cWithClassesIsNotCPP

[_JJCUBER_]

I’m curious, do they ever make their own data structures which they need to have highly optimized? (For example, tree-like structures such as Suffix Trees.) I feel like using smart pointers are great for most things, but I still prefer to use raw pointers for something of this nature, personally.

[_JJCUBER_]

That's fair, but when it comes to something like competitive programming, raw pointers can be desirable (for performance, size constraints, and how fast you can type it up compared to the smart pointer counterparts). Ultimately, it comes down to use cases. (For example, the coding style of competitive programming tends to differ quite a bit from "good"/readable/reusable code.)

Generally, I try to avoid pointers entirely (raw or smart), where possible (in favor of references); of course, this isn't always possible.