C++ Primer Plus, Fourth Edition

Function Templates

Contemporary C++ compilers implement one of the newer C++ additions, function templates. Function templates are a generic function description; that is, they define a function in terms of a generic type for which a specific type, such as int or double, can be substituted. By passing a type as a parameter to a template, you cause the compiler to generate a function for that particular type. Because templates let you program in terms of a generic type instead of a specific type, the process is sometimes termed generic programming. Because types are represented by parameters, the template feature is sometimes referred to as parameterized types. Let's see why such a feature is useful and how it works.

Earlier we defined a function ...