Mastering the Standard C++ Classes

The Standard Template Library (STL) is a collection of C++ objects that can be plugged into existing programs or used to automate software development. Because the STL objects are standardised, ready-to-use, and pre-debugged, they are a reliable way to boost productivity with technologies like CORBA and COM. However, because the STL has only recently become a part of the C++ standard - and because many of the functions of the STL are quite sophisticated ones - many programmers know little about how useful the library really is. To keep pace with the technology as it advances, they need an overview of its capabilities and a complete catalogue of its components. This text focuses on the techniques for utilising the STL to simplify the jobs they already do every day, not the need for acquiring new language skills. The authors do offer a complete classification and explanation of the STL, but at the same time, they emphasise what is actually useful, not simply what it contains, expanding into a tutorial on how to use the STL to exploit the object-oriented capabilities of C++ and Java, extending the utility of both languages.
Additionally, the accompanying CD-ROM offers an HTML reference to the entire STL as well as examples that run on any compiler.