How do I find an element position in std::vector?

user_57428 0
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I need to find an element position in an std::vector to use it for referencing an element in another vector:

int find( const vector<type>& where, int searchParameter )
{
    for( int i = 0; i < where.size(); i++ ) {
       if( conditionMet( where[i], searchParameter ) ) {
           return i;
       }
    }
    return -1;
}
// caller:
const int position = find( firstVector, parameter );
if( position != -1 ) {
    doAction( secondVector[position] );
}

however vector::size() returns size_t which corresponds to an unsigned integral type that can't directly store -1. How do I signal that the element is not found in a vector when using size_t instead of int as an index?

vector search stl c++
10 Answers

Get rid of the notion of vector entirely

template< typename IT, typename VT>
int index_of(IT begin, IT end, const VT& val)
{
    int index = 0;
    for (; begin != end; ++begin)
    {
        if (*begin == val) return index;
    }
    return -1;
}

This will allow you more flexibility and let you use constructs like

int squid[] = {5,2,7,4,1,6,3,0};
int sponge[] = {4,2,4,2,4,6,2,6};
int squidlen = sizeof(squid)/sizeof(squid[0]);
int position = index_of(&squid[0], &squid[squidlen], 3);
if (position >= 0) { std::cout << sponge[position] << std::endl; }

You could also search any other container sequentially as well.

user_17387870
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