C++ language
This is a brief reference of available C++ language constructs.
Contents |
[edit] General topics
[edit] Preprocessor
[edit] Comments
[edit] Keywords
[edit] ASCII chart
[edit] Escape sequences
[edit] History of C++
[edit] Flow control
[edit] Conditional execution statements
Conditional statements execute different code paths according to the value of given expression.
[edit] Iteration statements
Iteration statements execute a code path multiple times.
- for executes loops by specifying initialization, comparison, and increment
- range-for executes loops over a range (since C++11)
- while executes loop, checking condition before each iteration
- do-while executes loop, checking condition after each iteration
[edit] Jump statements
Jump statements continue program execution at a different location.
- continue skips the remaining part of the enclosing loop body
- break terminates the enclosing loop
- goto continues execution in another location
- return terminates execution of the enclosing function
[edit] Functions
The same code can be reused at different locations in the program.
- function declarations declare functions
- lambda function declarations declare lambda functions (since C++11)
- function templates declare function templates
- inline specifier hints that the compiler insert a function's body directly into the calling code
- exception specifications declare that a function throws only specific exceptions (deprecated)
- noexcept specifier declares whether or not a function throws any exceptions (since C++11)
[edit] Exceptions
Exceptions are a more robust way to signal error condition than function return codes or global error variables.
- throw expressions signal errors and transfer control to error handlers
- try-catch blocks catch exceptions originating from specific blocks of code
- noexcept specifier and noexcept operator define and test if expressions throw exceptions (since C++11)
[edit] Namespaces
Namespaces provide a way to prevent name clashes in large projects.
- namespace declarations declare namespaces
- namespace aliases declare alternate names for existing namespaces
[edit] Types
- fundamental types define basic character, integer and floating point types
- pointer types define types holding a memory location
- compound types define types that hold several data members (essentially the same as class)
- enumeration types define types that are able to hold only one of the specified values
- union types define types that can hold data in several representations
- function types define function call signatures, that is the types of arguments and the return type
- decltype specifier defines a type equivalent to the type of an expression (since C++11)
[edit] Specifiers
- cv specifiers specify constness and volatility of types
- storage duration specifiers specify storage duration of types
- constexpr specifier specifies that the value of a variable or function can be computed at compile time (since C++11)
- auto specifier specifies that the actual type shall be defined from the expression, assigned to the variable (since C++11)
- alignas specifier specifies that the storage for the variable should be aligned by specific amount (since C++11)
[edit] Literals
Literals are the tokens of a C++ program that represent constant values, embedded in the source code.
- integer literals are decimal, octal, or hexadecimal numbers of integer type.
- character literals are individual characters of type char, char16_t, char32_t, or wchar_t
- floating-point literals are values of type float, double, or long double
- string literals are sequences of characters, which may be narrow, multibyte, or wide
- boolean literals are values of type bool, that is true and false
- nullptr is the pointer literal which specifies a null pointer value (since C++11)
- user-defined literals are constant values of user-specified type (since C++11)
[edit] Expressions
An expression is a sequence of operators and operands that specifies a computation. An expression can result in a value and can cause side effects.
- value categories (lvalue, rvalue, glvalue, prvalue, xvalue) classify expressions by their values
- order of evaluation of arguments and subexpressions specify the order in which intermediate results are obtained
- operators allow the use of syntax commonly found in mathematics
Common operators | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
assignment | increment decrement |
arithmetic | logical | comparison | member access |
other |
a = b |
++a |
+a |
!a |
a == b |
a[b] |
a(...) |
Special operators | ||||||
static_cast converts one type to another compatible type |
- operator precedence defines the order in which operators are bound to their arguments
- alternative representations are alternative spellings for some operators
[edit] Utilities
- Types
- typedef declarations create synonyms for types
- type alias declarations create synonyms for types
- attributes define additional information about variables (since C++11)
- Casts
- standard conversions implicit conversions from one type to another
- const_cast conversion
- static_cast conversion
- dynamic_cast conversion
- reinterpret_cast conversion
- explicit cast conversion using C-style cast notation and functional notation
- Memory allocation
- new expression allocates memory dynamically
- delete expression deallocates memory dynamically
[edit] Classes
Classes provide the concept of object-oriented programming in C++.
- class declarations declare classes
- this pointer links to the current instance of a class in member methods
- access specifiers determine visibility of class members
- friend specifier grants access privileges to private/protected parts for non-member classes or functions
- initializer lists initialize class member data
[edit] Class-specific function properties
- virtual function specifier declares that a function is virtual
- override specifier declares that a virtual function overrides another virtual function.(since C++11)
- final specifier declares that a virtual function can not be overridden in a inheriting class.(since C++11)
- explicit function specifier declares that a constructor or conversion operator can not be used in implicit conversions (since C++11)
- static function specifier declares that a function does not use class data
- cv function specifier declares that a member function can only be used on cv qualified objects
[edit] Special member functions
- default constructor initializes the object with default contents
- copy constructor initializes the object with the contents of another object
- move constructor initializes the object with the contents of other, temporary object, minimizing copying overhead (since C++11)
- assignment operator replaces the contents of the object with the contents of another object
- move assignment operator replaces the contents of the object with the contents of other, temporary object, minimizing copying overhead (since C++11)
- destructor releases claimed resources
[edit] Templates
Allows functions and classes to operate on generic types
- class template declaration declares a class template
- function template declaration declares a function template
- template specialization defines an existing template for a specific type
- parameter packs allows the use of lists of types in templates (since C++11)
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Inline assembly allows the use of assembly code alongside C++ code