The
const
keyword gives you the ability to define objects, function arguments and return
values, and member functions as constants, and to eliminate the preprocessor
for value substitution without losing any preprocessor benefits. All this
provides a significant additional form of type checking and safety in your
programming. The use of so-called
const
correctness
(the
use of
const
anywhere you possibly can) has been a lifesaver for projects.
Although
you can ignore
const
and continue to use old C coding practices, it’s there to help you.
Chapters 9 & 10 begin using references heavily, and there you’ll see
even more about how critical it is to use
const
with function arguments.