Foreword

This is a remarkable book, but it wasn't until I had nearly finished reading it that I realized just how remarkable it is. This could well be the first book ever written for people who are already familiar with C++—all of C++. From language features to components of the standard library to programming techniques, this book skips from topic to topic, always keeping you slightly off balance, always making sure you're paying attention. Just like real C++ programs. Class design bumps into the behavior of virtual functions, iterator conventions run up against name lookup rules, assignment operators sideswipe exception safety, compilation dependencies cross paths with exported templates. Just like they do in real programs. The result is a dizzying maelstrom of language features, library components, and programming techniques at once both chaotic and magnificent. Just like real programs.

I pronounce GotW such that it rhymes with "Gotcha," and perhaps that's fitting. As I compared my solutions to the book's quizzes against Sutter's answers, I fell into the traps he (and C++) laid before me more often than I'd like to admit. I could almost see Herb smiling and softly saying "Gotcha!" for each error I made. Some may argue that this proves I don't know much about C++. Others may claim it demonstrates that C++ is too complex for anyone to master. I believe it shows that when you're working in C++, you have to think carefully about what you're doing. C++ is a powerful language designed to help solve demanding problems, and it's important that you hone your knowledge of the language, its library, and its programming idioms as finely as you can. The breadth of topics in this book will help you do that. So will its unique quiz-based format.

Veteran readers of the C++ newsgroups know how difficult it is to be proclaimed a Guru of the Week. Veteran participants know it even better. On the Internet, of course, there can be only one guru each week, but, backed by the information in this book, you can reasonably hope to produce guru-quality code every time you program.

Scott Meyers
June 1999