Introduction
In the last chapter, we visited basic STL algorithms and performed simple tasks with them in order to get a feeling of the typical STL interface: most STL algorithms accept one or more ranges in the form of iterator pairs as input/output parameters. They often also accept predicate functions, custom comparison functions, or transformation functions. In the end, they mostly return iterators again because these can often be fed into some other algorithm afterward.
While STL algorithms aim to be minimal, their interfaces also try to be as general as possible. This enables maximum code reuse potential but does not always look too pretty. An experienced C++ coder who knows all algorithms has a better time reading other people's code if it tries to express as many ideas using STL algorithms as possible. This leads to a maximized common ground of comprehension between coder and reader. A programmer's brain can simply parse the name of a well-known algorithm more quickly than it can...
