MFC Programmer's SourceBook : Thinking in C++

Source code

The source code for this book is copyrighted freeware, distributed via the web site http://www.BruceEckel.com. The copyright prevents you from republishing the code in print media without permission.

To unpack the code, you download the text version of the book and run the program ExtractCode (from chapter 23), the source for which is also provided on the Web site. The program will create a directory for each chapter and unpack the code into those directories. In the starting directory where you unpacked the code you will find the following copyright notice:

//:! :CopyRight.txt
Copyright (c) Bruce Eckel, 1998
Source code file from the book "Thinking in C++"
All rights reserved EXCEPT as allowed by the
following statements: You can freely use this file
for your own work (personal or commercial),
including modifications and distribution in
executable form only. Permission is granted to use
this file in classroom situations, including its
use in presentation materials, as long as the book
"Thinking in C++" is cited as the source. 
Except in classroom situations, you cannot copy
and distribute this code; instead, the sole
distribution point is http://www.BruceEckel.com 
(and official mirror sites) where it is
freely available. You cannot remove this
copyright and notice. You cannot distribute
modified versions of the source code in this
package. You cannot use this file in printed
media without the express permission of the
author. Bruce Eckel makes no representation about
the suitability of this software for any purpose.
It is provided "as is" without express or implied
warranty of any kind, including any implied
warranty of merchantability, fitness for a
particular purpose or non-infringement. The entire
risk as to the quality and performance of the
software is with you. Bruce Eckel and the
publisher shall not be liable for any damages
suffered by you or any third party as a result of
using or distributing software. In no event will
Bruce Eckel or the publisher be liable for any
lost revenue, profit, or data, or for direct,
indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or
punitive damages, however caused and regardless of
the theory of liability, arising out of the use of
or inability to use software, even if Bruce Eckel
and the publisher have been advised of the
possibility of such damages. Should the software
prove defective, you assume the cost of all
necessary servicing, repair, or correction. If you
think you've found an error, please submit the
correction using the form you will find at
www.BruceEckel.com. (Please use the same
form for non-code errors found in the book.)

///:~

You may use the code in your projects and in the classroom as long as the copyright notice is retained.

Coding standards

In the text of this book, identifiers (function, variable, and class names) will be set in bold. Most keywords will also be set in bold, except for those keywords which are used so much that the bolding can become tedious, like class and virtual.

I use a particular coding style for the examples in this book. It was developed over a number of years, and was inspired by Bjarne Stroustrup’s style in his original The C++ Programming Language .[5] The subject of formatting style is good for hours of hot debate, so I’ll just say I’m not trying to dictate correct style via my examples; I have my own motivation for using the style that I do. Because C++ is a free-form programming language, you can continue to use whatever style you’re comfortable with.

The programs in this book are files that are automatically extracted from the text of the book, which allows them to be tested to ensure they work correctly. (I use a special format on the first line of each file to facilitate this extraction; the line begins with the characters ‘ /’ ‘/’ ‘ :’ and the file name and path information.) Thus, the code files printed in the book should all work without compiler errors when compiled with an implementation that conforms to Standard C++ (note that not all compilers support all language features). The errors that should cause compile-time error messages are commented out with the comment //! so they can be easily discovered and tested using automatic means. Errors discovered and reported to the author will appear first in the electronic version of the book (at www.BruceEckel.com) and later in updates of the book.

One of the standards in this book is that all programs will compile and link without errors (although they will sometimes cause warnings). To this end, some of the programs, which only demonstrate a coding example and don’t represent stand-alone programs, will have empty main( ) functions, like this

int main() {}

This allows the linker to complete without an error.

The standard for main( ) is to return an int, but Standard C++ states that if there is no return statement inside main( ), the compiler will automatically generate code to return 0 . This option will be used in this book (although some compilers may still generate warnings for this).

[5] Ibid.

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