std::set

 

C++

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Freestanding and hosted

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Standard library headers

Named requirements

Feature test macros (C++20)

Language support library

Concepts library (C++20)

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Diagnostics library

General utilities library

Strings library

Containers library

Iterators library

Ranges library (C++20)

Algorithms library

Numerics library

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Input/output library

Filesystem library (C++17)

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Concurrency support library (C++11)

Execution support library (C++26)

Technical specifications

Symbols index

External libraries

 

Containers library

Sequence

array (C++11)

vector

vector<bool>

inplace_vector (C++26)

deque

forward_list (C++11)

list

Associative

set

multiset

map

multimap

Unordered associative

unordered_set (C++11)

unordered_multiset (C++11)

unordered_map (C++11)

unordered_multimap (C++11)

Adaptors

stack

queue

priority_queue

flat_set (C++23)

flat_multiset (C++23)

flat_map (C++23)

flat_multimap (C++23)

Views

span (C++20)

mdspan (C++23)

Tables

Iterator invalidation

Member function table

Non-member function table

 

std::set

Member functions

set::set set::~set            set::operator= set::get_allocator

Iterators set::beginset::cbegin (C++11) set::endset::cend (C++11) set::rbeginset::crbegin (C++11)   set::rendset::crend (C++11) Capacity set::size set::max_size set::empty Observers set::key_comp set::value_comp Modifiers set::clear set::erase set::swap set::extract (C++17) set::merge (C++17) set::insert set::insert_range (C++23) set::emplace (C++11) set::emplace_hint (C++11) Lookup set::count set::find set::contains (C++20)    set::equal_range set::lower_bound set::upper_bound

Non-member functions

operator==operator<=> (C++20) std::swap(std::set) erase_if(std::set) (C++20)   operator!=operator<operator>operator<=operator>= (until C++20)(until C++20)(until C++20)(until C++20)(until C++20)

Deduction guides(C++17)

 

Defined in header <set>
template<     class Key,     class Compare = std::less<Key>,     class Allocator = std::allocator<Key> > class set;	(1)
namespace pmr {     template <class Key, class Compare = std::less<Key>>     using set = std::set<Key, Compare, std::pmr::polymorphic_allocator<Key>>; }	(2)	(since C++17)

std::set is an associative container that contains a sorted set of unique objects of type Key. Sorting is done using the key comparison function Compare. Search, removal, and insertion operations have logarithmic complexity. Sets are usually implemented as red-black trees.

Everywhere the standard library uses the Compare concept, uniqueness is determined by using the equivalence relation. In imprecise terms, two objects a and b are considered equivalent if neither compares less than the other: !comp(a, b) && !comp(b, a).

std::set meets the requirements of Container, AllocatorAwareContainer, AssociativeContainer and ReversibleContainer.

Member types

Member type	Definition
key_type	Key
value_type	Key
size_type	Unsigned integer type (usually std::size_t)
difference_type	Signed integer type (usually std::ptrdiff_t)
key_compare	Compare
value_compare	Compare
allocator_type	Allocator
reference	value_type&
const_reference	const value_type&
pointer	Allocator::pointer (until C++11) std::allocator_traits<Allocator>::pointer (since C++11)
const_pointer	Allocator::const_pointer (until C++11) std::allocator_traits<Allocator>::const_pointer (since C++11)
iterator	Constant LegacyBidirectionalIterator to value_type
const_iterator	LegacyBidirectionalIterator to const value_type
reverse_iterator	std::reverse_iterator<iterator>
const_reverse_iterator	std::reverse_iterator<const_iterator>
node_type (since C++17)	a specialization of node handle representing a container node
insert_return_type (since C++17)	type describing the result of inserting a node_type, a specialization of template<class Iter, class NodeType> struct /*unspecified*/ {     Iter     position;     bool     inserted;     NodeType node; }; instantiated with template arguments iterator and node_type.

Member functions

(constructor)	constructs the set (public member function)
(destructor)	destructs the set (public member function)
operator=	assigns values to the container (public member function)
get_allocator	returns the associated allocator (public member function)
Iterators
begincbegin (C++11)	returns an iterator to the beginning (public member function)
endcend (C++11)	returns an iterator to the end (public member function)
rbegincrbegin (C++11)	returns a reverse iterator to the beginning (public member function)
rendcrend (C++11)	returns a reverse iterator to the end (public member function)
Capacity
empty	checks whether the container is empty (public member function)
size	returns the number of elements (public member function)
max_size	returns the maximum possible number of elements (public member function)
Modifiers
clear	clears the contents (public member function)
insert	inserts elements or nodes(since C++17) (public member function)
emplace (C++11)	constructs element in-place (public member function)
emplace_hint (C++11)	constructs elements in-place using a hint (public member function)
erase	erases elements (public member function)
swap	swaps the contents (public member function)
extract (C++17)	extracts nodes from the container (public member function)
merge (C++17)	splices nodes from another container (public member function)
Lookup
count	returns the number of elements matching specific key (public member function)
find	finds element with specific key (public member function)
contains (C++20)	checks if the container contains element with specific key (public member function)
equal_range	returns range of elements matching a specific key (public member function)
lower_bound	returns an iterator to the first element not less than the given key (public member function)
upper_bound	returns an iterator to the first element greater than the given key (public member function)
Observers
key_comp	returns the function that compares keys (public member function)
value_comp	returns the function that compares keys in objects of type value_type (public member function)

Non-member functions

operator==operator!=operator<operator<=operator>operator>=operator<=> (removed in C++20)(removed in C++20)(removed in C++20)(removed in C++20)(removed in C++20)(C++20)	lexicographically compares the values of two sets (function template)
std::swap(std::set)	specializes the std::swap algorithm (function template)

Notes

The member types iterator and const_iterator may be aliases to the same type. This means defining a pair of function overloads using the two types as parameter types may violate the One Definition Rule. Since iterator is convertible to const_iterator, a single function with a const_iterator as parameter type will work instead.

Defect Reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

DR	Applied to	Behavior as published	Correct behavior
LWG 103	C++98	iterator allows modification of keys	iterator made constant