moai-lang-cpp

Quick Reference (30 seconds)

Modern C++ (C++23/C++20) Development Specialist - RAII, smart pointers, concepts, ranges, modules, and CMake.

Auto-Triggers: .cpp, .hpp, .h, CMakeLists.txt, vcpkg.json, conanfile.txt, modern C++ discussions

Core Capabilities:

• C++23 Features: std::expected, std::print, std::generator, deducing this
• C++20 Features: Concepts, Ranges, Modules, Coroutines, std::format
• Memory Safety: RAII, Rule of 5, smart pointers (unique_ptr, shared_ptr, weak_ptr)
• STL: Containers, Algorithms, Iterators, std::span, std::string_view
• Build Systems: CMake 3.28+, FetchContent, presets
• Concurrency: std::thread, std::jthread, std::async, atomics, std::latch/barrier
• Testing: Google Test, Catch2
• Package Management: vcpkg, Conan 2.0

Quick Patterns

Smart Pointer Factory:

#include <memory>

class Widget {
public:
    static auto create(int value) -> std::unique_ptr<Widget> {
        return std::make_unique<Widget>(value);
    }
    explicit Widget(int v) : value_(v) {}
private:
    int value_;
};

auto widget = Widget::create(42);

Concepts Constraint:

#include <concepts>

template<typename T>
concept Numeric = std::integral<T> || std::floating_point<T>;

template<Numeric T>
auto square(T value) -> T {
    return value * value;
}

Ranges Pipeline:

#include <ranges>
#include <vector>

auto result = std::views::iota(1, 100)
    | std::views::filter([](int n) { return n % 2 == 0; })
    | std::views::transform([](int n) { return n * n; })
    | std::views::take(10);

Implementation Guide (5 minutes)

C++23 New Features

std::expected for Error Handling:

#include <expected>
#include <string>

enum class ParseError { InvalidFormat, OutOfRange };

auto parse_int(std::string_view str) -> std::expected<int, ParseError> {
    try {
        int value = std::stoi(std::string(str));
        return value;
    } catch (const std::invalid_argument&) {
        return std::unexpected(ParseError::InvalidFormat);
    } catch (const std::out_of_range&) {
        return std::unexpected(ParseError::OutOfRange);
    }
}

// Usage
auto result = parse_int("42");
if (result) {
    std::println("Value: {}", *result);
} else {
    std::println("Error occurred");
}

std::print for Type-Safe Output:

#include <print>

int main() {
    std::println("Hello, {}!", "World");
    std::print("Value: {}, Hex: {:#x}\n", 255, 255);
    std::println("Formatted: {:.2f}", 3.14159);
}

Deducing This (Explicit Object Parameter):

class Builder {
    std::string data_;
public:
    // Deducing this for perfect forwarding
    template<typename Self>
    auto append(this Self&& self, std::string_view s) -> Self&& {
        self.data_ += s;
        return std::forward<Self>(self);
    }

    auto build() const -> std::string { return data_; }
};

// Enables chaining with move semantics
auto result = Builder{}.append("Hello").append(" World").build();

C++20 Features

Concepts and Constraints:

#include <concepts>
#include <iterator>

// Custom concept
template<typename T>
concept Hashable = requires(T a) {
    { std::hash<T>{}(a) } -> std::convertible_to<std::size_t>;
};

// Requires clause
template<typename Container>
    requires std::ranges::range<Container> &&
             std::default_initializable<std::ranges::range_value_t<Container>>
auto make_default_filled(std::size_t count) -> Container {
    Container c;
    c.resize(count);
    return c;
}

// Abbreviated function template
void process(std::integral auto value) {
    // value is constrained to integral types
}

Modules (C++20):

// math.cppm - Module interface
export module math;

export namespace math {
    template<typename T>
    concept Arithmetic = std::is_arithmetic_v<T>;

    template<Arithmetic T>
    constexpr auto add(T a, T b) -> T {
        return a + b;
    }

    template<Arithmetic T>
    constexpr auto multiply(T a, T b) -> T {
        return a * b;
    }
}

// main.cpp - Consumer
import math;
import std;  // C++23 standard library module

int main() {
    auto result = math::add(10, 20);
    std::println("Result: {}", result);
}

Ranges Library:

#include <ranges>
#include <vector>
#include <algorithm>

struct Person {
    std::string name;
    int age;
};

void process_people(std::vector<Person>& people) {
    // Range adaptors
    auto adults = people
        | std::views::filter([](const Person& p) { return p.age >= 18; })
        | std::views::transform([](const Person& p) { return p.name; });

    for (const auto& name : adults) {
        std::println("{}", name);
    }

    // Range algorithms
    std::ranges::sort(people, {}, &Person::age);

    // Projection
    auto it = std::ranges::find(people, "Alice", &Person::name);

    // Views
    auto chunked = people | std::views::chunk(3);
    auto sliding = people | std::views::slide(2);
}

Coroutines:

#include <coroutine>
#include <optional>

template<typename T>
class Generator {
public:
    struct promise_type {
        T current_value;

        auto get_return_object() -> Generator {
            return Generator{Handle::from_promise(*this)};
        }
        auto initial_suspend() -> std::suspend_always { return {}; }
        auto final_suspend() noexcept -> std::suspend_always { return {}; }
        auto yield_value(T value) -> std::suspend_always {
            current_value = std::move(value);
            return {};
        }
        void return_void() {}
        void unhandled_exception() { std::terminate(); }
    };

    using Handle = std::coroutine_handle<promise_type>;

    explicit Generator(Handle h) : handle_(h) {}
    ~Generator() { if (handle_) handle_.destroy(); }

    auto next() -> std::optional<T> {
        if (!handle_ || handle_.done()) return std::nullopt;
        handle_.resume();
        if (handle_.done()) return std::nullopt;
        return handle_.promise().current_value;
    }

private:
    Handle handle_;
};

auto fibonacci() -> Generator<int> {
    int a = 0, b = 1;
    while (true) {
        co_yield a;
        auto next = a + b;
        a = b;
        b = next;
    }
}

RAII and Resource Management

Rule of Five:

class Resource {
    int* data_;
    std::size_t size_;

public:
    // Constructor
    explicit Resource(std::size_t size)
        : data_(new int[size]), size_(size) {}

    // Destructor
    ~Resource() { delete[] data_; }

    // Copy constructor
    Resource(const Resource& other)
        : data_(new int[other.size_]), size_(other.size_) {
        std::copy(other.data_, other.data_ + size_, data_);
    }

    // Copy assignment
    auto operator=(const Resource& other) -> Resource& {
        if (this != &other) {
            Resource temp(other);
            swap(temp);
        }
        return *this;
    }

    // Move constructor
    Resource(Resource&& other) noexcept
        : data_(std::exchange(other.data_, nullptr))
        , size_(std::exchange(other.size_, 0)) {}

    // Move assignment
    auto operator=(Resource&& other) noexcept -> Resource& {
        if (this != &other) {
            delete[] data_;
            data_ = std::exchange(other.data_, nullptr);
            size_ = std::exchange(other.size_, 0);
        }
        return *this;
    }

    void swap(Resource& other) noexcept {
        std::swap(data_, other.data_);
        std::swap(size_, other.size_);
    }
};

Smart Pointer Patterns:

#include <memory>

// Factory with unique_ptr
class Connection {
public:
    static auto create(std::string_view host) -> std::unique_ptr<Connection> {
        return std::make_unique<Connection>(host);
    }

    explicit Connection(std::string_view host) : host_(host) {}

private:
    std::string host_;
};

// Shared ownership with weak_ptr for breaking cycles
class Node : public std::enable_shared_from_this<Node> {
public:
    std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Node>> children;
    std::weak_ptr<Node> parent;  // Weak to break cycle

    void add_child(std::shared_ptr<Node> child) {
        child->parent = weak_from_this();
        children.push_back(std::move(child));
    }
};

// Custom deleter
auto file = std::unique_ptr<FILE, decltype(&fclose)>(
    fopen("data.txt", "r"), &fclose);

CMake Modern Patterns

CMakeLists.txt (C++23 Project):

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.28)
project(MyProject VERSION 1.0.0 LANGUAGES CXX)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 23)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON)

# Compiler warnings
add_compile_options(
    $<$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:GNU,Clang>:-Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic>
    $<$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:MSVC>:/W4>
)

# FetchContent for dependencies
include(FetchContent)

FetchContent_Declare(
    fmt
    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/fmtlib/fmt
    GIT_TAG 10.2.1
)

FetchContent_Declare(
    googletest
    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/google/googletest
    GIT_TAG v1.14.0
)

FetchContent_MakeAvailable(fmt googletest)

# Main library
add_library(mylib STATIC
    src/core.cpp
    src/utils.cpp
)

target_include_directories(mylib PUBLIC include)
target_link_libraries(mylib PUBLIC fmt::fmt)

# Executable
add_executable(myapp src/main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE mylib)

# Tests
enable_testing()
add_executable(mylib_tests tests/core_test.cpp)
target_link_libraries(mylib_tests PRIVATE mylib GTest::gtest_main)
include(GoogleTest)
gtest_discover_tests(mylib_tests)

CMake Presets (CMakePresets.json):

{
    "version": 6,
    "configurePresets": [
        {
            "name": "base",
            "hidden": true,
            "generator": "Ninja",
            "binaryDir": "${sourceDir}/build/${presetName}",
            "cacheVariables": {
                "CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS": "ON"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "debug",
            "inherits": "base",
            "cacheVariables": {
                "CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Debug"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "release",
            "inherits": "base",
            "cacheVariables": {
                "CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Release"
            }
        }
    ],
    "buildPresets": [
        {"name": "debug", "configurePreset": "debug"},
        {"name": "release", "configurePreset": "release"}
    ],
    "testPresets": [
        {"name": "debug", "configurePreset": "debug", "output": {"outputOnFailure": true}}
    ]
}

Concurrency

std::jthread and Stop Tokens:

#include <thread>
#include <stop_token>

void worker(std::stop_token stoken) {
    while (!stoken.stop_requested()) {
        // Do work
        std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(100));
    }
    // Cleanup
}

int main() {
    std::jthread worker_thread(worker);

    std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(1));
    worker_thread.request_stop();  // Signal stop
    // jthread automatically joins in destructor
}

Synchronization Primitives:

#include <latch>
#include <barrier>
#include <semaphore>

// Latch for one-time synchronization
void parallel_init(std::latch& ready, int id) {
    // Initialize component
    ready.count_down();  // Signal completion
}

// Barrier for cyclic synchronization
void parallel_compute(std::barrier<>& sync, int id) {
    for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
        // Compute phase
        sync.arrive_and_wait();  // Sync all threads
    }
}

// Counting semaphore for resource limiting
std::counting_semaphore<4> pool(4);  // Max 4 concurrent

void limited_resource() {
    pool.acquire();
    // Use limited resource
    pool.release();
}

Advanced Patterns

Template Metaprogramming

Variadic Templates:

template<typename... Args>
auto sum(Args... args) {
    return (args + ...);  // Fold expression
}

template<typename... Args>
void print_all(Args&&... args) {
    ((std::cout << std::forward<Args>(args) << " "), ...);
}

SFINAE and if constexpr:

template<typename T>
auto to_string(const T& value) -> std::string {
    if constexpr (std::is_arithmetic_v<T>) {
        return std::to_string(value);
    } else if constexpr (requires { value.to_string(); }) {
        return value.to_string();
    } else {
        return "unknown";
    }
}

Testing with Google Test

#include <gtest/gtest.h>

class CalculatorTest : public ::testing::Test {
protected:
    Calculator calc;

    void SetUp() override {
        calc = Calculator{};
    }
};

TEST_F(CalculatorTest, Addition) {
    EXPECT_EQ(calc.add(2, 3), 5);
}

TEST_F(CalculatorTest, DivisionByZero) {
    EXPECT_THROW(calc.divide(1, 0), std::invalid_argument);
}

// Parameterized test
class AdditionTest : public ::testing::TestWithParam<std::tuple<int, int, int>> {};

TEST_P(AdditionTest, Works) {
    auto [a, b, expected] = GetParam();
    EXPECT_EQ(Calculator{}.add(a, b), expected);
}

INSTANTIATE_TEST_SUITE_P(Basics, AdditionTest,
    ::testing::Values(
        std::make_tuple(1, 1, 2),
        std::make_tuple(0, 0, 0),
        std::make_tuple(-1, 1, 0)
    ));

Context7 Library Mappings

/microsoft/vcpkg - Package manager
/conan-io/conan - Conan package manager
/google/googletest - Google Test framework
/catchorg/Catch2 - Catch2 testing framework
/fmtlib/fmt - {fmt} formatting library
/nlohmann/json - JSON for Modern C++
/gabime/spdlog - Fast logging library

Works Well With

• moai-lang-rust - Systems programming comparison and interop
• moai-domain-backend - Backend service architecture
• moai-quality-testing - TDD and testing strategies
• moai-essentials-debug - Debugging and profiling
• moai-foundation-trust - TRUST 5 quality principles

Troubleshooting

Version Check:

g++ --version  # GCC 13+ for C++23
clang++ --version  # Clang 17+ for C++23
cmake --version  # CMake 3.28+

Common Compilation Flags:

# C++23 with full warnings
g++ -std=c++23 -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic -O2 main.cpp -o main

# With sanitizers
g++ -std=c++23 -fsanitize=address,undefined -g main.cpp -o main

vcpkg Integration:

# Install vcpkg
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg
./vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.sh

# Install packages
./vcpkg/vcpkg install fmt nlohmann-json gtest

# CMake integration
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=./vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake

Last Updated: 2025-12-07 Status: Active (v1.0.0)