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STLport
Currently, I've been researching on how C++ itself works. In other words, what the standard is, how things need to be defined, etc. Anyways, I came across the an STL implementation that seems act like a "universal" STL.
QUESTION: What is the features of using something like STLport?
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>> Anyways, I came across the an STL implementation that seems act like a "universal" STL.
The STL itself is simply a concept (a contract, if you will) of an interface. Most implementations are practically "universal" in the sense that they support multiple platforms. So when choosing a particular implementation it really just boils down to which is most efficient for your platform, and perhaps what extensions, if any, you're wanting.
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Alright, thanks. I just noticed that the STLport's features are usually implemented in any every other STL implementation and as a result I figured perhaps there was an advantage to it for some reason... Thanks for the response.
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In our company, we use STLPort over the STL that comes with the Microsoft compiler because performance measurement showed a considerable speedup when doing so (on the order of 5-10%). That's really the primary reason to use an alternative STL. Because the interface of the STL (and the entire standard library) is fixed, the reason for switching is usually in the non-functional are like ease of debugging and speed. Some implementations offer extensions that can be of interest, but by using those you lose portability, which is not good.
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The STL is just that -- a standard library. Even though they implement the same interface, they can do so poorly or well. The advantage is (presumably -- I've never used them or compared them) not in what they offer but how well they do it.
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Alright, yet another good response. Better implementation and more portability. I think I'll look into this further...