[UG] : Vancouver C++ User Group meeting: April 20, 2006
Home: http://www.vancpp.org/
Location: Sophos 580 Granville Street Vancouver, BC
Topic: The Safe Bool Idiom
by Michael Borghardt
Abstract:Learn how to validate objects in a boolean context without the usual harmful side effects. In C++, there are a number of ways to provide Boolean tests for classes. Such support is either provided to make usage intuitive, to support generic programming, or both. We shall examine the popular ways of adding support for the popular and idiomatic if (object) {} construct. To conclude, we will discuss a new solution, without the pitfalls and dangers of the others.
Speaker bio: Michael Borghardt is the founder of the Vancouver C++ Users Group and has been a software development consultant for over 15 years. He has worked in a number of industries include robotics, power electronics, banking, and semiconductors. Michael's goal in using C++ is to make writing software as type-safe as possible and getting the compiler to do as much work as it can while leaving the creative side of software development to the developer.