On Mar 18, 12:30 am, Victor Bazarov <v.Abaza...@comAcast.net>
wrote:
James Kanze wrote:
On Mar 17, 9:31 pm, Pallav singh <singh.pal...@gmail.com> wrote:
Q What are the disadvantages of using STL ?
Compared to what?
I thought it was "compared to *not* using it"... <g> I mean,
what is the alternative of "using"?
"Yes, but... Not using it how? If the alternative being
considered is not using any containers, or any algorithms...
if you can easily do that, then the STL is just so much extra
baggage (as is any other container library you can think of).
If the alternative being considered is to implementing your
own libraries, the STL has distinct disadvantages when it
comes to job security (if you role your own, it will take a
lot longer to implement the application, and if you do it
cleverly enough, you'll be the only person who can maintain
the code), but I can't think of any others. If you're
comparing it to the Java collections, of course, the STL has
some very distinct disadvantages if you're programming in Java
(it doesn't work in Java), but just the reverse is true (for
the same reason) if you're programming in C++. If you're
comparing it to OSE, it's not as cleanly designed or as easy
to use, but it's more complete, and above all, it's standard,
so new programmers on the project can be expected to already
be familiar with it.
And so on. Depending on the alternative you are considering,
the disadvantages will vary. In all be exceptional cases,
however, they won't be enough to outweigh the advantage of it
being standard."