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C++ Fundamentals

You're reading from   C++ Fundamentals Hit the ground running with C++, the language that supports tech giants globally

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Product type Paperback
Published in Mar 2019
Publisher
ISBN-13 9781789801491
Length 350 pages
Edition 1st Edition
Languages
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Authors (2):
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Antonio Mallia Antonio Mallia
Author Profile Icon Antonio Mallia
Antonio Mallia
Francesco Zoffoli Francesco Zoffoli
Author Profile Icon Francesco Zoffoli
Francesco Zoffoli
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Table of Contents (9) Chapters Close

C++ Fundamentals
Preface
1. Getting Started FREE CHAPTER 2. Functions 3. Classes 4. Generic Programming and Templates 5. Standard Library Containers and Algorithms 6. Object-Oriented Programming 7. Appendix

std::variant


variant is a value type that's used to represent a choice of types. The class takes a list of types, and the variant will be able to contain one value of any of those types.

It is often referred to as tagged union, because similar to a union, it can store multiple types, with only one present at a time. It also keeps track of which type is currently stored.

During the execution of a program, variant will contain exactly one of the possible types at a time.

Like optional, variant is a value type: when we create a copy of variant, the element that is currently stored is copied into the new variant.

To interact with std::variant, the C++ standard library gives us two main functions:

  • holds_alternative<Type>(variant): It returns true if the variant is currently holding the provided type, if not then false.

  • get(variant): There are two versions: get<Type>(variant) and get<Index>(variant).

get<Type>(variant) gets the value of the type that's currently stored inside...

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