Concepts

The introduction of concepts in C++20 marked a pivotal step towards safer and more expressive templated programming. With their inherent ability to specify constraints on template arguments, concepts promise to reshape how we interact with and utilize the Standard Template Library (STL). Let’s discover how concepts intertwine with the rich tapestry of STL algorithms and data structures to create a more robust and declarative C++ programming paradigm.

A brief introduction to concepts

Concepts provide a mechanism to specify and check constraints on template arguments. Essentially, they allow developers to assert requirements about the types passed to a template. Concepts aim to make template errors more readable, help avoid common pitfalls, and promote the creation of more generic and reusable code.

Consider the following concept for an arithmetic type:

template<typename T>
concept Arithmetic = std::is_arithmetic_v<T>;

Using this concept, one...