Understanding the principle of least surprise

When either using existing C++ libraries or creating your own, understanding the principle of least surprise (also called the principle of least astonishment) is critical to developing source code efficiently and effectively. This principle simply states that any feature that a C++ library provides should be intuitive and should operate as the developer expects. Another way of saying this is that a library's APIs should be self-documenting. Although this principle is critically important when designing libraries, it can and should be applied to all forms of software development. In this recipe, we will explore this principle in depth.

Getting ready

As with all of the recipes...