A generic hash table

C++11 is the first version of the language to feature a built in hash table. One has to wonder why the language is only now gettin (sic) such a basic data structure as a generic hash table. I think it's because generic data structures are insanely hard in a language like C++. It's not really possible to make them both generic and performant (at least not without hortrible template hackery), and making them customizable (so you can apply different policies regarding memory allocation, collision handling, etc.) is even harder.

Yes, C is an ugly language and it has many warts. But it's *useful* in that it lets me write code in the way I want to write it: without hidden costs, reasonably close to the hardware and just as efficient as C++, if not more so.

Seriously though, writing generic data structures in C++ is a hard enough problem that even stl is pretty crappy for a lot of applications. Every insert into the C++ linked list causes a memory allocation. Until recently, LinkedList::size() was an O(n) operation. The attempts to make vector<bool> fast were a horrible failure. The COW abilities of basic_string are mostly a joke because of weak C++ aliasing rules. C++ provides you with half the tools you need to write good generic data structures and all the rope you need to hang yourself while chasing that pipe dream.