THINK++ — Engineering Visualized

Generic Programming

C++ Templates

Templates allow you to write generic code that works with any data type. They are the backbone of the Standard Template Library (STL).

THE CONCEPT

template <typename T>
T getMax(T a, T b) {
    return (a > b) ? a : b;
}

T is a placeholder for any type (int, double, string, etc.).

DRY PRINCIPLE

Don't Repeat Yourself. One template replaces dozens of overloaded functions.

COMPILE-TIME

The compiler generates a specific version of the code for each type used. Zero runtime overhead.

Two Types of Templates

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