Zero-overhead principle
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The zero-overhead principle is a C++ design principle that states:
- You don't pay for what you don't use.
- What you do use is just as efficient as what you could reasonably write by hand.
In general, this means that no feature should be added to C++ that would impose any overhead, whether in time or space, greater than a programmer would introduce without using the feature.
The only two features in the language that do not follow the zero-overhead principle are runtime type identification and exceptions, and are why most compilers include a switch to turn them off.
[edit] External links
1.
Foundations of C++ - Bjarne Stroustrup
2.
C++ exceptions and alternatives - Bjarne Stroustrup