C++ Book


Summary

In this chapter, you should have learned the following concepts:

  • The Standard Template Library (STL) is a powerful collection of programming code that provides containers, algorithms, and iterators.
  • Containers are objects that let you store and access collections of values of the same type.
  • Algorithms defined in the STL can be used with its containers and provide common functions for working with groups of objects.
  • Iterators are objects that identify elements in containers and can be manipulated to move among elements.
  • Iterators are the key to using containers to their fullest. Many of the container member functions require iterators, and the STL algorithms require them too.
  • To get the value referenced by an iterator, you must dereference the iterator using the dereference operator (*).
  • A vector is one kind of sequential container provided by the STL. It acts like a dynamic array.
  • It’s very efficient to iterate through a vector. It’s also very efficient to insert or remove an element from the end of a vector.
  • It can be inefficient to insert or delete elements from the middle of a vector, especially if the vector is large.
  • Pseudocode, which falls somewhere between English and a programming language, is used to plan programs.
  • Stepwise refinement is a process used to rewrite pseudocode to make it ready for implementation.