There are several C++ reference and documentation pages for the C++ programming language and the standard library (std::) and STL that one inevitably ends up coming across during the course of studying C++ and trying to use/learn the built-in features and common extensions of C++ when programming.
Both C and C++ tend to not have the most memorable names for some functions and types and variables etc, and can also have some tricky special cases in terms of code behavior, so the use of reference pages for C++ coding is essentially unavoidable, even more so than usual for programming languages.
Among the most widely known and used C++ reference and documentation pages are the following:
- cplusplus.com
- cppreference.com
- DevDocs C++
- Microsoft Visual C++ Documentation
- The C++ FAQ
- The C++ Standard
- Boost C++ Documentation
These are all great C++ info pages and one inevitably ends up using at least a few of them. They are easily some of the best C++ reference and documentation pages. Searching on the internet for more pages like these often doesn’t bring up results that add much value beyond what’s already in these well-known sites though, unfortunately, at least for actual reference and documentation material anyway.
There are of course also various individual article pages on specific subjects and various Stack Overflow pages etc that cover important information, but that’s not the kinds of pages I’m focusing on here for this post.
Anyway though, one day I was searching for something very specific related to C++ (if I remember correctly), and I saw a C++ reference and documentation website that I’d never seen before show up in the search results. It was a page called “Igor’s C++ Grimoire“.
On multiple occasions I had searched with broad criteria on the internet with queries like “C++ references pages” and “C++ documentation pages” and various other slight variants of those kinds of search queries, and then I would scan through the results, testing out different pages to see if they were good enough to add to my bookmark list of top C++ info pages.
I could never find much/any new websites to add that way though. The common search engines wouldn’t let much variety of other results show up. This, unfortunately, has become a common occurrence on search engines lately I’ve noticed: many valuable website results have become nearly impossible to find and you can often only find those pages through either (1) being connected to someone who knows about the information resource, (2) seeing the resource mentioned on a user forum, or else (3) discover the resource accidentally somehow etc.
That’s exactly what happened though. I made an accidental unlikely discovery. I got lucky one day when I discovered Igor’s C++ Grimoire and now it’s in my list of favorite C++ reference pages on the internet. It’s got a lot of great info in it. It is distinctly different in nature and style from the other (much more well-known) C++ information websites, but it is wonderful.
Of the set of C++ websites I’ve mentioned here above, the following are the one’s I find to be the most useful and most pleasing overall, i.e. the C++ doc/ref pages that I like the most:
If you’re a C++ developer, I highly recommend you check out Igor’s C++ Grimoire and add it to your C++ reference list. It’s a great site and it has a great style too. It really deserves more attention than it gets.
Igor’s C++ Grimoire is one of the best C++ information pages I’ve ever run across and easily belongs in the same category as the other popular C++ doc/ref websites.
I hope someone out there finds this information useful and productive in their programming endeavors. These pages are all great educational resources for programming in C++. You should look at them all some.
Each site has its pros and cons. For example, cplusplus.com often has great examples and a nice readable format but has become partially out of date in recent years, at least for now. DevDocs C++ is very similar to cppreference but has a more pleasing format and DevDocs also hosts a bunch of docs on many other programming languages too, all posted in the same readable format.
The C++ Standard is the most official and authoritative source (it’s kind of like the official instruction manual for C++ in a way), but the C++ Standard is also the most tedious to read of all of the sources mentioned here. Igor’s C++ Grimoire in contrast to the other sources is kind of a mix of both reference material and higher level advice and perspective.
It clearly has had a lot of thought put into it. The formatting of the content is also great and the various types of elements on the page really pop out distinctly. It is really something special. Have fun exploring.