C++: Some Notes

I don't use C++ that often. Here are some notes kept as a remainder for my own.

• In many C++ books, like "C++ Programming Language", pointer are of the format "type* foo" instead of "type *foo" as in C.
• Initializing variables inside a class definition are only allowed for enumeration types or integral types, e.g. int, char, long, etc. For example, the following declaration is not allowed.
  

   class Foo
   {
     public:
       static char bar[10] = "abcdefghi";
   };
  

• When to use auto_ptr?

  Many resources are dynamically allocated on the heap, are used only within a single block or function, and should be released when control leaves that block or function.

  ...

  Because an auto_ptr automatically deletes what it points to when the auto_ptr is destroyed, it's important that there never be more than one auto_ptr pointing to an object.

• The only difference between struct and class is the default access level: public for formmer and private for latter.
• No object can be created for abstract classes.
• The declaration of struct, union, class, or enum adds the type to the type names.
• With direct initialization, an integer can be initialized as "int a(10);".
• In an assignment-like initializer, if the object is of class type, the value to the right of the equal sign is converted to a temporary object of desired type, and the first object is costructed by calling its copy constructor.

- Written on Sat Mar 14 04:25:48 2009.