Book Image

Data Structures and Algorithms with the C++ STL

By : John Farrier
5 (2)
Book Image

Data Structures and Algorithms with the C++ STL

5 (2)
By: John Farrier

Overview of this book

While the Standard Template Library (STL) offers a rich set of tools for data structures and algorithms, navigating its intricacies can be daunting for intermediate C++ developers without expert guidance. This book offers a thorough exploration of the STL’s components, covering fundamental data structures, advanced algorithms, and concurrency features. Starting with an in-depth analysis of the std::vector, this book highlights its pivotal role in the STL, progressing toward building your proficiency in utilizing vectors, managing memory, and leveraging iterators. The book then advances to STL’s data structures, including sequence containers, associative containers, and unordered containers, simplifying the concepts of container adaptors and views to enhance your knowledge of modern STL programming. Shifting the focus to STL algorithms, you’ll get to grips with sorting, searching, and transformations and develop the skills to implement and modify algorithms with best practices. Advanced sections cover extending the STL with custom types and algorithms, as well as concurrency features, exception safety, and parallel algorithms. By the end of this book, you’ll have transformed into a proficient STL practitioner ready to tackle real-world challenges and build efficient and scalable C++ applications.
Table of Contents (30 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Part 1: Mastering std::vector
7
Part 2: Understanding STL Data Structures
13
Part 3: Mastering STL Algorithms
19
Part 4: Creating STL-Compatible Types and Algorithms
23
Part 5: STL Data Structures and Algorithms: Under the Hood

std::flat_set

std::flat_set is a sorted associative container that’s designed to store a collection of unique elements in a sorted order. What sets std::flat_set apart from other associative containers, such as std::set, is that it is implemented as a flat container, often based on a sorted std::vector container. This means that elements are stored contiguously in memory, leading to optimal memory usage and faster iteration times compared to traditional tree-based associative containers.

std::flat_set maintains its elements in a sorted order, allowing for efficient searching, insertion, and deletion operations, while also providing similar functionality and interface to other set-like containers in the C++ STL. It is especially useful when you need the advantages of both sorted storage and efficient memory management.

Purpose and suitability

std::flat_set is a container that represents an associative set stored in a sorted flat array. It merges the benefits of a std...