The C++17 standard introduced some significant improvements to the language. Online we are going to discuss a couple of features that can be useful in various projects especially those related to our reader's interest in Computer Science, AI, and finance.

To start with, C++17 introduced if and switch with initializers. This feature offers more compact code by allowing a variable to be initialized in the condition of an if statement or a switch statement.

This is very useful in web-based applications as it enables optimization of code, ensuring that complex client-server interactions perform quickly and efficiently.

Another significant feature is the introduction of the std::optional which provides a way to represent optional values – i.e., values that may or may not be present. This can be extremely useful for AI algorithms, where certain inputs may occasionally be absent, but the program should still function optimally.

In finance applications, where precision and speed are paramount, these features enable faster processing and more predictable, reliable results.

In the next section, we will illustrate the use of these features in modern C++.

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#include <iostream>

#include <optional>

using namespace std;

​

int main() {

    int a = 1;

    int b = 2;

    if (int c = a + b; c > 2) {

        std::cout << 'computed value is larger than 2' << std::endl;

    } else {

        std::cout << 'computed value is not larger than 2' << std::endl;

    }

​

    std::optional<int> optionalVal = 1;

    if(optionalVal.has_value()) {

        std::cout << 'optionalVal has a value of: ' << optionalVal.value() << std::endl;

    } else {

        std::cout << 'optionalVal has no value' << std::endl;

    }

​

    return 0;

}