i know how to learn a language : just write enough codes and read more codes. But about the generic programming in c++ seems difficult to learn because there are so many language details to pay attention . And i donot know how to practice the gp what i've learned . i think i should get some thoughts about the gp but not only learn these ****ing details . You see, it's dull and easy to forget . :P. So , can you share your experience about the generic programming with me ? I just want to be an expert of the c++ but not a common user :D. Thanks in advance .

You can't become an expert by writing code. Proficient, well versed perhaps, but not an expert, not without studying the foundation and the concepts.

Generic programming, like object oriented programming, is a concept, not code. As such, it contains very little details. There are obviously implementation details, specifications and standards, such as those covering the behaviour iterators and containers, but those are no different from other comparable classes in other languages.

But the important thing here is that most of these details make sure that users of the classes can use them intuitively.

Generic programming as offered by STL for example, also relies heavily on algorithms and their application. It allows you to completely forget the code and and the details. No more memory management, alignements, ownership issues, and all those pesky annoying details. Instead, the focus shifts to working with conceptual classes. If your typical idea of plain C++ is using for loop to iterate int array, the GP equivalent is traversing a collection with a functor. And that makes a whole world of difference at a higher level.

But keep in mind, generic programming is not API. There is not a set of predefined functions you could memorize and consider it done.

Here's the "bible" on generic programming: Modern C++ Design, by Andrei Alexandrescu. It is really an eyes-opening book on what you can do with templates.

After that, it is a matter of actually forcing yourself, when you program, to look for the cases where some more generic programming would be useful. Look for bits of code that look similar, and try to factor them. When writing a data structure, think how you could abstract the fundamental types.

Write a lot of code, and use a lot of code: by using STL and Boost as much as possible, you will get a feeling on when generic programming is useful, and how it should be written.

thanks for your quick reply . Is <Moden C++ Design> difficult to understand ? And how about <C++ template> ? I have read these chapters before chapter8 . But after chapter 8 it seems these things are all language details ! I donot think learning these details is good . Because if i donot use these things in practice i 'll forget them you know .
I really think i should get some generic programming 's thoughts .--it's about the generic programming feelings .

Quote:Original post by kevinlynx
Is <Moden C++ Design> difficult to understand ?

Not if you know some basic C++ (including templates, inheritance and classes).

Quote:And how about <C++ template> ? I have read these chapters before chapter8 . But after chapter 8 it seems these things are all language details ! I donot think learning these details is good . Because if i donot use these things in practice i 'll forget them you know .

Templates is a very important part of C++ and one of the main reasons C++ is better than C (not that templates would be terribly useful in C without proper UDTs). AFAIK templates is the only way to get type-safe parametric polymorphism in C++, so it's very important (and some languages implement a similar feature called generics).

Concepts like paramtric polymorphism, metaprogramming, specialization, etc. are not just language details.

Quote:I really think i should get some generic programming 's thoughts .--it's about the generic programming feelings .

If you intend to do generic programming in modern C++ then you'll have to learn templates.