c++ Insulation (I)

Back to the old coding series. I wanted to discuss a bit about insulation, which is something essential for large C++ projects. Many people enjoyes encapsulation, as fundamental good practice for OO progamming. Insulation is a bit less known.

Basically, insulation is a way to reduce dependencies in code at compile time (my own pratical definition). What's bad with dependencies? Well, when you have a dependency you basically introduce some additional time to compile the unit on which you depend to. So, you can say: hey wait a minute if I depend on that piece of code this is meaning that I need that code. In C++ this is not always the case. There are some (implict) dependencies that you may want to avoid and you may want to be aware of. If you apply these suggestions, then your coding style will improve a lot. Let's see some of them:

1. Include files. Whenever you include a .h, you depend on that code. Ok, Ok you say: if I include it, I need it. Sure; but what about including other .h files in your .c file? Why what you included should, in turn, be included by whatever is including your .h file? stop uncessary dependencies and be fair stella;
2. Inheritance. Books say any good OO sytem should leverage inheritance. I say don't believe the hype. Use inheritance with care. In a lot of situations Generics and templates are more efficient. BTW, when you inherit from a class, then you introduce a dependency on it. Sometimes you need, sometime you don't. Just be aware. Anything has a cost. Don't go in that direction without following your brain, and just listening to your heart;
3. Layering. When your class (HasA) another user-defined type, you have a dependency on it. Again: hey, if I embedd that object this means that I need it. Correct. So what can you do to avoid it?

The answer to the question and many other situations will be given in another post.