C++ Quirks, Oddities, and Incidentals
Marc Gregoire · 2018
This chapter explains some of the aspects of C++ that generate confusion. By reading the chapter, a programmer can learn a plethora of syntax details about C++. Some of the information, such as the details of references, const, scope resolution, the specifics of the C++-style casts, and the techniques for header files, he/she should use often in his/her programs. Other information, such as the uses of static and extern, how to write C-style variable-length argument lists, and how to write preprocessor macros, is important to understand, but not information that he/she should put into use in the programs on a day-to-day basis. Many parts of the C++ language have tricky syntax or quirky semantics. As a C++ programmer, he/she grow accustomed to most of this idiosyncratic behavior; it starts to feel natural. The chapter also provides clear explanations for some of C++'s most niggling quirks and oddities.