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iterator_traits Struct

A template helper struct used to specify all the critical type definitions that an iterator should have.

template<class Iterator>
    struct iterator_traits {
        typedef typename Iterator::iterator_category iterator_category;
        typedef typename Iterator::value_type value_type;
        typedef typename Iterator::difference_type difference_type;
        typedef difference_type distance_type;
        typedef typename Iterator::pointer pointer;
        typedef typename Iterator::reference reference;
    };
template<class Type>
    struct iterator_traits<Type*> {
        typedef random_access_iterator_tag iterator_category;
        typedef Type value_type;
        typedef ptrdiff_t difference_type;
        typedef difference_type distance_type;
        typedef Type *pointer;
        typedef Type& reference;
    };
template<class Type>
    struct iterator_traits<const Type*> {
        typedef random_access_iterator_tag iterator_category;
        typedef Type value_type;
        typedef ptrdiff_t difference_type;
        typedef difference_type distance_type;
        typedef const Type *pointer;
        typedef const Type& reference;
    };

Remarks

The template struct defines the member types

  • iterator_category: a synonym for Iterator::iterator_category.

  • value_type: a synonym for Iterator::value_type.

  • difference_type: a synonym for Iterator::difference_type.

  • distance_type: a synonym for Iterator::difference_type.

  • pointer: a synonym for Iterator::pointer.

  • reference: a synonym for Iterator::reference.

The partial specializations determine the critical types associated with an object pointer of type Type * or const Type *.

In this implementation you can also use several template functions that do not make use of partial specialization:

template<class Category, class Type, class Diff>
C _Iter_cat(const iterator<Category, Ty, Diff>&);
template<class Ty>
    random_access_iterator_tag _Iter_cat(const Ty *);

template<class Category, class Ty, class Diff>
Ty *_Val_type(const iterator<Category, Ty, Diff>&);
template<class Ty>
    Ty *_Val_type(const Ty *);

template<class Category, class Ty, class Diff>
Diff *_Dist_type(const iterator<Category, Ty, Diff>&);
template<class Ty>
    ptrdiff_t *_Dist_type(const Ty *);

which determine several of the same types more indirectly. You use these functions as arguments on a function call. Their sole purpose is to supply a useful template class parameter to the called function.

Example

// iterator_traits.cpp
// compile with: /EHsc
#include <iostream>
#include <iterator>
#include <vector>
#include <list>

using namespace std;

template< class it >
void
function( it i1, it i2 )
{
   iterator_traits<it>::iterator_category cat;
   cout << typeid( cat ).name( ) << endl;
   while ( i1 != i2 )
   {
      iterator_traits<it>::value_type x;
      x = *i1;
      cout << x << " ";
      i1++;
   };   
   cout << endl;
};

int main( ) 
{
   vector<char> vc( 10,'a' );
   list<int> li( 10 );
   function( vc.begin( ), vc.end( ) );
   function( li.begin( ), li.end( ) );
}
struct std::random_access_iterator_tag
a a a a a a a a a a 
struct std::bidirectional_iterator_tag
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Requirements

Header: <iterator>

Namespace: std

See Also

Reference

<iterator>

Thread Safety in the Standard C++ Library

Standard Template Library