, well tested)

development branch: used for development work (possibly unstable)
topic branch: used for highly experimental work
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2037
Local Picture
Checkout

Stage Commit
Working Tree Index Repository

three distinct types of data:

working tree: directory hierarchy containing files on which user is working

index (also known as staging area): place where changes that are

tentatively marked to be committed are stored

repository: database used to store all versions of data and associated
metadata
three basic local operations on data:
checking out: populates working tree with particular version of data from

repository
staging: applies changes in working tree to index
committing: applies changes in index to repository

Fetch/Pull

Push
Local Repository Remote Repository

clone: creates local repository that is copy of remote repository

three basic operations for propagating changes between repositories:
push: propagate changes from local repository to remote repository
fetch: propagate changes from remote repository to local repository without

merging changes
pull: propagate changes from remote repository to local repository and
merge changes

The name HEAD is a reference to the branch currently in use in the

repository.
Normally (i.e., except in the case of a detached HEAD), HEAD refers to the
current branch.
Consider a repository having a single master branch and three commits
C1 , C2 , and C3 (with C3 being the most recent), where the current branch
is master. This would appear as follows:
HEAD master

C1 C2 C3

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2040
Remote-Tracking Branches
Consider a remote repository whose commit history is as shown below,
with a single branch master.
HEAD master

C1 C2 C3
[remote repository]
Cloning the above repository will produce a new local repository whose
commit history is as shown below, with a (local) branch master and a
remote-tracking branch origin/master.
HEAD master

C1 C2 C3

origin/master
[local repository]
A branch fetched from a remote repository is called a remote-tracking
branch.
A remote-tracking branch is a reference to a commit in the remote
repository and is used for operations like pushing and fetching/pulling.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2041
Commit History Example I

1 Consider the following remote repository with a single branch master:

HEAD master

C1 C2

2 Cloning the remote repository yields a new local repository that is identical
to the remote repository but with a remote-tracking branch
origin/master added as follows:
HEAD master

C1 C2

origin/master

3 Committing change A1 to the master branch of the local repository

transforms the local repository as follows:
HEAD master HEAD master

C1 C2 −→ C1 C2 A1

origin/master origin/master

4 Committing change A2 to the master branch of the local repository

transforms the local repository as follows:
HEAD master HEAD master

C1 C2 A1 −→ C1 C2 A1 A2

origin/master origin/master

5 Another user committing changes B1 and B2 to the remote repository

transforms the remote repository as follows:
HEAD master HEAD master

−→
C1 C2 C1 C2 B1 B2

6 Fetching (to the local repository) from the remote repository transforms
the local repository as follows:
HEAD master
HEAD master
C1 C2 A1 A2
C1 C2 A1 A2 −→
B1 B2
origin/master
origin/master

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2044
Commit History Example IV
7 Merging the origin/master branch into the master branch (in the local
repository) transforms the local repository as follows:
HEAD master
C1 C2 A1 A2 A3
C1 C2 A1 A2
−→ B1 B2 master
B1 B2
HEAD
origin/master
origin/master

8 Pushing (from the local repository) to the remote repository transforms the
remote and local repositories, respectively, as follows:
HEAD master C1 C2 A1 A2 A3
−→
C1 C2 B1 B2 B1 B2 master HEAD

C1 C2 A1 A2 A3 origin/master

B1 B2 master −→ C1 C2 A1 A2 A3

HEAD B1 B2 master HEAD

origin/master

1 TOP_DIR=‘pwd‘
2
3 cd $TOP_DIR
4 mkdir remote
5 cd remote
6 git init
7 printf "apple\n" >> fruits.txt
8 git add fruits.txt
9 git commit -m "Added file fruits.txt" # Commit C1
10 printf "banana\n" >> fruits.txt
11 git add fruits.txt
12 git commit -m "Added banana to fruits.txt" # Commit C2
13 git init --bare .git
14 mv .git $TOP_DIR/remote.git
15 cd $TOP_DIR
16 rm -rf remote

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2046
Commit History Example: Remaining Commands
1 cd $TOP_DIR
2 git clone remote.git local-1
3
4 cd $TOP_DIR/local-1
5 printf "grape\n" >> fruits.txt
6 git add fruits.txt
7 git commit -m "Added grape to fruits.txt" # Commit A1
8 printf "orange\n" >> fruits.txt
9 git add fruits.txt
10 git commit -m "Added orange to fruits.txt" # Commit A2
11
12 cd $TOP_DIR
13 git clone remote.git local-2
14 cd local-2
15 printf "red\n" >> colors.txt
16 git add colors.txt
17 git commit -m "Added file colors.txt" # Commit B1
18 printf "green\n" >> colors.txt
19 git add colors.txt
20 git commit -m "Added green to colors.txt" # Commit B2
21 git push
22
23 cd $TOP_DIR/local-1
24 git push # ERROR: local repository not up to date
25 git fetch
26 git merge -m "Merged changes." # Commit A3
27 git push

Git employs three levels of configuration settings, which in order of

decreasing priority are as follows:
1 local (i.e., per repository)
2 global (i.e., per user)
3 system (i.e., system wide)
Configuring system settings may require administrator privileges.
On Linux systems, the global settings are typically stored in the file
$HOME/.gitconfig.

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2048
Git on One Slide
Configure user information and clone the repository:
git config --global user.name "John Doe"
git config --global user.email [email protected]
git clone $repository $directory
Edit the working tree and stage changes as appropriate for the local
repository:
git add $path_to_add
git mv $source_path $destination_path
git rm $file_to_remove
git rm -r $directory_to_remove
Check what changes are staged and then commit these changes to the
local repository:
git status
git commit
Push changes from the local repository to the remote repository:
git push
As needed, retrieve changes from the remote repository and merge them
locally (e.g., if a push failed due to being out of date):
git pull

Basic Commands

To query the version of the Git software, type:

git --version
The original release dates for a few versions of Git are as follows:
Original
Version Release Date
1.0 2005-12-21
1.7 2010-02-13
1.8 2012-10-21
1.9 2014-02-14
2.0 2014-05-28
2.3 2015-02-05
2.8 2016-03-28
2.12 2017-02-24
2.16 2018-01-17

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2051
Obtaining Help on the git Command
To obtain general help for the git command, use a command of the form:
git help [options]
To obtain detailed information for the git command or guide $item, use a
command of the form:
git help [options] $item
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-a list all commands for which help available
-g list all available help guides
-w display in HTML format using a web browser
-m display in man (i.e., manual page) format
To obtain detailed help on the commit command with the information
displayed in HTML format in a web browser, type:
git help -w commit
To list all of the help guides available, type:
git help -g
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Configuring Git

To set the variable $name to the value $value, use a command of the
form:
git config [options] $name $value
To unset the variable $name, use a command of the form:
git config [options] --unset $name
To list all of the current variables settings, use a command of the form:
git config [options] -l
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
--system consider only the system-wide settings
--global consider only the global (i.e., per-user) settings
--local consider only the local (i.e., per-repository) settings

Variable Description
core.askPass program for entering user name and password
credentials
core.editor program for editing
core.pager program for paging output
credential.helper external program to be called when a user
name or password credential is needed
user.name user’s full name
user.email user’s email address
web.browser program for browsing web

To globally set the user name to “John Doe”, type:

git config --global user.name "John Doe"
To globally set the email address to “[email protected]”, type:
git config --global user.email [email protected]
To list all system, global, and local variables, type:
git config -l
To list only the global variables, type:
git config --global -l
To list only the local (i.e., per-repository) variables for the current
repository, type:
git config --local -l

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Configuring User-Credential-Related Information
To enable the global caching of user credentials for 1 hour (i.e.,
3600 seconds), type:
git config --global \
credential.helper ’cache --timeout=3600’
To disable all caching of user credentials (i.e., at the system, global, and
repository levels) and purge any cached values, type:
git config --unset credential.helper
git config --global --unset credential.helper
git config --system --unset credential.helper
git credential-cache exit
To ensure that prompting for user credentials employs standard
input/output (as opposed to, say, a pop-up window), type:
git config --unset core.askPass
git config --global --unset core.askPass
git config --system --unset core.askPass
unset GIT_ASKPASS
unset SSH_ASKPASS
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Creating an Empty Repository

To create an empty repository, use a command of the form:

git init [$directory]
If $directory is not specified, it defaults to the current directory.
The repository is created in the directory $directory.
If $directory already contains a repository, the repository is re-initialized
(in a non-destructive manner).
All of the information used internally by Git to maintain the state of the
repository is stored in a directory named .git at the top-level directory in
the working tree.
To create a new repository in the directory hello (which does not
currently exist), type:
git init hello

To clone a repository $repository, use a command of the form:

git clone [options] $repository [$directory]
If $directory is not specified, it defaults to a value derived from
$repository.
The cloned repository is placed in the directory $directory.
The repository specifier $repository can be a URL (for a repository
accessed through a network server) or a directory (for a repository
accessed through the local file system).
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-b $branch after cloning, checkout the branch $branch
To clone the repository associated with the URL https://github.com/
uvic-aurora/hello-world.git to the directory hello-world, type:
git clone \
https://github.com/uvic-aurora/hello-world.git \
hello-world

To add the files/directories $path... to the index (i.e., mark for

committing later), use a command of the form::
git add $path...
The contents of $path... at the time that the git add command is run
are staged; subsequent changes to these contents are not automatically
staged.
When a directory is staged, all directories and files that are contained
under it are staged (i.e., staging is recursive).
To prevent certain files/directories in a directory from being staged, they
can be listed in a .gitignore file in that directory.
To add the files README and LICENSE to the index, type:
git add README LICENSE
To add the directory src (and everything contained under it) to the index,
type:
git add src

To remove all changes from the index, type:

git reset
To remove the files/directories $path... from the index, use a command
of the form:
git reset $path...
To undo the effects of the command “git add README LICENSE”, type:
git reset README LICENSE
To undo the effects of the command “git add README”, type:
git reset README

To move the file/directory $source to $destination, use a command of

the form:
git mv [options] $source $destination
To move multiple files $s_1, $s_2, . . . , $s_n to the directory
$destination_directory, use a command of the form:
git mv [options] $s_1 $s_2 ... $s_n \
$destination_directory
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-f force moving even if the target exists
To rename the file README to README.old, type:
git mv README README.old
To move the files hello.cpp and goodbye.cpp to the directory src, type:
git mv hello.cpp goodbye.cpp src

To remove the files/directories $path... from the working tree and the
index, use a command of the form:
git rm [options] $path...
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-f override the up-to-date check
-r if the given path is a directory, recursively remove files be-
low it
To remove the directory src and all files and directories beneath it from
the working tree and index, type:
git rm -r src
To remove the files README and LICENSE from the working tree and index,
type:
git rm README LICENSE

To commit all staged changes, use a command of the form:

git commit [options]
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-a automatically stage any files that have been mod-
ified or deleted
-m $message set message to $message
To commit all staged changes with the message “Fixed overflow bug”,
type:
git commit -m "Fixed overflow bug"
To commit all staged changes with the message “Fixed overflow bug”,
automatically staging any files that have been modified or deleted, type:
git commit -a -m "Fixed overflow bug"

To display the status of the working tree, use a command of the form:
git [options] status
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
--long give the output in long format (default)
--short give the output in short format
The information displayed by this command includes:
paths (i.e., files and directories) that have differences between the index
and the current HEAD commit, (i.e., what would be committed by running
git commit)
paths that have differences between the working tree and index as well as
paths that are not tracked by Git (i.e., what could by committed by running
git add before git commit)
To display the status of the working tree in long form, type:
git status

To show the commit history (which can be limited to a particular revision

range $revision_range or files/directories $path...), use a command
of the form:
git log [options] [$revision_range] [[--] $path...]
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
--since $date select commits more recent than date $date
--until $date select commits older than date $date
-$n select last $n$ commits
-S $pattern select commits adding/removing string match-
ing pattern $pattern
--graph draw text-based graph of commit history
--all consider all branches/remotes/tags
--grep $pattern select only commits with message matching
$pattern

To show the commit history for the file README since 2016-01-01, type:
git log --since 2016-01-01 README
To show the commit history for all files between 2014-01-01 and
2014-12-31, type:
git log --since 2014-01-01 --until 2014-12-31
To show the commit history for all files in all branches with a text-based
graph, type:
git log --all --graph
To show the commit history for all commits made since v1.0 until and
including v2.0 (assuming that v1.0 and v2.0 exist), type:
git log v1.0..v2.0

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2066
Showing Changes
To show changes between the working tree and the index (i.e., what could
be staged but has not yet been) for files/directories $path... (which
defaults to all files/directories), use a command of the form:
git diff [options] [$path...]
To show changes between the index and the named commit $commit
(which defaults to HEAD) for the files/directories $path... (which defaults
to all files/directories), use a command of the form:
git diff [options] --cached [$commit] -- \
[$path...]
To show changes between the working tree and the named commit
$commit (which defaults to HEAD) for the files/directories $path...
(which defaults to all files/directories), use a command of the form:
git diff [options] [$commit] -- [$path...]
To show changes between two arbitrary commits $commit1 and
$commit2 for the files/directories $path..., use a command of the form:
git diff [options] $commit1 $commit2 -- \
[$path...]
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Showing Changes (Continued)

Some commonly-used options include:

Option Description
-b ignore changes in amount of whitespace
-w ignore all whitespace
--ignore-blank-lines ignore blank lines
To show all changes between the working tree and the index for all
files/directories, type:
git diff
To show all differences between the working tree and the index for the file
README, ignoring changes in amount of whitespace, type:
git diff -b README

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Finding Lines Matching a Pattern
To find all lines of text in the files $path... (which defaults to all files) in
the working tree that satisfy the condition specified by the p_options,
use a command of the form:
git grep [options] [p_options] -- [$path...]
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-l print only names of files with matches
-i ignore case
--max-depth $depth descend at most $depth levels of directories
-v select non-matching lines
-F patterns are fixed strings
-E patterns are extended POSIX regular expressions
-e $pattern specify pattern $pattern
--and logical and
--or logical or
--not logical not
( for grouping logical operations
) for grouping logical operations
--cache search in the index instead of the working tree
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Finding Lines Matching a Pattern (Continued)

To search for the text “hello” in a case insensitive manner in all of the
files in the working tree, type:
git grep -i -e hello
To print only the names of the files that match the pattern specified in the
preceding example, type:
git grep -i -e hello -l
To find all of the files in the working tree with suffixes “.cpp” or “.hpp” that
have lines containing either “#include <vector>” or
“#include <list>”, type:
git grep -e ’#include <vector>’ --or \
-e ’#include <list>’ -- ’*.cpp’ ’*.hpp’
To perform the same search as the preceding example but in the index
rather than the working tree, type:
git grep --cache -e ’#include <vector>’ --or \
-e ’#include <list>’ -- ’*.cpp’ ’*.hpp’

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Removing Untracked Files and Directories
To remove all untracked files in the working tree, use a command of the
form:
git clean [options]
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-d remove untracked directories in addition to untracked files
-f force removal of files
-i enable interactive mode
-n show what would be done without actually doing anything
-x do not use standard ignore rules (such as those specified in
.gitignore files)
To remove all untracked files and directories in the working tree excluding
those ignored by Git, type:
git clean -d -f
To remove all untracked files and directories in the working tree including
those ignored by Git, type:
git clean -d -f -x
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.gitignore Files
A .gitignore file specifies which files and directories are intentionally
untracked and should be ignored by Git.
The purpose of a .gitignore file is to ensure that certain files not
tracked by Git remain untracked.
The .gitignore file lists patterns specifying files that should be ignored
by Git.
A “!” prefix negates a pattern.
A leading slash matches the directory containing the .gitignore file. For
example, /hello.cpp matches hello.cpp but not
some/subdirectory/hello.cpp.
The patterns in a .gitignore file apply to the directory containing the file
as well as all directories below the file in the working tree.
The patterns in a .gitignore file at a higher level in the tree are
overridden by patterns in a .gitignore file at a lower level.
A .gitignore file in the root directory of the working tree can be used to
establish ignore defaults for the whole tree.
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.gitignore File Example

# ignore all object files

*.o
# ignore all library files
*.a
# ignore foobaz only in this directory
/foobaz
# ignore foo only in directory example
/example/foo

A .gitattributes file is used to specify attributes for files/directories.

For example, the determination of whether a file employs a binary or text
format can be controlled via a .gitattributes file.
An example of a .gitattributes file is as follows:
# Consider all PNM files to be binary.
*.pnm binary
The settings in a .gitattributes file apply to the directory containing
the file as well as all directories below the file in the working tree.
The settings in a .gitattributes file at a higher level in the tree are
overridden by settings in a .gitattributes file at a lower level.
A .gitattributes file in the root directory of the working tree can be
used to establish attribute defaults for the whole tree.

The current implementation of git does not allow empty directories to be

tracked.
The best workaround for this problem is to create a .gitignore file in the
directory that ignores all files except the .gitignore file itself.
Such a .gitignore file might look like the following:
# First, ignore everything in this directory.
*
# Now, override the preceding rule and force
# the .gitignore file not to be ignored.
!.gitignore
This is not a perfect solution as it requires that the “empty” directory
contain one file (namely, a .gitignore file) and this file be committed to
the repository.

Remote-Related Commands

To list the remotes, use a command of the form:

git remote [general_options]
Some general options include:
Option Description
-v enable verbose mode
To add the remote $remote with the associated URL $url, use a
command of the form:
git remote add $remote $url
To remove the remote $remote, use a command of the form:
git remote rm $remote
To rename a remote from $old to $new, use a command of the form:
git remote rename $old $new
To show detailed information on the remote $remote, use a command of
the form:
git remote [general_options] show $remote
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Fetching Changes from Another Repository

To fetch changes from the remote $remote (which normally defaults to

origin), use a command of the form:
git fetch [$remote]
A fetch operation gathers any commits from the target branch that do not
exist in current branch, and stores them in the local repository.
It is always safe to perform a fetch in sense that no conflicts can arise,
since no merge is attempted.
By fetching frequently, one can keep their local repository up to date
without being forced to merge.

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Pushing Changes to Another Repository
To push changes to the branch $branch (which normally defaults to the
current branch) of the remote $remote (which normally defaults to
origin), use a command of the form:
git push [options] [$remote [$branch]]
When pushing a new local branch to a remote, the -u option should be
specified.
To delete the branch $branch on the remote $remote only, use a
command of the form:
git push --delete origin $branch
The preceding command is useful if one wants to delete a branch that
exists on the remote but not in the local repository.
To delete the tag $tag on the remote $remote only, use a command of
the form:
git push --delete origin $tag
To push to the default remote and branch, type:
git push
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Pulling Changes from Another Repository

To pull changes from the branch $branch of the remote $remote, use a
command of the form:
git pull [$remote [$branch]]
To pull from the default remote and branch, type:
git pull
A pull is approximately a fetch followed by merge.
A pull automatically merges commits without letting them be reviewed first.
For this reason, some people suggest that it is better to use fetch and
merge separately instead of performing a pull.
Also, the use of pull operations can, in some cases, result in unnecessary
merge commits.

To merge changes from the branch $branch (which normally defaults to

the upstream branch for the current branch) into the current branch, use a
command of the form:
git merge [$branch]
To merge from the default branch, type:
git merge
Note that the merge direction is from the branch $branch into the current
branch.
It is advisable to ensure that any outstanding changes are committed
before running git merge in order to reduce the likelihood of major
difficulties in the case of a conflict.
If a conflict arises, no commit will be performed and manual intervention is
required to resolve the conflict.

Branch-Related Commands

To list all of the branches, use a command of the form:

git branch [options]
To create a branch $branch, use a command of the form:
git branch [options] $branch
To delete the (local) branch $branch, use a command of the form:
git branch [options] -d $branch
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-a list both remote and local branches
-r list or delete remote branches
-v enable verbose mode for listing (use twice for extra verbose)
When a new branch is created with git branch, this does not
automatically checkout (i.e., switch to using) the new branch.

To checkout (i.e., switch to) the branch $branch, use a command of the
form:
git checkout $branch
Checking out a branch changes the files/directories of the working tree to
match that branch.
If you have local modifications to one or more files that are different
between the current branch and the branch to which you are switching,
the command refuses to switch branches in order to preserve your
modifications in context.

Tag-Related Commands

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Listing, Creating, and Deleting Tags
To list all tags, type:
git tag
To tag a commit $commit (which defaults to HEAD) with the name $name,
use a command of the form:
git tag [options] $name [$commit]
To delete the (local) tags with names $name..., use a command of the
form:
git tag -d $name...
Some commonly-used options include:
Option Description
-a make an unsigned annotated tag
To create an annotated tag version-1.0 for the most recent commit on
the master branch, type:
git tag -a version-1.0 master
To delete the tag version-1.0, type:
git tag -d version-1.0
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Pushing Tags

To push a tag $tag to the remote $remote, use a command of the form:
git push $remote $tag
To push the tag v1.0 to the remote origin, type:
git push origin v1.0

Miscellany

can create exact duplicate of entire Git repository (including all tags and
local branches) by using bare-clone and mirror-push operations
to copy repository $source_repo to (already existing) remote repository
$destination_repo (overwriting contents of repository), use command
sequence:
# Create a bare clone of the repository.
git clone --bare $source_repo $bare_dir
# Mirror push to the destination repository.
git -C $bare_dir push --mirror $destination_repo
# Remove the temporary local bare repository.
rm -rf $bare_dir

to copy repository $source_repo to local repository directory

$destination_dir, simply perform bare clone operation using
command:
git clone --bare $source_repo $destination_dir

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c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2089
Avoiding Repeated Passphrase Entry for SSH Authentication

if SSH used to access repository, SSH passphrase often needs to be

provided
to avoid having to enter SSH passphrase every time it is needed, can use
SSH Agent to cache passphrase and provide it as required
to start SSH Agent and provide it with passphrase to cache for private key
file $key_file, use command sequence:
# Start SSH Agent
eval ‘ssh-agent‘
# Provide passphrase for particular key.
ssh-add $key_file

on Unix systems, SSH key information typically stored in directory

$HOME/.ssh

A file is said to be derived if it is generated from one or more other files

(e.g., an object file is derived from its corresponding source code file, a
PDF or PostScript file is derived from its corresponding LATEX source files).
Do not place derived files under version control, as such files are
completely redundant and can often lead to a significant increase in
repository size.
Do not place large unchanging datasets under version control, as this will
greatly increase repository size without any tangible benefit (i.e., since the
datasets are not changing, there will never be multiple versions of them to
manage).
Avoid placing sensitive information (e.g., passwords) under version
control.
Remember that deleting a file from a particular commit does not delete
that file from the repository, since the file will still exist in other commits.

Gitg. A GNOME GUI client for viewing Git repositories. https://wiki.

gnome.org/Apps/Gitg.
Meld. A visual diff and merge tool. http://meldmerge.org.
Hub. A command-line wrapper for Git that facilitates easier use of GitHub.
https://hub.github.com.

References

1 Official Git Web Site. https://git-scm.com, August 2016.

This web site has many excellent resources related to Git, including:
1 Git Downloads: https://git-scm.com/downloads.
This web page has the Git software for various platforms, including Linux,
Mac OS X, and Windows.
2 Git Book: Scott Chacon and Ben Straub, Pro Git, http://git-scm.com/
book.
This online book can also be downloaded in several formats (including
PDF).
3 Git Videos: https://git-scm.com/videos.
This web page has several short videos on various aspects of Git.
2 Good Resources for Learning Git and GitHub, https://help.github.
com/articles/good-resources-for-learning-git-and-github
August 2016.
This web page has a list of many excellent resources for learning both Git and
GitHub.

3 TryGit Tutorial, https://try.github.com, August 2016.

This online Git tutorial allows the user to try Git in their web browser.

4 J. Loeliger. Version Control with Git.

O’Reilly, Sebastopol, CA, USA, 2009.

1 Linus Torvalds, Google Tech Talk: Linus Torvalds on git — Git: Source
code control the way it was meant to be!, May 2007. Available online at
https://youtu.be/4XpnKHJAok8.
Linus Torvalds shares his thoughts on Git, the source control management
system he created.
2 Matthew McCullough, The Basics of Git and GitHub, July 2013. Available
online at https://youtu.be/U8GBXvdmHT4.
This is an excellent introduction to using Git.
3 Scott Chacon, Introduction to Git with Scott Chacon of GitHub, June 2011.
Available online at https://youtu.be/ZDR433b0HJY.
This is another popular introduction to using Git.
4 Matthew McCullough, Advanced Git: Graphs, Hashes, and Compression,
Oh My!, Sept. 2012. Available online at https://youtu.be/
ig5E8CcdM9g.
This is a very good more advanced talk on Git.

Miscellany

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 namespace foo {
4 bool is_odd(int x) {return (x % 2) != 0;}
5 bool is_even(int x) {return (x % 2) == 0;}
6 }
7 #endif

main.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::is_odd(42) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::is_even(42) << ’\n’;
6 }

other.cpp
1 #include "foo.hpp"
2 // ...

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 namespace foo {
4 inline bool is_odd(int x) {return (x % 2) != 0;}
5 inline bool is_even(int x) {return (x % 2) == 0;}
6 }
7 #endif

main.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::is_odd(42) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::is_even(42) << ’\n’;
6 }

other.cpp
1 #include "foo.hpp"
2 // ...

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 namespace foo {
4 inline bool is_odd(int x);
5 inline bool is_even(int x);
6 }
7 #endif

foo.cpp
1 #include "foo.hpp"
2 namespace foo {
3 bool is_odd(int x) {return (x % 2) != 0;}
4 bool is_even(int x) {return (x % 2) == 0;}
5 }
app.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::is_odd(42) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::is_even(42) << ’\n’;
6 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2100
Solution: Place Inline Function Definitions in Header File

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 namespace foo {
4 inline bool is_odd(int x) {return (x % 2) != 0;}
5 inline bool is_even(int x) {return (x % 2) == 0;}
6 }
7 #endif
app.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::is_odd(42) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::is_even(42) << ’\n’;
6 }

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 namespace foo {
4 template <typename T> T abs(const T& x);
5 }
6 #endif

foo.cpp
1 #include "foo.hpp"
2 namespace foo {
3 template <typename T> T abs(const T& x)
4 {return (x < 0) ? (-x) : x;}
5 }
app.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::abs(-42) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::abs(-3.14) << ’\n’;
6 }

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 namespace foo {
4 template <typename T> T abs(const T& x);
5 }
6 #endif

foo.cpp
1 #include "foo.hpp"
2 namespace foo {
3 template <typename T> T abs(const T& x)
4 {return (x < 0) ? (-x) : x;}
5 template int abs<int>(const int&);
6 template double abs<double>(const double&);
7 }
app.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::abs(-42) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::abs(-3.14) << ’\n’;
6 }

Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2103
Second Solution: Define Function Template in Header File

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 namespace foo {
4 template <typename T> T abs(const T& x)
5 {return (x < 0) ? (-x) : x;}
6 }
7 #endif
app.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::abs(-42) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::abs(-3.14) << ’\n’;
6 }

Every function (whether it be inline or non-inline, or template or

non-template) must be declared before being used.
Consequently, functions that are part of an interface should normally be
declared in a header file so that users of the interface can obtain the
declarations needed for the interface by simply including the header file.
An inline function should always be defined before being used.
Consequently, an inline function that is declared in a header file should
normally also be defined in the file.
A template function must be defined at its point of use in order for the
template to be implicitly instantiated.
Consequently, a template function that is declared in a header file should
normally also be defined in the file.
A function must not be defined more than once.
Consequently, unless a function is inline or a template, it should not be
defined in a header file, as this will result in multiple definitions if the
header file is included by more than one source file.
Copyright
c 2015–2018 Michael D. Adams C++ Version: 2018-02-15 2105
What Is Wrong With This Code?

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 #include <cmath>
4 namespace foo {
5 double log(double x, double b);
6 }
7 #endif

foo.cpp
1 #include <cmath>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 namespace foo {
4 double log(double x, double b = 10.0)
5 {return std::log(x) / std::log(b);}
6 }
app.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::log(16.0, 2.0) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::log(10.0) << ’\n’;
6 }

foo.hpp
1 #ifndef foo_hpp
2 #define foo_hpp
3 #include <cmath>
4 namespace foo {
5 double log(double x, double b = 10.0);
6 }
7 #endif

foo.cpp
1 #include <cmath>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 namespace foo {
4 double log(double x, double b)
5 {return std::log(x) / std::log(b);}
6 }
app.cpp
1 #include <iostream>
2 #include "foo.hpp"
3 int main() {
4 std::cout << foo::log(16.0, 2.0) << ’ ’ <<
5 foo::log(10.0) << ’\n’;
6 }

Additional Learning Resources

Know what you do not know.

Ask questions when you are uncertain about something and be sure that
the person whom you ask is knowledgeable enough to give a correct
answer.
Know what information resources can be trusted.
Learn to use reference materials effectively (e.g., documentation on
libraries, standards).

Some good references on various topics related to the C++ programming

language, C++ standard library, and other C++ libraries (such as Boost)
are listed on the slides that follow.
Any information on C++ (e.g., books, tutorials, videos, seminars) from the
following individuals (who are held in very high regard by the C++
community) is highly recommended:
Bjarne Stroustrup (the creator of C++)
Scott Meyers
Herb Sutter (Convener of ISO C++ standards committee for over 10 years)
Andrei Alexandrescu
Stephan Lavavej

1 ISO/IEC 14882:2017 — information technology — programming

languages — C++, Dec. 2017.
This is the definitive specification of the C++ language and standard library. This
is an essential reference for any advanced programmer.

2 B. Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language.

Addison Wesley, 4th edition, 2013.
This is the classic book on the C++ programming language and standard library,
written by the creator of the language. This is one of the best references for first
learning C++.

3 Standard C++ Foundation web site. http://www.isocpp.org, 2014.

This is the web site of a non-profit organization whose purpose is to support the
C++ software development community and promote the understanding and use
of modern standard C++ on all compilers and platforms. This is an absolutely
outstanding source of information on C++.

4 B. Stroustrup and H. Sutter (editors), C++ Core Guidelines, 2016,

http://isocpp.github.io/CppCoreGuidelines/
CppCoreGuidelines.
This document provides a very detailed set of guidelines for writing good C++
code.

5 S. Meyers. Effective Modern C++: 42 Specific Ways to Improve Your Use

of C++11 and C++14.
O’Reilly Media, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2015.
This book covers a list of 42 topics on how to better utilize the C++ language.

6 S. Meyers. Effective C++: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and

Designs.
Addison Wesley, Menlo Park, California, 1992.
This book covers a list of 50 topics on how to better utilize the C++ language.

7 S. Meyers. More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs

and Designs.
Addison Wesley, Menlo Park, California, 1996.
This book covers a list of 35 topics on how to better utilize the C++ language. It
builds on Meyers’ earlier “Effective C++” book.

8 S. Meyers. Effective STL: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your Use of the

Standard Template Library.
Addison Wesley, 2001.
This book covers a list of 50 topics on how to better utilize the Standard Template
Library (STL), an essential component of the C++ standard library.

9 N. M. Josuttis. The C++ Standard Library: A Tutorial and Reference.

Addison Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2nd edition, 2012.
This is a very comprehensive book on the C++ standard library. This is arguably
the best reference on the standard library (other than the C++ standard).

10 D. Vandevoorde and N. M. Josuttis. C++ Templates: The Complete Guide.

Addison Wesley, 2002.
This is a very comprehensive book on template programming in C++. It is
arguably one of the best books on templates in C++.

11 A. Williams. C++ Concurrency in Action.

12 H. Sutter. Exceptional C++: 47 Engineering Puzzles, Programming

Problems, and Solutions.
Addison Wesley, 1999.
This book covers topics including (but not limited to): proper resource
management, exception safety, RAII, and good class design.

13 H. Sutter. More Exceptional C++: 40 New Engineering Puzzles,

Programming Problems, and Solutions.
Addison Wesley, 2001.
This book covers topics including (but not limited to): exception safety, effective
object-oriented programming, and correct use of STL.

14 H. Sutter. Exceptional C++ Style: 40 New Engineering Puzzles,

Programming Problems, and Solutions.
Addison Wesley, 2004.
This book covers topics including (but not limited to): generic programming,
optimization, resource management, and how to write modular code.

15 H. Sutter and A. Alexandrescu. C++ Coding Standards: 101 Rules,

Guidelines, and Best Practices.
Addison Wesley, 2004.
This book presents 101 best practices, idioms, and common pitfalls in C++ in
order to allow the reader to become a more effective C++ programmer.

16 A. Langer and K. Kreft. Standard C++ IOStreams and Locales.

Addison Wesley, 2000.
This book provides a very detailed look at C++ I/O streams and locales.

17 V. A. Punathambekar. How to interpret complex C/C++ declarations.

http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/7042/How-to-
interpret-complex-C-C-declarations, 2004.
This is a detailed tutorial on how to interpret complex C/C++ type declarations.
This tutorial explains how type declarations are parsed in the language, which is
essential for all programmers to understand clearly.

1 S. B. Lippman, J. Lajoie, and B. E. Moo. C++ Primer.

Addison Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 4th edition, 2005.

2 A. Koenig and B. E. Moo. Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by

Example.
Addison Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2000.

3 B. Eckel. Thinking in C++—Volume 1: Introduction to Standard C++.

Prentice Hall, 2nd edition, 2000.
4 B. Eckel and C. Allison. Thinking in C++—Volume 2: Practical
Programming.
Prentice Hall, 1st edition, 2003.
5 B. Stroustrup. Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++.
Addison Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2009.
An introduction to programming using C++ by the creator of the language.

6 A. Alexandrescu. Modern C++ Design.

Addison Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2001.

7 D. Abrahams and A. Gurtovoy. C++ Template Metaprogramming:

Concepts, Tools, and Techniques from Boost and Beyond.
Addison Wesley, Boston, MA, USA, 2004.

8 D. D. Gennaro. Advanced C++ Metaprogramming.

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011.

9 Boost web site. http://www.boost.org, 2014.

The web site for the Boost C++ libraries.

10 B. Karlsson. Beyond the C++ Standard Library: An Introduction to Boost.

Addison Wesley, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2005.
An introduction to (some parts of) the Boost library.

11 B. Schaling. The Boost C++ Libraries.

XML Press, 2nd edition, 2014.
An introduction to the Boost library. Online version at http://
theboostcpplibraries.com.

12 M. Kilpelainen. Overload resolution — selecting the function.

Overload, 66:22–25, Apr. 2005.
Available online at http://accu.org/index.php/journals/268.

1 Herb Sutter’s Web Site: http://herbsutter.com

2 Herb Sutter’s Guru of the Week: http://www.gotw.ca/gotw/
3 Bjarne Stroustrup’s Web Site: http://www.stroustrup.com
4 ISO C++ Working Group web site: http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/
sc22/wg21/
5 ISO C++ Standards Committee GitHub site: https://github.com/
cplusplus
6 C++ FAQ: http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq/
7 Newsgroup comp.lang.c++.moderated: https://groups.google.com/
forum/#!forum/comp.lang.c++.moderated
8 http://en.cppreference.com
9 http://www.cplusplus.com
10 Stackoverflow: http://stackoverflow.com

11 Cpp Reddit (C++ discussions, articles, and news): https://www.

reddit.com/r/cpp
12 Cplusplus Reddit (C++ questions, answers, and discussion): https://
www.reddit.com/r/cplusplus
13 ACCU Overload Journal: http://accu.org/index.php/journals/
c78/
14 The C++ Source: http://www.artima.com/cppsource

1 Scott Schurr. constexpr: Introduction, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept

19–25, 2015. Available online at https://youtu.be/fZjYCQ8dzTc.
2 Scott Schurr. constexpr: Applications, CppCon, Bellevue, WA, USA, Sept
19–25, 2015. Available online at https://youtu.be/qO-9yiAOQqc.

1 Google Code Jam

https://code.google.com/codejam/
2 Topcoder
https://www.topcoder.com/
3 IEEEXtreme 24-Hour Programming Competition
http://www.ieee.org/xtreme
4 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC)
http://icpcnews.com/
5 CodeChef
https://www.codechef.com/

Use as many information resources as you can to learn as much as you

can about C++.
Read books, articles, and other documents.
Watch videos.
Attend lectures and seminars.
Participate in programming competitions.
But most importantly:

Write code!
Write lots and lots and lots of code!
The only way to truly learn a programming language well is to use it
heavily (i.e., write lots of code using the language).

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