Andrei Alexandrescu Style Guide⁠‍⁠​‌​‌​​‌‌‍​‌​​‌​‌‌‍​​‌‌​​​‌‍​‌​​‌‌​​‍​​​​​​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​​​​‍‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‍‌‌​​​‌​​‍‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌​‌​​​​‍​‌​‌‌‌‌‌‍​‌​​‌​‌‌‍​‌‌​‌​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍​​‌​‌​​​‍‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‍​‌‌​​‌‌​‍‌​​‌‌‌​‌‍‌​​‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌​​​​‌​‍​​​​‌​‌​‍‌‌​​‌‌‌​⁠‍⁠

Overview

Andrei Alexandrescu's "Modern C++ Design" revolutionized how we think about C++ templates. His work on Loki library and policy-based design showed that templates are not just for containers—they're a compile-time programming language.

Core Philosophy

"C++ templates are Turing-complete. Use this power wisely."

"Policy-based design: assemble types from interchangeable parts."

Alexandrescu believes in pushing computation to compile time and using the type system as a design tool, not just a safety mechanism.

Design Principles

1. Policy-Based Design: Build classes from interchangeable policy classes that customize behavior without inheritance overhead.

2. Compile-Time over Runtime: What can be computed at compile time should be.