23 Iterators library [iterators]

23.1 General [iterators.general]

This Clause describes components that C++ programs may use to perform iterations over containers ([containers]), streams ([iostream.format]), stream buffers ([stream.buffers]), and other ranges ([ranges]).
The following subclauses describe iterator requirements, and components for iterator primitives, predefined iterators, and stream iterators, as summarized in Table 82.
Table 82: Iterators library summary [tab:iterators.summary]
Subclause
Header
Iterator requirements
<iterator>
Iterator primitives
Iterator adaptors
Stream iterators
Range access

23.2 Header <iterator> synopsis [iterator.synopsis]

#include <compare> // see [compare.syn] #include <concepts> // see [concepts.syn] namespace std { template<class T> using with-reference = T&; // exposition only template<class T> concept can-reference // exposition only = requires { typename with-reference<T>; }; template<class T> concept dereferenceable // exposition only = requires(T& t) { { *t } -> can-reference; // not required to be equality-preserving }; // [iterator.assoc.types], associated types // [incrementable.traits], incrementable traits template<class> struct incrementable_traits; template<class T> using iter_difference_t = see below; // [readable.traits], indirectly readable traits template<class> struct indirectly_readable_traits; template<class T> using iter_value_t = see below; // [iterator.traits], iterator traits template<class I> struct iterator_traits; template<class T> requires is_object_v<T> struct iterator_traits<T*>; template<dereferenceable T> using iter_reference_t = decltype(*declval<T&>()); namespace ranges { // [iterator.cust], customization point objects inline namespace unspecified { // [iterator.cust.move], ranges​::​iter_­move inline constexpr unspecified iter_move = unspecified; // [iterator.cust.swap], ranges​::​iter_­swap inline constexpr unspecified iter_swap = unspecified; } } template<dereferenceable T> requires requires(T& t) { { ranges::iter_move(t) } -> can-reference; } using iter_rvalue_reference_t = decltype(ranges::iter_move(declval<T&>())); // [iterator.concepts], iterator concepts // [iterator.concept.readable], concept indirectly_­readable template<class In> concept indirectly_readable = see below; template<indirectly_­readable T> using iter_common_reference_t = common_reference_t<iter_reference_t<T>, iter_value_t<T>&>; // [iterator.concept.writable], concept indirectly_­writable template<class Out, class T> concept indirectly_writable = see below; // [iterator.concept.winc], concept weakly_­incrementable template<class I> concept weakly_incrementable = see below; // [iterator.concept.inc], concept incrementable template<class I> concept incrementable = see below; // [iterator.concept.iterator], concept input_­or_­output_­iterator template<class I> concept input_or_output_iterator = see below; // [iterator.concept.sentinel], concept sentinel_­for template<class S, class I> concept sentinel_for = see below; // [iterator.concept.sizedsentinel], concept sized_­sentinel_­for template<class S, class I> inline constexpr bool disable_sized_sentinel_for = false; template<class S, class I> concept sized_sentinel_for = see below; // [iterator.concept.input], concept input_­iterator template<class I> concept input_iterator = see below; // [iterator.concept.output], concept output_­iterator template<class I, class T> concept output_iterator = see below; // [iterator.concept.forward], concept forward_­iterator template<class I> concept forward_iterator = see below; // [iterator.concept.bidir], concept bidirectional_­iterator template<class I> concept bidirectional_iterator = see below; // [iterator.concept.random.access], concept random_­access_­iterator template<class I> concept random_access_iterator = see below; // [iterator.concept.contiguous], concept contiguous_­iterator template<class I> concept contiguous_iterator = see below; // [indirectcallable], indirect callable requirements // [indirectcallable.indirectinvocable], indirect callables template<class F, class I> concept indirectly_unary_invocable = see below; template<class F, class I> concept indirectly_regular_unary_invocable = see below; template<class F, class I> concept indirect_unary_predicate = see below; template<class F, class I1, class I2> concept indirect_binary_predicate = see below; template<class F, class I1, class I2 = I1> concept indirect_equivalence_relation = see below; template<class F, class I1, class I2 = I1> concept indirect_strict_weak_order = see below; template<class F, class... Is> requires (indirectly_­readable<Is> && ...) && invocable<F, iter_reference_t<Is>...> using indirect_result_t = invoke_result_t<F, iter_reference_t<Is>...>; // [projected], projected template<indirectly_­readable I, indirectly_­regular_­unary_­invocable<I> Proj> struct projected; template<weakly_­incrementable I, class Proj> struct incrementable_traits<projected<I, Proj>>; // [alg.req], common algorithm requirements // [alg.req.ind.move], concept indirectly_­movable template<class In, class Out> concept indirectly_movable = see below; template<class In, class Out> concept indirectly_movable_storable = see below; // [alg.req.ind.copy], concept indirectly_­copyable template<class In, class Out> concept indirectly_copyable = see below; template<class In, class Out> concept indirectly_copyable_storable = see below; // [alg.req.ind.swap], concept indirectly_­swappable template<class I1, class I2 = I1> concept indirectly_swappable = see below; // [alg.req.ind.cmp], concept indirectly_­comparable template<class I1, class I2, class R, class P1 = identity, class P2 = identity> concept indirectly_comparable = see below; // [alg.req.permutable], concept permutable template<class I> concept permutable = see below; // [alg.req.mergeable], concept mergeable template<class I1, class I2, class Out, class R = ranges::less, class P1 = identity, class P2 = identity> concept mergeable = see below; // [alg.req.sortable], concept sortable template<class I, class R = ranges::less, class P = identity> concept sortable = see below; // [iterator.primitives], primitives // [std.iterator.tags], iterator tags struct input_iterator_tag { }; struct output_iterator_tag { }; struct forward_iterator_tag: public input_iterator_tag { }; struct bidirectional_iterator_tag: public forward_iterator_tag { }; struct random_access_iterator_tag: public bidirectional_iterator_tag { }; struct contiguous_iterator_tag: public random_access_iterator_tag { }; // [iterator.operations], iterator operations template<class InputIterator, class Distance> constexpr void advance(InputIterator& i, Distance n); template<class InputIterator> constexpr typename iterator_traits<InputIterator>::difference_type distance(InputIterator first, InputIterator last); template<class InputIterator> constexpr InputIterator next(InputIterator x, typename iterator_traits<InputIterator>::difference_type n = 1); template<class BidirectionalIterator> constexpr BidirectionalIterator prev(BidirectionalIterator x, typename iterator_traits<BidirectionalIterator>::difference_type n = 1); // [range.iter.ops], range iterator operations namespace ranges { // [range.iter.op.advance], ranges​::​advance template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I> constexpr void advance(I& i, iter_difference_t<I> n); template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr void advance(I& i, S bound); template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr iter_difference_t<I> advance(I& i, iter_difference_t<I> n, S bound); // [range.iter.op.distance], ranges​::​distance template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr iter_difference_t<I> distance(I first, S last); template<range R> constexpr range_difference_t<R> distance(R&& r); // [range.iter.op.next], ranges​::​next template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I> constexpr I next(I x); template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I> constexpr I next(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n); template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr I next(I x, S bound); template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr I next(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n, S bound); // [range.iter.op.prev], ranges​::​prev template<bidirectional_­iterator I> constexpr I prev(I x); template<bidirectional_­iterator I> constexpr I prev(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n); template<bidirectional_­iterator I> constexpr I prev(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n, I bound); } // [predef.iterators], predefined iterators and sentinels // [reverse.iterators], reverse iterators template<class Iterator> class reverse_iterator; template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator==( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator!=( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator<( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator>( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator<=( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator>=( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, three_­way_­comparable_­with<Iterator1> Iterator2> constexpr compare_three_way_result_t<Iterator1, Iterator2> operator<=>(const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr auto operator-( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y) -> decltype(y.base() - x.base()); template<class Iterator> constexpr reverse_iterator<Iterator> operator+( iter_difference_t<Iterator> n, const reverse_iterator<Iterator>& x); template<class Iterator> constexpr reverse_iterator<Iterator> make_reverse_iterator(Iterator i); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> requires (!sized_­sentinel_­for<Iterator1, Iterator2>) inline constexpr bool disable_sized_sentinel_for<reverse_iterator<Iterator1>, reverse_iterator<Iterator2>> = true; // [insert.iterators], insert iterators template<class Container> class back_insert_iterator; template<class Container> constexpr back_insert_iterator<Container> back_inserter(Container& x); template<class Container> class front_insert_iterator; template<class Container> constexpr front_insert_iterator<Container> front_inserter(Container& x); template<class Container> class insert_iterator; template<class Container> constexpr insert_iterator<Container> inserter(Container& x, ranges::iterator_t<Container> i); // [move.iterators], move iterators and sentinels template<class Iterator> class move_iterator; template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator==( const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator<( const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator>( const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator<=( const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator>=( const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, three_­way_­comparable_­with<Iterator1> Iterator2> constexpr compare_three_way_result_t<Iterator1, Iterator2> operator<=>(const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr auto operator-( const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y) -> decltype(x.base() - y.base()); template<class Iterator> constexpr move_iterator<Iterator> operator+(iter_difference_t<Iterator> n, const move_iterator<Iterator>& x); template<class Iterator> constexpr move_iterator<Iterator> make_move_iterator(Iterator i); template<semiregular S> class move_sentinel; // [iterators.common], common iterators template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> requires (!same_­as<I, S> && copyable<I>) class common_iterator; template<class I, class S> struct incrementable_traits<common_iterator<I, S>>; template<input_­iterator I, class S> struct iterator_traits<common_iterator<I, S>>; // [default.sentinel], default sentinel struct default_sentinel_t; inline constexpr default_sentinel_t default_sentinel{}; // [iterators.counted], counted iterators template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I> class counted_iterator; template<class I> struct incrementable_traits<counted_iterator<I>>; template<input_­iterator I> struct iterator_traits<counted_iterator<I>>; // [unreachable.sentinel], unreachable sentinel struct unreachable_sentinel_t; inline constexpr unreachable_sentinel_t unreachable_sentinel{}; // [stream.iterators], stream iterators template<class T, class charT = char, class traits = char_traits<charT>, class Distance = ptrdiff_t> class istream_iterator; template<class T, class charT, class traits, class Distance> bool operator==(const istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& x, const istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& y); template<class T, class charT = char, class traits = char_traits<charT>> class ostream_iterator; template<class charT, class traits = char_traits<charT>> class istreambuf_iterator; template<class charT, class traits> bool operator==(const istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits>& a, const istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits>& b); template<class charT, class traits = char_traits<charT>> class ostreambuf_iterator; // [iterator.range], range access template<class C> constexpr auto begin(C& c) -> decltype(c.begin()); template<class C> constexpr auto begin(const C& c) -> decltype(c.begin()); template<class C> constexpr auto end(C& c) -> decltype(c.end()); template<class C> constexpr auto end(const C& c) -> decltype(c.end()); template<class T, size_t N> constexpr T* begin(T (&array)[N]) noexcept; template<class T, size_t N> constexpr T* end(T (&array)[N]) noexcept; template<class C> constexpr auto cbegin(const C& c) noexcept(noexcept(std::begin(c))) -> decltype(std::begin(c)); template<class C> constexpr auto cend(const C& c) noexcept(noexcept(std::end(c))) -> decltype(std::end(c)); template<class C> constexpr auto rbegin(C& c) -> decltype(c.rbegin()); template<class C> constexpr auto rbegin(const C& c) -> decltype(c.rbegin()); template<class C> constexpr auto rend(C& c) -> decltype(c.rend()); template<class C> constexpr auto rend(const C& c) -> decltype(c.rend()); template<class T, size_t N> constexpr reverse_iterator<T*> rbegin(T (&array)[N]); template<class T, size_t N> constexpr reverse_iterator<T*> rend(T (&array)[N]); template<class E> constexpr reverse_iterator<const E*> rbegin(initializer_list<E> il); template<class E> constexpr reverse_iterator<const E*> rend(initializer_list<E> il); template<class C> constexpr auto crbegin(const C& c) -> decltype(std::rbegin(c)); template<class C> constexpr auto crend(const C& c) -> decltype(std::rend(c)); template<class C> constexpr auto size(const C& c) -> decltype(c.size()); template<class T, size_t N> constexpr size_t size(const T (&array)[N]) noexcept; template<class C> constexpr auto ssize(const C& c) -> common_type_t<ptrdiff_t, make_signed_t<decltype(c.size())>>; template<class T, ptrdiff_t N> constexpr ptrdiff_t ssize(const T (&array)[N]) noexcept; template<class C> [[nodiscard]] constexpr auto empty(const C& c) -> decltype(c.empty()); template<class T, size_t N> [[nodiscard]] constexpr bool empty(const T (&array)[N]) noexcept; template<class E> [[nodiscard]] constexpr bool empty(initializer_list<E> il) noexcept; template<class C> constexpr auto data(C& c) -> decltype(c.data()); template<class C> constexpr auto data(const C& c) -> decltype(c.data()); template<class T, size_t N> constexpr T* data(T (&array)[N]) noexcept; template<class E> constexpr const E* data(initializer_list<E> il) noexcept; }

23.3 Iterator requirements [iterator.requirements]

23.3.1 In general [iterator.requirements.general]

Iterators are a generalization of pointers that allow a C++ program to work with different data structures (for example, containers and ranges) in a uniform manner.
To be able to construct template algorithms that work correctly and efficiently on different types of data structures, the library formalizes not just the interfaces but also the semantics and complexity assumptions of iterators.
An input iterator i supports the expression *i, resulting in a value of some object type T, called the value type of the iterator.
An output iterator i has a non-empty set of types that are indirectly_­writable to the iterator; for each such type T, the expression *i = o is valid where o is a value of type T.
For every iterator type X, there is a corresponding signed integer-like type ([iterator.concept.winc]) called the difference type of the iterator.
Since iterators are an abstraction of pointers, their semantics are a generalization of most of the semantics of pointers in C++.
This ensures that every function template that takes iterators works as well with regular pointers.
This document defines six categories of iterators, according to the operations defined on them: input iterators, output iterators, forward iterators, bidirectional iterators, random access iterators, and contiguous iterators, as shown in Table 83.
Table 83: Relations among iterator categories [tab:iterators.relations]
Contiguous
Random Access
Bidirectional
Forward
Input
Output
Forward iterators meet all the requirements of input iterators and can be used whenever an input iterator is specified; Bidirectional iterators also meet all the requirements of forward iterators and can be used whenever a forward iterator is specified; Random access iterators also meet all the requirements of bidirectional iterators and can be used whenever a bidirectional iterator is specified; Contiguous iterators also meet all the requirements of random access iterators and can be used whenever a random access iterator is specified.
Iterators that further meet the requirements of output iterators are called mutable iterators.
Nonmutable iterators are referred to as constant iterators.
In addition to the requirements in this subclause, the nested typedef-names specified in [iterator.traits] shall be provided for the iterator type.
[Note 1:
Either the iterator type must provide the typedef-names directly (in which case iterator_­traits pick them up automatically), or an iterator_­traits specialization must provide them.
— end note]
Just as a regular pointer to an array guarantees that there is a pointer value pointing past the last element of the array, so for any iterator type there is an iterator value that points past the last element of a corresponding sequence.
Such a value is called a past-the-end value.
Values of an iterator i for which the expression *i is defined are called dereferenceable.
The library never assumes that past-the-end values are dereferenceable.
Iterators can also have singular values that are not associated with any sequence.
Results of most expressions are undefined for singular values; the only exceptions are destroying an iterator that holds a singular value, the assignment of a non-singular value to an iterator that holds a singular value, and, for iterators that meet the Cpp17DefaultConstructible requirements, using a value-initialized iterator as the source of a copy or move operation.
[Note 2:
This guarantee is not offered for default-initialization, although the distinction only matters for types with trivial default constructors such as pointers or aggregates holding pointers.
— end note]
In these cases the singular value is overwritten the same way as any other value.
Dereferenceable values are always non-singular.
Most of the library's algorithmic templates that operate on data structures have interfaces that use ranges.
A range is an iterator and a sentinel that designate the beginning and end of the computation, or an iterator and a count that designate the beginning and the number of elements to which the computation is to be applied.234
An iterator and a sentinel denoting a range are comparable.
A range [i, s) is empty if i == s; otherwise, [i, s) refers to the elements in the data structure starting with the element pointed to by i and up to but not including the element, if any, pointed to by the first iterator j such that j == s.
A sentinel s is called reachable from an iterator i if and only if there is a finite sequence of applications of the expression ++i that makes i == s.
If s is reachable from i, [i, s) denotes a valid range.
A counted range is empty if n == 0; otherwise, refers to the n elements in the data structure starting with the element pointed to by i and up to but not including the element, if any, pointed to by the result of n applications of ++i.
A counted range is valid if and only if n == 0; or n is positive, i is dereferenceable, and is valid.
The result of the application of library functions to invalid ranges is undefined.
All the categories of iterators require only those functions that are realizable for a given category in constant time (amortized).
Therefore, requirement tables and concept definitions for the iterators do not specify complexity.
Destruction of a non-forward iterator may invalidate pointers and references previously obtained from that iterator.
An invalid iterator is an iterator that may be singular.235
Iterators are called constexpr iterators if all operations provided to meet iterator category requirements are constexpr functions.
[Note 3:
For example, the types “pointer to int” and reverse_­iterator<int*> are constexpr iterators.
— end note]
The sentinel denoting the end of a range can have the same type as the iterator denoting the beginning of the range, or a different type.
 
This definition applies to pointers, since pointers are iterators.
The effect of dereferencing an iterator that has been invalidated is undefined.
 

23.3.2 Associated types [iterator.assoc.types]

23.3.2.1 Incrementable traits [incrementable.traits]

To implement algorithms only in terms of incrementable types, it is often necessary to determine the difference type that corresponds to a particular incrementable type.
Accordingly, it is required that if WI is the name of a type that models the weakly_­incrementable concept ([iterator.concept.winc]), the type iter_difference_t<WI> be defined as the incrementable type's difference type.
namespace std { template<class> struct incrementable_traits { }; template<class T> requires is_object_v<T> struct incrementable_traits<T*> { using difference_type = ptrdiff_t; }; template<class I> struct incrementable_traits<const I> : incrementable_traits<I> { }; template<class T> requires requires { typename T::difference_type; } struct incrementable_traits<T> { using difference_type = typename T::difference_type; }; template<class T> requires (!requires { typename T::difference_type; } && requires(const T& a, const T& b) { { a - b } -> integral; }) struct incrementable_traits<T> { using difference_type = make_signed_t<decltype(declval<T>() - declval<T>())>; }; template<class T> using iter_difference_t = see below; }
Let be remove_­cvref_­t<I>.
The type iter_­difference_­t<I> denotes
  • incrementable_­traits<>​::​difference_­type if iterator_­traits<> names a specialization generated from the primary template, and
  • iterator_­traits<>​::​difference_­type otherwise.
Users may specialize incrementable_­traits on program-defined types.

23.3.2.2 Indirectly readable traits [readable.traits]

To implement algorithms only in terms of indirectly readable types, it is often necessary to determine the value type that corresponds to a particular indirectly readable type.
Accordingly, it is required that if R is the name of a type that models the indirectly_­readable concept ([iterator.concept.readable]), the type iter_value_t<R> be defined as the indirectly readable type's value type.
template<class> struct cond-value-type { }; // exposition only template<class T> requires is_object_v<T> struct cond-value-type<T> { using value_type = remove_cv_t<T>; }; template<class> struct indirectly_readable_traits { }; template<class T> struct indirectly_readable_traits<T*> : cond-value-type<T> { }; template<class I> requires is_array_v<I> struct indirectly_readable_traits<I> { using value_type = remove_cv_t<remove_extent_t<I>>; }; template<class I> struct indirectly_readable_traits<const I> : indirectly_readable_traits<I> { }; template<class T> requires requires { typename T::value_type; } struct indirectly_readable_traits<T> : cond-value-type<typename T::value_type> { }; template<class T> requires requires { typename T::element_type; } struct indirectly_readable_traits<T> : cond-value-type<typename T::element_type> { }; template<class T> using iter_value_t = see below;
Let be remove_­cvref_­t<I>.
The type iter_­value_­t<I> denotes
  • indirectly_­readable_­traits<>​::​value_­type if iterator_­traits<> names a specialization generated from the primary template, and
  • iterator_­traits<>​::​value_­type otherwise.
Class template indirectly_­readable_­traits may be specialized on program-defined types.
[Note 1:
Some legacy output iterators define a nested type named value_­type that is an alias for void.
These types are not indirectly_­readable and have no associated value types.
— end note]
[Note 2:
Smart pointers like shared_­ptr<int> are indirectly_­readable and have an associated value type, but a smart pointer like shared_­ptr<void> is not indirectly_­readable and has no associated value type.
— end note]

23.3.2.3 Iterator traits [iterator.traits]

To implement algorithms only in terms of iterators, it is sometimes necessary to determine the iterator category that corresponds to a particular iterator type.
Accordingly, it is required that if I is the type of an iterator, the type iterator_traits<I>::iterator_category be defined as the iterator's iterator category.
In addition, the types iterator_traits<I>::pointer iterator_traits<I>::reference shall be defined as the iterator's pointer and reference types; that is, for an iterator object a of class type, the same type as decltype(a.operator->()) and decltype(*a), respectively.
The type iterator_­traits<I>​::​pointer shall be void for an iterator of class type I that does not support operator->.
Additionally, in the case of an output iterator, the types iterator_traits<I>::value_type iterator_traits<I>::difference_type iterator_traits<I>::reference may be defined as void.
The definitions in this subclause make use of the following exposition-only concepts: template<class I> concept cpp17-iterator = copyable<I> && requires(I i) { { *i } -> can-reference; { ++i } -> same_­as<I&>; { *i++ } -> can-reference; }; template<class I> concept cpp17-input-iterator = cpp17-iterator<I> && equality_­comparable<I> && requires(I i) { typename incrementable_traits<I>::difference_type; typename indirectly_readable_traits<I>::value_type; typename common_reference_t<iter_reference_t<I>&&, typename indirectly_readable_traits<I>::value_type&>; typename common_reference_t<decltype(*i++)&&, typename indirectly_readable_traits<I>::value_type&>; requires signed_integral<typename incrementable_traits<I>::difference_type>; }; template<class I> concept cpp17-forward-iterator = cpp17-input-iterator<I> && constructible_­from<I> && is_lvalue_reference_v<iter_reference_t<I>> && same_­as<remove_cvref_t<iter_reference_t<I>>, typename indirectly_readable_traits<I>::value_type> && requires(I i) { { i++ } -> convertible_­to<const I&>; { *i++ } -> same_­as<iter_reference_t<I>>; }; template<class I> concept cpp17-bidirectional-iterator = cpp17-forward-iterator<I> && requires(I i) { { --i } -> same_­as<I&>; { i-- } -> convertible_­to<const I&>; { *i-- } -> same_­as<iter_reference_t<I>>; }; template<class I> concept cpp17-random-access-iterator = cpp17-bidirectional-iterator<I> && totally_­ordered<I> && requires(I i, typename incrementable_traits<I>::difference_type n) { { i += n } -> same_­as<I&>; { i -= n } -> same_­as<I&>; { i + n } -> same_­as<I>; { n + i } -> same_­as<I>; { i - n } -> same_­as<I>; { i - i } -> same_­as<decltype(n)>; { i[n] } -> convertible_­to<iter_reference_t<I>>; };
The members of a specialization iterator_­traits<I> generated from the iterator_­traits primary template are computed as follows:
  • If I has valid ([temp.deduct]) member types difference_­type, value_­type, reference, and iterator_­category, then iterator_­traits<I> has the following publicly accessible members: using iterator_category = typename I::iterator_category; using value_type = typename I::value_type; using difference_type = typename I::difference_type; using pointer = see below; using reference = typename I::reference;
    If the qualified-id I​::​pointer is valid and denotes a type, then iterator_­traits<I>​::​pointer names that type; otherwise, it names void.
  • Otherwise, if I satisfies the exposition-only concept cpp17-input-iterator, iterator_­traits<I> has the following publicly accessible members: using iterator_category = see below; using value_type = typename indirectly_readable_traits<I>::value_type; using difference_type = typename incrementable_traits<I>::difference_type; using pointer = see below; using reference = see below;
  • Otherwise, if I satisfies the exposition-only concept cpp17-iterator, then iterator_­traits<I> has the following publicly accessible members: using iterator_category = output_iterator_tag; using value_type = void; using difference_type = see below; using pointer = void; using reference = void;
    If the qualified-id incrementable_­traits<I>​::​difference_­type is valid and denotes a type, then difference_­type names that type; otherwise, it names void.
  • Otherwise, iterator_­traits<I> has no members by any of the above names.
Explicit or partial specializations of iterator_­traits may have a member type iterator_­concept that is used to indicate conformance to the iterator concepts ([iterator.concepts]).
iterator_­traits is specialized for pointers as namespace std { template<class T> requires is_object_v<T> struct iterator_traits<T*> { using iterator_concept = contiguous_iterator_tag; using iterator_category = random_access_iterator_tag; using value_type = remove_cv_t<T>; using difference_type = ptrdiff_t; using pointer = T*; using reference = T&; }; }
[Example 1:
To implement a generic reverse function, a C++ program can do the following: template<class BI> void reverse(BI first, BI last) { typename iterator_traits<BI>::difference_type n = distance(first, last); --n; while(n > 0) { typename iterator_traits<BI>::value_type tmp = *first; *first++ = *--last; *last = tmp; n -= 2; } }
— end example]

23.3.3 Customization point objects [iterator.cust]

23.3.3.1 ranges​::​iter_­move [iterator.cust.move]

The name ranges​::​iter_­move denotes a customization point object ([customization.point.object]).
The expression ranges​::​iter_­move(E) for a subexpression E is expression-equivalent to:
  • iter_­move(E), if E has class or enumeration type and iter_­move(E) is a well-formed expression when treated as an unevaluated operand, with overload resolution performed in a context that does not include a declaration of ranges​::​iter_­move but does include the declaration void iter_move();
  • Otherwise, if the expression *E is well-formed:
  • Otherwise, ranges​::​iter_­move(E) is ill-formed.
    [Note 1:
    This case can result in substitution failure when ranges​::​iter_­move(E) appears in the immediate context of a template instantiation.
    — end note]
If ranges​::​iter_­move(E) is not equal to *E, the program is ill-formed, no diagnostic required.

23.3.3.2 ranges​::​iter_­swap [iterator.cust.swap]

The name ranges​::​iter_­swap denotes a customization point object ([customization.point.object]) that exchanges the values ([concept.swappable]) denoted by its arguments.
Let iter-exchange-move be the exposition-only function:
template<class X, class Y> constexpr iter_value_t<X> iter-exchange-move(X&& x, Y&& y) noexcept(noexcept(iter_value_t<X>(iter_move(x))) && noexcept(*x = iter_move(y)));
Effects: Equivalent to: iter_value_t<X> old_value(iter_move(x)); *x = iter_move(y); return old_value;
The expression ranges​::​iter_­swap(E1, E2) for subexpressions E1 and E2 is expression-equivalent to:
  • (void)iter_­swap(E1, E2), if either E1 or E2 has class or enumeration type and iter_­swap(E1, E2) is a well-formed expression with overload resolution performed in a context that includes the declaration template<class I1, class I2> void iter_swap(I1, I2) = delete; and does not include a declaration of ranges​::​iter_­swap.
    If the function selected by overload resolution does not exchange the values denoted by E1 and E2, the program is ill-formed, no diagnostic required.
  • Otherwise, if the types of E1 and E2 each model indirectly_­readable, and if the reference types of E1 and E2 model swappable_­with ([concept.swappable]), then ranges​::​swap(*E1, *E2).
  • Otherwise, if the types T1 and T2 of E1 and E2 model indirectly_­movable_­storable<T1, T2> and indirectly_­movable_­storable<T2, T1>, then (void)(*E1 = iter-exchange-move(E2, E1)), except that E1 is evaluated only once.
  • Otherwise, ranges​::​iter_­swap(E1, E2) is ill-formed.
    [Note 1:
    This case can result in substitution failure when ranges​::​iter_­swap(E1, E2) appears in the immediate context of a template instantiation.
    — end note]

23.3.4 Iterator concepts [iterator.concepts]

23.3.4.1 General [iterator.concepts.general]

For a type I, let ITER_­TRAITS(I) denote the type I if iterator_­traits<I> names a specialization generated from the primary template.
Otherwise, ITER_­TRAITS(I) denotes iterator_­traits<I>.
  • If the qualified-id ITER_­TRAITS(I)​::​iterator_­concept is valid and names a type, then ITER_­CONCEPT(I) denotes that type.
  • Otherwise, if the qualified-id ITER_­TRAITS(I)​::​iterator_­category is valid and names a type, then ITER_­CONCEPT(I) denotes that type.
  • Otherwise, if iterator_­traits<I> names a specialization generated from the primary template, then ITER_­CONCEPT(I) denotes random_­access_­iterator_­tag.
  • Otherwise, ITER_­CONCEPT(I) does not denote a type.
[Note 1:
ITER_­TRAITS enables independent syntactic determination of an iterator's category and concept.
— end note]
[Example 1:
struct I { using value_type = int; using difference_type = int; int operator*() const; I& operator++(); I operator++(int); I& operator--(); I operator--(int); bool operator==(I) const; }; iterator_­traits<I>​::​iterator_­category denotes input_­iterator_­tag, and ITER_­CONCEPT(I) denotes random_­access_­iterator_­tag.
— end example]

23.3.4.2 Concept indirectly_­readable [iterator.concept.readable]

Types that are indirectly readable by applying operator* model the indirectly_­readable concept, including pointers, smart pointers, and iterators.
template<class In> concept indirectly-readable-impl = requires(const In in) { typename iter_value_t<In>; typename iter_reference_t<In>; typename iter_rvalue_reference_t<In>; { *in } -> same_as<iter_reference_t<In>>; { ranges::iter_move(in) } -> same_as<iter_rvalue_reference_t<In>>; } && common_reference_with<iter_reference_t<In>&&, iter_value_t<In>&> && common_reference_with<iter_reference_t<In>&&, iter_rvalue_reference_t<In>&&> && common_reference_with<iter_rvalue_reference_t<In>&&, const iter_value_t<In>&>;
template<class In> concept indirectly_­readable = indirectly-readable-impl<remove_cvref_t<In>>;
Given a value i of type I, I models indirectly_­readable only if the expression *i is equality-preserving.
[Note 1:
The expression *i is indirectly required to be valid via the exposition-only dereferenceable concept ([iterator.synopsis]).
— end note]

23.3.4.3 Concept indirectly_­writable [iterator.concept.writable]

The indirectly_­writable concept specifies the requirements for writing a value into an iterator's referenced object.
template<class Out, class T> concept indirectly_­writable = requires(Out&& o, T&& t) { *o = std::forward<T>(t); // not required to be equality-preserving *std::forward<Out>(o) = std::forward<T>(t); // not required to be equality-preserving const_cast<const iter_reference_t<Out>&&>(*o) = std::forward<T>(t); // not required to be equality-preserving const_cast<const iter_reference_t<Out>&&>(*std::forward<Out>(o)) = std::forward<T>(t); // not required to be equality-preserving };
Let E be an expression such that decltype((E)) is T, and let o be a dereferenceable object of type Out.
Out and T model indirectly_­writable<Out, T> only if
  • If Out and T model indirectly_­readable<Out> && same_­as<iter_­value_­t<Out>, decay_­t<T>>, then *o after any above assignment is equal to the value of E before the assignment.
After evaluating any above assignment expression, o is not required to be dereferenceable.
If E is an xvalue ([basic.lval]), the resulting state of the object it denotes is valid but unspecified ([lib.types.movedfrom]).
[Note 1:
The only valid use of an operator* is on the left side of the assignment statement.
Assignment through the same value of the indirectly writable type happens only once.
— end note]
[Note 2:
indirectly_­writable has the awkward const_­cast expressions to reject iterators with prvalue non-proxy reference types that permit rvalue assignment but do not also permit const rvalue assignment.
Consequently, an iterator type I that returns std​::​string by value does not model indirectly_­writable<I, std​::​string>.
— end note]

23.3.4.4 Concept weakly_­incrementable [iterator.concept.winc]

The weakly_­incrementable concept specifies the requirements on types that can be incremented with the pre- and post-increment operators.
The increment operations are not required to be equality-preserving, nor is the type required to be equality_­comparable.
template<class T> inline constexpr bool is-integer-like = see below; // exposition only template<class T> inline constexpr bool is-signed-integer-like = see below; // exposition only template<class I> concept weakly_­incrementable = default_initializable<I> && movable<I> && requires(I i) { typename iter_difference_t<I>; requires is-signed-integer-like<iter_difference_t<I>>; { ++i } -> same_­as<I&>; // not required to be equality-preserving i++; // not required to be equality-preserving };
A type I is an integer-class type if it is in a set of implementation-defined class types that behave as integer types do, as defined in below.
The range of representable values of an integer-class type is the continuous set of values over which it is defined.
The values 0 and 1 are part of the range of every integer-class type.
If any negative numbers are part of the range, the type is a signed-integer-class type; otherwise, it is an unsigned-integer-class type.
For every integer-class type I, let B(I) be a hypothetical extended integer type of the same signedness with the smallest width ([basic.fundamental]) capable of representing the same range of values.
The width of I is equal to the width of B(I).
Let a and b be objects of integer-class type I, let x and y be objects of type B(I) as described above that represent the same values as a and b respectively, and let c be an lvalue of any integral type.
  • For every unary operator @ for which the expression @x is well-formed, @a shall also be well-formed and have the same value, effects, and value category as @x provided that value is representable by I.
    If @x has type bool, so too does @a; if @x has type B(I), then @a has type I.
  • For every assignment operator @= for which c @= x is well-formed, c @= a shall also be well-formed and shall have the same value and effects as c @= x.
    The expression c @= a shall be an lvalue referring to c.
  • For every binary operator @ for which x @ y is well-formed, a @ b shall also be well-formed and shall have the same value, effects, and value category as x @ y provided that value is representable by I.
    If x @ y has type bool, so too does a @ b; if x @ y has type B(I), then a @ b has type I.
Expressions of integer-class type are explicitly convertible to any integral type.
Expressions of integral type are both implicitly and explicitly convertible to any integer-class type.
Conversions between integral and integer-class types do not exit via an exception.
An expression E of integer-class type I is contextually convertible to bool as if by bool(E != I(0)).
A value-initialized object of integer-class type has value 0.
For every (possibly cv-qualified) integer-class type I, numeric_­limits<I> is specialized such that:
  • numeric_­limits<I>​::​is_­specialized is true,
  • numeric_­limits<I>​::​is_­signed is true if and only if I is a signed-integer-class type,
  • numeric_­limits<I>​::​is_­integer is true,
  • numeric_­limits<I>​::​is_­exact is true,
  • numeric_­limits<I>​::​digits is equal to the width of the integer-class type,
  • numeric_­limits<I>​::​digits10 is equal to static_­cast<int>(digits * log10(2)), and
  • numeric_­limits<I>​::​min() and numeric_­limits<I>​::​max() return the lowest and highest representable values of I, respectively, and numeric_­limits<I>​::​lowest() returns numeric_­limits<I>​::​​min().
A type I is integer-like if it models integral<I> or if it is an integer-class type.
A type I is signed-integer-like if it models signed_­integral<I> or if it is a signed-integer-class type.
A type I is unsigned-integer-like if it models unsigned_­integral<I> or if it is an unsigned-integer-class type.
is-integer-like<I> is true if and only if I is an integer-like type.
is-signed-integer-like<I> is true if and only if I is a signed-integer-like type.
Let i be an object of type I.
When i is in the domain of both pre- and post-increment, i is said to be incrementable.
I models weakly_­incrementable<I> only if
  • The expressions ++i and i++ have the same domain.
  • If i is incrementable, then both ++i and i++ advance i to the next element.
  • If i is incrementable, then addressof(++i) is equal to addressof(i).
Recommended practice: The implementaton of an algorithm on a weakly incrementable type should never attempt to pass through the same incrementable value twice; such an algorithm should be a single-pass algorithm.
[Note 1:
For weakly_­incrementable types, a equals b does not imply that ++a equals ++b.
(Equality does not guarantee the substitution property or referential transparency.)
Such algorithms can be used with istreams as the source of the input data through the istream_­iterator class template.
— end note]

23.3.4.5 Concept incrementable [iterator.concept.inc]

The incrementable concept specifies requirements on types that can be incremented with the pre- and post-increment operators.
The increment operations are required to be equality-preserving, and the type is required to be equality_­comparable.
[Note 1:
This supersedes the annotations on the increment expressions in the definition of weakly_­incrementable.
— end note]
template<class I> concept incrementable = regular<I> && weakly_­incrementable<I> && requires(I i) { { i++ } -> same_­as<I>; };
Let a and b be incrementable objects of type I.
I models incrementable only if
  • If bool(a == b) then bool(a++ == b).
  • If bool(a == b) then bool(((void)a++, a) == ++b).
[Note 2:
The requirement that a equals b implies ++a equals ++b (which is not true for weakly incrementable types) allows the use of multi-pass one-directional algorithms with types that model incrementable.
— end note]

23.3.4.6 Concept input_­or_­output_­iterator [iterator.concept.iterator]

The input_­or_­output_­iterator concept forms the basis of the iterator concept taxonomy; every iterator models input_­or_­output_­iterator.
This concept specifies operations for dereferencing and incrementing an iterator.
Most algorithms will require additional operations to compare iterators with sentinels ([iterator.concept.sentinel]), to read ([iterator.concept.input]) or write ([iterator.concept.output]) values, or to provide a richer set of iterator movements ([iterator.concept.forward], [iterator.concept.bidir], [iterator.concept.random.access]).
template<class I> concept input_­or_­output_­iterator = requires(I i) { { *i } -> can-reference; } && weakly_­incrementable<I>;
[Note 1:
Unlike the Cpp17Iterator requirements, the input_­or_­output_­iterator concept does not require copyability.
— end note]

23.3.4.7 Concept sentinel_­for [iterator.concept.sentinel]

The sentinel_­for concept specifies the relationship between an input_­or_­output_­iterator type and a semiregular type whose values denote a range.
Let s and i be values of type S and I such that [i, s) denotes a range.
Types S and I model sentinel_­for<S, I> only if
  • i == s is well-defined.
  • If bool(i != s) then i is dereferenceable and [++i, s) denotes a range.
The domain of == is not static.
Given an iterator i and sentinel s such that [i, s) denotes a range and i != s, i and s are not required to continue to denote a range after incrementing any other iterator equal to i.
Consequently, i == s is no longer required to be well-defined.

23.3.4.8 Concept sized_­sentinel_­for [iterator.concept.sizedsentinel]

The sized_­sentinel_­for concept specifies requirements on an input_­or_­output_­iterator type I and a corresponding sentinel_­for<I> that allow the use of the - operator to compute the distance between them in constant time.
template<class S, class I> concept sized_­sentinel_­for = sentinel_­for<S, I> && !disable_sized_sentinel_for<remove_cv_t<S>, remove_cv_t<I>> && requires(const I& i, const S& s) { { s - i } -> same_­as<iter_difference_t<I>>; { i - s } -> same_­as<iter_difference_t<I>>; };
Let i be an iterator of type I, and s a sentinel of type S such that [i, s) denotes a range.
Let N be the smallest number of applications of ++i necessary to make bool(i == s) be true.
S and I model sized_­sentinel_­for<S, I> only if
  • If N is representable by iter_­difference_­t<I>, then s - i is well-defined and equals N.
  • If is representable by iter_­difference_­t<I>, then i - s is well-defined and equals .
template<class S, class I> inline constexpr bool disable_sized_sentinel_for = false;
Remarks: Pursuant to [namespace.std], users may specialize disable_­sized_­sentinel_­for for cv-unqualified non-array object types S and I if S and/or I is a program-defined type.
Such specializations shall be usable in constant expressions ([expr.const]) and have type const bool.
[Note 1:
disable_­sized_­sentinel_­for allows use of sentinels and iterators with the library that satisfy but do not in fact model sized_­sentinel_­for.
— end note]
[Example 1:
The sized_­sentinel_­for concept is modeled by pairs of random_­access_­iterators ([iterator.concept.random.access]) and by counted iterators and their sentinels ([counted.iterator]).
— end example]

23.3.4.9 Concept input_­iterator [iterator.concept.input]

The input_­iterator concept defines requirements for a type whose referenced values can be read (from the requirement for indirectly_­readable ([iterator.concept.readable])) and which can be both pre- and post-incremented.
[Note 1:
Unlike the Cpp17InputIterator requirements ([input.iterators]), the input_­iterator concept does not need equality comparison since iterators are typically compared to sentinels.
— end note]
template<class I> concept input_­iterator = input_­or_­output_­iterator<I> && indirectly_­readable<I> && requires { typename ITER_CONCEPT(I); } && derived_­from<ITER_CONCEPT(I), input_iterator_tag>;

23.3.4.10 Concept output_­iterator [iterator.concept.output]

The output_­iterator concept defines requirements for a type that can be used to write values (from the requirement for indirectly_­writable ([iterator.concept.writable])) and which can be both pre- and post-incremented.
[Note 1:
Output iterators are not required to model equality_­comparable.
— end note]
template<class I, class T> concept output_­iterator = input_­or_­output_­iterator<I> && indirectly_­writable<I, T> && requires(I i, T&& t) { *i++ = std::forward<T>(t); // not required to be equality-preserving };
Let E be an expression such that decltype((E)) is T, and let i be a dereferenceable object of type I.
I and T model output_­iterator<I, T> only if *i++ = E; has effects equivalent to: *i = E; ++i;
Recommended practice: The implementation of an algorithm on output iterators should never attempt to pass through the same iterator twice; such an algorithm should be a single-pass algorithm.

23.3.4.11 Concept forward_­iterator [iterator.concept.forward]

The forward_­iterator concept adds copyability, equality comparison, and the multi-pass guarantee, specified below.
template<class I> concept forward_­iterator = input_­iterator<I> && derived_­from<ITER_CONCEPT(I), forward_iterator_tag> && incrementable<I> && sentinel_­for<I, I>;
The domain of == for forward iterators is that of iterators over the same underlying sequence.
However, value-initialized iterators of the same type may be compared and shall compare equal to other value-initialized iterators of the same type.
[Note 1:
Value-initialized iterators behave as if they refer past the end of the same empty sequence.
— end note]
Pointers and references obtained from a forward iterator into a range [i, s) shall remain valid while [i, s) continues to denote a range.
Two dereferenceable iterators a and b of type X offer the multi-pass guarantee if:
  • a == b implies ++a == ++b and
  • the expression ((void)[](X x){++x;}(a), *a) is equivalent to the expression *a.
[Note 2:
The requirement that a == b implies ++a == ++b and the removal of the restrictions on the number of assignments through a mutable iterator (which applies to output iterators) allow the use of multi-pass one-directional algorithms with forward iterators.
— end note]

23.3.4.12 Concept bidirectional_­iterator [iterator.concept.bidir]

The bidirectional_­iterator concept adds the ability to move an iterator backward as well as forward.
template<class I> concept bidirectional_­iterator = forward_­iterator<I> && derived_­from<ITER_CONCEPT(I), bidirectional_iterator_tag> && requires(I i) { { --i } -> same_­as<I&>; { i-- } -> same_­as<I>; };
A bidirectional iterator r is decrementable if and only if there exists some q such that ++q == r.
Decrementable iterators r shall be in the domain of the expressions --r and r--.
Let a and b be equal objects of type I.
I models bidirectional_­iterator only if:
  • If a and b are decrementable, then all of the following are true:
    • addressof(--a) == addressof(a)
    • bool(a-- == b)
    • after evaluating both a-- and --b, bool(a == b) is still true
    • bool(++(--a) == b)
  • If a and b are incrementable, then bool(--(++a) == b).

23.3.4.13 Concept random_­access_­iterator [iterator.concept.random.access]

The random_­access_­iterator concept adds support for constant-time advancement with +=, +, -=, and -, as well as the computation of distance in constant time with -.
Random access iterators also support array notation via subscripting.
template<class I> concept random_­access_­iterator = bidirectional_­iterator<I> && derived_­from<ITER_CONCEPT(I), random_access_iterator_tag> && totally_­ordered<I> && sized_­sentinel_­for<I, I> && requires(I i, const I j, const iter_difference_t<I> n) { { i += n } -> same_­as<I&>; { j + n } -> same_­as<I>; { n + j } -> same_­as<I>; { i -= n } -> same_­as<I&>; { j - n } -> same_­as<I>; { j[n] } -> same_­as<iter_reference_t<I>>; };
Let a and b be valid iterators of type I such that b is reachable from a after n applications of ++a, let D be iter_­difference_­t<I>, and let n denote a value of type D.
I models random_­access_­iterator only if
  • (a += n) is equal to b.
  • addressof(a += n) is equal to addressof(a).
  • (a + n) is equal to (a += n).
  • For any two positive values x and y of type D, if (a + D(x + y)) is valid, then (a + D(x + y)) is equal to ((a + x) + y).
  • (a + D(0)) is equal to a.
  • If (a + D(n - 1)) is valid, then (a + n) is equal to [](I c){ return ++c; }(a + D(n - 1)).
  • (b += D(-n)) is equal to a.
  • (b -= n) is equal to a.
  • addressof(b -= n) is equal to addressof(b).
  • (b - n) is equal to (b -= n).
  • If b is dereferenceable, then a[n] is valid and is equal to *b.
  • bool(a <= b) is true.

23.3.4.14 Concept contiguous_­iterator [iterator.concept.contiguous]

The contiguous_­iterator concept provides a guarantee that the denoted elements are stored contiguously in memory.
template<class I> concept contiguous_­iterator = random_­access_­iterator<I> && derived_­from<ITER_CONCEPT(I), contiguous_iterator_tag> && is_lvalue_reference_v<iter_reference_t<I>> && same_­as<iter_value_t<I>, remove_cvref_t<iter_reference_t<I>>> && requires(const I& i) { { to_address(i) } -> same_­as<add_pointer_t<iter_reference_t<I>>>; };
Let a and b be dereferenceable iterators and c be a non-dereferenceable iterator of type I such that b is reachable from a and c is reachable from b, and let D be iter_­difference_­t<I>.
The type I models contiguous_­iterator only if
  • to_­address(a) == addressof(*a),
  • to_­address(b) == to_­address(a) + D(b - a), and
  • to_­address(c) == to_­address(a) + D(c - a).

23.3.5 C++17 iterator requirements [iterator.cpp17]

23.3.5.1 General [iterator.cpp17.general]

In the following sections, a and b denote values of type X or const X, difference_­type and reference refer to the types iterator_­traits<X>​::​difference_­type and iterator_­traits<X>​::​reference, respectively, n denotes a value of difference_­type, u, tmp, and m denote identifiers, r denotes a value of X&, t denotes a value of value type T, o denotes a value of some type that is writable to the output iterator.
[Note 1:
For an iterator type X there must be an instantiation of iterator_­traits<X> ([iterator.traits]).
— end note]

23.3.5.2 Cpp17Iterator [iterator.iterators]

The Cpp17Iterator requirements form the basis of the iterator taxonomy; every iterator meets the Cpp17Iterator requirements.
This set of requirements specifies operations for dereferencing and incrementing an iterator.
Most algorithms will require additional operations to read ([input.iterators]) or write ([output.iterators]) values, or to provide a richer set of iterator movements ([forward.iterators], [bidirectional.iterators], [random.access.iterators]).
A type X meets the Cpp17Iterator requirements if:
  • X meets the Cpp17CopyConstructible, Cpp17CopyAssignable, and Cpp17Destructible requirements ([utility.arg.requirements]) and lvalues of type X are swappable ([swappable.requirements]), and
  • iterator_­traits<X>​::​difference_­type is a signed integer type or void, and
  • the expressions in Table 84 are valid and have the indicated semantics.
Table 84: Cpp17Iterator requirements [tab:iterator]
Expression
Return type
Operational
Assertion/note
semantics
pre-/post-condition
*r
unspecified
Preconditions: r is dereferenceable.
++r
X&

23.3.5.3 Input iterators [input.iterators]

A class or pointer type X meets the requirements of an input iterator for the value type T if X meets the Cpp17Iterator ([iterator.iterators]) and Cpp17EqualityComparable (Table 25) requirements and the expressions in Table 85 are valid and have the indicated semantics.
In Table 85, the term the domain of == is used in the ordinary mathematical sense to denote the set of values over which == is (required to be) defined.
This set can change over time.
Each algorithm places additional requirements on the domain of == for the iterator values it uses.
These requirements can be inferred from the uses that algorithm makes of == and !=.
[Example 1:
The call find(a,b,x) is defined only if the value of a has the property p defined as follows: b has property p and a value i has property p if (*i==x) or if (*i!=x and ++i has property p).
— end example]
Table 85: Cpp17InputIterator requirements (in addition to Cpp17Iterator) [tab:inputiterator]
Expression
Return type
Operational
Assertion/note
semantics
pre-/post-condition
a != b
contextually convertible to bool
!(a == b)
Preconditions: (a, b) is in the domain of ==.
*a
reference, convertible to T
Preconditions: a is dereferenceable.

The expression
(void)*a, *a is equivalent to *a.

If a == b and (a, b) is in the domain of == then *a is equivalent to *b.
a->m
(*a).m
Preconditions: a is dereferenceable.
++r
X&
Preconditions: r is dereferenceable.

Postconditions: r is dereferenceable or r is past-the-end;
any copies of the previous value of r are no longer required to be dereferenceable nor to be in the domain of ==.
(void)r++
equivalent to (void)++r
*r++
convertible to T
{ T tmp = *r;
++r;
return tmp; }
Recommended practice: The implementation of an algorithm on input iterators should never attempt to pass through the same iterator twice; such an algorithm should be a single pass algorithm.
[Note 1:
For input iterators, a == b does not imply ++a == ++b.
(Equality does not guarantee the substitution property or referential transparency.)
Value type T is not required to be a Cpp17CopyAssignable type (Table 31).
Such an algorithm can be used with istreams as the source of the input data through the istream_­iterator class template.
— end note]

23.3.5.4 Output iterators [output.iterators]

A class or pointer type X meets the requirements of an output iterator if X meets the Cpp17Iterator requirements ([iterator.iterators]) and the expressions in Table 86 are valid and have the indicated semantics.
Table 86: Cpp17OutputIterator requirements (in addition to Cpp17Iterator) [tab:outputiterator]
Expression
Return type
Operational
Assertion/note
semantics
pre-/post-condition
*r = o
result is not used
Remarks: After this operation r is not required to be dereferenceable.

Postconditions: r is incrementable.
++r
X&
addressof(r) == addressof(++r).

Remarks: After this operation r is not required to be dereferenceable.

Postconditions: r is incrementable.
r++
convertible to const X&
{ X tmp = r;
++r;
return tmp; }
Remarks: After this operation r is not required to be dereferenceable.

Postconditions: r is incrementable.
*r++ = o
result is not used
Remarks: After this operation r is not required to be dereferenceable.

Postconditions: r is incrementable.
Recommended practice: The implementation of an algorithm on output iterators should never attempt to pass through the same iterator twice; such an algorithm should be a single-pass algorithm.
[Note 1:
The only valid use of an operator* is on the left side of the assignment statement.
Assignment through the same value of the iterator happens only once.
Equality and inequality might not be defined.
— end note]

23.3.5.5 Forward iterators [forward.iterators]

A class or pointer type X meets the requirements of a forward iterator if
  • X meets the Cpp17InputIterator requirements ([input.iterators]),
  • X meets the Cpp17DefaultConstructible requirements ([utility.arg.requirements]),
  • if X is a mutable iterator, reference is a reference to T; if X is a constant iterator, reference is a reference to const T,
  • the expressions in Table 87 are valid and have the indicated semantics, and
  • objects of type X offer the multi-pass guarantee, described below.
The domain of == for forward iterators is that of iterators over the same underlying sequence.
However, value-initialized iterators may be compared and shall compare equal to other value-initialized iterators of the same type.
[Note 1:
Value-initialized iterators behave as if they refer past the end of the same empty sequence.
— end note]
Two dereferenceable iterators a and b of type X offer the multi-pass guarantee if:
  • a == b implies ++a == ++b and
  • X is a pointer type or the expression (void)++X(a), *a is equivalent to the expression *a.
[Note 2:
The requirement that a == b implies ++a == ++b (which is not true for input and output iterators) and the removal of the restrictions on the number of the assignments through a mutable iterator (which applies to output iterators) allows the use of multi-pass one-directional algorithms with forward iterators.
— end note]
Table 87: Cpp17ForwardIterator requirements (in addition to Cpp17InputIterator) [tab:forwarditerator]
Expression
Return type
Operational
Assertion/note
semantics
pre-/post-condition
r++
convertible to const X&
{ X tmp = r;
++r;
return tmp; }
*r++
reference
If a and b are equal, then either a and b are both dereferenceable or else neither is dereferenceable.
If a and b are both dereferenceable, then a == b if and only if *a and *b are bound to the same object.

23.3.5.6 Bidirectional iterators [bidirectional.iterators]

A class or pointer type X meets the requirements of a bidirectional iterator if, in addition to meeting the Cpp17ForwardIterator requirements, the following expressions are valid as shown in Table 88.
Table 88: Cpp17BidirectionalIterator requirements (in addition to Cpp17ForwardIterator) [tab:bidirectionaliterator]
Expression
Return type
Operational
Assertion/note
semantics
pre-/post-condition
--r
X&
Preconditions: there exists s such that r == ++s.

Postconditions: r is dereferenceable.

--(++r) == r.

--r == --s implies r == s.

addressof(r) == addressof(--r).
r--
convertible to const X&
{ X tmp = r;
--r;
return tmp; }
*r--
reference
[Note 1:
Bidirectional iterators allow algorithms to move iterators backward as well as forward.
— end note]

23.3.5.7 Random access iterators [random.access.iterators]

A class or pointer type X meets the requirements of a random access iterator if, in addition to meeting the Cpp17BidirectionalIterator requirements, the following expressions are valid as shown in Table 89.
Table 89: Cpp17RandomAccessIterator requirements (in addition to Cpp17BidirectionalIterator) [tab:randomaccessiterator]
Expression
Return type
Operational
Assertion/note
semantics
pre-/post-condition
r += n
X&
{ difference_­type m = n;
if (m >= 0)
while (m--)
++r;
else
while (m++)
--r;
return r; }
a + n
n + a
X
{ X tmp = a;
return tmp += n; }
a + n == n + a.
r -= n
X&
return r += -n;
Preconditions: the absolute value of n is in the range of representable values of difference_­type.
a - n
X
{ X tmp = a;
return tmp -= n; }
b - a
difference_­type
return n
Preconditions: there exists a value n of type difference_­type such that a + n == b.

b == a + (b - a).
a[n]
convertible to reference
*(a + n)
a < b
contextually convertible to bool
b - a > 0
< is a total ordering relation
a > b
contextually convertible to bool
b < a
> is a total ordering relation opposite to <.
a >= b
contextually convertible to bool
!(a < b)
a <= b
contextually convertible to bool.
!(a > b)

23.3.6 Indirect callable requirements [indirectcallable]

23.3.6.1 General [indirectcallable.general]

There are several concepts that group requirements of algorithms that take callable objects ([func.def]) as arguments.

23.3.6.2 Indirect callables [indirectcallable.indirectinvocable]

The indirect callable concepts are used to constrain those algorithms that accept callable objects ([func.def]) as arguments.
namespace std { template<class F, class I> concept indirectly_­unary_­invocable = indirectly_­readable<I> && copy_­constructible<F> && invocable<F&, iter_value_t<I>&> && invocable<F&, iter_reference_t<I>> && invocable<F&, iter_common_reference_t<I>> && common_reference_with< invoke_result_t<F&, iter_value_t<I>&>, invoke_result_t<F&, iter_reference_t<I>>>; template<class F, class I> concept indirectly_­regular_­unary_­invocable = indirectly_­readable<I> && copy_­constructible<F> && regular_­invocable<F&, iter_value_t<I>&> && regular_­invocable<F&, iter_reference_t<I>> && regular_­invocable<F&, iter_common_reference_t<I>> && common_reference_with< invoke_result_t<F&, iter_value_t<I>&>, invoke_result_t<F&, iter_reference_t<I>>>; template<class F, class I> concept indirect_­unary_­predicate = indirectly_­readable<I> && copy_­constructible<F> && predicate<F&, iter_value_t<I>&> && predicate<F&, iter_reference_t<I>> && predicate<F&, iter_common_reference_t<I>>; template<class F, class I1, class I2> concept indirect_­binary_­predicate = indirectly_­readable<I1> && indirectly_­readable<I2> && copy_­constructible<F> && predicate<F&, iter_value_t<I1>&, iter_value_t<I2>&> && predicate<F&, iter_value_t<I1>&, iter_reference_t<I2>> && predicate<F&, iter_reference_t<I1>, iter_value_t<I2>&> && predicate<F&, iter_reference_t<I1>, iter_reference_t<I2>> && predicate<F&, iter_common_reference_t<I1>, iter_common_reference_t<I2>>; template<class F, class I1, class I2 = I1> concept indirect_­equivalence_­relation = indirectly_­readable<I1> && indirectly_­readable<I2> && copy_­constructible<F> && equivalence_­relation<F&, iter_value_t<I1>&, iter_value_t<I2>&> && equivalence_­relation<F&, iter_value_t<I1>&, iter_reference_t<I2>> && equivalence_­relation<F&, iter_reference_t<I1>, iter_value_t<I2>&> && equivalence_­relation<F&, iter_reference_t<I1>, iter_reference_t<I2>> && equivalence_­relation<F&, iter_common_reference_t<I1>, iter_common_reference_t<I2>>; template<class F, class I1, class I2 = I1> concept indirect_­strict_­weak_­order = indirectly_­readable<I1> && indirectly_­readable<I2> && copy_­constructible<F> && strict_­weak_­order<F&, iter_value_t<I1>&, iter_value_t<I2>&> && strict_­weak_­order<F&, iter_value_t<I1>&, iter_reference_t<I2>> && strict_­weak_­order<F&, iter_reference_t<I1>, iter_value_t<I2>&> && strict_­weak_­order<F&, iter_reference_t<I1>, iter_reference_t<I2>> && strict_­weak_­order<F&, iter_common_reference_t<I1>, iter_common_reference_t<I2>>; }

23.3.6.3 Class template projected [projected]

Class template projected is used to constrain algorithms that accept callable objects and projections ([defns.projection]).
It combines a indirectly_­readable type I and a callable object type Proj into a new indirectly_­readable type whose reference type is the result of applying Proj to the iter_­reference_­t of I.
namespace std { template<indirectly_­readable I, indirectly_­regular_­unary_­invocable<I> Proj> struct projected { using value_type = remove_cvref_t<indirect_result_t<Proj&, I>>; indirect_result_t<Proj&, I> operator*() const; // not defined }; template<weakly_­incrementable I, class Proj> struct incrementable_traits<projected<I, Proj>> { using difference_type = iter_difference_t<I>; }; }

23.3.7 Common algorithm requirements [alg.req]

23.3.7.1 General [alg.req.general]

There are several additional iterator concepts that are commonly applied to families of algorithms.
These group together iterator requirements of algorithm families.
There are three relational concepts that specify how element values are transferred between indirectly_­readable and indirectly_­writable types: indirectly_­movable, indirectly_­copyable, and indirectly_­swappable.
There are three relational concepts for rearrangements: permutable, mergeable, and sortable.
There is one relational concept for comparing values from different sequences: indirectly_­comparable.
[Note 1:
The ranges​::​less function object type used in the concepts below imposes constraints on the concepts' arguments in addition to those that appear in the concepts' bodies ([range.cmp]).
— end note]

23.3.7.2 Concept indirectly_­movable [alg.req.ind.move]

The indirectly_­movable concept specifies the relationship between a indirectly_­readable type and a indirectly_­writable type between which values may be moved.
template<class In, class Out> concept indirectly_­movable = indirectly_­readable<In> && indirectly_­writable<Out, iter_rvalue_reference_t<In>>;
The indirectly_­movable_­storable concept augments indirectly_­movable with additional requirements enabling the transfer to be performed through an intermediate object of the indirectly_­readable type's value type.
template<class In, class Out> concept indirectly_­movable_­storable = indirectly_­movable<In, Out> && indirectly_­writable<Out, iter_value_t<In>> && movable<iter_value_t<In>> && constructible_­from<iter_value_t<In>, iter_rvalue_reference_t<In>> && assignable_­from<iter_value_t<In>&, iter_rvalue_reference_t<In>>;
Let i be a dereferenceable value of type In.
In and Out model indirectly_­movable_­storable<In, Out> only if after the initialization of the object obj in iter_value_t<In> obj(ranges::iter_move(i)); obj is equal to the value previously denoted by *i.
If iter_­rvalue_­reference_­t<In> is an rvalue reference type, the resulting state of the value denoted by *i is valid but unspecified ([lib.types.movedfrom]).

23.3.7.3 Concept indirectly_­copyable [alg.req.ind.copy]

The indirectly_­copyable concept specifies the relationship between a indirectly_­readable type and a indirectly_­writable type between which values may be copied.
template<class In, class Out> concept indirectly_­copyable = indirectly_­readable<In> && indirectly_­writable<Out, iter_reference_t<In>>;
The indirectly_­copyable_­storable concept augments indirectly_­copyable with additional requirements enabling the transfer to be performed through an intermediate object of the indirectly_­readable type's value type.
It also requires the capability to make copies of values.
template<class In, class Out> concept indirectly_­copyable_­storable = indirectly_­copyable<In, Out> && indirectly_­writable<Out, iter_value_t<In>&> && indirectly_­writable<Out, const iter_value_t<In>&> && indirectly_­writable<Out, iter_value_t<In>&&> && indirectly_­writable<Out, const iter_value_t<In>&&> && copyable<iter_value_t<In>> && constructible_­from<iter_value_t<In>, iter_reference_t<In>> && assignable_­from<iter_value_t<In>&, iter_reference_t<In>>;
Let i be a dereferenceable value of type In.
In and Out model indirectly_­copyable_­storable<In, Out> only if after the initialization of the object obj in iter_value_t<In> obj(*i); obj is equal to the value previously denoted by *i.
If iter_­reference_­t<In> is an rvalue reference type, the resulting state of the value denoted by *i is valid but unspecified ([lib.types.movedfrom]).

23.3.7.4 Concept indirectly_­swappable [alg.req.ind.swap]

The indirectly_­swappable concept specifies a swappable relationship between the values referenced by two indirectly_­readable types.
template<class I1, class I2 = I1> concept indirectly_­swappable = indirectly_­readable<I1> && indirectly_­readable<I2> && requires(const I1 i1, const I2 i2) { ranges::iter_swap(i1, i1); ranges::iter_swap(i2, i2); ranges::iter_swap(i1, i2); ranges::iter_swap(i2, i1); };

23.3.7.5 Concept indirectly_­comparable [alg.req.ind.cmp]

The indirectly_­comparable concept specifies the common requirements of algorithms that compare values from two different sequences.
template<class I1, class I2, class R, class P1 = identity, class P2 = identity> concept indirectly_­comparable = indirect_­binary_­predicate<R, projected<I1, P1>, projected<I2, P2>>;

23.3.7.6 Concept permutable [alg.req.permutable]

The permutable concept specifies the common requirements of algorithms that reorder elements in place by moving or swapping them.
template<class I> concept permutable = forward_­iterator<I> && indirectly_­movable_­storable<I, I> && indirectly_­swappable<I, I>;

23.3.7.7 Concept mergeable [alg.req.mergeable]

The mergeable concept specifies the requirements of algorithms that merge sorted sequences into an output sequence by copying elements.
template<class I1, class I2, class Out, class R = ranges::less, class P1 = identity, class P2 = identity> concept mergeable = input_­iterator<I1> && input_­iterator<I2> && weakly_­incrementable<Out> && indirectly_­copyable<I1, Out> && indirectly_­copyable<I2, Out> && indirect_­strict_­weak_­order<R, projected<I1, P1>, projected<I2, P2>>;

23.3.7.8 Concept sortable [alg.req.sortable]

The sortable concept specifies the common requirements of algorithms that permute sequences into ordered sequences (e.g., sort).
template<class I, class R = ranges::less, class P = identity> concept sortable = permutable<I> && indirect_­strict_­weak_­order<R, projected<I, P>>;

23.4 Iterator primitives [iterator.primitives]

23.4.1 General [iterator.primitives.general]

To simplify the use of iterators, the library provides several classes and functions.

23.4.2 Standard iterator tags [std.iterator.tags]

It is often desirable for a function template specialization to find out what is the most specific category of its iterator argument, so that the function can select the most efficient algorithm at compile time.
To facilitate this, the library introduces category tag classes which are used as compile time tags for algorithm selection.
They are: output_­iterator_­tag, input_­iterator_­tag, forward_­iterator_­tag, bidirectional_­iterator_­tag, random_­access_­iterator_­tag, and contiguous_­iterator_­tag.
For every iterator of type I, iterator_­traits<I>​::​iterator_­category shall be defined to be a category tag that describes the iterator's behavior.
Additionally, iterator_­traits<I>​::​iterator_­concept may be used to indicate conformance to the iterator concepts ([iterator.concepts]).
namespace std { struct output_iterator_tag { }; struct input_iterator_tag { }; struct forward_iterator_tag: public input_iterator_tag { }; struct bidirectional_iterator_tag: public forward_iterator_tag { }; struct random_access_iterator_tag: public bidirectional_iterator_tag { }; struct contiguous_iterator_tag: public random_access_iterator_tag { }; }
[Example 1:
For a program-defined iterator BinaryTreeIterator, it could be included into the bidirectional iterator category by specializing the iterator_­traits template: template<class T> struct iterator_traits<BinaryTreeIterator<T>> { using iterator_category = bidirectional_iterator_tag; using difference_type = ptrdiff_t; using value_type = T; using pointer = T*; using reference = T&; };
— end example]
[Example 2:
If evolve() is well-defined for bidirectional iterators, but can be implemented more efficiently for random access iterators, then the implementation is as follows: template<class BidirectionalIterator> inline void evolve(BidirectionalIterator first, BidirectionalIterator last) { evolve(first, last, typename iterator_traits<BidirectionalIterator>::iterator_category()); } template<class BidirectionalIterator> void evolve(BidirectionalIterator first, BidirectionalIterator last, bidirectional_iterator_tag) { // more generic, but less efficient algorithm } template<class RandomAccessIterator> void evolve(RandomAccessIterator first, RandomAccessIterator last, random_access_iterator_tag) { // more efficient, but less generic algorithm }
— end example]

23.4.3 Iterator operations [iterator.operations]

Since only random access iterators provide + and - operators, the library provides two function templates advance and distance.
These function templates use + and - for random access iterators (and are, therefore, constant time for them); for input, forward and bidirectional iterators they use ++ to provide linear time implementations.
template<class InputIterator, class Distance> constexpr void advance(InputIterator& i, Distance n);
Preconditions: n is negative only for bidirectional iterators.
Effects: Increments i by n if n is non-negative, and decrements i by -n otherwise.
template<class InputIterator> constexpr typename iterator_traits<InputIterator>::difference_type distance(InputIterator first, InputIterator last);
Preconditions: last is reachable from first, or InputIterator meets the Cpp17RandomAccessIterator requirements and first is reachable from last.
Effects: If InputIterator meets the Cpp17RandomAccessIterator requirements, returns (last - first); otherwise, returns the number of increments needed to get from first to last.
template<class InputIterator> constexpr InputIterator next(InputIterator x, typename iterator_traits<InputIterator>::difference_type n = 1);
Effects: Equivalent to: advance(x, n); return x;
template<class BidirectionalIterator> constexpr BidirectionalIterator prev(BidirectionalIterator x, typename iterator_traits<BidirectionalIterator>::difference_type n = 1);
Effects: Equivalent to: advance(x, -n); return x;

23.4.4 Range iterator operations [range.iter.ops]

23.4.4.1 General [range.iter.ops.general]

The library includes the function templates ranges​::​advance, ranges​::​distance, ranges​::​next, and ranges​::​prev to manipulate iterators.
These operations adapt to the set of operators provided by each iterator category to provide the most efficient implementation possible for a concrete iterator type.
[Example 1:
ranges​::​advance uses the + operator to move a random_­access_­iterator forward n steps in constant time.
For an iterator type that does not model random_­access_­iterator, ranges​::​advance instead performs n individual increments with the ++ operator.
— end example]
The function templates defined in [range.iter.ops] are not found by argument-dependent name lookup ([basic.lookup.argdep]).
When found by unqualified ([basic.lookup.unqual]) name lookup for the postfix-expression in a function call ([expr.call]), they inhibit argument-dependent name lookup.
[Example 2: void foo() { using namespace std::ranges; std::vector<int> vec{1,2,3}; distance(begin(vec), end(vec)); // #1 }
The function call expression at #1 invokes std​::​ranges​::​distance, not std​::​distance, despite that (a) the iterator type returned from begin(vec) and end(vec) may be associated with namespace std and (b) std​::​distance is more specialized ([temp.func.order]) than std​::​ranges​::​distance since the former requires its first two parameters to have the same type.
— end example]
The number and order of deducible template parameters for the function templates defined in [range.iter.ops] is unspecified, except where explicitly stated otherwise.

23.4.4.2 ranges​::​advance [range.iter.op.advance]

template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I> constexpr void ranges::advance(I& i, iter_difference_t<I> n);
Preconditions: If I does not model bidirectional_­iterator, n is not negative.
Effects:
template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr void ranges::advance(I& i, S bound);
Preconditions: [i, bound) denotes a range.
Effects:
template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr iter_difference_t<I> ranges::advance(I& i, iter_difference_t<I> n, S bound);
Preconditions: If n > 0, [i, bound) denotes a range.
If n == 0, [i, bound) or [bound, i) denotes a range.
If n < 0, [bound, i) denotes a range, I models bidirectional_­iterator, and I and S model same_­as<I, S>.
Effects:
  • If S and I model sized_­sentinel_­for<S, I>:
    • If ​, equivalent to ranges​::​advance(i, bound).
    • Otherwise, equivalent to ranges​::​advance(i, n).
  • Otherwise,
    • if n is non-negative, while bool(i != bound) is true, increments i but at most n times.
    • Otherwise, while bool(i != bound) is true, decrements i but at most -n times.
Returns: n - M, where M is the difference between the ending and starting positions of i.

23.4.4.3 ranges​::​distance [range.iter.op.distance]

template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr iter_difference_t<I> ranges::distance(I first, S last);
Preconditions: [first, last) denotes a range, or [last, first) denotes a range and S and I model same_­as<S, I> && sized_­sentinel_­for<S, I>.
Effects: If S and I model sized_­sentinel_­for<S, I>, returns (last - first); otherwise, returns the number of increments needed to get from first to last.
template<range R> constexpr range_difference_t<R> ranges::distance(R&& r);
Effects: If R models sized_­range, equivalent to: return static_cast<range_difference_t<R>>(ranges::size(r)); // [range.prim.size]
Otherwise, equivalent to: return ranges::distance(ranges::begin(r), ranges::end(r)); // [range.access]

23.4.4.4 ranges​::​next [range.iter.op.next]

template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I> constexpr I ranges::next(I x);
Effects: Equivalent to: ++x; return x;
template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I> constexpr I ranges::next(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n);
Effects: Equivalent to: ranges​::​advance(x, n); return x;
template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr I ranges::next(I x, S bound);
Effects: Equivalent to: ranges​::​advance(x, bound); return x;
template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> constexpr I ranges::next(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n, S bound);
Effects: Equivalent to: ranges​::​advance(x, n, bound); return x;

23.4.4.5 ranges​::​prev [range.iter.op.prev]

template<bidirectional_­iterator I> constexpr I ranges::prev(I x);
Effects: Equivalent to: --x; return x;
template<bidirectional_­iterator I> constexpr I ranges::prev(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n);
Effects: Equivalent to: ranges​::​advance(x, -n); return x;
template<bidirectional_­iterator I> constexpr I ranges::prev(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n, I bound);
Effects: Equivalent to: ranges​::​advance(x, -n, bound); return x;

23.5 Iterator adaptors [predef.iterators]

23.5.1 Reverse iterators [reverse.iterators]

23.5.1.1 General [reverse.iterators.general]

Class template reverse_­iterator is an iterator adaptor that iterates from the end of the sequence defined by its underlying iterator to the beginning of that sequence.

23.5.1.2 Class template reverse_­iterator [reverse.iterator]

namespace std { template<class Iterator> class reverse_iterator { public: using iterator_type = Iterator; using iterator_concept = see below; using iterator_category = see below; using value_type = iter_value_t<Iterator>; using difference_type = iter_difference_t<Iterator>; using pointer = typename iterator_traits<Iterator>::pointer; using reference = iter_reference_t<Iterator>; constexpr reverse_iterator(); constexpr explicit reverse_iterator(Iterator x); template<class U> constexpr reverse_iterator(const reverse_iterator<U>& u); template<class U> constexpr reverse_iterator& operator=(const reverse_iterator<U>& u); constexpr Iterator base() const; constexpr reference operator*() const; constexpr pointer operator->() const requires see below; constexpr reverse_iterator& operator++(); constexpr reverse_iterator operator++(int); constexpr reverse_iterator& operator--(); constexpr reverse_iterator operator--(int); constexpr reverse_iterator operator+ (difference_type n) const; constexpr reverse_iterator& operator+=(difference_type n); constexpr reverse_iterator operator- (difference_type n) const; constexpr reverse_iterator& operator-=(difference_type n); constexpr unspecified operator[](difference_type n) const; friend constexpr iter_rvalue_reference_t<Iterator> iter_move(const reverse_iterator& i) noexcept(see below); template<indirectly_­swappable<Iterator> Iterator2> friend constexpr void iter_swap(const reverse_iterator& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y) noexcept(see below); protected: Iterator current; }; }
The member typedef-name iterator_­concept denotes
The member typedef-name iterator_­category denotes
  • random_­access_­iterator_­tag if the type iterator_­traits<​Iterator>​::​iterator_­category models derived_­from<random_­access_­iterator_­tag>, and
  • iterator_­traits<​Iterator>​::​iterator_­category otherwise.

23.5.1.3 Requirements [reverse.iter.requirements]

The template parameter Iterator shall either meet the requirements of a Cpp17BidirectionalIterator ([bidirectional.iterators]) or model bidirectional_­iterator ([iterator.concept.bidir]).
Additionally, Iterator shall either meet the requirements of a Cpp17RandomAccessIterator ([random.access.iterators]) or model random_­access_­iterator ([iterator.concept.random.access]) if the definitions of any of the members or the non-member operators ([reverse.iter.cmp]) are instantiated ([temp.inst]).

23.5.1.4 Construction and assignment [reverse.iter.cons]

constexpr reverse_iterator();
Effects: Value-initializes current.
Iterator operations applied to the resulting iterator have defined behavior if and only if the corresponding operations are defined on a value-initialized iterator of type Iterator.
constexpr explicit reverse_iterator(Iterator x);
Effects: Initializes current with x.
template<class U> constexpr reverse_iterator(const reverse_iterator<U>& u);
Effects: Initializes current with u.current.
template<class U> constexpr reverse_iterator& operator=(const reverse_iterator<U>& u);
Effects: Assigns u.base() to current.
Returns: *this.

23.5.1.5 Conversion [reverse.iter.conv]

constexpr Iterator base() const; // explicit
Returns: current.

23.5.1.6 Element access [reverse.iter.elem]

constexpr reference operator*() const;
Effects: As if by: Iterator tmp = current; return *--tmp;
constexpr pointer operator->() const requires (is_pointer_v<Iterator> || requires (const Iterator i) { i.operator->(); });
Effects:
  • If Iterator is a pointer type, equivalent to: return prev(current);
  • Otherwise, equivalent to: return prev(current).operator->();
constexpr unspecified operator[](difference_type n) const;
Returns: current[-n-1].

23.5.1.7 Navigation [reverse.iter.nav]

constexpr reverse_iterator operator+(difference_type n) const;
Returns: reverse_­iterator(current-n).
constexpr reverse_iterator operator-(difference_type n) const;
Returns: reverse_­iterator(current+n).
constexpr reverse_iterator& operator++();
Effects: As if by: --current;
Returns: *this.
constexpr reverse_iterator operator++(int);
Effects: As if by: reverse_iterator tmp = *this; --current; return tmp;
constexpr reverse_iterator& operator--();
Effects: As if by ++current.
Returns: *this.
constexpr reverse_iterator operator--(int);
Effects: As if by: reverse_iterator tmp = *this; ++current; return tmp;
constexpr reverse_iterator& operator+=(difference_type n);
Effects: As if by: current -= n;
Returns: *this.
constexpr reverse_iterator& operator-=(difference_type n);
Effects: As if by: current += n;
Returns: *this.

23.5.1.8 Comparisons [reverse.iter.cmp]

template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator==( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: x.base() == y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: x.base() == y.base().
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator!=( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: x.base() != y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: x.base() != y.base().
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator<( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: x.base() > y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: x.base() > y.base().
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator>( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: x.base() < y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: x.base() < y.base().
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator<=( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: x.base() >= y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: x.base() >= y.base().
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator>=( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: x.base() <= y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: x.base() <= y.base().
template<class Iterator1, three_­way_­comparable_­with<Iterator1> Iterator2> constexpr compare_three_way_result_t<Iterator1, Iterator2> operator<=>(const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Returns: y.base() <=> x.base().
[Note 1:
The argument order in the Returns: element is reversed because this is a reverse iterator.
— end note]

23.5.1.9 Non-member functions [reverse.iter.nonmember]

template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr auto operator-( const reverse_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y) -> decltype(y.base() - x.base());
Returns: y.base() - x.base().
template<class Iterator> constexpr reverse_iterator<Iterator> operator+( iter_difference_t<Iterator> n, const reverse_iterator<Iterator>& x);
Returns: reverse_­iterator<Iterator>(x.base() - n).
friend constexpr iter_rvalue_reference_t<Iterator> iter_move(const reverse_iterator& i) noexcept(see below);
Effects: Equivalent to: auto tmp = i.base(); return ranges::iter_move(--tmp);
Remarks: The expression in noexcept is equivalent to: is_nothrow_copy_constructible_v<Iterator> && noexcept(ranges::iter_move(--declval<Iterator&>()))
template<indirectly_­swappable<Iterator> Iterator2> friend constexpr void iter_swap(const reverse_iterator& x, const reverse_iterator<Iterator2>& y) noexcept(see below);
Effects: Equivalent to: auto xtmp = x.base(); auto ytmp = y.base(); ranges::iter_swap(--xtmp, --ytmp);
Remarks: The expression in noexcept is equivalent to: is_nothrow_copy_constructible_v<Iterator> && is_nothrow_copy_constructible_v<Iterator2> && noexcept(ranges::iter_swap(--declval<Iterator&>(), --declval<Iterator2&>()))
template<class Iterator> constexpr reverse_iterator<Iterator> make_reverse_iterator(Iterator i);
Returns: reverse_­iterator<Iterator>(i).

23.5.2 Insert iterators [insert.iterators]

23.5.2.1 General [insert.iterators.general]

To make it possible to deal with insertion in the same way as writing into an array, a special kind of iterator adaptors, called insert iterators, are provided in the library.
With regular iterator classes, while (first != last) *result++ = *first++; causes a range [first, last) to be copied into a range starting with result.
The same code with result being an insert iterator will insert corresponding elements into the container.
This device allows all of the copying algorithms in the library to work in the insert mode instead of the regular overwrite mode.
An insert iterator is constructed from a container and possibly one of its iterators pointing to where insertion takes place if it is neither at the beginning nor at the end of the container.
Insert iterators meet the requirements of output iterators.
operator* returns the insert iterator itself.
The assignment operator=(const T& x) is defined on insert iterators to allow writing into them, it inserts x right before where the insert iterator is pointing.
In other words, an insert iterator is like a cursor pointing into the container where the insertion takes place.
back_­insert_­iterator inserts elements at the end of a container, front_­insert_­iterator inserts elements at the beginning of a container, and insert_­iterator inserts elements where the iterator points to in a container.
back_­inserter, front_­inserter, and inserter are three functions making the insert iterators out of a container.

23.5.2.2 Class template back_­insert_­iterator [back.insert.iterator]

namespace std { template<class Container> class back_insert_iterator { protected: Container* container = nullptr; public: using iterator_category = output_iterator_tag; using value_type = void; using difference_type = ptrdiff_t; using pointer = void; using reference = void; using container_type = Container; constexpr back_insert_iterator() noexcept = default; constexpr explicit back_insert_iterator(Container& x); constexpr back_insert_iterator& operator=(const typename Container::value_type& value); constexpr back_insert_iterator& operator=(typename Container::value_type&& value); constexpr back_insert_iterator& operator*(); constexpr back_insert_iterator& operator++(); constexpr back_insert_iterator operator++(int); }; }

23.5.2.2.1 Operations [back.insert.iter.ops]

constexpr explicit back_insert_iterator(Container& x);
Effects: Initializes container with addressof(x).
constexpr back_insert_iterator& operator=(const typename Container::value_type& value);
Effects: As if by: container->push_­back(value);
Returns: *this.
constexpr back_insert_iterator& operator=(typename Container::value_type&& value);
Effects: As if by: container->push_­back(std​::​move(value));
Returns: *this.
constexpr back_insert_iterator& operator*();
Returns: *this.
constexpr back_insert_iterator& operator++(); constexpr back_insert_iterator operator++(int);
Returns: *this.

23.5.2.2.2 back_­inserter [back.inserter]

template<class Container> constexpr back_insert_iterator<Container> back_inserter(Container& x);
Returns: back_­insert_­iterator<Container>(x).

23.5.2.3 Class template front_­insert_­iterator [front.insert.iterator]

namespace std { template<class Container> class front_insert_iterator { protected: Container* container = nullptr; public: using iterator_category = output_iterator_tag; using value_type = void; using difference_type = ptrdiff_t; using pointer = void; using reference = void; using container_type = Container; constexpr front_insert_iterator() noexcept = default; constexpr explicit front_insert_iterator(Container& x); constexpr front_insert_iterator& operator=(const typename Container::value_type& value); constexpr front_insert_iterator& operator=(typename Container::value_type&& value); constexpr front_insert_iterator& operator*(); constexpr front_insert_iterator& operator++(); constexpr front_insert_iterator operator++(int); }; }

23.5.2.3.1 Operations [front.insert.iter.ops]

constexpr explicit front_insert_iterator(Container& x);
Effects: Initializes container with addressof(x).
constexpr front_insert_iterator& operator=(const typename Container::value_type& value);
Effects: As if by: container->push_­front(value);
Returns: *this.
constexpr front_insert_iterator& operator=(typename Container::value_type&& value);
Effects: As if by: container->push_­front(std​::​move(value));
Returns: *this.
constexpr front_insert_iterator& operator*();
Returns: *this.
constexpr front_insert_iterator& operator++(); constexpr front_insert_iterator operator++(int);
Returns: *this.

23.5.2.3.2 front_­inserter [front.inserter]

template<class Container> constexpr front_insert_iterator<Container> front_inserter(Container& x);
Returns: front_­insert_­iterator<Container>(x).

23.5.2.4 Class template insert_­iterator [insert.iterator]

namespace std { template<class Container> class insert_iterator { protected: Container* container = nullptr; ranges::iterator_t<Container> iter = ranges::iterator_t<Container>(); public: using iterator_category = output_iterator_tag; using value_type = void; using difference_type = ptrdiff_t; using pointer = void; using reference = void; using container_type = Container; insert_iterator() = default; constexpr insert_iterator(Container& x, ranges::iterator_t<Container> i); constexpr insert_iterator& operator=(const typename Container::value_type& value); constexpr insert_iterator& operator=(typename Container::value_type&& value); constexpr insert_iterator& operator*(); constexpr insert_iterator& operator++(); constexpr insert_iterator& operator++(int); }; }

23.5.2.4.1 Operations [insert.iter.ops]

constexpr insert_iterator(Container& x, ranges::iterator_t<Container> i);
Effects: Initializes container with addressof(x) and iter with i.
constexpr insert_iterator& operator=(const typename Container::value_type& value);
Effects: As if by: iter = container->insert(iter, value); ++iter;
Returns: *this.
constexpr insert_iterator& operator=(typename Container::value_type&& value);
Effects: As if by: iter = container->insert(iter, std::move(value)); ++iter;
Returns: *this.
constexpr insert_iterator& operator*();
Returns: *this.
constexpr insert_iterator& operator++(); constexpr insert_iterator& operator++(int);
Returns: *this.

23.5.2.4.2 inserter [inserter]

template<class Container> constexpr insert_iterator<Container> inserter(Container& x, ranges::iterator_t<Container> i);
Returns: insert_­iterator<Container>(x, i).

23.5.3 Move iterators and sentinels [move.iterators]

23.5.3.1 General [move.iterators.general]

Class template move_­iterator is an iterator adaptor with the same behavior as the underlying iterator except that its indirection operator implicitly converts the value returned by the underlying iterator's indirection operator to an rvalue.
Some generic algorithms can be called with move iterators to replace copying with moving.
[Example 1: list<string> s; // populate the list s vector<string> v1(s.begin(), s.end()); // copies strings into v1 vector<string> v2(make_move_iterator(s.begin()), make_move_iterator(s.end())); // moves strings into v2 — end example]

23.5.3.2 Class template move_­iterator [move.iterator]

namespace std { template<class Iterator> class move_iterator { public: using iterator_type = Iterator; using iterator_concept = input_iterator_tag; using iterator_category = see below; using value_type = iter_value_t<Iterator>; using difference_type = iter_difference_t<Iterator>; using pointer = Iterator; using reference = iter_rvalue_reference_t<Iterator>; constexpr move_iterator(); constexpr explicit move_iterator(Iterator i); template<class U> constexpr move_iterator(const move_iterator<U>& u); template<class U> constexpr move_iterator& operator=(const move_iterator<U>& u); constexpr iterator_type base() const &; constexpr iterator_type base() &&; constexpr reference operator*() const; constexpr move_iterator& operator++(); constexpr auto operator++(int); constexpr move_iterator& operator--(); constexpr move_iterator operator--(int); constexpr move_iterator operator+(difference_type n) const; constexpr move_iterator& operator+=(difference_type n); constexpr move_iterator operator-(difference_type n) const; constexpr move_iterator& operator-=(difference_type n); constexpr reference operator[](difference_type n) const; template<sentinel_­for<Iterator> S> friend constexpr bool operator==(const move_iterator& x, const move_sentinel<S>& y); template<sized_­sentinel_­for<Iterator> S> friend constexpr iter_difference_t<Iterator> operator-(const move_sentinel<S>& x, const move_iterator& y); template<sized_­sentinel_­for<Iterator> S> friend constexpr iter_difference_t<Iterator> operator-(const move_iterator& x, const move_sentinel<S>& y); friend constexpr iter_rvalue_reference_t<Iterator> iter_move(const move_iterator& i) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_move(i.current))); template<indirectly_­swappable<Iterator> Iterator2> friend constexpr void iter_swap(const move_iterator& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_swap(x.current, y.current))); private: Iterator current; // exposition only }; }
The member typedef-name iterator_­category denotes
  • random_­access_­iterator_­tag if the type iterator_­traits<​Iterator>​::​iterator_­category models derived_­from<random_­access_­iterator_­tag>, and
  • iterator_­traits<​Iterator>​::​iterator_­category otherwise.

23.5.3.3 Requirements [move.iter.requirements]

The template parameter Iterator shall either meet the Cpp17InputIterator requirements ([input.iterators]) or model input_­iterator ([iterator.concept.input]).
Additionally, if any of the bidirectional traversal functions are instantiated, the template parameter shall either meet the Cpp17BidirectionalIterator requirements ([bidirectional.iterators]) or model bidirectional_­iterator ([iterator.concept.bidir]).
If any of the random access traversal functions are instantiated, the template parameter shall either meet the Cpp17RandomAccessIterator requirements ([random.access.iterators]) or model random_­access_­iterator ([iterator.concept.random.access]).

23.5.3.4 Construction and assignment [move.iter.cons]

constexpr move_iterator();
Effects: Constructs a move_­iterator, value-initializing current.
Iterator operations applied to the resulting iterator have defined behavior if and only if the corresponding operations are defined on a value-initialized iterator of type Iterator.
constexpr explicit move_iterator(Iterator i);
Effects: Constructs a move_­iterator, initializing current with std​::​move(i).
template<class U> constexpr move_iterator(const move_iterator<U>& u);
Mandates: U is convertible to Iterator.
Effects: Constructs a move_­iterator, initializing current with u.base().
template<class U> constexpr move_iterator& operator=(const move_iterator<U>& u);
Mandates: U is convertible to Iterator.
Effects: Assigns u.base() to current.

23.5.3.5 Conversion [move.iter.op.conv]

constexpr Iterator base() const &;
Constraints: Iterator satisfies copy_­constructible.
Preconditions: Iterator models copy_­constructible.
Returns: current.
constexpr Iterator base() &&;
Returns: std​::​move(current).

23.5.3.6 Element access [move.iter.elem]

constexpr reference operator*() const;
Effects: Equivalent to: return ranges​::​iter_­move(current);
constexpr reference operator[](difference_type n) const;
Effects: Equivalent to: return ranges​::​iter_­move(current + n);

23.5.3.7 Navigation [move.iter.nav]

constexpr move_iterator& operator++();
Effects: As if by ++current.
Returns: *this.
constexpr auto operator++(int);
Effects: If Iterator models forward_­iterator, equivalent to: move_iterator tmp = *this; ++current; return tmp;
Otherwise, equivalent to ++current.
constexpr move_iterator& operator--();
Effects: As if by --current.
Returns: *this.
constexpr move_iterator operator--(int);
Effects: As if by: move_iterator tmp = *this; --current; return tmp;
constexpr move_iterator operator+(difference_type n) const;
Returns: move_­iterator(current + n).
constexpr move_iterator& operator+=(difference_type n);
Effects: As if by: current += n;
Returns: *this.
constexpr move_iterator operator-(difference_type n) const;
Returns: move_­iterator(current - n).
constexpr move_iterator& operator-=(difference_type n);
Effects: As if by: current -= n;
Returns: *this.

23.5.3.8 Comparisons [move.iter.op.comp]

template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator==(const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y); template<sentinel_­for<Iterator> S> friend constexpr bool operator==(const move_iterator& x, const move_sentinel<S>& y);
Constraints: x.base() == y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: x.base() == y.base().
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator<(const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: x.base() < y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: x.base() < y.base().
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator>(const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: y.base() < x.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: y < x.
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator<=(const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: y.base() < x.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: !(y < x).
template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr bool operator>=(const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Constraints: x.base() < y.base() is well-formed and convertible to bool.
Returns: !(x < y).
template<class Iterator1, three_­way_­comparable_­with<Iterator1> Iterator2> constexpr compare_three_way_result_t<Iterator1, Iterator2> operator<=>(const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y);
Returns: x.base() <=> y.base().

23.5.3.9 Non-member functions [move.iter.nonmember]

template<class Iterator1, class Iterator2> constexpr auto operator-( const move_iterator<Iterator1>& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y) -> decltype(x.base() - y.base()); template<sized_­sentinel_­for<Iterator> S> friend constexpr iter_difference_t<Iterator> operator-(const move_sentinel<S>& x, const move_iterator& y); template<sized_­sentinel_­for<Iterator> S> friend constexpr iter_difference_t<Iterator> operator-(const move_iterator& x, const move_sentinel<S>& y);
Returns: x.base() - y.base().
template<class Iterator> constexpr move_iterator<Iterator> operator+(iter_difference_t<Iterator> n, const move_iterator<Iterator>& x);
Constraints: x + n is well-formed and has type Iterator.
Returns: x + n.
friend constexpr iter_rvalue_reference_t<Iterator> iter_move(const move_iterator& i) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_move(i.current)));
Effects: Equivalent to: return ranges​::​iter_­move(i.current);
template<indirectly_­swappable<Iterator> Iterator2> friend constexpr void iter_swap(const move_iterator& x, const move_iterator<Iterator2>& y) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_swap(x.current, y.current)));
Effects: Equivalent to: ranges​::​iter_­swap(x.current, y.current).
template<class Iterator> constexpr move_iterator<Iterator> make_move_iterator(Iterator i);
Returns: move_­iterator<Iterator>(std​::​move(i)).

23.5.3.10 Class template move_­sentinel [move.sentinel]

Class template move_­sentinel is a sentinel adaptor useful for denoting ranges together with move_­iterator.
When an input iterator type I and sentinel type S model sentinel_­for<S, I>, move_­sentinel<S> and move_­iterator<I> model sentinel_­for<move_­sentinel<S>, move_­iterator<I>> as well.
[Example 1:
A move_­if algorithm is easily implemented with copy_­if using move_­iterator and move_­sentinel: template<input_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S, weakly_­incrementable O, indirect_­unary_­predicate<I> Pred> requires indirectly_­movable<I, O> void move_if(I first, S last, O out, Pred pred) { std::ranges::copy_if(move_iterator<I>{first}, move_sentinel<S>{last}, out, pred); }
— end example]
namespace std { template<semiregular S> class move_sentinel { public: constexpr move_sentinel(); constexpr explicit move_sentinel(S s); template<class S2> requires convertible_­to<const S2&, S> constexpr move_sentinel(const move_sentinel<S2>& s); template<class S2> requires assignable_­from<S&, const S2&> constexpr move_sentinel& operator=(const move_sentinel<S2>& s); constexpr S base() const; private: S last; // exposition only }; }

23.5.3.11 Operations [move.sent.ops]

constexpr move_sentinel();
Effects: Value-initializes last.
If is_­trivially_­default_­constructible_­v<S> is true, then this constructor is a constexpr constructor.
constexpr explicit move_sentinel(S s);
Effects: Initializes last with std​::​move(s).
template<class S2> requires convertible_­to<const S2&, S> constexpr move_sentinel(const move_sentinel<S2>& s);
Effects: Initializes last with s.last.
template<class S2> requires assignable_­from<S&, const S2&> constexpr move_sentinel& operator=(const move_sentinel<S2>& s);
Effects: Equivalent to: last = s.last; return *this;
constexpr S base() const;
Returns: last.

23.5.4 Common iterators [iterators.common]

23.5.4.1 Class template common_­iterator [common.iterator]

Class template common_­iterator is an iterator/sentinel adaptor that is capable of representing a non-common range of elements (where the types of the iterator and sentinel differ) as a common range (where they are the same).
It does this by holding either an iterator or a sentinel, and implementing the equality comparison operators appropriately.
[Note 1:
The common_­iterator type is useful for interfacing with legacy code that expects the begin and end of a range to have the same type.
— end note]
[Example 1: template<class ForwardIterator> void fun(ForwardIterator begin, ForwardIterator end); list<int> s; // populate the list s using CI = common_iterator<counted_iterator<list<int>::iterator>, default_sentinel_t>; // call fun on a range of 10 ints fun(CI(counted_iterator(s.begin(), 10)), CI(default_sentinel)); — end example]
namespace std { template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I, sentinel_­for<I> S> requires (!same_­as<I, S> && copyable<I>) class common_iterator { public: constexpr common_iterator() = default; constexpr common_iterator(I i); constexpr common_iterator(S s); template<class I2, class S2> requires convertible_­to<const I2&, I> && convertible_­to<const S2&, S> constexpr common_iterator(const common_iterator<I2, S2>& x); template<class I2, class S2> requires convertible_­to<const I2&, I> && convertible_­to<const S2&, S> && assignable_­from<I&, const I2&> && assignable_­from<S&, const S2&> common_iterator& operator=(const common_iterator<I2, S2>& x); decltype(auto) operator*(); decltype(auto) operator*() const requires dereferenceable<const I>; decltype(auto) operator->() const requires see below; common_iterator& operator++(); decltype(auto) operator++(int); template<class I2, sentinel_­for<I> S2> requires sentinel_­for<S, I2> friend bool operator==( const common_iterator& x, const common_iterator<I2, S2>& y); template<class I2, sentinel_­for<I> S2> requires sentinel_­for<S, I2> && equality_comparable_with<I, I2> friend bool operator==( const common_iterator& x, const common_iterator<I2, S2>& y); template<sized_­sentinel_­for<I> I2, sized_­sentinel_­for<I> S2> requires sized_­sentinel_­for<S, I2> friend iter_difference_t<I2> operator-( const common_iterator& x, const common_iterator<I2, S2>& y); friend iter_rvalue_reference_t<I> iter_move(const common_iterator& i) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_move(declval<const I&>()))) requires input_­iterator<I>; template<indirectly_­swappable<I> I2, class S2> friend void iter_swap(const common_iterator& x, const common_iterator<I2, S2>& y) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_swap(declval<const I&>(), declval<const I2&>()))); private: variant<I, S> v_; // exposition only }; template<class I, class S> struct incrementable_traits<common_iterator<I, S>> { using difference_type = iter_difference_t<I>; }; template<input_­iterator I, class S> struct iterator_traits<common_iterator<I, S>> { using iterator_concept = see below; using iterator_category = see below; using value_type = iter_value_t<I>; using difference_type = iter_difference_t<I>; using pointer = see below; using reference = iter_reference_t<I>; }; }

23.5.4.2 Associated types [common.iter.types]

The nested typedef-names of the specialization of iterator_­traits for common_­iterator<I, S> are defined as follows.
  • iterator_­concept denotes forward_­iterator_­tag if I models forward_­iterator; otherwise it denotes input_­iterator_­tag.
  • iterator_­category denotes forward_­iterator_­tag if iterator_­traits<I>​::​iterator_­category models derived_­from<forward_­iterator_­tag>; otherwise it denotes input_­iterator_­tag.
  • If the expression a.operator->() is well-formed, where a is an lvalue of type const common_­iterator<I, S>, then pointer denotes the type of that expression.
    Otherwise, pointer denotes void.

23.5.4.3 Constructors and conversions [common.iter.const]

constexpr common_iterator(I i);
Effects: Initializes v_­ as if by v_­{in_­place_­type<I>, std​::​move(i)}.
constexpr common_iterator(S s);
Effects: Initializes v_­ as if by v_­{in_­place_­type<S>, std​::​move(s)}.
template<class I2, class S2> requires convertible_­to<const I2&, I> && convertible_­to<const S2&, S> constexpr common_iterator(const common_iterator<I2, S2>& x);
Preconditions: x.v_­.valueless_­by_­exception() is false.
Effects: Initializes v_­ as if by v_­{in_­place_­index<i>, get<i>(x.v_­)}, where i is x.v_­.index().
template<class I2, class S2> requires convertible_­to<const I2&, I> && convertible_­to<const S2&, S> && assignable_­from<I&, const I2&> && assignable_­from<S&, const S2&> common_iterator& operator=(const common_iterator<I2, S2>& x);
Preconditions: x.v_­.valueless_­by_­exception() is false.
Effects: Equivalent to:
  • If v_­.index() == x.v_­.index(), then get<i>(v_­) = get<i>(x.v_­).
  • Otherwise, v_­.emplace<i>(get<i>(x.v_­)).
where i is x.v_­.index().
Returns: *this

23.5.4.4 Accessors [common.iter.access]

decltype(auto) operator*(); decltype(auto) operator*() const requires dereferenceable<const I>;
Preconditions: holds_­alternative<I>(v_­).
Effects: Equivalent to: return *get<I>(v_­);
decltype(auto) operator->() const requires see below;
The expression in the requires-clause is equivalent to: indirectly_­readable<const I> && (requires(const I& i) { i.operator->(); } || is_reference_v<iter_reference_t<I>> || constructible_­from<iter_value_t<I>, iter_reference_t<I>>)
Preconditions: holds_­alternative<I>(v_­).
Effects:
  • If I is a pointer type or if the expression get<I>(v_­).operator->() is well-formed, equivalent to: return get<I>(v_­);
  • Otherwise, if iter_­reference_­t<I> is a reference type, equivalent to: auto&& tmp = *get<I>(v_); return addressof(tmp);
  • Otherwise, equivalent to: return proxy(*get<I>(v_­)); where proxy is the exposition-only class: class proxy { iter_value_t<I> keep_; proxy(iter_reference_t<I>&& x) : keep_(std::move(x)) {} public: const iter_value_t<I>* operator->() const { return addressof(keep_); } };

23.5.4.5 Navigation [common.iter.nav]

common_iterator& operator++();
Preconditions: holds_­alternative<I>(v_­).
Effects: Equivalent to ++get<I>(v_­).
Returns: *this.
decltype(auto) operator++(int);
Preconditions: holds_­alternative<I>(v_­).
Effects: If I models forward_­iterator, equivalent to: common_iterator tmp = *this; ++*this; return tmp;
Otherwise, equivalent to: return get<I>(v_­)++;

23.5.4.6 Comparisons [common.iter.cmp]

template<class I2, sentinel_­for<I> S2> requires sentinel_­for<S, I2> friend bool operator==( const common_iterator& x, const common_iterator<I2, S2>& y);
Preconditions: x.v_­.valueless_­by_­exception() and y.v_­.valueless_­by_­exception() are each false.
Returns: true if i == j, and otherwise get<i>(x.v_­) == get<j>(y.v_­), where i is x.v_­.index() and j is y.v_­.index().
template<class I2, sentinel_­for<I> S2> requires sentinel_­for<S, I2> && equality_comparable_with<I, I2> friend bool operator==( const common_iterator& x, const common_iterator<I2, S2>& y);
Preconditions: x.v_­.valueless_­by_­exception() and y.v_­.valueless_­by_­exception() are each false.
Returns: true if i and j are each 1, and otherwise get<i>(x.v_­) == get<j>(y.v_­), where i is x.v_­.index() and j is y.v_­.index().
template<sized_­sentinel_­for<I> I2, sized_­sentinel_­for<I> S2> requires sized_­sentinel_­for<S, I2> friend iter_difference_t<I2> operator-( const common_iterator& x, const common_iterator<I2, S2>& y);
Preconditions: x.v_­.valueless_­by_­exception() and y.v_­.valueless_­by_­exception() are each false.
Returns: 0 if i and j are each 1, and otherwise get<i>(x.v_­) - get<j>(y.v_­), where i is x.v_­.index() and j is y.v_­.index().

23.5.4.7 Customizations [common.iter.cust]

friend iter_rvalue_reference_t<I> iter_move(const common_iterator& i) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_move(declval<const I&>()))) requires input_­iterator<I>;
Preconditions: holds_­alternative<I>(v_­).
Effects: Equivalent to: return ranges​::​iter_­move(get<I>(i.v_­));
template<indirectly_­swappable<I> I2, class S2> friend void iter_swap(const common_iterator& x, const common_iterator<I2, S2>& y) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_swap(declval<const I&>(), declval<const I2&>())));
Preconditions: holds_­alternative<I>(x.v_­) and holds_­alternative<I2>(y.v_­) are each true.
Effects: Equivalent to ranges​::​iter_­swap(get<I>(x.v_­), get<I2>(y.v_­)).

23.5.5 Default sentinel [default.sentinel]

namespace std { struct default_sentinel_t { }; }
Class default_­sentinel_­t is an empty type used to denote the end of a range.
It can be used together with iterator types that know the bound of their range (e.g., counted_­iterator ([counted.iterator])).

23.5.6 Counted iterators [iterators.counted]

23.5.6.1 Class template counted_­iterator [counted.iterator]

Class template counted_­iterator is an iterator adaptor with the same behavior as the underlying iterator except that it keeps track of the distance to the end of its range.
It can be used together with default_­sentinel in calls to generic algorithms to operate on a range of N elements starting at a given position without needing to know the end position a priori.
[Example 1: list<string> s; // populate the list s with at least 10 strings vector<string> v; // copies 10 strings into v: ranges::copy(counted_iterator(s.begin(), 10), default_sentinel, back_inserter(v)); — end example]
Two values i1 and i2 of types counted_­iterator<I1> and counted_­iterator<I2> refer to elements of the same sequence if and only if next(i1.base(), i1.count()) and next(i2.base(), i2.count()) refer to the same (possibly past-the-end) element.
namespace std { template<input_­or_­output_­iterator I> class counted_iterator { public: using iterator_type = I; constexpr counted_iterator() = default; constexpr counted_iterator(I x, iter_difference_t<I> n); template<class I2> requires convertible_­to<const I2&, I> constexpr counted_iterator(const counted_iterator<I2>& x); template<class I2> requires assignable_­from<I&, const I2&> constexpr counted_iterator& operator=(const counted_iterator<I2>& x); constexpr I base() const & requires copy_constructible<I>; constexpr I base() &&; constexpr iter_difference_t<I> count() const noexcept; constexpr decltype(auto) operator*(); constexpr decltype(auto) operator*() const requires dereferenceable<const I>; constexpr counted_iterator& operator++(); decltype(auto) operator++(int); constexpr counted_iterator operator++(int) requires forward_­iterator<I>; constexpr counted_iterator& operator--() requires bidirectional_­iterator<I>; constexpr counted_iterator operator--(int) requires bidirectional_­iterator<I>; constexpr counted_iterator operator+(iter_difference_t<I> n) const requires random_­access_­iterator<I>; friend constexpr counted_iterator operator+( iter_difference_t<I> n, const counted_iterator& x) requires random_­access_­iterator<I>; constexpr counted_iterator& operator+=(iter_difference_t<I> n) requires random_­access_­iterator<I>; constexpr counted_iterator operator-(iter_difference_t<I> n) const requires random_­access_­iterator<I>; template<common_­with<I> I2> friend constexpr iter_difference_t<I2> operator-( const counted_iterator& x, const counted_iterator<I2>& y); friend constexpr iter_difference_t<I> operator-( const counted_iterator& x, default_sentinel_t); friend constexpr iter_difference_t<I> operator-( default_sentinel_t, const counted_iterator& y); constexpr counted_iterator& operator-=(iter_difference_t<I> n) requires random_­access_­iterator<I>; constexpr decltype(auto) operator[](iter_difference_t<I> n) const requires random_­access_­iterator<I>; template<common_­with<I> I2> friend constexpr bool operator==( const counted_iterator& x, const counted_iterator<I2>& y); friend constexpr bool operator==( const counted_iterator& x, default_sentinel_t); template<common_­with<I> I2> friend constexpr strong_ordering operator<=>( const counted_iterator& x, const counted_iterator<I2>& y); friend constexpr iter_rvalue_reference_t<I> iter_move(const counted_iterator& i) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_move(i.current))) requires input_­iterator<I>; template<indirectly_­swappable<I> I2> friend constexpr void iter_swap(const counted_iterator& x, const counted_iterator<I2>& y) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_swap(x.current, y.current))); private: I current = I(); // exposition only iter_difference_t<I> length = 0; // exposition only }; template<class I> struct incrementable_traits<counted_iterator<I>> { using difference_type = iter_difference_t<I>; }; template<input_­iterator I> struct iterator_traits<counted_iterator<I>> : iterator_traits<I> { using pointer = void; }; }

23.5.6.2 Constructors and conversions [counted.iter.const]

constexpr counted_iterator(I i, iter_difference_t<I> n);
Preconditions: n >= 0.
Effects: Initializes current with std​::​move(i) and length with n.
template<class I2> requires convertible_­to<const I2&, I> constexpr counted_iterator(const counted_iterator<I2>& x);
Effects: Initializes current with x.current and length with x.length.
template<class I2> requires assignable_­from<I&, const I2&> constexpr counted_iterator& operator=(const counted_iterator<I2>& x);
Effects: Assigns x.current to current and x.length to length.
Returns: *this.

23.5.6.3 Accessors [counted.iter.access]

constexpr I base() const & requires copy_constructible<I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: return current;
constexpr I base() &&;
Returns: std​::​move(current).
constexpr iter_difference_t<I> count() const noexcept;
Effects: Equivalent to: return length;

23.5.6.4 Element access [counted.iter.elem]

constexpr decltype(auto) operator*(); constexpr decltype(auto) operator*() const requires dereferenceable<const I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: return *current;
constexpr decltype(auto) operator[](iter_difference_t<I> n) const requires random_­access_­iterator<I>;
Preconditions: n < length.
Effects: Equivalent to: return current[n];

23.5.6.5 Navigation [counted.iter.nav]

constexpr counted_iterator& operator++();
Preconditions: length > 0.
Effects: Equivalent to: ++current; --length; return *this;
decltype(auto) operator++(int);
Preconditions: length > 0.
Effects: Equivalent to: --length; try { return current++; } catch(...) { ++length; throw; }
constexpr counted_iterator operator++(int) requires forward_­iterator<I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: counted_iterator tmp = *this; ++*this; return tmp;
constexpr counted_iterator& operator--() requires bidirectional_­iterator<I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: --current; ++length; return *this;
constexpr counted_iterator operator--(int) requires bidirectional_­iterator<I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: counted_iterator tmp = *this; --*this; return tmp;
constexpr counted_iterator operator+(iter_difference_t<I> n) const requires random_­access_­iterator<I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: return counted_­iterator(current + n, length - n);
friend constexpr counted_iterator operator+( iter_difference_t<I> n, const counted_iterator& x) requires random_­access_­iterator<I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: return x + n;
constexpr counted_iterator& operator+=(iter_difference_t<I> n) requires random_­access_­iterator<I>;
Preconditions: n <= length.
Effects: Equivalent to: current += n; length -= n; return *this;
constexpr counted_iterator operator-(iter_difference_t<I> n) const requires random_­access_­iterator<I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: return counted_­iterator(current - n, length + n);
template<common_­with<I> I2> friend constexpr iter_difference_t<I2> operator-( const counted_iterator& x, const counted_iterator<I2>& y);
Preconditions: x and y refer to elements of the same sequence ([counted.iterator]).
Effects: Equivalent to: return y.length - x.length;
friend constexpr iter_difference_t<I> operator-( const counted_iterator& x, default_sentinel_t);
Effects: Equivalent to: return -x.length;
friend constexpr iter_difference_t<I> operator-( default_sentinel_t, const counted_iterator& y);
Effects: Equivalent to: return y.length;
constexpr counted_iterator& operator-=(iter_difference_t<I> n) requires random_­access_­iterator<I>;
Preconditions: -n <= length.
Effects: Equivalent to: current -= n; length += n; return *this;

23.5.6.6 Comparisons [counted.iter.cmp]

template<common_­with<I> I2> friend constexpr bool operator==( const counted_iterator& x, const counted_iterator<I2>& y);
Preconditions: x and y refer to elements of the same sequence ([counted.iterator]).
Effects: Equivalent to: return x.length == y.length;
friend constexpr bool operator==( const counted_iterator& x, default_sentinel_t);
Effects: Equivalent to: return x.length == 0;
template<common_­with<I> I2> friend constexpr strong_ordering operator<=>( const counted_iterator& x, const counted_iterator<I2>& y);
Preconditions: x and y refer to elements of the same sequence ([counted.iterator]).
Effects: Equivalent to: return y.length <=> x.length;
[Note 1:
The argument order in the Effects: element is reversed because length counts down, not up.
— end note]

23.5.6.7 Customizations [counted.iter.cust]

friend constexpr iter_rvalue_reference_t<I> iter_move(const counted_iterator& i) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_move(i.current))) requires input_­iterator<I>;
Effects: Equivalent to: return ranges​::​iter_­move(i.current);
template<indirectly_­swappable<I> I2> friend constexpr void iter_swap(const counted_iterator& x, const counted_iterator<I2>& y) noexcept(noexcept(ranges::iter_swap(x.current, y.current)));
Effects: Equivalent to ranges​::​iter_­swap(x.current, y.current).

23.5.7 Unreachable sentinel [unreachable.sentinel]

Class unreachable_­sentinel_­t can be used with any weakly_­incrementable type to denote the “upper bound” of an unbounded interval.
[Example 1: char* p; // set p to point to a character buffer containing newlines char* nl = find(p, unreachable_sentinel, '\n');
Provided a newline character really exists in the buffer, the use of unreachable_­sentinel above potentially makes the call to find more efficient since the loop test against the sentinel does not require a conditional branch.
— end example]
namespace std { struct unreachable_sentinel_t { template<weakly_­incrementable I> friend constexpr bool operator==(unreachable_sentinel_t, const I&) noexcept { return false; } }; }

23.6 Stream iterators [stream.iterators]

23.6.1 General [stream.iterators.general]

To make it possible for algorithmic templates to work directly with input/output streams, appropriate iterator-like class templates are provided.
[Example 1:
partial_sum(istream_iterator<double, char>(cin), istream_iterator<double, char>(), ostream_iterator<double, char>(cout, "\n")); reads a file containing floating-point numbers from cin, and prints the partial sums onto cout.
— end example]

23.6.2 Class template istream_­iterator [istream.iterator]

23.6.2.1 General [istream.iterator.general]

The class template istream_­iterator is an input iterator ([input.iterators]) that reads successive elements from the input stream for which it was constructed.
namespace std { template<class T, class charT = char, class traits = char_traits<charT>, class Distance = ptrdiff_t> class istream_iterator { public: using iterator_category = input_iterator_tag; using value_type = T; using difference_type = Distance; using pointer = const T*; using reference = const T&; using char_type = charT; using traits_type = traits; using istream_type = basic_istream<charT,traits>; constexpr istream_iterator(); constexpr istream_iterator(default_sentinel_t); istream_iterator(istream_type& s); istream_iterator(const istream_iterator& x) = default; ~istream_iterator() = default; istream_iterator& operator=(const istream_iterator&) = default; const T& operator*() const; const T* operator->() const; istream_iterator& operator++(); istream_iterator operator++(int); friend bool operator==(const istream_iterator& i, default_sentinel_t); private: basic_istream<charT,traits>* in_stream; // exposition only T value; // exposition only }; }
The type T shall meet the Cpp17DefaultConstructible, Cpp17CopyConstructible, and Cpp17CopyAssignable requirements.

23.6.2.2 Constructors and destructor [istream.iterator.cons]

constexpr istream_iterator(); constexpr istream_iterator(default_sentinel_t);
Effects: Constructs the end-of-stream iterator, value-initializing value.
Postconditions: in_­stream == nullptr is true.
Remarks: If the initializer T() in the declaration auto x = T(); is a constant initializer ([expr.const]), then these constructors are constexpr constructors.
istream_iterator(istream_type& s);
Effects: Initializes in_­stream with addressof(s), value-initializes value, and then calls operator++().
istream_iterator(const istream_iterator& x) = default;
Postconditions: in_­stream == x.in_­stream is true.
Remarks: If is_­trivially_­copy_­constructible_­v<T> is true, then this constructor is trivial.
~istream_iterator() = default;
Remarks: If is_­trivially_­destructible_­v<T> is true, then this destructor is trivial.

23.6.2.3 Operations [istream.iterator.ops]

const T& operator*() const;
Preconditions: in_­stream != nullptr is true.
Returns: value.
const T* operator->() const;
Preconditions: in_­stream != nullptr is true.
Returns: addressof(value).
istream_iterator& operator++();
Preconditions: in_­stream != nullptr is true.
Effects: Equivalent to: if (!(*in_stream >> value)) in_stream = nullptr;
Returns: *this.
istream_iterator operator++(int);
Preconditions: in_­stream != nullptr is true.
Effects: Equivalent to: istream_iterator tmp = *this; ++*this; return tmp;
template<class T, class charT, class traits, class Distance> bool operator==(const istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& x, const istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& y);
Returns: x.in_­stream == y.in_­stream.
friend bool operator==(const istream_iterator& i, default_sentinel_t);
Returns: !i.in_­stream.

23.6.3 Class template ostream_­iterator [ostream.iterator]

23.6.3.1 General [ostream.iterator.general]

ostream_­iterator writes (using operator<<) successive elements onto the output stream from which it was constructed.
If it was constructed with charT* as a constructor argument, this string, called a delimiter string, is written to the stream after every T is written.
namespace std { template<class T, class charT = char, class traits = char_traits<charT>> class ostream_iterator { public: using iterator_category = output_iterator_tag; using value_type = void; using difference_type = ptrdiff_t; using pointer = void; using reference = void; using char_type = charT; using traits_type = traits; using ostream_type = basic_ostream<charT,traits>; constexpr ostream_iterator() noexcept = default; ostream_iterator(ostream_type& s); ostream_iterator(ostream_type& s, const charT* delimiter); ostream_iterator(const ostream_iterator& x); ~ostream_iterator(); ostream_iterator& operator=(const ostream_iterator&) = default; ostream_iterator& operator=(const T& value); ostream_iterator& operator*(); ostream_iterator& operator++(); ostream_iterator& operator++(int); private: basic_ostream<charT,traits>* out_stream = nullptr; // exposition only const charT* delim = nullptr; // exposition only }; }

23.6.3.2 Constructors and destructor [ostream.iterator.cons.des]

ostream_iterator(ostream_type& s);
Effects: Initializes out_­stream with addressof(s) and delim with nullptr.
ostream_iterator(ostream_type& s, const charT* delimiter);
Effects: Initializes out_­stream with addressof(s) and delim with delimiter.

23.6.3.3 Operations [ostream.iterator.ops]

ostream_iterator& operator=(const T& value);
Effects: As if by: *out_stream << value; if (delim) *out_stream << delim; return *this;
ostream_iterator& operator*();
Returns: *this.
ostream_iterator& operator++(); ostream_iterator& operator++(int);
Returns: *this.

23.6.4 Class template istreambuf_­iterator [istreambuf.iterator]

23.6.4.1 General [istreambuf.iterator.general]

The class template istreambuf_­iterator defines an input iterator that reads successive characters from the streambuf for which it was constructed.
operator* provides access to the current input character, if any.
Each time operator++ is evaluated, the iterator advances to the next input character.
If the end of stream is reached (streambuf_­type​::​sgetc() returns traits​::​eof()), the iterator becomes equal to the end-of-stream iterator value.
The default constructor istreambuf_­iterator() and the constructor istreambuf_­iterator(nullptr) both construct an end-of-stream iterator object suitable for use as an end-of-range.
All specializations of istreambuf_­iterator shall have a trivial copy constructor, a constexpr default constructor, and a trivial destructor.
The result of operator*() on an end-of-stream iterator is undefined.
For any other iterator value a char_­type value is returned.
It is impossible to assign a character via an input iterator.
namespace std { template<class charT, class traits = char_traits<charT>> class istreambuf_iterator { public: using iterator_category = input_iterator_tag; using value_type = charT; using difference_type = typename traits::off_type; using pointer = unspecified; using reference = charT; using char_type = charT; using traits_type = traits; using int_type = typename traits::int_type; using streambuf_type = basic_streambuf<charT,traits>; using istream_type = basic_istream<charT,traits>; class proxy; // exposition only constexpr istreambuf_iterator() noexcept; constexpr istreambuf_iterator(default_sentinel_t) noexcept; istreambuf_iterator(const istreambuf_iterator&) noexcept = default; ~istreambuf_iterator() = default; istreambuf_iterator(istream_type& s) noexcept; istreambuf_iterator(streambuf_type* s) noexcept; istreambuf_iterator(const proxy& p) noexcept; istreambuf_iterator& operator=(const istreambuf_iterator&) noexcept = default; charT operator*() const; istreambuf_iterator& operator++(); proxy operator++(int); bool equal(const istreambuf_iterator& b) const; friend bool operator==(const istreambuf_iterator& i, default_sentinel_t s); private: streambuf_type* sbuf_; // exposition only }; }

23.6.4.2 Class istreambuf_­iterator​::​proxy [istreambuf.iterator.proxy]

Class istreambuf_­iterator<charT,traits>​::​proxy is for exposition only.
An implementation is permitted to provide equivalent functionality without providing a class with this name.
Class istreambuf_­iterator<charT, traits>​::​proxy provides a temporary placeholder as the return value of the post-increment operator (operator++).
It keeps the character pointed to by the previous value of the iterator for some possible future access to get the character.
namespace std { template<class charT, class traits> class istreambuf_iterator<charT, traits>::proxy { // exposition only charT keep_; basic_streambuf<charT,traits>* sbuf_; proxy(charT c, basic_streambuf<charT,traits>* sbuf) : keep_(c), sbuf_(sbuf) { } public: charT operator*() { return keep_; } }; }

23.6.4.3 Constructors [istreambuf.iterator.cons]

For each istreambuf_­iterator constructor in this subclause, an end-of-stream iterator is constructed if and only if the exposition-only member sbuf_­ is initialized with a null pointer value.
constexpr istreambuf_iterator() noexcept; constexpr istreambuf_iterator(default_sentinel_t) noexcept;
Effects: Initializes sbuf_­ with nullptr.
istreambuf_iterator(istream_type& s) noexcept;
Effects: Initializes sbuf_­ with s.rdbuf().
istreambuf_iterator(streambuf_type* s) noexcept;
Effects: Initializes sbuf_­ with s.
istreambuf_iterator(const proxy& p) noexcept;
Effects: Initializes sbuf_­ with p.sbuf_­.

23.6.4.4 Operations [istreambuf.iterator.ops]

charT operator*() const;
Returns: The character obtained via the streambuf member sbuf_­->sgetc().
istreambuf_iterator& operator++();
Effects: As if by sbuf_­->sbumpc().
Returns: *this.
proxy operator++(int);
Returns: proxy(sbuf_­->sbumpc(), sbuf_­).
bool equal(const istreambuf_iterator& b) const;
Returns: true if and only if both iterators are at end-of-stream, or neither is at end-of-stream, regardless of what streambuf object they use.
template<class charT, class traits> bool operator==(const istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits>& a, const istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits>& b);
Returns: a.equal(b).
friend bool operator==(const istreambuf_iterator& i, default_sentinel_t s);
Returns: i.equal(s).

23.6.5 Class template ostreambuf_­iterator [ostreambuf.iterator]

23.6.5.1 General [ostreambuf.iterator.general]

The class template ostreambuf_­iterator writes successive characters onto the output stream from which it was constructed.
namespace std { template<class charT, class traits = char_traits<charT>> class ostreambuf_iterator { public: using iterator_category = output_iterator_tag; using value_type = void; using difference_type = ptrdiff_t; using pointer = void; using reference = void; using char_type = charT; using traits_type = traits; using streambuf_type = basic_streambuf<charT,traits>; using ostream_type = basic_ostream<charT,traits>; constexpr ostreambuf_iterator() noexcept = default; ostreambuf_iterator(ostream_type& s) noexcept; ostreambuf_iterator(streambuf_type* s) noexcept; ostreambuf_iterator& operator=(charT c); ostreambuf_iterator& operator*(); ostreambuf_iterator& operator++(); ostreambuf_iterator& operator++(int); bool failed() const noexcept; private: streambuf_type* sbuf_ = nullptr; // exposition only }; }

23.6.5.2 Constructors [ostreambuf.iter.cons]

ostreambuf_iterator(ostream_type& s) noexcept;
Preconditions: s.rdbuf() is not a null pointer.
Effects: Initializes sbuf_­ with s.rdbuf().
ostreambuf_iterator(streambuf_type* s) noexcept;
Preconditions: s is not a null pointer.
Effects: Initializes sbuf_­ with s.

23.6.5.3 Operations [ostreambuf.iter.ops]

ostreambuf_iterator& operator=(charT c);
Effects: If failed() yields false, calls sbuf_­->sputc(c); otherwise has no effect.
Returns: *this.
ostreambuf_iterator& operator*();
Returns: *this.
ostreambuf_iterator& operator++(); ostreambuf_iterator& operator++(int);
Returns: *this.
bool failed() const noexcept;
Returns: true if in any prior use of member operator=, the call to sbuf_­->sputc() returned traits​::​eof(); or false otherwise.

23.7 Range access [iterator.range]

In addition to being available via inclusion of the