Performance considerations
When choosing a data container in C++, performance often ranks at the top of considerations. Naturally, the allure of std::vector doesn’t solely rest on its ease of use, but mainly on its efficiency. In this section, we’ll delve deep into the performance mechanics of std::vector, comparing it with other C++ containers and shedding light on where it truly shines.
At its core, std::vector is a dynamic array. This means that its elements are stored in contiguous memory locations. This adjacent nature gives std::vector a performance edge in many scenarios, such as the following:
- Random access: Accessing any element via its index, whether reading or writing, is an O(1) operation. This makes
std::vectoras fast as a raw array regarding direct element access. - Cache locality: Modern CPUs have caches that temporarily store frequently accessed memory data. The contiguous memory storage of
std::vectoroften results in better cache locality...
