11.1. Generics and Templates

11.1. Generics and Templates
	Chapter 11. Generics and Containers

[ fromfile: templates.xml id: templates ]

C++ supports four distinct categories of types:
- Primitives: int, char, float, double, etc
- Pointers
- Instances of class/struct
- Arrays
There is no common base type for these four distinct type categories.
Templates provide a means for the C++ compiler to generate different versions of classes and functions with parameterized types and common behavior.
They are distinguished by the use of the keyword template, and a template parameter enclosed in angle brackets <>.

A template parameter differs from a function parameter in that it can be used to pass not only variables and values, but also type expressions.

template <class T > class String { ... };
template <class T, int max > Buffer { ...
    T v[max];
};
String <char> s1;
Buffer <int, 10> intBuf10;


Chapter 11. Generics and Containers		11.1.1. Function Templates