For those of you who are C++ lovers out there, you probably know that a new standard has been in the works for quite a while (some would argue since the dawn of time) that implements some pretty neat things. The standard is called C++ 0x and adds all sorts of handy tools to our pocket protectors including lambda functions, function binding, type inference, and a much prettier syntax for function pointers. If you don’t know what those mean, then fear not: over the next few days I’ll be trying to cover some of the more exciting features of the new standard and how you can use them in your everyday coding. Many of these will make your life much, much easier. The best part is that lots of the features are already implemented in many compilers, including most newer versions of gcc (UNIX) and Visual Studio (Windows). If you’re wondering whether the compiler you’re working on supports the new features, the best way is to get out there and try to compile some code.
Now that we’ve got that business out of the way, it’s time that we get to the meat: today’s topic is function pointers!