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Debug Iterator Support

The Visual C++ runtime library now detects incorrect iterator use and will assert and display a dialog box at run time. To enable debug iterator support, a program must be compiled with a debug version of a C run time library (see C Run-Time Libraries for more information).

See Checked Iterators for more information on using iterators.

The C++ standard describes which member functions cause iterators to a container to become invalid. Two examples are:

  • Erasing an element from a container causes iterators to the element to become invalid.

  • Increasing the size of a vector (push or insert) causes iterators into the vector container become invalid.

Example

Compile the following program in debug mode and at runtime it will assert and terminate.

/* compile with /D_DEBUG /EHsc /MDd */
#include <vector>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
   std::vector<int> v ;
   
   v.push_back(10);
   v.push_back(15);
   v.push_back(20);
   
   std::vector<int>::iterator i = v.begin();
   ++i;
   
   std::vector<int>::iterator j = v.end();
   --j;
   
   std::cout<<*j<<'\n';
   
   v.insert(i,25); 
   
   std::cout<<*j<<'\n'; // Using an old iterator after an insert
}

The symbol _HAS_ITERATOR_DEBUGGING can be used to turn off the iterator debugging feature in a debug build. The following program will not assert:

// iterator_debugging.cpp
// compile with: /D_DEBUG /EHsc /MDd
#define _HAS_ITERATOR_DEBUGGING 0
#include <vector>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
   std::vector<int> v ;
   
   v.push_back(10);
   v.push_back(15);
   v.push_back(20);
   
   std::vector<int>::iterator i = v.begin();
   ++i;
   
   std::vector<int>::iterator j = v.end();
   --j;
   
   std::cout<<*j<<'\n';
   
   v.insert(i,25); 
   
   std::cout<<*j<<'\n'; // Using an old iterator after an insert
}
20
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An assert will also occur if you attempt to use an iterator before it is initialized:

/* compile with /EHsc /MDd */
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main() {
   string::iterator i1, i2;
   if (i1 == i2)
      ;
}

The following code example will cause an assertion because the two iterators to the for_each algorithm are incompatible. All algorithms check to see that the iterators supplied to them are referencing the same container.

/* compile with /D_DEBUG /EHsc /MDd */
#include <algorithm>
#include <vector>
using namespace std;

// The function object multiplies an element by a Factor
template <class Type>
class MultValue
{
private:
    Type Factor;   // The value to multiply by
public:
    // Constructor initializes the value to multiply by
    MultValue(const Type& val ) : Factor(val) { }

    // The function call for the element to be multiplied
    void operator()(Type& elem) const
    {
        elem *= Factor;
    }
};

int main()
{
    vector<int> v1;
    vector<int> v2;

    v1.push_back(10);
    v1.push_back(20);

    v2.push_back(10);
    v2.push_back(20);

    // This next line will assert because v1 and v2 are
    // incompatible.
    for_each(v1.begin(), v2.end(), MultValue<int>(-2));
}

Debug iterator checking also implies /Zc:forScope, such that, an iterator variable declared in a for loop will not be in scope when the for loop scope ends.

// debug_iterator.cpp
// compile with: /EHsc /MDd
#include <vector>
#include <iostream>
int main() {
   std::vector<int> v ;
   
   v.push_back(10);
   v.push_back(15);
   v.push_back(20);
   
   for (std::vector<int>::iterator i = v.begin() ; i != v.end(); ++i)
   ;
   --i;   // C2065
}

Debug iterators have non-trivial destructors. If a destructor does not run, for whatever reason, it could lead to access violations and data corruption. Consider the following example:

/* compile with: /D_DEBUG /EHsc /MDd */
#include <vector>
struct base {
   // FIX: uncomment the next line
   // virtual ~base() {}
};

struct derived : base {
   std::vector<int>::iterator m_iter;
   derived( std::vector<int>::iterator iter ) : m_iter( iter ) {}
   ~derived() {}
};

int main() {
   std::vector<int> vect( 10 );
   base * pb = new derived( vect.begin() );
   delete pb;  // doesn't call ~derived()
   // access violation
}

See Also

Reference

Standard C++ Library Overview