The Annotated C++ Reference Manual

This book provides a complete reference for the C++ programming language. It consists of the C++ reference manual, approved as the base document for ANSI standardization of the language, plus annotations and commentary.

The annotations and commentary discuss what is not included in the language, why certain features are defined as they are, and how one might implement particular features. The commentaries also help the reader to understand the relationships between parts of the language. Comparisons with C and examples explain the more subtle points of the language.

Sixteen chapters document the latest version of C++ after the addition of support for multiple inheritance, type-safe linkage, abstract classes, refined mechanisms for overloading, etc. The book also covers two proposed extensions of C++: templates and exception handling. Appendices summarize the grammar and evolution of the language, and explain in detail the differences between C and C++.

The Annotated C++ Reference Manual will appeal to language implementors and expert C++ programmers.