A Few Tips for Using Microsoft Visual C++¹

Jeffrey D. Oldham

2000 Jan 28

The only experience I have using Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 was tonight (2000 Jan 28). I am writing what I learned, hoping that it will reduce your frustration if you choose to use these tools. Note I do not have time to support using Microsoft compilers.

(In the best of all worlds, every compiler would strictly obey the ANSI/ISO C++ standard. Unfortunately, standards change through time, and programmers cannot keep up. Thus, different compilers sometimes require different syntax.)

Using STL Containers

Microsoft seems to require specifying std:: before the beginning of STL container names. For example, one can declare a vector using

std::vector<int> v;

std is the ``standard'' namespace. A namespace is a set of functions, classes, and objects. Namespaces were introduced because different libraries used the same function or class names. Prepending the library's namespace followed by :: yields unique names.

Friend Templates

Microsoft has not yet updated their products to reflect the ANSI/ISO C++ standard regarding friend templates. If you see a friend function declaration with empty <> inside some class definition like

friend void bar<>(foo<T>);

convert it to

friend void bar(foo<T>);

to get it to compile. This may break your code somewhere else.

We do not yet have the vocabulary to explain the issues, but an explanation is available.

Footnotes

... C++¹

©2000 Jeffrey D. Oldham . All rights reserved. This document may not be redistributed in any form without the express permission of the author.