13.12 iostream Terminology
The iostream library descriptions often use terms
similar to terms from general programming but with specialized meanings. The
following table defines these terms as they are used in discussing the iostream library.
Table 13-4 iostream Terminology
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A word with two meanings, one specific to the iostream package and one more
generally applied to input and output.
When referring specifically to the iostream library, a buffer is an object
of the type defined by the class streambuf.
A buffer, generally, is a block of memory used to make efficient transfer of characters for
input of output. With buffered I/O, the actual transfer of characters is delayed until the buffer is
full or forcibly flushed.
An unbuffered buffer refers to a streambuf where there is no buffer in the
general sense defined above. This chapter avoids use of the term buffer to refer to
streambufs. However, the man pages and other C++ documentation do use the term
buffer to mean streambufs.
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The process of taking input from an iostream.
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An input or output stream specialized for use with files. Refers specifically to a class
derived from class iostream when printed in monospace
font.
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The process of sending output into an iostream.
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Generally, an input or output stream.
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iostream library
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Refers to a library implemented by the include files iostream.h,
fstream.h, strstream.h, iomanip.h, and
stdiostream.h. Because iostream is an object-oriented library,
you should extend it.
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An iostream, fstream, strstream, or
user-defined stream in general.
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A buffer that contains a sequence of characters with a put or get pointer, or both. When
printed in monospace font, it means the particular class. Otherwise, it refers
generally to any object of class streambuf or a class derived from
streambuf. Any stream object contains an object, or a pointer to an object, of a
type derived from streambuf.
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An iostream specialized for use with character arrays. It refers to the
specific class when printed in monospace font.
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