The Tools.h++ class library includes three types of collection classes:
The template-based collection classes, which we call collection class templates, or just templates, for short;
The generic collection classes, modeled after Stroustrup (1986), Chapter 7.3.5;
The Smalltalk-like collection classes.
Despite their different implementations, their functionality and user interfaces (member function names, etc.) are similar.
In the following sections, we'll discuss each type of collection class in turn. In this section, we'll discuss basic concepts of collection classes, and translate some of the jargon you may encounter here and in the literature of C++.