C++ Don'ts that was good in C

I am taking a class in C++ and not really learning very much but the basics.
I am already an average C programmer.

I would like to increase my knowledge of things that are wrong in C++ that was good in C programming. Not really looking for OOP related items.

Example items: (That I know about already.)

Do not use MACROS in most cases.
Use inline functions instead of things like "#define ADD(x,y) (x+y)"
Use constants "const" instead of "#define MAX_VALUE 10"
(Note: I know that enums are sometimes better to use for constants in both C and C++)

Try to avoid C-strings (char arrays) and use std:string instead.

Edit: Avoid the use of C type cast instead use static_cast and the others.

Tim S.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stahta01

Use inline functions instead of things like "#define ADD(x,y) (x+y)"

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Well, an inline function would not suffice to replace the function-style macro in your example: you would need a function template.

I suggest reading C++ Coding Standards by Sutter and Alexandrescu. A few items in the book come to mind with respect to your question:
13. Ensure resources are owned by objects. Use explicit RAII and smart pointers.
18. Declare variables as locally as possible.
72. Prefer to use exceptions to report errors.
76. Use vector by default. Otherwise, choose an appropriate container.
90. Avoid type switching; prefer polymorphism.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by laserlight

I suggest reading C++ Coding Standards by Sutter and Alexandrescu. A few items in the book come to mind with respect to your question:
13. Ensure resources are owned by objects. Use explicit RAII and smart pointers.
90. Avoid type switching; prefer polymorphism.

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Thanks for the feedback; I am going to have to do research to understand the above items you mentioned.
I understand 13 (no idea how to use explicit RAII); but, I have no idea what "type switching" is as it applies to C/C++ (I would guess related to casting).

Tim S.

Check this out, it helped me alot to understand the differences between C and C++: C++ tutorial for C users

Or the C++ FAQ, which explains alot of C++ details: C++ FAQ.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stahta01

I have no idea what "type switching" is as it applies to C/C++ (I would guess related to casting).

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Casting is part of it. More generally, it means to avoid writing code that overtly determines the type of an object, and does things differently depending on what the type is, such as

Code:

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switch (object->type())
{
    case object_type1:
          ((type1 *)object)->something_for_type1();
          break;
    case object_type2:
          ((type2 *)object)->something_for_type2();
          break;
}

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Instead use polymorphism (for example, a virtual do_something() member function in a base class that is overridden by each derived class). Once the polymorphic class is set up, the above can be done simply as

Code:

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    object->do_something();  // object is pointer to base, but actually may point to an instance of derived class

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