C++ Template Metaprogramming: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques from Boost and Beyond

C++ Template Metaprogramming: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques from Boost and Beyond

Chapter 1. Introduction
 Section 1.1. Getting Started
 Section 1.2. So What's a Metaprogram?
 Section 1.3. Metaprogramming in the Host Language
 Section 1.4. Metaprogramming in C++
 Section 1.5. Why Metaprogramming?
 Section 1.6. When Metaprogramming?
 Section 1.7. Why a Metaprogramming Library?

Chapter 2. Traits and Type Manipulation
 Section 2.1. Type Associations
 Section 2.2. Metafunctions
 Section 2.3. Numerical Metafunctions
 Section 2.4. Making Choices at Compile Time
 Section 2.5. A Brief Tour of the Boost Type Traits Library
 Section 2.6. Nullary Metafunctions
 Section 2.7. Metafunction Definition
 Section 2.8. History
 Section 2.9. Details
 Section 2.10. Exercises

Chapter 3. A Deeper Look at Metafunctions
 Section 3.1. Dimensional Analysis
 Section 3.2. Higher-Order Metafunctions
 Section 3.3. Handling Placeholders
 Section 3.4. More Lambda Capabilities
 Section 3.5. Lambda Details
 Section 3.6. Details
 Section 3.7. Exercises

Chapter 4. Integral Type Wrappers and Operations
 Section 4.1. Boolean Wrappers and Operations
 Section 4.2. Integer Wrappers and Operations
 Section 4.3. Exercises

Chapter 5. Sequences and Iterators
 Section 5.1. Concepts
 Section 5.2. Sequences and Algorithms
 Section 5.3. Iterators
 Section 5.4. Iterator Concepts
 Section 5.5. Sequence Concepts
 Section 5.6. Sequence Equality
 Section 5.7. Intrinsic Sequence Operations
 Section 5.8. Sequence Classes
 Section 5.9. Integral Sequence Wrappers
 Section 5.10. Sequence Derivation
 Section 5.11. Writing Your Own Sequence
 Section 5.12. Details
 Section 5.13. Exercises

Chapter 6. Algorithms
 Section 6.1. Algorithms, Idioms, Reuse, and Abstraction
 Section 6.2. Algorithms in the MPL
 Section 6.3. Inserters
 Section 6.4. Fundamental Sequence Algorithms
 Section 6.5. Querying Algorithms
 Section 6.6. Sequence Building Algorithms
 Section 6.7. Writing Your Own Algorithms
 Section 6.8. Details
 Section 6.9. Exercises

Chapter 7. Views and Iterator Adaptors
 Section 7.1. A Few Examples
 Section 7.2. View Concept
 Section 7.3. Iterator Adaptors
 Section 7.4. Writing Your Own View
 Section 7.5. History
 Section 7.6. Exercises

Chapter 8. Diagnostics
 Section 8.1. Debugging the Error Novel
 Section 8.2. Using Tools for Diagnostic Analysis
 Section 8.3. Intentional Diagnostic Generation
 Section 8.4. History
 Section 8.5. Details
 Section 8.6. Exercises

Chapter 9. Crossing the Compile-Time/Runtime Boundary
 Section 9.1. for_each
 Section 9.2. Implementation Selection
 Section 9.3. Object Generators
 Section 9.4. Structure Selection
 Section 9.5. Class Composition
 Section 9.6. (Member) Function Pointers as Template Arguments
 Section 9.7. Type Erasure
 Section 9.8. The Curiously Recurring Template Pattern
 Section 9.9. Explicitly Managing the Overload Set
 Section 9.10. The "sizeof Trick"
 Section 9.11. Summary
 Section 9.12. Exercises

Chapter 10. Domain-Specific Embedded Languages
 Section 10.1. A Little Language ...
 Section 10.2. ... Goes a Long Way
 Section 10.3. DSLs, Inside Out
 Section 10.4. C++ as the Host Language
 Section 10.5. Blitz++ and Expression Templates
 Section 10.6. General-Purpose DSELs
 Section 10.7. The Boost Spirit Library
 Section 10.8. Summary
 Section 10.9. Exercises

Chapter 11. A DSEL Design Walkthrough
 Section 11.1. Finite State Machines
 Section 11.2. Framework Design Goals
 Section 11.3. Framework Interface Basics
 Section 11.4. Choosing a DSL
 Section 11.5. Implementation
 Section 11.6. Analysis
 Section 11.7. Language Directions
 Section 11.8. Exercises

Appendix A. An Introduction to Preprocessor Metaprogramming
 Section A.1. Motivation
 Section A.2. Fundamental Abstractions of the Preprocessor
 Section A.3. Preprocessor Library Structure
 Section A.4. Preprocessor Library Abstractions
 Section A.5. Exercise

Appendix B. The typename and template Keywords
 Section B.1. The Issue
 Section B.2. The Rules

Appendix C. Compile-Time Performance
 Section C.1. The Computational Model
 Section C.2. Managing Compilation Time
 Section C.3. The Tests

Appendix D. MPL Portability Summary

A metaprogram is a program that generates or manipulates program code. Ever since generic programming was introduced to C++, programmers have discovered myriad "template tricks" for manipulating programs as they are compiled, effectively eliminating the barrier between program and metaprogram. While excitement among C++ experts about these capabilities has reached the community at large, their practical application remains out of reach for most programmers. This book explains what metaprogramming is and how it is best used. It provides the foundation you'll need to use the template metaprogramming effectively in your own work.

This book is aimed at any programmer who is comfortable with idioms of the Standard Template Library (STL). C++ power-users will gain a new insight into their existing work and a new fluency in the domain of metaprogramming. Intermediate-level programmers who have learned a few advanced template techniques will see where these tricks fit in the big picture and will gain the conceptual foundation to use them with discipline. Programmers who have caught the scent of metaprogramming, but for whom it is still mysterious, will finally gain a clear understanding of how, when, and why it works. All readers will leave with a new tool of unprecedented power at their disposal-the Boost Metaprogramming Library.

The companion CD-ROM contains all Boost C++ libraries, including the Boost Metaprogramming Library and its reference documentation, along with all of the book's sample code and extensive supplementary material.