Modern C++ gives us plenty of metaprogramming power but turning that power into an intuitive, "just works" API can sometimes be tricky. I'll run a live-coding session where we take a single, deceptively simple task - designing a constructor that accepts both explicit arguments and/or braced-init-lists - and walk it from naive attempts to a production-ready solution.
You'll see, step-by-step why straightforward ideas (parameter pack, `std::initializer_list`, C-style arrays) fall short, and how a relatively simple - yet, interesting - set of template techniques comes together to produce a much better interface with improved usability. We also explore the limits of Class Template Argument Deduction (CTAD) in this context and show how to patch the gaps with a minimal, readable deduction guide.
Attendees will keep the tricks up their sleeves and they can drop into their codebases for when meet similar tasks without a fear of using templates. Plus, I hope to give the audience a better understanding of how to use metaprogramming to make the users, not just the compiler, happy.
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There is a discord for the meetup that you can join https://discord.gg/98T5XPWcrA to help foster remote interaction!
We always plan to go to the Burns pub for social hour after the presentation.
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We have no food sponsor at the moment.
Thank you to our sponsors:
- Trimble for event space and soft drinks
