This article is intended to summarize the state of play in the upcoming C++26 Standard as regards reflection, which is where information (metadata) about the source code is made available for use at run-time, as opposed to only being available at compile-time. Proposal P2996 is the main (initial) paper for the implementation of reflection in C++, and has been voted into C++26 as of June 2025. An “experimental” branch of Clang (available on Compiler Explorer) currently implements a number of features from this paper (note that not all of the code in this article compiles at present, as syntax is in a state of flux).
Continue reading “Reflection in C++26 (P2996)”Tag: Modern C++
Move Semantics in Modern C++ (2)
Now that we’ve looked at how std::move() can be applied to Standard Library types, such as std::string, in this article we’re going to look at creating our own “move-aware” type. We want it to have at least one member for which moving is potentially cheaper than copying, and for this we’ll use a raw char* pointer. We also want to log all uses of the five special member functions (constructor, copy-constructor, move-constructor, copy-assignment, and move-assignment) in order to understand exactly what is happening.
Move Semantics in Modern C++ (1)
The title for this mini-series may seem to be ambitious for two reasons: move semantics have been available for a long time (since C++11 in fact, so not very “Modern”), and it is a large subject (there is a book by a well-regarded author devoted entirely to the topic). We’ll be introducing the subject slowly, starting with the core concepts and notation, before moving onto the interesting corner-cases. In this article we’ll begin by discussing the idea of a “movable” type and the implications for performance gains.
Continue reading “Move Semantics in Modern C++ (1)”Operator Overloading in Modern C++ (2)
Having looked at how to create a class representing a three-dimensional vector in the previous article, we’re going to look at how to add more operator-related functionality to it. We’ll start off with multiplying and dividing by a scalar, and move on to providing non-member operator overloads.
Continue reading “Operator Overloading in Modern C++ (2)”Operator Overloading in Modern C++ (1)
OO (or OOP) has been used to mean “Object-Oriented (Programming)” for several decades, but there is another use of the acronym OO which is: “Operator Overloading”. Simply put this involves creating (concrete) classes (or types) for which some (or rarely, most, or even all) C++ operators are redefined in terms of functionality related to the class. Since its appearance in the early 1990s, the operator keyword in C++ has been used in numerous applications to allow built-in operators such as +, -= and even -> to be overloaded on a per-class basis. This mini-series intends to demonstrate syntax, techniques, and modern best practices for OO in C++; in this article we’ll start to create a class representing a three-dimensional vector and give it state and functionality.
Learn Modern C++