East Bay: What is the basic interface?

When we read a function declaration, what expectations do we have of the function? What requirements and limitations do we take for granted? Our unspoken assumptions about function interfaces present an obstacle to precise reasoning about programs.

Here, I will delve into the nitty-gritty procedural logic of function calls in C++, with particular emphasis on the things that often go without saying. I will present some suggestions about how we can make these implicit expectations precise, and how we can express deviation from these expectations in current and future versions of C++.

This presentation will be a companion to my C++Now 2015 session, "How we reason about procedural programs," but no knowledge of that material will be necessary.

This talk was given at C++Now 2016, and won the award for best session.

Lisa Lippincott is Chief Software Architect at Tanium, a bay-area startup. Her claim to fame is writing one phrase appearing in the C++ standard. In her spare time, she studies mathematical logic with a category-theoretic approach.

Join us after the talk at for drinks and food at a local Berkeley restaurant (TBA)!