More Exceptional C++: 40 More Engineering Puzzles, Programming Problems, and Solutions (AW C++ in Depth) (Paperback)

The concise text covers a range of challenging topics in C++ without attempting to be comprehensive. Each "item" is presented as a question for you to try and solve by yourself before the author presents his solution, plus additional detail as needed. For most topics, Sutter ends by giving his advice on the best practices (and gotcha's to avoid).

Early sections concentrate on using Standard Template Library (STL) container classes, such as removing items effectively, and the subtle differences between container types. Standout sections on designing custom templates (using specialisation techniques) and designing exception-safe classes will help you do more with your own classes. One entertaining problem here shows a number-guessing game (Mastermind) built as efficiently as possible using STL code (including expert-level use of generic functions to do much of the work).

Several problems on copy-on-write (COW) semantics for more efficient classes point out the issues surrounding code optimisation. (The author argues against a simplistic approach to optimising code, including an over-reliance on inlining functions. Several times, he points out the difficulty of getting COW code to work in multi-threaded projects.)

There has been a debate in the C++ community for years on whether it's possible to design truly "exception-safe" classes. Sutter points out the difficulty with a precise analysis of the issues surrounding exceptions and C++ constructors. Material on the finer points of inheriting classes (including when to avoid and when to use multiple inheritance in C++) will extend your class design options. A good section here is the author's explication of how to simulate COM/Java style interfaces in C++, which isn't immediately obvious, even to experienced C++ developers.

Later sections delve into code-maintenance issues, including advice for using macros, typedefs and namespaces. (Advice on migrating existing C++ code into namespaces will help you combine legacy code with other libraries.) A final appendix shows off some benchmarks for optimising strings using a variety of techniques.

Intelligent, provocative and demanding, More Exceptional C++ shows off why C++ continues to be a rich, complex and challenging language. Armed with titles such as this one, experienced C++ programmers can write better code and avoid pitfalls buried in the outer edges of their favourite language. --Richard Dragan

More Exceptional C++ continues where Herb Sutter's best-selling Exceptional C++ left off, delivering 40 puzzles that illuminate the most challenging -- and most powerful -- aspects of C++. More Exceptional C++ offers many new puzzles focused on generic programming and the C++ Standard Template Library, including important techniques such as traits and predicates, as well as key considerations in using standard containers and algorithms -- many of them never covered elsewhere. More Exceptional C++ contains a detailed new section (and two appendices) on optimization in single- and multithreaded environments. It also provides important new insights on crucial topics first introduced in Exceptional C++, including exception safety, generic programming, and memory management. For all C++ programmers.