C++ continues to get better over the years because people just keep contributing to it and finding new ways to work with it. You can find C++ in an amazing array of applications because it works everywhere — from desktop and mobile applications to embedded applications and other types of systems.Because C++ is so incredibly flexible, people keep coming to it as a best solution for many general programming needs and some specific needs as well.

Creating a library project in C++ is only a little different than creating a console application. The following steps describe how to create a library project:Choose File→New→Project.You see the New From Template dialog box shown. Highlight the Static Library icon on the Projects tab, then click Go.You see the Welcome page of the Static Library wizard.

The static library starts with a standard C file. To make this library work well with templates, you need to delete the C file, add a C++ file, and add a header file. The following steps describe how to perform this process:Right-click main.c in the Projects tab of the Management window and choose Remove File From Project from the context menu that appears.

Most of the Boost library works just fine by adding headers to your application code. However, a few components, such as RegEx, require a library. Before you can use a library, you must build it. After you build the library, you must add it to your application.There are two techniques for adding the required headers and libraries to an application.

Click here to download the code example files for C++ All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition. These files contain all the sample code from the book. Use them to work through all the C++ sample applications describe in our book. During the writing of this book, a few of our beta readers reported some odd behavior from their anti-virus programs.

In a typical C++ application, the main() function receives an array and a count as command line parameters — parameters provided as part of the command to execute that application at the command line. However, to beginning programmers, the parameters can look intimidating. But they’re not: Think of the two parameters as an array of strings and a size of the array.

Many C++ newbies want to create the projects they find in books by typing in the code they come across to better see how the process works. However, sometimes just getting the project started can be a serious problem. You may find step-by-step instructions online that provide you with techniques you can use to create the projects, but often, these procedures build on what you've done before.