Lecture #26 - Template Metaprogramming

Web Resources:

Content:

1. Syllabus
   Describes topics to be covered, reading material for you to digest before coming to class, and due dates for the assigned projects.

2. Projects:

   Project #3 - Code Publisher Client Project3HelpS2019 - includes:
   Client-Channel-Server Diagram
   Diagram showing use ofC++\CLI translater between WPF (C#) GUI and C++ Comm Channel. Prototype GUI for Project #3
   Demonstrating Requirements with a GUI
   The projects, below, are intended to help with Project #4. They are included so we can peek ahead to see where we need to go with Project #4. Project4Help WPF
   Illustrates techniques used for WPF to use Comm via C++\CLI. Prototype GUI for Project #3
   Uses C++\CLI translator to interoperate with C++ Comm to navigate a remote directory tree.
   Project #4 - Remote Code Page Management Project4HelpS2019 - includes: Client-Channel-Server Diagram
   Diagram showing use ofC++\CLI translater between WPF (C#) GUI and C++ Comm Channel. Interop Help Demo class diagram, Interop Help Demo code
   Shows how to implement interoperation between C# and C++ as simply as practical. Creating C++\CLI Projects, pptx
   Mock Channel block diagram, Mock Channel
   Illustrates how to use .Net threads in a managed layer and C++ threads in a native layer. Communication Channel Structure
   Diagrams that show how asynchronous message passing communication works. Communication Channel Class Diagram
   Class diagram of our protype communication channel. Communication Channel Activities
   Activity diagram showing message flow through the communcation channel. CppCommWithFileXfer - Communication Channel Code
   Here's code you can use to implement message-passing communication. Project4HelpWPF code demo
   A getting-started GUI prototype that shows one way to build a client for Project #4. C++ Repository with WPF GUI - code demo
   This demo illustrates use of User Controls as well as remote directory navigation.
3. Unit Test Framework

4. Preliminaries:

   Program Scope and global data
   Scope inclusion rules

   Programming Languages, vsdx
   History of imperative, functional, and scripting langugages.

5. Template Metaprogramming

   Template metaprogramming is the process of writing code for its compile-time effects in addition to its run-time behavior. Template metaprograms run at compile-time to produce often interesting template functions and classes. We will look at some examples today. Template metaprograms are often written for one of these reasons:
   • perform computation at compile-time instead of during execution.
   • introduce functionality that could not be achieved by run-time programs alone.
   • provide useful constructs for other (meta)programs, e.g., building metaprogramming tools.
   Note:
   I've built all these examples with Visual Studio 2019, a few with the Properties > C/C++ > Language > C++ Language Standard > ISO C++ 2017 Standard.
   Template Metaprogramming

   Template Preliminaries:

   Template Members
   Typename qualifier
   Non-Template Template Parameter
   Template Template Parameter
   Partial Template Specialization
   Motivation for Partial Template Specialization
   

   The beginnings:

   Curiously Recurring Template Pattern (CRTP)
   Invoker - almost a delegate
   Test Types
   Coming soon: optional<T>

   What Template Metaprogramming can do:

   Binary Conversion at compile time
   compile time functions
   compile time loops
   compile time selection
   compile time switch case
   compile time type lists
   compile time lists improved
   

   Variadic Templates Variatic templates produce functions that can take an unspecified finite number of arguments and template classes that accept an unspecified finite number of template arguments. These demo programs try to show why that could be useful.

6. The D Programming Language:

   • D Programming Lanaguage
     
   • D's templates
   • Three unexpectedly successful features of D
   • Andrei Alexandrescu's Home Page

7. Open Source Libraries:

   • Boost Library
   • Loki Library

8. C++11 - new features

   Herb Sutter's excellent and brief overview from his Blog

   C++11 concurrency
   Threads, locks, condition variables, async, futures, promises, packaged_tasks, and atomics

   C++11 BlockingQueue
   Uses condition variable and mutex to build a queue that blocks deQers when empty.

   Str strings
   Demonstrates move constructor and move assignment.

   Component Reference Counting
   Demonstrates variadic templates and functions.

   Symbol Table
   Illustrates how using aliases are a great design tool. Also demonstrates range-based for loops.

   Chrono Timer
   Uses Chrono library to build a high resolution timer precise to about 100 nanoseconds.

   Callable Objects
   Demonstrates lambdas and compares them to function pointers and functors.

   Singleton
   Uses atomic.

   Uniform Initialization
   Illustrates use of uniform initialization for user defined types and STL containers.

9. C++11 - The new standard:

   C++ Reference - includes C++11

   What is C++11?
   A guide to Lambdas
   Local, anonymous function definition
   Move semantics and rvalue references
   Pass by value and return by value doesn't need to make copies
   make_shared
   Don't need delete if you use make_shared smart pointer.
   Type Inference
   Type declaration using auto that adopts the type of an expression result.
   Range-based for loops
   C++11 Thread support
   std::Thread documentation.
   C++ 11 std::async
   Clean semantics for calling a function asynchronously.

10. Other C++11 References:

    Stroustrup on C++ 11
    C++11 - Wikipedia
    Biggest changes in C++11
    C++11 Support in GCC
    C++11 Features in Visual C++ 11
    C++11 Support in Clang
    Clang (Apple sponsored alternative to gcc) - Wikipedia
    C++11 Standards Committee Publications
    

11. C++11 Videos and Blogs:

    Herb Sutter on C++11
    Outstanding presentation on the things you can do better with C++11.

    C++ and Beyond
    Herb Sutter's talk on lambdas
    Herb Sutter's C++ and Beyond 2011 talk
    Herb Sutter's Effective Concurrency series
    Herb Sutter on Concurrency

    Herb Sutter's talk at PDC05 - skip the animations install
    This is an outstanding discussion of new features planned for C++ wrapped in an amazing discussion of concurrency.
    Slides from Herb Sutter's talk at PDC05

12. Advanced C++ Texts

    Class Text - C++ Programming Language (Stroustrup) - read it this time!
    Class Text - C++ Standard Library (Josuittis) - read it this time!
    The Design and Evolution of C++ - Stroustrup
    C++ Coding Standards - Andre Alexandrescue, Herb Sutter
    Exceptional C++ - Herb Sutter
    Effective C++ - Scott Meyers
    Effective STL - Scott Meyers
    Modern C++ Design - Andre Alexandrescue (parts are difficult)
    C++ Common Knowledge - Dewhurst
    Implementation Patterns - Kent Beck (not C++ specific)
    

13. Thinking about Software Design:

    Software Design Blog
    Summary of fundamental ideas. Object Oriented Design Blog
    Essential features of Object Oriented Design. Software Design Principles
    SRP, LSP, OCP, DIP, and ISP Software Design, ppt
    Broad survey of ideas with examples Design Strategies, pptx
    Summarizes design issues for modules and classes. Design Guidelines, pptx
    Design rules and idioms that transcend Object Oriented Design.
14. Common C++ Problems, pptx
15. Fragile Designs, pptx