std::vector
std::vector is a dynamic array. It grows and shrinks as needed, offering an excellent balance between direct access performance and flexibility in size. std::vector has a cache-friendly contiguous memory layout and amortized constant-time insertions at the end, making it an excellent general-purpose container. It performs best when your primary operations are indexing and require dynamic resizing but without frequent insertions or deletions in the middle.
Purpose and suitability
std::vector is essentially a dynamic array within the STL. Its primary strength lies in the following:
- Offering constant-time random access
- Dynamically resizing as elements are inserted or removed
It’s particularly suitable when the following is required:
- Random access is paramount.
- Insertions or deletions are primarily at the end of the sequence.
- Cache locality is essential.
Opt for std::vector when constant-time access, performance, or cache...
