What better way to end the year than with a discussion of design patterns?

Once, Weakly: Checked Bridge
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Checked Bridge is a (proto)pattern that allows different versions of
Bridge interfaces and implementations to work together.

When the Bridge pattern is used with different versions of software that
are distributed at different times, it is often the case that the
interface part of the Bridge may be paired with an implementation part
that was developed for an earlier or later version of the interface.
The Checked Bridge pattern shows how to export the implementation
requirements of an interface to potential implementations, and perform a
fine-grain capability query to ensure that a particular aspect of an
interface’s functionality is supported by its implementation.

See the "Once, Weakly" for 23 December at
http://www.semantics.org/weekly.html

New Version of Practical Design Patterns in C++
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The tried-and-true patterns course has been extensively revised to include:

1) additional non-GOF patterns
2) integration of C++ template programming techniques in pattern application
3) additional material on how to choose the "right" pattern
4) compound patterns and pattern languages
5) an entirely new section on Alexandrescu's policy-based design

See a full course description at
http://www.semantics.org/courses/patternsincpp.html