The next iteration of the C++ standard passed the ISO technical committee review earlier this year and is scheduled to be approved this fall. This version of the specification is now referred to as C++11 (a reference to the year it will be approved). Jim Humelsine recently sent me the following link that provides a neat table of the new features of C++11, along with the status of their implementation in the gcc compiler. This resource was put together by George Flanagin and provides a succinct overview of the new features of C++11 as well as a great reference for those interested in trying some of these out in their own code. As I describe in my book, many of these new features allow for better C++ API designs.

• http://www.georgeflanagin.com/c++11/c++11.features/

I recently came across this list of freely-available C++ libraries. The page hasn’t been updated for a few years, but it’s still a really good list of the different kinds of C++ APIs that are out there for you to use in your own applications.

The list is broken down into several categories, including: Generic, Script Integration, Text Manipulation, Threading, Signalling and Parallel-Programming, Numerical, Algorithmic and Crypto, Network and Web Programming, Multimedia, File Format, GUI, Device Access, Testing and Debugging, Database Engine/Interface, Science, and Financial.

• http://wikicompany.org/fs/c++.html

The Standard Template Library (STL) provides a collection of containers, iterators, algorithms, and functors for C++. This is perhaps the most famous and widely-used C++ API. It provides template-based containers such as std::string, std::vector, std::map, and std::set, which you can specialize with your own types (std::string is of course already specialized for characters). The STL is therefore a good place to look for an example of compile-time polymorphism in C++. The authoritative documentation is the STL programmer’s guide from SGI:

• http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/