api - What does "[ this ]" mean in C++

Question

When I was reading the Cocos2dx 3.0 API, I found something like this:

auto listener = [this](Event* event){
    auto keyboardEvent = static_cast<EventKeyboard*>(event);
    if (keyboardEvent->_isPressed)
    {
        if (onKeyPressed != nullptr)
            onKeyPressed(keyboardEvent->_keyCode, event);
    }
    else
    {
        if (onKeyReleased != nullptr)
            onKeyReleased(keyboardEvent->_keyCode, event);
    }
};

What does [this] mean? Is this new syntax in C++11?

Answer 1

What does [this] means?

It introduces a lambda - a callable function object. Putting this in the brackets means that the lambda captures this, so that members of this object are available within it. Lambdas can also capture local variables, by value or reference, as described in the linked page.

The lambda has an overload of operator(), so that it can be called like a function:

Event * event = some_event();
listener(event);

which will run the code defined in the body of the lambda.

Is this new syntax in C++11?

Yes.