CS102: Introduction to Computer Science II

Some uses of templates, such as the max() function, were previously filled by function-like preprocessor macros (a legacy of the C programming language). For example, here is a possible max() macro:

#define max(a,b) ((a) < (b) ? (b) : (a))

Macros are expanded by preprocessor, before compilation proper; templates are expanded at compile time. Macros are always expanded inline; templates can also be expanded as inline functions when the compiler deems it appropriate. Thus both function-like macros and function templates have no run-time overhead.

However, templates are generally considered an improvement over macros for these purposes. Templates are type-safe. Templates avoid some of the common errors found in code that makes heavy use of function-like macros, such as evaluating parameters with side effects twice. Perhaps most importantly, templates were designed to be applicable to much larger problems than macros.

There are four primary drawbacks to the use of templates: supported features, compiler support, poor error messages, and code bloat:

1. Templates in C++ lack many features, which makes implementing them and using them in a straightforward way often impossible. Instead programmers have to rely on complicated tricks which leads to bloated, hard to understand and hard to maintain code. Current developments in the C++ standards exacerbate this problem by making heavy use of these tricks and building a lot of new features for templates on them or with them in mind.
2. Many compilers historically have poor support for templates, thus the use of templates can make code somewhat less portable. Support may also be poor when a C++ compiler is being used with a linker that is not C++-aware, or when attempting to use templates across shared library boundaries. Most modern compilers however now have fairly robust and standard template support, and the new C++ standard, C++11, further addresses these issues.
3. Almost all compilers produce confusing, long, or sometimes unhelpful error messages when errors are detected in code that uses templates. This can make templates difficult to develop.
4. Finally, the use of templates requires the compiler to generate a separate instance of the templated class or function for every permutation of type parameters used with it. (This is necessary because types in C++ are not all the same size, and the sizes of data fields are important to how classes work). So, the indiscriminate use of templates can lead to code bloat, resulting in excessively large executables. However, judicious use of template specialization and derivation can dramatically reduce such code bloat in some cases:

The extra instantiations generated by templates can also cause debuggers to have difficulty working gracefully with templates. For example, setting a debug breakpoint within a template from a source file may either miss setting the breakpoint in the actual instantiation desired or may set a breakpoint in every place the template is instantiated.

Also, because the compiler needs to perform macro-like expansions of templates and generate different instances of them at compile time, the implementation source code for the templated class or function must be available (e.g. included in a header) to the code using it. Templated classes or functions, including much of the Standard Template Library (STL), if not included in header files, cannot be compiled. (This is in contrast to non-templated code, which may be compiled to binary, providing only a declarations header file for code using it). This may be a disadvantage by exposing the implementing code, which removes some abstractions, and could restrict its use in closed-source projects.