C++ FAQ / Section 4 / FAQ 4.41

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Revised Jul 4, 2012

[4.41] What updates were made for the 04/01 release?

Global changes:

• Updated the opening page so it lists both the chain of recent changes as well as the table of recent changes. This improvement is thanks to a suggestion by John Kewley.
• Moved the main FAQ site to www.parashift.com/c++-faq/. (This was unfortunately necessary due to a business issue involving AT&T and the previous web hosting company, Cerf-Net.)

11 New FAQs:

• [2.14] Where can I find the C++ FAQ translated into Russian?
  (created thanks to Yaroslav Mironov)
• [4.41] What updates were made for the 04/01 release?
  (created)
• [8.4] What does object.method1().method2() mean?
  (created thanks to Robert Cullen)
• [8.8] What is a handle to an object? Is it a pointer? Is it a reference? Is it a pointer-to-a-pointer? What is it?
  (created)
• [10.20] What is the "Named Parameter Idiom"?
  (created)
• [16.19] What's another way to build a Matrix template?
  (created thanks to an idea from Jesper Rasmussen)
• [16.25] Can I absolutely prevent people from subverting the reference counting mechanism, and if so, should I?
  (created)
• [23.1] Is it okay for a non-virtual function of the base class to call a virtual function?
  (created)
• [23.2] That last FAQ confuses me. Is it a different strategy from the other ways to use virtual functions? What's going on?
  (created)
• [28.7] What are some best-of-breed C++ programming-by-example guides?
  (created)
• [35.4] How do I explicitly select which version of a function template should get called?
  (created with help from Perry Rapp)

27 Changed FAQs:

• [5.2] How do I get other people to do my homework problem for me?
  (added stuff about the evils of asking others to do your homework for you via email)
• [6.13] Where can I get a copy of the ANSI/ISO C++ standard?
  (total rewrite; changed several URLs thanks to Brian K. Hamon and Garen Parham)
• [9.3] Do inline functions improve performance?
  (explained "code bloat" and also added lots of if's, and's and but's)
• [10.6] Should my constructors use "initialization lists" or "assignment"?
  (rewrote)
• [10.7] Should you use the this pointer in the constructor?
  (rewrote because of a suggestion from Perry Rapp)
• [10.11] Why can't I initialize my static member data in my constructor's initialization list?
  (added a "," in the initialization list thanks to Yaroslav Mironov)
• [14.2] Do friends violate encapsulation?
  (made a bit more emphatic)
• [14.4] What does it mean that "friendship isn't inherited, transitive, or reciprocal"?
  (added the "not reciprocal" item thanks to Karel Roose)
• [15.9] But shouldn't I always use a printOn() method rather than a friend function?
  (fixed a bug thanks to Richard Hector)
• [16.17] But the previous FAQ's code is SOOOO tricky and error prone! Isn't there a simpler way?
  (fixed the Star Trek movie number thanks to Chris Sheppard, wordsmithed last paragraph at the suggestion of Perry Rapp)
• [16.22] How do I do simple reference counting?
  (moved definition of Fred::create() methods below the definition of class FredPtr)
• [16.27] What are the two kinds of garbage collectors for C++?
  (added a URL for Bartlett's collector thanks to Abhishek)
• [17.8] How can I handle a constructor that fails?
  (fixed typo ("its" vs. "it's") thanks to Wes Bemont)
• [24.2] How are "private inheritance" and "composition" similar?
  (changed the syntax to using Engine::start; and added the sixth distinction thanks to Stan Brown; added the third similarity; added "aggregation" as another synonym; wordsmithed various parts)
• [27.1] What are some good C++ coding standards?
  (fixed typo changing "where" to "were" thanks to Robert Marshall)
• [27.12] Which is better: identifier names that_look_like_this or identifier names thatLookLikeThis?
  (clarified the last paragraph)
• [27.13] Are there any other sources of coding standards?
  (added a new URL thanks to Christopher Lott; added www.arcticlabs.com/codingstandards/ thanks to Richard)
• [28.4] Should I buy one book, or several?
  (rewrote; added the "programming by example" category)
• [31.2] What is "virtual data," and how-can / why-would I use it in C++?
  (fixed the sentence just before Pros & Cons list (changed StretchableArray to StretchableStack) thanks to Harri Klapuri)
• [32.2] How can I include a standard C header file in my C++ code?
  (added the whole section on "compiling C code with a C++ compiler," with inspiration thanks to Sebastian Kapfer)
• [33.7] How do I create and use an array of pointer-to-member-function?
  (removed the array size from the declaration of array a, that way there's one less thing to change if someone ever adds another function-pointer to the array thanks to Serge Ansay)
• [34.1] Why should I use container classes rather than simple arrays?
  (clarified "local" vs. "non-static local" thanks to Garen Parham)
• [38.1] Where can I download a free C++ compiler?
  (changed to a different site since the old URL was dead thanks to Victor R. Volkman)
• [38.5] Where can I get information about the C++ compiler from {Borland, IBM, Microsoft, Sun, etc.}?
  (fixed "Semantic" to "Symantec" and "Gary Comeau" to "Greg Comeau" thanks to Scott Tringali; fixed the URL to SGI's compiler thanks to Toon Knapen)
• [38.11] Is there a yacc-able C++ grammar?
  (rewrote; added a new grammar/lexer plus a new URL for the old grammar/lexer thanks to Ed Willink)
• [40.2] Is there a TeX or LaTeX macro that fixes the spacing on "C++"?
  (added a new LaTeX macro thanks to Bob Kline; rewrote)
• [40.3] Are there any pretty-printers that reformat C++ source code?
  (fixed the URL for Artistic Style thanks to Claus Dahl; added A2PS thanks to Clark Dorman)