Byte-Sized-Chunks: C++ Templates and the STL

Compile-time polymorphism via templates, C++ casts, containers, algorithms and iterators - all will make sense now!

Like a gruff uncle, C++ seems intimidating, when its just being helpful. These examples will help you understand that.

Let's parse that.

C++ seems intimidating because all too often, what you see is not what you get.
Usually, that's because C++ is trying to help you, but you don't realise that. C++ is incredibly deep, and it sometimes struggles to get you - the programmer - to understand what it's saying
These examples will help. Each is self-contained, has its source code attached, and gets across a specific C++ use-case. Each example is simple, but not simplistic.
What's Included:

Templates are a classic generic programming technique that were revolutionary when first added to C++. Understand template functions and classes, as well as template specializations.
STL - the Standard Template Library - is incredibly powerful. Get a good sense of collections, iterators and algorithms - the major components of the STL
C++ casts are quite different than C-casts. Understand const_cast, static_cast and dynamic_cast, as well as Real Time Type Identification (RTTI), and the manner in which explicit conversions can be performed using static_cast