HP Integrity NonStop J-Series - Manual (Page 16)

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©Copyright 1996 Rogue Wave Software
Tools.h++ and the Standardization of C++
Almost everybody sees the benefits of standardizing the C++ language and the Standard C++
Library. The trick is to keep working during the process. We call this a period of transition, and
the C++ community is engaged in it now.
Here is what the transition looks like: a standard nearing completion, but not yet fully stable.
Although the standard itself is unlikely to be substantially revised, the fine tuning and
ratification will continue into 1997.
And here is what the transition looks like: compilers evolving toward the standard at various
rates. For a time, you will find new language features_such as namespaces, default template
arguments, member function templates, nested class templates_supported on some compilers
and not others. Some compilers may not even include a version of the Standard C++ Library;
many will offer versions which conform to the standard only so far as they support the
necessary language features. It will be some time before commercial compilers actually
implement the exact C++ language, or include the Standard C++ Library as described in the
standard.
Finally, here is what the transition looks like: you, the developer, and what you're going through
now. You are the one evolving designs and implementations toward the emerging standard.
Change will come at rates determined by your development environment, application domain,
and corporate culture.
Our goal for Tools.h++ is to help you to maintain consistency in your development while
moving, at your own pace, along the path of the latest C++ technology.
Harnessing the Standard
The primary challenge of this new version of Tools.h++ was to establish our relationship with
the ANSI/ISO Standard C++ Library. Rogue Wave is committed not only to bringing our
products into compliance with the standard, but to harnessing its full power. The object is to
provide you with even more useful and efficient class libraries. The process of integrating our
libraries with the C++ standard begins here with Tools.h++ Version 7.
For this version of Tools.h++, we have concentrated our integration efforts on the Standard
C++ Library containers, often referred to as the STL or Standard Template Library. Each of the
standard containers has been wrapped with a new or re-engineered Tools.h++ collection class