How templates are instantiated

When a template is used with a specific type, the compiler creates a new instance of the template with the specified type. This process is known as template instantiation and can happen implicitly or explicitly:

• Implicit instantiation: This occurs when the compiler encounters a use of the template with specific types:

  int main() {

      std::cout << add(5, 3) << std::endl; // The compiler infers the type as int

      return 0;

  }

• Explicit instantiation: The programmer specifies the type explicitly:

  int main() {

      std::cout << add<int>(5, 3) << std::endl; // Explicitly specifies the type as int

      return 0;

  }