Learn Modern C++ at Meeting C++ 2024!

By Meeting C++ | Oct 9, 2024 10:59 AM | Tags: meetingcpp learning event community c++26 c++23 c++20

A post highlighting some of the talks that let you learn about Modern C++ at Meeting C++ 2024

Learn Modern C++ at Meeting C++ 2024

by Jens Weller

From the article:

I think this is what should you get excited the most, C++20 is making its way through the compiler implementations and you actually can apply this to your own code base. The top voted talk this year reflects this, in C++ Modules - getting started today Andreas Weis will show you how Modules are now available with the big 3 compilers.

...

Trainings at Meeting C++

After Meeting C++ 2024 there is a trainings week in the last week of November, you an choose between trainings from Kevlin Henney, Slobodan Dimtrovic and Nicolai Josuttis:

    Programming with Guts by Kevlin Henney
    C++ for C Developers - Migrating from C to C++ by Slobodan Dimtrovic
    Generic programming in C++ with templates and auto by Nico Josuttis
    Concepts, Ranges, and Views - The New Way of Programming in C++ by Nico Josuttis

Constructing Nodes of a Hand-made Linked List, How Hard Can it Be? -- Raymond Chen

By Blog Staff | Oct 8, 2024 12:37 PM | Tags: None

When designing a circular doubly-linked list, the initial challenge is determining how to manage the construction of new nodes in relation to existing ones. While constructors seem like a natural fit for placing nodes before or after a given node, overloading them can lead to ambiguity and poor design choices. Instead, using distinct tag types or factory methods provides clearer intent, ensuring flexibility while respecting the constraints of guaranteed copy elision for node addresses.

Constructing Nodes of a Hand-made Linked List, How Hard Can it Be?

by Raymond Chen

From the article:

Suppose you are writing your own circular doubly-linked list structure.

struct node
{
    node* prev;
    node* next;
};

A natural choice for the default constructor is to make the node the sole element of a circular doubly-linked list.

struct node
{
    node* prev = this;
    node* next = this;
};

What if you also want to add a node after an existing node? Well, we could add a constructor for that.

struct node
{
    node* prev = this;
    node* next = this;

    node() = default;

    // Construct a node after a specific node
    node(node* other) : 
     prev(other), 
     next(other->next) 
    { 
     prev->next = this; 
     next->prev = this; 
    } 
};

(Note that the “construct after another node” constructor takes the other node by pointer, rather than by reference, so that it won’t be mistaken for a copy constructor.)

But maybe you also want to have a “before” constructor that inserts the new node before an existing node...

What's So Hard About Class Types as Non-type Template Parameters? -- Barry Revzin

By Blog Staff | Oct 3, 2024 12:16 PM | Tags: None

Previously, I tried to answer the question: what’s so hard about constexpr allocation?. Today, we continue what will become a series of posts about attempting to explain the issues behind a bunch of hard problems we’re trying to solve. The next problem: class types as non-type template parameters.

What's So Hard About Class Types as Non-type Template Parameters?

by Barry Revzin

From the article:

Before C++20, the only types you could use as non-type template parameters were scalar types (like int and enums, but not floating point), pointers (including pointers-to-members), and references. Notably, not class types.

Floating point types were also added in C++20.

The hard question about handling class types is: how do you determine template argument equivalence? Class types can define their own equality. But you don’t really want to rely on that, since now matching specializations becomes a quadratic problem — you can’t really do much when determining the instantiation for some template f<x> other than looping through every other value vi to see if x == vi.

The other problem is we need == to really be strong enough. One very easy problem to run into in this space is violating the One Definition Rule (ODR). One essential, core requirement for templates is that instantiating the same template with the same arguments has to yield the same code.

Highlighting the student and support tickets for Meeting C++ 2024

By Meeting C++ | Oct 1, 2024 03:38 AM | Tags: meetingcpp community

Meeting C++ offers free online and onsite tickets through their student and support programs. This is supported through the ticket sales for Meeting C++ 2024.

Highlighting the student and support tickets for Meeting C++ 2024

by Jens Weller

From the article:

Like every year, I'd like to point towards the programs for those that can't afford to pay for a ticket for Meeting C++ 2024.

And let me start with thanking those that enable these programs through their ticket buying: the attendees and sponsors of Meeting C++ 2024! With the schedule published, I'd like to highlight the student and support tickets for Meeting C++ 2024. For a few years now Meeting C++ has hosted programs to give students, underrepresented folks and those who can't afford a ticket access to the conference.

This year for the first time you can choose to register either for onsite or online for these programs. A limited amount of tickets for Berlin will be available, depending on the ticket sale in October. So incase you registered for onsite but are not chosen for a ticket, then you'll have a chance to an online ticket...

Trip report: C++ On Sea 2024 -- Sandor Dargo

By Blog Staff | Sep 30, 2024 03:10 PM | Tags: None

C++ On Sea took place in Folkestone again in February this year. Sandor Dargo shares an overview of his favourite talks and some emergent ideas.

Trip report: C++ On Sea 2024

by Sandor Dargo

From the article:

Last week, between the 3rd and 5th of July, I had the privilege of attending and presenting at C++ on Sea 2024 [CPPoS-1] for the 5th time in a row! I’m grateful that the organizers accepted me not simply as a speaker, but that they granted me a double slot to deliver a half-day workshop about how to reduce the size of a binary. I’m also thankful for my management that they gave me the time to go to Folkestone and share our knowledge on binary size. Last but not least, great thanks goes to my wife, who took care of the kids alone that week.

Let me share with you a few thoughts about the conference.

First, I’m going to write about the 3 talks that I liked the most during the 3 days, then I’m going to share 3 interesting ideas I heard about and then I’m going to share some personal impressions about the conference.

IoT Development with POCO C++ libraries and macchinaio

By Meeting C++ | Sep 28, 2024 06:44 AM | Tags: poco meetingcpp iot embedded community

Recently Günter Obiltschnig from the POCO Project gave a talk about IoT Development with POCO C++ libraries and macchinaio at a by macchina.io sponsored Meetup of Meeting C++ online.

IoT Development with POCO C++ libraries and macchinaio

by Günter Obiltschnig

Chapter Videos:

POCO C++ Libraries overview

Macchina.io overview

Projects using POCO C++ Libaries and macchina.io in the real world

Q&A with Günter Obiltschnig after the talk

In an Atomic World -- Lucian Radu Teodorescu

By Blog Staff | Sep 26, 2024 03:06 PM | Tags: None

Atomics form a relatively low level, but fundamental part of sharing data across threads. Lucian Radu Teodorescu reminds us what atomics are and how and when to use them.

In an Atomic World

by Lucian Radu Teodorescu

From the article:

We often discuss mutexes as the basic building blocks of concurrency. However, there are more fundamental concepts upon which concurrent programs and synchronization primitives are constructed. The C++ language defines a memory model, which describes how programs behave when multiple threads are involved. Additionally, C++ introduces atomic operations that serve as foundation for working with data across threads, ensuring both safety and performance. The goal of C++ atomics is to closely align with the hardware and eliminate the need for lower-level operations that must work across threads.

The topic of atomics is often overlooked, and the prevailing advice is to avoid them. While this advice is generally sound, there are occasions when we need to use atomics to fully leverage the language’s capabilities. This article aims to give atomics the attention they deserve, as they have yet to be featured in an Overload article.

The subject of atomics is extensive. For a comprehensive exploration, readers are encouraged to consult books by Anthony Williams [Williams19] and Mara Bos [Bos23]. While the Bos book primarily focuses on Rust, there is still much to be learned about atomics for C++ programmers. The reader can also consider cppreference.com for a quick reference to the atomics library [cppreference-1] In this article, we will examine various memory ordering models and illustrate their usage through simplified practical examples.

2024-09 Mailing Available

By Administrator | Sep 25, 2024 09:33 PM | Tags: None

The 2024-09 mailing of new standards papers is now available.

Meeting C++ 2024: the online track is complete

By Meeting C++ | Sep 25, 2024 05:35 AM | Tags: meetingcpp events conference community

The last part of the program for Meeting C++ 2024 is now ready: the online track.

The online track for Meeting C++ 2024 is complete!

by Jens Weller

From the article:

With this the program for Meeting C++ 2024 is now complete! The online track features 11 talks and will be prerecorded publically in October.

The talks of the online track are:

• An Introduction to Vulkan and C++ by Michael Shah
• From C to Modern C++: Transforming the classroom and beyond by Gabriel Valenzuela
• Writing VSCode extensions for fun an profit by Nikolaj Fogh
• Python's asyncio in C++ for Terminal Graphics by Fernando Iglesias
• Mimicking SQL: API Design Choices by Jonathan O'Connor
• What is a static function, but isn't a static function? by Miloš Anđelković
• Customising clang-tidy to modernise your legacy C++ code by Mike Crowe
• Parallel Algorithms, Ranges and oneDPL by Abhilash Majumder
• An overview on the C++26 highlights by Rainer Grimm
• Starting a modern C++ Project with CMake in 2024 by Jens Weller
• A tour through the Meeting C++ community survey by Jens Weller

Temporarily Dropping a Lock: The Anti-lock Pattern -- Raymond Chen

By Blog Staff | Sep 24, 2024 02:43 PM | Tags: None

In C++, it's common to use RAII types like std::lock_guard to manage synchronization primitives, ensuring a lock is acquired at object creation and released at destruction. However, a less common but useful pattern is the "anti-lock," which temporarily releases a lock and reacquires it later, useful in scenarios where you need to drop a lock while performing certain operations, like calling out to other components to avoid deadlocks.

Temporarily Dropping a Lock: The Anti-lock Pattern

by Raymond Chen

From the article:

There is a common pattern in C++ of using an RAII type to manage a synchronization primitive. There are different versions of this, but they all have the same basic pattern:

• Creating the object from a synchronization object: Locks the synchronization object.
• Destructing the object: Unlocks the synchronization object.

These types go by various names, like std::lock_guard, std::unique_lock, or std::coped_lock, and specific libraries may have versions for their own types, such as C++/WinRT’s winrt::slim_lock_guard and WIL’s wil::rwlock_release_exclusive_scope_exit (which you thankfully never actually write out; just use auto).

One thing that is missing from most standard libraries, however, is the anti-lock.

The idea of the anti-lock is that it counteracts an active lock.