C++ Lambda Story
Everything you need to know about Lambda Expressions in Modern C++!
by Bartłomiej Filipek
I thought I knew all (or most) there was to know about lambda expressions in modern C++ until I befriended a fellow coder (and countryman) Bartłomiej Filipek, found his book, and after reading it I realized there were gaps in my knowledge and understanding of lambdas as one of the major features of modern C++.
I don’t want to give away too much of the book’s content so I will make this review brief. Bartłomiej (Bartek) takes the reader through the entire history of callable objects in C++ starting with C++98 and function objects (or functors, objects which implement the function call operator), explains the usefulness as well as limitations of functors, then introduces us to lambda expressions as they appeared in C++11.
In the first and longest chapter of the book Bartek builds the foundation of knowledge by going over in great detail the syntax, types of lambdas, capture modes, return type, conversion to function, IIFE (Immediately Invoked Functional Expression), lambdas in container, and even inheriting from a lambda!
This gives the reader complete overview of the feature as it was first introduced in C++11, and prepares him/her for the following chapters where Bartek goes over lambda’s evolution through C++14, C++17, and all the way to the most recent iteration of the language, the C++20.
I found the book to be well organized into small bite-sized nuggets of knowledge that could be read, reread, understood and absorbed in a matter of minutes (similar to how Scott Meyers presents information in Effective C++).
C++ Lambda Story is not a book for people who are just starting to learn C++. In other words, it is not a C++ book one should read first. The content within the 140 or so pages is intermediate and advanced level of what the language has to offer. But it is a must for a seasoned C++ programmer as well as someone who already has a good grasp on the language.
You can find the book in black and white print on Amazon, a full color version, or a digital version on LeanPub.
To find out more about the author visit his website C++ Stories.