Argument-dependent name lookup
Argument-dependent name lookup (ADL) can be explained by considering a scenario where you are playing with some toys in a room with your friend. You both have some toys that have similar names but are different in appearance and function. For instance, you have a toy car and your friend has a toy truck, and both of these toys have steering wheels.
Now imagine that your friend says, "Let's race our toys." You want to call out the function that controls the steering wheel of your toy car, but you don't know the exact name of that function. However, since your friend's toy truck also has a steering wheel, you know that it must have a similar function with a similar name.
This is similar to how ADL works in programming. When you pass an argument to a function, the compiler looks for the corresponding function name in the current scope and any associated namespaces. However, ADL also searches for function names that are associated with the types of the arguments being passed to the function.
For example, let's say you have a program with a FunctionX that takes a parameter of type T. If you pass an argument to FunctionX that is of type U, and U has a function with the same name as FunctionX, the compiler will use that function during runtime.
In simpler terms, ADL allows a function to use a different function with the same name but associated with a different argument type. This makes it easier to write flexible and reusable code.
Now imagine that your friend says, "Let's race our toys." You want to call out the function that controls the steering wheel of your toy car, but you don't know the exact name of that function. However, since your friend's toy truck also has a steering wheel, you know that it must have a similar function with a similar name.
This is similar to how ADL works in programming. When you pass an argument to a function, the compiler looks for the corresponding function name in the current scope and any associated namespaces. However, ADL also searches for function names that are associated with the types of the arguments being passed to the function.
For example, let's say you have a program with a FunctionX that takes a parameter of type T. If you pass an argument to FunctionX that is of type U, and U has a function with the same name as FunctionX, the compiler will use that function during runtime.
In simpler terms, ADL allows a function to use a different function with the same name but associated with a different argument type. This makes it easier to write flexible and reusable code.