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1.4 Overview of This Manual

1.4.1 Organization

This manual is divided into three parts:

Please note that this manual is written as a part of the Standard C++ Library User's Guide, and so focuses on general principles and examples of using the product. More specific information on the classes and functions is contained in the Class Reference.

1.4.2 Conventions

This manual uses some distinctive terms and conventions. The Standard C++ Library consists of many class and function templates, so shorter forms for these templates are common in this manual, as in the Standard C++ Library User's Guide. For example, in the iostreams part of the documentation, fstream stands for template <class charT, class traits> class basic_fstream. A slightly more succinct notation for a class template is also frequently used: basic_fstream <charT, traits>.

Formal template declarations are used in the hierarchy diagrams, while shorter forms are used elsewhere. In the hierarchy diagrams, the notation:

indicates that class B inherits from class A.

File stream stands for the abstract notion of the file stream class template; badbit stands for the state flag ios_base::badbit.

The term algorithm indicates functions in the generic algorithms portion of the Standard C++ Library, so as to avoid confusion with member functions, argument functions, and user-defined functions.

An empty pair of parentheses () follows function names and algorithm names, so as to avoid emphasizing their arguments. An underline character _ is used as a separator in both class names and function names.

Special fonts set off class names, code samples, and special meanings, as shown in Table 2:.

Table 2 -- Typographic conventions

ConventionPurposeExample 
Courier
Code, examples, function names, file names, directory names, operating system commands
return result;
italic
Emphasis.
New terms.
Titles.
operating system family
special ending iterator
User's Guide
bold
Emphasis.
Commands from an interface.
Rogue Wave product names.
do this before that
the OK button
a Standard C++ Library file
bold italic
Class names.
priority_queue



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