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    Standard Library Containers Standard Containers std:: Containers

    Sequence Containers

    array<T,size>

    standard library sequence container 'array

    fixed-size contiguous array

    vector<T>

    standard library sequence container 'vector

    dynamic contiguous array; amortized O(1) growth;
    C++'s default container

    deque<T>

    standard library sequence container 'deque

    double-ended queue; fast insert/erase at both ends

    list<T>

    standard library sequence container 'list

    doubly-linked list; O(1) insert, erase & splicing; in practice often slower than vector

    forward_list<T>

    standard library sequence container 'forward_list

    singly-linked list; O(1) insert, erase & splicing; needs less memory than list; in practice often slower than vector

    string

    standard library 'string

    dynamic character sequence

    Associative Containers

    set<Key>

    stores unique keys; sorted by keys

    standard library associative container 'set

    map<Key,Value>

    stores unique key→value-pairs; sorted by keys

    standard library associative container 'map

    unordered_set<Key>

    stores unique keys; hashed by keys

    standard library associative container 'unordered_set

    unordered_map<Key,Value>

    stores unique key→value-pairs; hashed by keys

    standard library associative container 'unordered_map

    Containers that allow non-unique keys:
    • multiset
    • multimap
    • unordered_multiset
    • unordered_multimap

    Special Containers

    pair<A,B>

    contains 2 values of same or different type

    standard library special container 'pair
    tuple<A,B,C,…>

    contains many values of same or different type

    standard library special container 'tuple
    optional<T>

    contains either one value of type T or no value

    standard library special container 'optional
    variant<A,B,C,…>

    contains one value of either type A or type B or type C, …

    standard library special container 'variant
    any

    contains one value of any

    standard library special container 'any

    Views

    Contiguous Sequence Views

    • lightweight (= cheap to copy, can be passed by value)
    • non-owning (= not responsible for allocating or deleting memory)
    span C++20

    view of a contiguous sequence

    string_view C++17

    view of a string-like character sequence

    Composable Range Views C++20

    Introduction to Range Views
    standard library range views overview sheet with visual examples

    Related …

    Last updated: 2023-02-19