[1] Macros are almost never necessary in C++. Use c o n s t (§5.4) or e n u m (§4.8) to define manifest constants, i n l i n e (§7.1.1) to avoid functioncalling overhead, t e m p l a t e s (Chapter 13) to specify families of functions and types, and n a m e s p a c e s (§8.2) to avoid name clashes. [2] Don’t declare a variable before you need it so that you can initialize it immediately. A declaration can occur anywhere a statement can (§6.3.1), in forstatement initializers (§6.3.3), and in conditions (§6.3.2.1). [3] Don’t use m a l l o c (). The n e w operator (§6.2.6) does the same job better, and instead of r e a l l o c (), try a v e c t o r (§3.8). [4] Try to avoid v o i d *, pointer arithmetic, unions, and casts, except deep within the implementation of some function or class. In most cases, a cast is an indication of a design error. If you must use an explicit type conversion, try using one of the ‘‘new casts’’ (§6.2.7) for a more precise statement of what you are trying to do. [5] Minimize the use of arrays and Cstyle strings. The C++ standard library s t r i n g (§3.5) and v e c t o r (§3.7.1) classes can often be used to simplify programming compared to traditional C style. In general, try not to build yourself what has already been provided by the standard library.