# Tag Info

Accepted

### How are extremely large integers stored and implemented in programming languages?

MPI stands for Multiple Precision Integer. Multiple precision arithmetic is what you need when you work with integer types that go beyond the machine width $w$. The basic idea is simple, you represent ...
• 3,172
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### Where are C++ templates inside of the lambda cube?

But is that exactly where they are located in the lambda cube? The lambda cube is not a giant spectrum on which all programming languages can be classified. It is precisely eight languages, which ...
• 29.2k
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### Why are struct and class essentially the same in C++?

Bjarne Stroustrup writes in his The Design and Evolution of C++ book (item 3.5.1): At this point, the object model becomes real in the sense that an object is more than the simple aggregation of ...
• 2,977
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### numerically stable log1pexp calculation

Let $0 < \varepsilon \lll 1$ be the relative error bound of the floating-point system—$2^{-53}$ in IEEE 754 binary64 arithmetic. First, the naive formula ...

### How do you find a hash function that respects a custom equality function?

The way I can think of to do this is by some sort of normalization: that is, you need to find a function $f$ such that, if $\equiv$ is your custom equality and $==$ is the normal C++ (or whatever ...
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### Halting problem in C++

If you want to prove that the halting problem for C++ programs can't be decided by a C++ program, just copy the proof of the Halting problem but replace every use of a universal Turing machine with a ...
• 80.4k

I think this is due to the differences in the philosophy underlying the design of both programming languages. The C++ philosophy allows data structures to cause undefined behavior as soon as the user ...
• 14.2k
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### Why do we need value-returning functions?

"Need" as such, no. There you are right, all the work can be done using void functions, by passing pointers to variables to modify instead, or changing global ...
• 13.7k

### How do compilers assure stability?

It happens that compilers contain subtle errors. No blatant errors, because blatant errors would be detected and fixed. A compiler that is itself compiled by a compiler with subtle errors will tend to ...
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### Why is the address-of operator in C/C++ represented with the "&" symbol?

Because B did! A user on software engineering.sx contacted Ken Thompson: From: Ken Thompson c copied from b so & and * are same there. b got * from earlier languages - some assembly, bcpl and i ...
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### How do you find a hash function that respects a custom equality function?

If you don’t know the equality function then you let hash(x) = 0. Seriously. All your algorithms will work, but slowly because of collisions. All the other suggestions will make your hashing slow ...
• 25.4k

### Understanding memory leaks in C/C++

In your second example, you allocate space for a PrimeSet object and initialise it, then you call the countPrimeNumbers function. The PrimeSet object still exists, it still occupies memory, it ...
• 25.4k
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### Complete the following table by specifying the scope of each declaration

Your first answer is good (assuming the scope to assign is in order as declarations go). Each declaration is in the scope, where it is declared. In inner scope (say B2) variable $b$ is declared ...
• 9,325
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### What type of function is main()?

Library functions are functions that somebody else coded, and are available for use. User-defined functions are functions that the user defines. This is the case of the C/C++ ...
• 270k
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### Why isn't deque implemented as a dynamic array?

The reason why std::deque is implemented as a sequence of non-contiguous blocks is to guarantee different complexity bounds (and different concrete performance) for ...
• 386
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### What is the difference between python list and c++ vector?

Both python list and c++ vector are implemented as dynamic arrays (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_array). (Essentially arrays that get reallocated when they are too small.) Now the important ...
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### How do compilers assure stability?

One answer is testing, testing, testing. E.g. GCC comes with an ever growing set of tests that are checked each time the compiler is built. Many compilers are required to pass the so-called triple ...
• 13.7k

### Time complexity of similar-looking functions

The answer is actually subtler than it looks. Let us first consider a naive compiler. This naive compiler will implement the recursive case of $g$ by actually running $g(n-1)$ twice. The recurrences ...
• 270k
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### virtual machine based programming languages vs low level

It is impossible for one language to be faster than another language, period. A programming language is a set of abstract mathematical rules and restrictions. It is an idea. A piece of paper. You ...
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• 34.7k