Why STL containers are preferred over MFC containers?

Question

Previously, I used to use MFC collection classes such CArray and CMap. After a while I switched to STL containers and have been using them for a while.

Answer 1

STL containers:

• Have performance guarantees
• Can be used in STL algorithms which also have performance guarantees
• Can be leveraged by third-party C++ libraries like Boost
• Are standard, and likely to outlive proprietary solutions
• Encourage generic programming of algorithms and data structures. If you write new algorithms and data structures that conform to STL you can leverage what STL already provides at no cost.