What are the differences between C++ variadic templates and macros?

What are the differences between C++ variadic templates and macros?

C++ variadic templates allow you to create functions that can take a variable number of arguments, providing type safety and better integration with the type system. Macros, on the other hand, are preprocessor directives that can also handle variable arguments but lack type safety and can lead to harder-to-debug code.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! For variadic templates, you might have a function like this:

template<typename... Args>
void print(Args... args) {
    (std::cout << ... << args) << '\n';
}

For macros, it could look like this:

#define PRINT(...) printf(__VA_ARGS__)

What are the advantages of using variadic templates over macros?

The main advantages of variadic templates include type safety, better error messages, and the ability to use them with any type, including user-defined types. Macros can lead to unexpected behavior and are harder to debug.

Are there any performance differences?

Generally, variadic templates can be optimized better by the compiler, leading to potentially better performance. Macros are expanded at compile time, which can sometimes lead to code bloat.