March 1999
Volume 17 Number 3
UNIX
A Signal Command and Control Class for Unix
Patrick Bailey
Signals are a useful way to communicate under Unix, provided you have enough to go around.
FEATURES
Better Template Error Messages
Andrei Alexandrescu
We take for granted that debugging templates is a nightmare, but maybe that doesn't have to be true forever.
Portable Run-Time Multilanguage Support with Lingua
Anneke Sicherer-Roetman
Message text is the bane of any multilanguage program, but you can get a lot of help with them from this remarkably simple package.
enum++ — An enum Class Code Generator
Arthur P. Walker
Neither C nor C++ have truly first-class enumerations. But you can add them to C++ with this handy generator.
Comparing Fortran 90 and C++ Valarrays
Shyam Bhat and B. Arun
Template class valarray was added to the Standard C++ Library to attract numerical programmers. It appears to be working.
C/C++ Contributing Editors
Standard C/C++: Simple Iostreams
P. J. Plauger
Iostreams has long been a simple and extensible mechanism in every C++ library. In Standard C++ it's far more extensible, but not nearly so simple.
import java.*: Using Primitive Types and Wrappers
Chuck Allison
The primitive types of C/C++ are much the same in Java, except that they're even more primitive and more predictable.
The Journeyman's Shop: Initialization and Cleanup, Part 1
Pete Becker
You should be fastidious about initializing all variables, but not fanatical.
C++ Theory and Practice: Trimming Excess Fat
Dan Saks
Static members combine the lifetime of global objects and functions with the privacy of member names.
Uncaught Exceptions: Singletons, Five-Liners, and Multiple Inclusion
Bobby Schmidt
Bobby handles a series of small problems, including reentry at Microsoft after lobbing a few brickbats their way.