Deciphering the C++ documentation

As QGIS is implemented in C++, the documentation for QGIS APIs is all based on C++. This can make it difficult for Python developers to understand and work with the QGIS APIs. For example, the API documentation for the QgsInterface.zoomToActiveLayer() method:

If you're not familiar with C++, this can be quite confusing. Fortunately, as a Python programmer, you can skip over much of the complexity as it doesn't apply to you. In particular:

• The virtual keyword is an implementation detail you don't need to worry about
• void indicates that the method doesn't return a value
• The double colons in QgisInterface::zoomToActiveLayer are simply a C++ convention for separating the class name from the method name

Just like in Python, the parentheses show that the method doesn't take any parameters. So if you have an instance of QgisInterface (for example, as the standard iface variable available in the Python Console), you can call this method simply...