C++ Developer

For C++ programmers all over the world, Boost and the Boost libraries have become indispensable. Weighing in at 60 C++ libraries, Boost is a large collection of peer-reviewed code covering a wide range of domains. But why should you care about that? Well, because Boost can quickly become indispensable for you too. It all started in 1998 when Beman Dawes, a member of the C++ Standards Committee, founded Boost as a proving ground for new C++ libraries. C++ and the C++ Standard Library had just become standardized in ISO/IEC 14882-98, but that didn't mean that the work was done. So... (more)

Taking the Leap - C++ containers vs C# Collections

While moving from C++ to C# means giving up template-based containers, that doesn't mean you can't effectively organize your data. And like C++, C# collections have some unique benefits. The concept of computerized arrays has been around almost as long as computers themselves. It allows a program to deal with large quantities of data almost as simply as dealing with a single unit of data.... (more)

JNI Programming In C/C+

If you're familiar with the Java Native Interface (JNI), as this article presumes, you know that it's tailored primarily for C and C++ programmers. Compile-time support for JNI in these languages comes straight from the Sun specification, and is frankly a work of art. The architects of the JNI had a terrifying three-part task: to tame the hydra of platform-specific issues inherent in so-c... (more)

High Performance XML Parsing in C++

In my last article (XML-J, Vol. 1, issue 3) I made the case for using custom classes derived from XML Schemas to represent XML documents in C++ applications. That article focused primarily on the problems of generating XML documents from program objects, and explained how custom classes have significant advantages over standards like DOM and SAX in terms of performance, object orientatio... (more)