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The Ultimate Question of Programming, Refactoring, and Everything

By Andrey Karpov | Apr 14, 2016 05:25 AM | Tags: refactoring intermediate c++11 bugs book basics advanced

Yes, you've guessed correctly - the answer is "42". In this article you will find 42 recommendations about coding in C++ that can help a programmer avoid a lot of errors, save time and effort.

The Ultimate Question of Programming, Refactoring, and Everything

by Andrey Karpov

From the article:

The scope of my interests − the C/C++ language and the promotion of code analysis methodology. I have been Microsoft MVP in Visual C++ for 5 years. The main aim of my articles and work in general - is to make the code of programs safer and more secure. I'll be really glad if these recommendations help you write better code, and avoid typical errors. Those who write code standards for companies may also find some helpful information here.

Overload 132 is now available

By Adrien Hamelin | Apr 12, 2016 01:59 PM | Tags: intermediate community

ACCU’s Overload journal of April 2016 is out. It contains the following C++ related articles.

Overload 132

From the journal:

The Tao of Scratch
Scratch is an environment designed to help young people learn to code. Patrick Martin walks us through it. by Patrick Martin

Knowledge-Sharing Architects As An Alternative to Coding Architects
Should architects write code? Sergy Ignatchenko explores this controversial subject. by Sergey Ignatchenko

QM Bites: Understand Windows OS Identification Preprocessor Macros
There’s confusion between user-defined and predefined Windows 32/64-bit operating-system identification macros. Matthew Wilson shines light on the issue. by Matthew Wilson

Why Collaboration is Key for QA Teams in an Agile World
Agile processes can have an impact on QA departments. Greg Law considers how they can adapt to survive and even thrive. by Greg Law

How to Diffuse Your Way Out of a Paper Bag
Diffusion models can be used in many areas. Frances Buontempo applies them to paper bag escapology. by Frances Buontempo

Stufftar
How do you quickly transfer data from one machine to another? Ian Bruntlett shows us the bash script he uses. by Ian Bruntlett

QM Bites: looping for-ever
Never-ending loop constructs can confound user and compiler in subtle ways. Matthew Wilson offers advice to maximise portability and transparency.

Using Enum Classes as Bitfields
Scope enums have many advantages over standard enums. Anthony Williams shows how to use them as bitmasks. by Anthony Williams

9.7 Things Every Programmer Really, Really Should Know
Most of us have heard of the twelve step program. Teedy Deigh introduces a 9.7 step plan for programmers.

Quick Q: Is Stephen Lavavej's Mallocator the same in C++11?

By Adrien Hamelin | Apr 12, 2016 11:41 AM | Tags: intermediate c++11

Quick A: No, it has changed.

Recently on SO:

Is Stephen Lavavej's Mallocator the same in C++11?

STL himself has an answer to this question in his STL Features and Implementation techniques talk at CppCon 2014 (Starting at 26'30).

The slides are on github.

I merged the content of slides 28 and 29 below:

#include <stdlib.h> // size_t, malloc, free
#include <new> // bad_alloc, bad_array_new_length
template <class T> struct Mallocator {
  typedef T value_type;
  Mallocator() noexcept { } // default ctor not required
  template <class U> Mallocator(const Mallocator<U>&) noexcept { }
  template <class U> bool operator==(
    const Mallocator<U>&) const noexcept { return true; }
  template <class U> bool operator!=(
    const Mallocator<U>&) const noexcept { return false; }

  T * allocate(const size_t n) const {
      if (n == 0) { return nullptr; }
      if (n > static_cast<size_t>(-1) / sizeof(T)) {
          throw std::bad_array_new_length();
      }
      void * const pv = malloc(n * sizeof(T));
      if (!pv) { throw std::bad_alloc(); }
      return static_cast<T *>(pv);
  }
  void deallocate(T * const p, size_t) const noexcept {
      free(p);
  }
};

Note that it handles correctly the possible overflow in allocate.

Quick Q:Is it possible in C++ to iterate over a std::map with unpacked key and value?

By Adrien Hamelin | Apr 8, 2016 01:05 PM | Tags: intermediate experimental

Quick A: An easy solution is not supported by the standard, it may come later.

Recently on SO:

Is it possible in C++ to do std::map<> “for element : container” iteration with named variables (eg, key and value) instead of .first and .second?

You could write a class template:

template <class K, class T>
struct MapElem {
    K const& key;
    T& value;

    MapElem(std::pair<K const, T>& pair)
        : key(pair.first)
        , value(pair.second)
    { }
};

with the advantage of being able to write key and value but with the disadvantage of having to specify the types:

for ( MapElem<int, std::string> kv : my_map ){
    std::cout << kv.key << " --> " << kv.value;
}

And that won't work if my_map were const either. You'd have to do something like:

template <class K, class T>
struct MapElem {
    K const& key;
    T& value;

    MapElem(std::pair<K const, T>& pair)
        : key(pair.first)
        , value(pair.second)
    { }

    MapElem(const std::pair<K const, std::remove_const_t<T>>& pair)
        : key(pair.first)
        , value(pair.second)
    { }
};

for ( MapElem<int, const std::string> kv : my_map ){
    std::cout << kv.key << " --> " << kv.value;
}

It's a mess. Best thing for now is to just get used to writing .first and .second and hope that the structured bindings proposal passes, which would allow for what you really want:

for (auto&& [key, value] : my_map) {
    std::cout << key << " --> " << value;
}

Safe Clearing of Private Data

By Andrey Karpov | Apr 6, 2016 05:27 AM | Tags: vulnerability security memset basics

We often need to store private data in programs, for example passwords, secret keys, and their derivatives, and we usually need to clear their traces in the memory after using them so that a potential intruder can't gain access to these data. In this article we will discuss why you can't clear private data using memset() function.

Safe Clearing of Private Data

by Roman Fomichev

From the article:

So, both gcc and clang decided to optimize our code. Since the memory is freed after calling the memset() function, the compilers treat this call as irrelevant and delete it.

Using C++ Coroutines to simplify async UWP code--Eric Mittelette

By Marco Arena | Apr 5, 2016 05:28 AM | Tags: visual studio intermediate experimental

The async pattern needed to write UWP apps (or simply "Universal apps") is not so easy to grasp, especially in C++. Eric from the Visual C++ team explains how the experimental Coroutines feature available in Visual Studio 2015 helps simplify async UWP code:

Using C++ Coroutines to simplify async UWP code

From the article:

C++ Coroutines can simplify your async code, and make the code easy to understand, write, and maintain...

STL Algorithms in Action -- Haitham Gad

By Mantosh Kumar | Mar 27, 2016 11:32 PM | Tags: intermediate

Use of STL Algorithm as building block to implement various high level algorithms.

STL Algorithms in Action

by Haitham Gad

From the article:

We saw variations of three common sorting algorithms implemented generically and compactly using STL algorithms. In general, STL algorithms are more applicable than they look. The key to utilizing them is to always ask whether the raw loop I’m about to write (or the one I’m reading) can be replaced by a packaged STL algorithm. You’d be surprised how many times this question can be answered affirmatively.