Navigating C++ and Object-Oriented Design

Appendix B. Standard Template Library

The Standard Template Library (STL) is a group of generic container classes that store, access, and manipulate objects. STL assumes value semantics (that is, it stores objects directly, not pointers to objects). STL also provides iterators to access objects in containers and generic algorithms that manipulate container elements. This appendix is an overview of STL and its three main components: containers, iterators, and algorithms.

Our approach here is to present STL components with tables that will help you use STL in your applications. To demonstrate STL, we'll adapt programs from previous chapters to use STL components instead of our “homegrown” containers. STL is a big subject and more than we can cover ...