API Design for C++

Chapter 1: Introduction

• • What Are APIs?
• • What's Different about API Design?
• • Why Should You Use APIs?
• • When Should You Avoid APIs?
• • API Examples
• • File Formats and Network Protocols
• • About This Book

Chapter 2: Qualities

• • Model the Problem Domain
• • Hide Implementation Details
• • Minimally Complete
• • Easy to Use
• • Loosely coupled
• • Stable, Documented, and Tested

Chapter 3: Patterns

• • Pimpl Idiom
• • Singleton
• • Factory Methods
• • API Wrapping Patterns
• • Observer Pattern

Chapter 4: Design

• • A Case for Good Design
• • Gathering Functional Requirements
• • Creating Use Cases
• • Elements of API Design
• • Architecture Design
• • Class Design
• • Function Design

Chapter 5: Styles

• • Flat C APIs
• • Object-Oriented C++ APIs
• • Template-Based APIs
• • Data-Driven APIs

Chapter 6: C++ Usage

• • Namespaces
• • Constructors and Assignment
• • Const Correctness
• • Templates
• • Operator Overloading
• • Function Parameters
• • Avoid #define for Constants
• • Avoid Using Friends
• • Exporting Symbols
• • Coding Conventions

Chapter 7: C++ Revisions

• • Which C++ Revision to Use
• • C++11 API Features
• • Smart Pointers
• • Explicit Member Functions
• • Explicit Overrides and Final
• • Enum Classes
• • Function Objects
• • Tuples
• • Hash Tables
• • Constant Expressions
• • Null pointer constant
• • Type aliases with using
• • Unicode String Literals
• • C++14 API Features
• • The deprecated Attribute
• • More Relaxed Const Expressions
• • Binary Literals and Digit Separators
• • C++17 API Features
• • Nested Namespace Definitions
• • Inline Variables
• • Check for Header Availability
• • Function Exception Specifications
• • String Views
• • Optionals
• • Any Type
• • Variant Container
• • Byte Type
• • C++20 API Features
• • Modules
• • Template Constraints and Concepts
• • The Spaceship Operator
• • The consteval Specifier
• • Coroutines
• • Version Header
• • C++23 API Features
• • Conditional Preprocessor Directives
• • Multidimensional Subscript Operator
• • Expected Values

Chapter 8: Performance

• • Pass Input Arguments by Const Reference
• • Minimize #include Dependencies
• • Declaring Constants
• • Initialization Lists
• • Memory Optimization
• • Don't Inline Until You Need To
• • Copy on Write
• • Iterating over Elements
• • Performance Analysis

Chapter 9: Concurrency

• • Thread Safety
• • Avoiding Global Data
• • Returning Data by Value
• • The Use of static
• • Initialization of Data
• • Mutex Locking for Data Access
• • Using Async Functions
• • Promises and Futures
• • Producer Consumer API

Chapter 10: Versioning

• • Version Numbers
• • Software Branching Strategies
• • Life Cycle of an API
• • Levels of Compatibility
• • How to Maintain Backward Compatibility
• • API Reviews

Chapter 11: Documentation

• • Reasons to Write Documentation
• • Types of Documentation
• • Documentation Usability
• • Inclusive Language
• • Using Doxygen

Chapter 12: Testing

• • Reasons to Write Tests
• • Types of API Testing
• • Writing Good Tests
• • Writing Testable Code
• • Automated Testing Tools

Chapter 13: Objective C++ and Swift

• • Using Objective C++ within a C++ API
• • Objective C++ wrapper for C++ API
• • Using os_log and signposts
• • Accessing an Objective C++ API in Swift

Chapter 14: Scripting

• • Adding Script Bindings
• • Script Wrapping Technologies
• • Adding Python Bindings with Boost Python
• • Adding Ruby Bindings with SWIG

Chapter 15: Extensibility

• • Extending via Plugins
• • Extending via Inheritance
• • Extending via Templates