This manual is divided into three parts:
Part I is an introduction to the manual. It explains the organization of the manual, and its role in the total documentation for the Rogue Wave implementation of the Standard C++ Library.
Part II explains locales. After a general introduction to internationalization, it explains the C facilities for internationalizing software, and how the C locale differs from the C++ locale. It defines a C++ locale and a facet, and tells how locales are created, composed, used, and replaced. It includes a complex example of a user-defined facet, which demonstrates how facets can be built and used in conjunction with iostreams.
Part III explains the C++ stream input and output facilities commonly called iostreams. Beginning chapters cover the iostreams facility, how it works, and how it should be used; also, the iostreams architecture, its components, and class hierarchy. Middle chapters cover the basic operation of iostreams, and both simple and advanced techniques for extending the iostreams framework. Final chapters describe the main differences between the Standard C++ Library iostreams, the traditional iostreams, and Rogue Wave's implementation of iostreams in the Standard C++ Library.
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.
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:.
Convention | Purpose | Example |
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 |
OEM Edition, ©Copyright 1999, Rogue Wave Software, Inc.
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