Hi there IMHO to me OOPS, design patterns make sense and i have been able to apply them practically. But when it comes to "generic programming /meta programming" of the Modern C++ kind, i am left confused. -- Is it a new programming/design paradigm ? -- Is it just limited to "library development"? If not, What design/coding situations call for using meta programming/generic programming. -- Does using templates mean i am doing generic programming? I have googled a lot on this topic but do not grasp the BIG PICTURE fully. Also see this post. After reading dicussions here under, up till now, I am sure ( might still not be correct): a) Generic programming and meta programming are two different concepts.