Regular Types and Why Do I Care

Explore the concept of Regular Types and their importance in C++ programming through this conference talk from ACCU 2019. Delve into the foundational principles of STL design, tracing back to Alexander Stepanov's work on generic programming. Understand how regular types form the basis for STL data structures and algorithms, and learn about their role in the upcoming Concepts Lite proposal for C++20. Examine the formal specifications of concepts like Semiregular, Regular, EqualityComparable, and DefaultConstructible. Investigate recent STL additions and their implications for value types, reference types, and non-owning "borrow" types. Discover the crucial role of designing and implementing regular types in everyday programming and library design. Gain insights into properly constraining types and function prototypes for intuitive usage, and learn to avoid common pitfalls that can lead to unexpected behavior. Through examples and guidance, grasp the relationship between Regular types and STL containers & algorithms, enhancing your understanding of C++ programming principles.