{"id":4148,"date":"2017-03-04T12:19:31","date_gmt":"2017-03-04T17:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/local.brightwhiz\/?p=4148"},"modified":"2021-12-08T12:19:02","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T17:19:02","slug":"using-namespace-std","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/local.brightwhiz\/using-namespace-std\/","title":{"rendered":"Why “using namespace std” is Considered Bad Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every C++ programmer whether new or old is familiar with namespaces and more so “using namespace std”. In most C++ tutorials and courses this is taught early and with good reason. It is used to reduce the typing the C++ <\/a>programmer needs to do and also make the code more readable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

using namespace… allows the programmer to reduce repeated typing of the said namespace. Take for instance the using namespace std<\/code>. When printing output to standard output you can use something like std::cout<\/code> every time you need to print out some information to the standard output for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

std::cout << "This is some text\\n";<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
With using namespace std it allows you to do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
using namespace std\n ...\ncout << "This is some text\\n";<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
It’s that simple. At least things should be that simple but it is not always the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So Whats Wrong With “using namespace std”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Well, this has nothing to do with performance but more of for lack of a better term… confusion. Lets us consider this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
using namespace foo;\nusing namespace bar;<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
So from the above, we have assumed you are using two libraries called foo<\/em> and bar<\/em> respectively. We can assume there is a function called booboo()<\/code> in the foo<\/em> library and a couple of others too. In the bar<\/em> library there is a function called baabaa(<\/code>) and a couple of other unique functions too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calling either of these functions works just fine in this context. Now let’s complicate things a little. You decide to upgrade to the latest version of foo<\/em> with a barrage of new features and bug fixes. Unfortunately, the foo<\/em> library happens to include a new function called baabaa()<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You have just introduced a conflict. The new version of foo<\/em> and the existing bar<\/em>, both import baabaa() into the global namespace. As far as C++ is concerned, this is not acceptable and the compiler will surely complain about this. You can imagine the headaches you have to potentially deal with especially if you are working with a large codebase. The nightmare in fixing this issue will probably drive you up the wall depending on the size of the codebase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This could have been avoided if the original functions were called foo::booboo()<\/code> and bar:baabaa()<\/code>. No conflict there. You now have the option of enjoying the benefits of foo::baabaa()<\/code> too without the risk of complicating your code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be sure to avoid “using namespace<\/strong>” as much as possible. If you do use it and are aware of existing conflicts you can explicitly call the foo::baabaa()<\/code> and bar::baabaa()<\/code> where appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another way to gracefully handle this is to use specific tokens such as this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
using std::cout<\/code> rather than using namespace std<\/code> if you are going to use a lot of cout<\/code> and know it will not cause conflicts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every C++ programmer whether new or old is familiar with namespaces and more so “using namespace std”. In most C++ tutorials and courses this is taught early and with good…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,27,16,17],"tags":[111,143,184,350,433,449,471,472,543,544,563],"yoast_head":"\nWhy is "using namespace std" Considered Bad Practice?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here's why "using namespace std" is considered bad practice in that is can cause conflicts in your seemingly perfect C++ code\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/local.brightwhiz\/using-namespace-std\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why is "using namespace std" Considered Bad Practice?\" \/>\n<meta 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