Modern C++

Programming
17. Utilities

Federico Busato
2024-11-05
Table of Contents

1 I/O Stream
Manipulator
ofstream/ifstream

2 Strings and std::print

std::string
Conversion from/to Numeric Values
std::string view
std::format
std::print

1/87
Table of Contents

3 View
std::span

4 Math Libraries

2/87
Table of Contents

5 Random Number
Basic Concepts
C++ <random>
Seed
PRNG Period and Quality
Distribution
Recent Algorithms and Performance
Quasi-random

3/87
Table of Contents

6 Time Measuring
Wall-Clock Time
User Time
System Time

4/87
Table of Contents

7 Std Classes
std::pair
std::tuple
std::variant
std::optional
std::any
std::stacktrace

8 Filesystem Library
Query Methods
Modify Methods
5/87
I/O Stream
I/O Stream

<iostream> input/output library refers to a family of classes and supporting

functions in the C++ Standard Library that implement stream-based input/output
capabilities
There are four predefined iostreams:

• cin standard input (stdin)

• cout standard output (stdout) [buffered]
• cerr standard error (stderr) [unbuffered]
• clog standard error (stderr) [unbuffered]

buffered: the content of the buffer is not write to disk until some events occur

6/87
I/O Stream (manipulator) 1/3

Basic I/O Stream manipulator:

• flush flushes the output stream cout ≪ flush;

• endl shortcut for cout ≪ "\n" ≪ flush;

cout ≪ endl

• flush and endl force the program to synchronize with the terminal → very
slow operation!

7/87
I/O Stream (manipulator) 2/3

• Set integral representation: default: dec

cout ≪ dec ≪ 0xF; prints 16
cout ≪ hex ≪ 16; prints 0xF
cout ≪ oct ≪ 8; prints 10

• Print the underlying bit representation of a value:

#include <bitset>
std::cout << std::bitset<32>(3.45f); // (32: num. of bits)
// print 01000000010111001100110011001101

• Print true/false text:

cout ≪ boolalpha ≪ 1; prints true
cout ≪ boolalpha ≪ 0; prints false

8/87
I/O Stream (manipulator) 3/3

<iomanip>

• Set decimal precision: default: 6

cout ≪ setprecision(2) ≪ 3.538; → 3.54

• Set float representation: default: std::defaultfloat

cout ≪ setprecision(2) ≪ fixed ≪ 32.5; → 32.50
cout ≪ setprecision(2) ≪ scientific ≪ 32.5; → 3.25e+01

• Set alignment: default: right

cout ≪ right ≪ setw(7) ≪ "abc" ≪ "##"; → abc##
cout ≪ left ≪ setw(7) ≪ "abc" ≪ "##"; → abc ##
(better than using tab \t)

9/87
I/O Stream - std::cin

std::cin is an example of input stream. Data coming from a source is read by the program.
In this example cin is the standard input

#include <iostream>

int main() {
int a;
std::cout << "Please enter an integer value:" << endl;
std::cin >> a;

int b;
float c;
std::cout << "Please enter an integer value "
<< "followed by a float value:" << endl;
std::cin >> b >> c; // read an integer and store into "b",
} // then read a float value, and store
10/87
// into "c"
I/O Stream - ofstream/ifstream 1/3

ifstream , ofstream are output and input stream too

<fstream>
• Open a file for reading
Open a file in input mode: ifstream my file("example.txt")

• Open a file for writing

Open a file in output mode: ofstream my file("example.txt")
Open a file in append mode: ofstream my file("example.txt", ios::out | ios::app)

• Read a line getline(my file, string)

• Close a file my file.close()

• Check the stream integrity my file.good()

11/87
I/O Stream - ofstream/ifstream 2/3

• Peek the next character

char current char = my file.peek()

• Get the next character (and advance)

char current char = my file.get()

• Get the position of the current character in the input stream

int byte offset = my file.tellg()

• Set the char position in the input sequence

my file.seekg(byte offset) (absolute position)
my file.seekg(byte offset, position) (relative position)
ios::beg (the begin), ios::end (the end),
where position can be:
ios::cur (current position)
12/87
I/O Stream - ofstream/ifstream 3/3

• Ignore characters until the delimiter is found

my file.ignore(max stream size, <delim>)
e.g. skip until end of line \n

• Get a pointer to the stream buffer object currently associated with the stream
my file.rdbuf()
can be used to redirect file stream

13/87
I/O Stream - Example 1

Open a file and print line by line: An alternative version with redirection:

#include <iostream> # include <iostream>

#include <fstream> # include <fstream>

int main() { int main() {

std::ifstream fin("example.txt"); std::ifstream fin("example.txt");
std::string str; std::cout << fin.rdbuf();
while (std::getline(fin, str)) fin.close();
std::cout << str << "\n"; }
fin.close();
}

14/87
Reading files line by line in C++ using ifstream
I/O Stream - Example 2
Another example:
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
example.txt:
int main() {
23 70 44\n std::ifstream fin("example.txt");
char c = fin.peek(); // c = '2'
\t57\t89
while (fin.good()) {
int var;
The input stream is independent from the fin >> var;
std::cout << var;
type of space (multiple space, tab, new-
} // print 2370445789
line \n, \r\n, etc.) fin.seekg(4);
c = fin.peek(); // c = '0'
fin.close();
} 15/87
I/O Stream -Check the End of a File

• Check the current character

while (fin.peek() != std::char_traits<char>::eof()) // C: EOF
fin >> var;

• Check if the read operation fails

while (fin >> var)
...

• Check if the stream past the end of the file

while (true) {
fin >> var
if (fin.eof())
break;
}

16/87
I/O Stream (checkRegularType)

Check if a file is a regular file and can be read/written

#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
bool checkRegularFile(const char* file_path) {
struct stat info;
if (::stat( file_path, &info ) != 0)
return false; // unable to access
if (info.st_mode & S_IFDIR)
return false; // is a directory
std::ifstream fin(file_path); // additional checking
if (!fin.is_open() || !fin.good())
return false;
try { // try to read
char c; fin >> c;
} catch (std::ios_base::failure&) {
return false;
}
return true;
17/87
}
I/O Stream - File size

Get the file size in bytes in a portable way:

long long int fileSize(const char* file_path) {
std::ifstream fin(file_path); // open the file
fin.seekg(0, ios::beg); // move to the first byte
std::istream::pos_type start_pos = fin.tellg();
// get the start offset
fin.seekg(0, ios::end); // move to the last byte
std::istream::pos_type end_pos = fin.tellg();
// get the end offset
return end_pos - start_pos; // position difference
}

see C++17 file system utilities

18/87
Strings and std::print
std::string 1/4

std::string is a wrapper of character sequences

More flexible and safer than raw char array but can be slower
#include <string>

int main() {
std::string a; // empty string
std::string b("first");

using namespace std::string_literals; // C++14

std::string c = "second"s; // C++14
}

std::string supports constexpr in C++20

19/87
std::string - Capacity and Search 2/4

• empty() returns true if the string is empty, false otherwise

• size() returns the number of characters in the string

• find(string) returns the position of the first substring equal to the given character
sequence or npos if no substring is found

• rfind(string) returns the position of the last substring equal to the given character
sequence or npos if no substring is found

• find first of(char seq) returns the position of the first character equal to one of the
characters in the given character sequence or npos if no characters is found

• find last of(char seq) returns the position of the last character equal to one of the
characters in the given character sequence or npos if no characters is found
npos special value returned by string methods
20/87
std::string - Operations 3/4

• new string substr(start pos)

returns a substring [start pos, end]
new string substr(start pos, count)
returns a substring [start pos, start pos + count)

• clear() removes all characters from the string

• erase(pos) removes the character at position

erase(start pos, count)
removes the characters at positions [start pos, start pos + count)

• replace(start pos, count, new string)

replaces the part of the string indicated by [start pos, start pos + count) with new string

• c str()
returns a pointer to the raw char sequence 21/87
std::string - Overloaded Operators 4/4

• access specified character string1[i]

• string copy string1 = string2

• string compare string1 == string2

works also with !=,<,≤,>,≥

• concatenate two strings string concat = string1 + string2

• append characters to the end string1 += string2

22/87
Conversion from/to Numeric Values

Converts a string to a numeric value C++11:

• stoi(string) string to signed integer
• stol(string) string to long signed integer
• stoul(string) string to long unsigned integer
• stoull(string) string to long long unsigned integer
• stof(string) string to floating point value (float)
• stod(string) string to floating point value (double)
• stold(string) string to floating point value (long double)
• C++17 std::from chars(start, end, result, base) fast string conversion (no
allocation, no exception)
Converts a numeric value to a string:
• C++11 to string(numeric value) numeric value to string 23/87
Examples

std::string str("si vis pacem para bellum");

cout << str.size(); // print 24
cout << str.find("vis"); // print 3
cout << str.find_last_of("bla"); // print 21, 'l' found

cout << str.substr(7, 5);// print "pacem", pos=7 and count=5

cout << str[1]; // print 'i'
cout << (str == "vis"); // print false
cout << (str < "z"); // print true
const char* raw_str = str.c_str();

cout << string("a") + "b"; // print "ab"

cout << string("ab").erase(0); // print 'b'

char* str2 = "34";

int a = std::stoi(str2); // a = 34;
24/87
std::string str3 = std::to_string(a); // str3 = "34"
Tips

• Conversion from integer to char letter (e.g. 3 → 'C'):

static cast<char>('A'+ value)
value ∈ [0, 26] (English alphabet)

• Conversion from char to integer (e.g. ’C’ → 3): value - 'A'

value ∈ [0, 26]

• Conversion from digit to char number (e.g. 3 → '3'):

static cast<char>('0'+ value)
value ∈ [0, 9]

• char to string std::string(1, char value)

25/87
std::string view 1/3

C++17 std::string view describes a minimum common interface to interact with

string data:
• const std::string&
• const char*
The purpose of std::string view is to avoid copying data which is already owned
by the original object

#include <string>
#include <string_view>

std::string str = "abc"; // new memory allocation + copy

std::string_view = "abc"; // only the reference

26/87
std::string view 2/3

std::string view provides similar functionalities of std::string

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <string_view>

void string_op1(const std::string& str) {}

void string_op2(std::string_view str) {}

string_op1("abcdef"); // allocation + copy

string_op2("abcdef"); // reference

const char* str1 = "abcdef";

std::string str2("abcdef"); // allocation + copy
std::cout << str2.substr(0, 3); // print "abc"

std::string_view str3(str1); // reference

std::cout << str3.substr(0, 3); // print "abc" 27/87
std::string view 3/3

std::string view supports constexpr constructor and methods

constexpr std::string_view str1("abc");

constexpr std::string_view str2 = "abc";

constexpr char c = str1[0]; // 'a'

constexpr bool b = (str1 == str2); // 'true'

constexpr int size = str1.size(); // '3'

constexpr std::string_view str3 = str1.substr(0, 2); // "ab"

constexpr int pos = str1.find("bc"); // '1'

28/87
std::format 1/2

printf functions: no automatic type deduction, error prone, not extensible

stream objects: very verbose, hard to optimize

C++20 std::format provides python style formatting:

• Type-safe
• Support positional arguments
• Extensible (support user-defined types)
• Return a std::string

29/87
std::format - Example 2/2

Integer formatting
std::format("{}", 3); // "3"
std::format("{:b}", 3); // "101"

Floating point formatting

std::format("{:.1f}", 3.273); // "3.1"

Alignment
std::format("{:>6}", 3.27); // " 3.27"
std::format("{:<6}", 3.27); // "3.27 "

Argument reordering
std::format("{1} - {0}", 1, 3); // "3 - 1"
30/87
std::print

C++23 introduces std::print() std::println()

std::print("Hello, {}!\n", name);

std::println("Hello, {}!", name); // prints a newline

31/87
std::print in C++23
View
std::span 1/3

C++20 introduces std::span which is a non-owning view of an underlying sequence

or array
A std::span can either have a static extent, in which case the number of elements
in the sequence is known at compile-time, or a dynamic extent

template<
class T,
std::size_t Extent = std::dynamic_extent
> class span;

32/87
std::span 2/3

# include <span>
# include <array>
# include <vector>

int array1[] = {1, 2, 3};

std::span s1{array1}; // static extent

std::array<int, 3> array2 = {1, 2, 3};

std::span s2{array2}; // static extent

auto array3 = new int[3];

std::span s3{array3, 3}; // dynamic extent

std::vector<int> v{1, 2, 3};

std::span s4{v.data(), v.size()}; // dynamic extent

33/87
std::span s5{v}; // dynamic extent
std::span 3/3

void f(std::span<int> span) {

for (auto x : span) // range-based loop (safe)
cout << x;
std::fill(span.begin(), span.end(), 3); // std algorithms
}

int array1[] = {1, 2, 3};

f(array1);

auto array2 = new int[3];

f({array2, 3});

34/87
Math Libraries
<cmath> Math Library 1/2

<cmath>
• fabs(x) computes absolute value, |x |, C++11
• exp(x) returns e raised to the given power, e x

• exp2(x) returns 2 raised to the given power, 2x , C++11

• log(x) computes natural (base e) logarithm, loge (x )

• log10(x) computes base 10 logarithm, log10 (x )

• log2(x) computes base 2 logarithm, log2 (x ), C++11

• pow(x, y) raises a number to the given power, x y

√
• sqrt(x) computes square root, x
√
• cqrt(x) computes cubic root, 3 x , C++11
35/87
<cmath> Math Library 2/2

• sin(x) computes sine, sin(x )

• cos(x) computes cosine, cos(x )

• tan(x) computes tangent, tan(x )

• ceil(x) nearest integer not less than the given value, ⌈x ⌉

• floor(x) nearest integer not greater than the given value, ⌊x ⌋

• round|lround|llround(x) nearest integer, x + 12

 

(return type: floating point, long, long long respectively)

Math functions in C++11 can be applied directly to integral types without implicit/explicit
casting (return type: floating point).
en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/numeric/math
36/87
<limits> Numerical Limits

Get numeric limits of a given type:

<limits> C++11

T numeric_limits<T>:: max() // returns the maximum finite value

// value representable

T numeric_limits<T>:: min() // returns the minimum finite value

// value representable

T numeric_limits<T>:: lowest() // returns the lowest finite

// value representable

37/87
<numeric> Mathematical Constants

<numeric> C++20
The header provides numeric constants

• e Euler number e
• pi π
√
• phi Golden ratio 1+ 5
2
√
• sqrt2 2

38/87
Integer Division

Integer ceiling division and rounded division:

value
 
• Ceiling Division:
div
unsigned ceil_div(unsigned value, unsigned div) {
return (value + div - 1) / div;
} // note: may overflow

value 1
 
• Rounded Division: +
div 2
unsigned round_div(unsigned value, unsigned div) {
return (value + div / 2) / div;
} // note: may overflow

Note: do not use floating-point conversion (see Basic Concept I) 39/87

Random Number
Random Number

“Random numbers should not be generated with a method chosen at random”

— Donald E. Knuth
40/87
Applications: cryptography, simulations (e.g. Monte Carlo), etc.
Random Number

41/87
see Lavarand
Basic Concepts

• A pseudorandom (PRNG) sequence of numbers satisfies most of the statistical

properties of a truly random sequence but is generated by a deterministic algorithm
(deterministic finite-state machine)

• A quasirandom sequence of n-dimensional points is generated by a deterministic

algorithm designed to fill an n-dimensional space evenly

• The state of a PRNG describes the status of the generator (the values of its variables),
namely where the system is after a certain amount of transitions

• The seed is a value that initializes the starting state of a PRNG. The same seed always
produces the same sequence of results

• The offset of a sequence is used to skip ahead in the sequence

• PRNGs produce uniformly distributed values. PRNGs can also generate values according
to a probability function (binomial, normal, etc.) 42/87
C++ <random> 1/2

The problem: C rand() function produces poor quality random numbers

• C++14 discourage the use of rand() and srand()

C++11 introduces pseudo random number generation (PRNG) facilities to produce

random numbers by using combinations of generators and distributions
A random generator requires four steps:
(1) Select the seed
(2) Define the random engine (optional)
<type of random engine> generator(seed)
(3) Define the distribution
<type of distribution> distribution(range start, range end)
(4) Produce the random number
distribution(generator) 43/87
C++ <random> 2/2

Simplest example:
#include <iostream>
#include <random>

int main() {
std::random_device rd;
std::default_random_engine generator{rd{}};
std::uniform_int_distribution<int> distribution{0, 9};

std::cout << distribution(generator); // first random number

std::cout << distribution(generator); // second random number
}

It generates two random integer numbers in the range [0, 9] by using the default
random engine
44/87
Seed 1/4

Given a seed, the generator produces always the same sequence

The seed could be selected randomly by using the current time:
#include <random>
#include <chrono>

unsigned seed = std::chrono::system_clock::now()

.time_since_epoch().count();
std::default_random_engine generator{seed};

chrono::system clock::now() returns an object representing the current point in time

.time since epoch().count() returns the count of ticks that have elapsed since January 1, 1970
(midnight UTC/GMT)

Problem: Consecutive calls return very similar seeds

45/87
Seed 2/4

Pseuso seed: easy to guess, e.g. single source of randomness

Secure seed: hard to guess, e.g. multiple sources of randomness

46/87
How do I generate a random integer in C#?
Seed 3/4

A random device std::random device is a uniformly distributed integer generator

that produces non-deterministic random numbers, e.g. from a hardware device such as
/dev/urandom

#include <random>

std::random_device rnd_device;
std::default_random_engine generator{rnd_device()};

Note: Not all OSs provide a random device

47/87
Seed 4/4

std::seed seq consumes a sequence of integer-valued data and produces a number

of unsigned integer values in the range [0, 232 − 1]. The produced values are
distributed over the entire 32-bit range even if the consumed values are close
#include <random>
#include <chrono>

unsigned seed1 = std::chrono::system_clock::now()

.time_since_epoch().count();
unsigned seed2 = seed1 + 1000;

std::seed_seq seq1{seed1, seed2};

std::default_random_engine generator1{seq};

48/87
PRNG Period and Quality

PRNG Period
The period (or cycle length) of a PRNG is the length of the sequence of numbers that the
PRNG generates before repeating

PRNG Quality
(informal) If it is hard to distinguish a generator output from truly random sequences, we call it
a high quality generator. Otherwise, we call it low quality generator

Generator Quality Period Randomness

Linear Congruential Poor 231 ≈ 109 Statistical tests
Mersenne Twister 32/64-bit High 106000 Statistical tests
Subtract-with-carry 24/48-bit Highest 10171 Mathematically proven

49/87
Randomness Quality

• On C++ Random Number Generator Quality

50/87
• It is high time we let go of the Mersenne Twister
Random Engines

• Linear congruential (LF)

The simplest generator engine. Modulo-based algorithm:
xi+1 = (αxi + c)mod m where α, c, m are implementation defined
C++ Generators: std::minstd rand , std::minstd rand0 ,
std::knuth b

• Mersenne Twister (M. Matsumoto and T. Nishimura, 1997)

Fast generation of high-quality pseudorandom number. It relies on Mersenne prime number.
(used as default random generator in linux)
C++ Generators: std::mt19937 , std::mt19937 64

• Subtract-with-carry (LF) (G. Marsaglia and A. Zaman, 1991)

Pseudo-random generation based on Lagged Fibonacci algorithm (used for example by
physicists at CERN)
C++ Generators: std::ranlux24 base , std::ranlux48 base , std::ranlux24 , std::ran
51/87
Statistical Tests

The table shows after how many iterations the generator fails the statistical tests

Generator 256M 512M 1G 2G 4G 8G 16G 32G 64G 128G 256G 512G 1T

ranlux24 base ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
ranlux48 base ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
minstd rand ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
minstd rand0 ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
knuth b ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
mt19937 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗
mt19937 64 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗
ranlux24 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
ranlux48 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

52/87
Space and Performance

Generator Predictability State Performance

Linear Congruential Trivial 4-8 B Fast

Knuth Trivial 1 KB Fast

Mersenne Twister Trivial 2 KB Good

randlux base Trivial 8-16 B Slow

randlux Unknown? ∼120 B Super slow

53/87
Distribution

• Uniform distribution uniform int distribution<T>(range start, range end)

where T is integral type
uniform real distribution<T>(range start, range end) where T is floating
point type
(x −µ)2
• Normal distribution P (x ) = √1
σ 2π
e− 2σ 2

normal distribution<T>(mean, std dev)

where T is floating point type

• Exponential distribution P (x , λ) = λe −λx

exponential distribution<T>(lambda)
where T is floating point type

54/87
Examples

unsigned seed = ...

// Original linear congruential

minstd_rand0 lc1 generator(seed);
// Linear congruential (better tuning)
minstd_rand lc2_generator(seed);
// Standard mersenne twister (64-bit)
mt19937_64 mt64_generator(seed);
// Subtract-with-carry (48-bit)
ranlux48_base swc48_generator(seed);

uniform_int_distribution<int> int_distribution(0, 10);

uniform_real_distribution<float> real_distribution(-3.0f, 4.0f);
exponential_distribution<float> exp_distribution(3.5f);
normal_distribution<double> norm_distribution(5.0, 2.0);

55/87
Recent Algorithms and Performance

Recent algorithms:
• PCG, A Family of Better Random Number Generators
• Xoshiro / Xoroshiro generators and the PRNG shootout
• The Xorshift128+ random number generator fails BigCrush
Parallel algorithms:
• Squares: A Fast Counter-Based RNG
• Parallel Random Numbers: As Easy as 1, 2, 3 (Philox)
• OpenRNG: New Random Number Generator Library for best performance
when porting to Arm

If strong random number quality properties are not needed, it is possible to generate a
random permutation of integer values (with period of 232 ) in a very efficient way by
using hashing functions Hash Function Prospector 56/87
Performance Comparison

57/87
Random number generators for C++ performance tested
Quasi-random 1/2

The quasi-random numbers have the low-discrepancy property that is a measure of

uniformity for the distribution of the point for the multi-dimensional case

• Quasi-random sequence, in comparison to pseudo-random sequence, distributes

evenly, namely this leads to spread the number over the entire region

• The concept of low-discrepancy is associated with the property that the successive
numbers are added in a position as away as possible from the other numbers that
is, avoiding clustering (grouping of numbers close to each other)

58/87
Quasi-random 2/2

Pseudo-random vs. Quasi random

59/87
Time Measuring
Time Measuring 1/2

Wall-Clock/Real time
It is the human perception of the passage of time from the start to the completion of
a task

User/CPU time
The amount of time spent by the CPU to compute in user code

System time
The amount of time spent by the CPU to compute system calls (including I/O calls)
executed into kernel code

60/87
Time Measuring 2/2

The Wall-clock time measured on a concurrent process platform may include the time
elapsed for other tasks

The User/CPU time of a multi-thread program is the sum of the execution time of all
threads

If the system workload (except the current program) is very low and the program uses
only one thread then
Wall-clock time = User time + System time

61/87
Time Measuring - Wall-Clock Time 1/3

::gettimeofday() : time resolution 1µs

# include <time.h> //struct timeval
# include <sys/time.h> //gettimeofday()

struct timeval start, end; // timeval {second, microseconds}

::gettimeofday(&start, NULL);
... // code
::gettimeofday(&end, NULL);

long start_time = start.tv_sec * 1000000 + start.tv_usec;

long end_time = end.tv_sec * 1000000 + end.tv_usec;
cout << "Elapsed: " << end_time - start_time; // in microsec

Problems: Linux only (not portable), the time is not monotonic increasing (timezone), time
resolution is big
62/87
Time Measuring - Wall-Clock Time 2/3

std::chrono C++11
# include <chrono>
auto start_time = std::chrono::system_clock::now();
... // code
auto end_time = std::chrono::system_clock::now();

std::chrono::duration<double> diff = end_time - start_time;

cout << "Elapsed: " << diff.count(); // in seconds
cout << std::chrono::duration_cast<milli>(diff).count(); // in ms

Problems: The time is not monotonic increasing (timezone)

63/87
Time Measuring - Wall-Clock Time 3/3

An alternative of system clock is steady clock which ensures monotonic

increasing time.
steady clock is implemented over clock gettime on POSIX system and has 1ns
time resolution
# include <chrono>
auto start_time = std::chrono::steady_clock::now();
... // code
auto end_time = std::chrono::steady_clock::now();

However, the overhead of C++ API is not always negligible, e.g.

Linux libstdc++ → 20ns, Mac libc++ → 41ns

64/87
Measuring clock precision
Time Measuring - User Time

std::clock , implemented over clock gettime on POSIX system and has 1ns
time resolution

# include <chrono>

clock_t start_time = std::clock();

... // code
clock_t end_time = std::clock();

float diff = static_cast<float>(end_time - start_time) / CLOCKS_PER_SEC;

cout << "Elapsed: " << diff; // in seconds

65/87
Time Measuring - User/System Time

# include <sys/times.h>

struct ::tms start_time, end_time;

::times(&start_time);
... // code
::times(&end_time);

auto user_diff = end_time.tmus_utime - start_time.tms_utime;

auto sys_diff = end_time.tms_stime - start_time.tms_stime;
float user = static_cast<float>(user_diff) / ::sysconf(_SC_CLK_TCK);
float sys = static_cast<float>(sys_diff) / ::sysconf(_SC_CLK_TCK);
cout << "user time: " << user; // in seconds
cout << "system time: " << sys; // in seconds

66/87
Std Classes
std::pair 1/2

<utility>
std::pair class couples together a pair of values, which may be of different types
Construct a std::pair
• std::pair<T1, T2> pair(value1, value2)
• std::pair<T1, T2> pair = {value1, value2}
• auto pair = std::make pair(value1, value2)
Data members:
• first access first field
• second access second field
Methods:
• comparison ==, <, >, ≥, ≤
• swap std::swap 67/87
std::pair 2/2

# include <utility>

std::pair<int, std::string> pair1(3, "abc");

std::pair<int, std::string> pair2 = { 4, "zzz" };
auto pair3 = std::make_pair(3, "hgt");

cout << pair1.first; // print 3

cout << pair1.second; // print "abc"

swap(pair1, pair2);
cout << pair2.first; // print "zzz"
cout << pair2.second; // print 4

cout << (pair1 > pair2); // print 1

68/87
std::tuple 1/3

<tuple>
std::tuple is a fixed-size collection of heterogeneous values. It is a generalization of
std::pair . It allows any number of values
Construct a std::tuple (of size 3)
• std::tuple<T1, T2, T3> tuple(value1, value2, value3)
• std::tuple<T1, T2, T3> tuple = {value1, value2, value3}
• auto tuple = std::make tuple(value1, value2, value3)
Data members:
std:get<I>(tuple) returns the i-th value of the tuple
Methods:
• comparison ==, <, >, ≥, ≤
• swap std::swap 69/87
std::tuple 2/3

• auto t3 = std::tuple cat(t1, t2)

concatenate two tuples

• const int size = std::tuple size<TupleT>::value

returns the number of elements in a tuple at compile-time

• using T = typename std::tuple element<TupleT>::type obtains the

type of the specified element

• std::tie(value1, value2, value3) = tuple

creates a tuple of references to its arguments

• std::ignore
an object of unspecified type such that any value can be assigned to it with no
effect 70/87
std::tuple 3/3
# include <tuple>
std::tuple<int, float, char> f() { return {7, 0.1f, 'a'}; }

std::tuple<int, char, float> tuple1(3, 'c', 2.2f);

auto tuple2 = std::make_tuple(2, 'd', 1.5f);

cout << std::get<0>(tuple1); // print 3

cout << std::get<1>(tuple1); // print 'c'
cout << std::get<2>(tuple1); // print 2.2f
cout << (tuple1 > tuple2); // print true

auto concat = std::tuple_cat(tuple1, tuple2);

cout << std::tuple_size<decltype(concat)>::value; // print 6

using T = std::tuple_element<4, decltype(concat)>::type; // T is int

int value1; float value2;
std::tie(value1, value2, std::ignore) = f(); 71/87
std::variant 1/3

<variant> C++17
std::variant represents a type-safe union as the corresponding objects know
which type is currently being held

It can be indexed by:

• std::get<index>(variant) an integer
• std::get<type>(variant) a type

# include <variant>

std::variant<int, float, bool> v(3.3f);

int x = std::get<0>(v); // return integer value
bool y = std::get<bool>(v); // return bool value
// std::get<0>(v) = 2.0f; // run-time exception!!
72/87
std::variant 2/3

Another useful method is index() which returns the position of the type currently
held by the variant

# include <variant>

std::variant<int, float, bool> v(3.3f);

cout << v.index(); // return 1

std::get<bool>(v) = true
cout << v.index(); // return 2

73/87
std::variant + Visitor 3/3

It is also possible to query the index at run-time depending on the type currently being
held by providing a visitor
# include <variant>

struct Visitor {
void operator()(int& value) { value *= 2; }

void operator()(float& value) { value += 3.0f; } // <--

void operator()(bool& value) { value = true; }

};

std::variant<int, float, bool> v(3.3f);

std::visit(v, Visitor{});

cout << std::get<float>(v); // 6.3f

74/87
std::optional 1/2

<optional> C++17
std::optional provides facilities to represent potential “no value” states
As an example, it can be used for representing the state when an element is not found
in a set
# include <optional>

std::optional<std::string> find(const char* set, char value) {

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (set[i] == value)
return i;
}
return {}; // std::nullopt;
}

75/87
std::optional 2/2

# include <optional>

char set[] = "sdfslgfsdg";

auto x = find(set, 'a'); // 'a' is not present
if (!x)
cout << "not found";
if (!x.has_value())
cout << "not found";

auto y = find(set, 'l');

cout << *y << " " << y.value(); // print '4' '4'

x.value_or(-1); // returns '-1'

y.value_or(-1); // returns '4'

76/87
std::any

<any> C++17
std::any holds arbitrary values and provides type-safety

# include <any>

std::any var = 1; // int

cout << var.type().name(); // print 'i'

cout << std::any_cast<int>(var);

// cout << std::any_cast<float>(var); // exception!!

var = 3.14; // double

cout << std::any_cast<double>(var);

var.reset();
cout << var.has_value(); // print 'false'

77/87
std::stacktrace 1/2

C++23 introduces std::stacktrace library to get the current function call stack,
namely the sequence of calls from the main() entry point
# include <print>
# include <stacktrace> // the program must be linked with the library
// -lstdc++_libbacktrace
// (-lstdc++exp with gcc-14 trunk)
void g() {
auto call_stack = std::stacktrace::current();
for (const auto& entry : call_stack)
std::print("{}\n", entry);
}

void f() { g(); }

int main() { f(); }

78/87
std::stacktrace 2/2

the previous code prints

g() at /app/example.cpp:6
f() at /app/example.cpp:11
main at /app/example.cpp:13
at :0
__libc_start_main at :0
_start at :0

The library also provides additional functions for entry to allow fine-grained control
of the output description() , source file() , source line()

for (const auto& entry : call_stack) { // same output

std::print("{} at {}:{}\n", entry.description(), entry.source_file(),
entry.source_line());
}
79/87
Filesystem Library
Filesystem Library

C++17 introduces abstractions and facilities for performing operations on file systems
and their components, such as paths, files, and directories

• Follow the Boost filesystem library

• Based on POSIX
• Fully-supported from clang 7, gcc 8, etc.
• Work on Windows, Linux, Android, etc.

80/87
Basic concepts

• file: a file system object that holds data

◦ directory a container of directory entries
◦ hard link associates a name with an existing file
◦ symbolic link associates a name with a path
◦ regular file a file that is not one of the other file types

• file name: a string of characters that names a file. Names . (dot) and ..
(dot-dot) have special meaning at library level

• path: sequence of elements that identifies a file

◦ absolute path: a path that unambiguously identifies the location of a file
◦ canonical path: an absolute path that includes no symlinks, . or .. elements
◦ relative path: a path that identifies a file relative to some location on the file system
81/87
path Object

A path object stores the pathname in native form

# include <filesystem> // required

namespace fs = std::filesystem;

fs::path p1 = "/usr/lib/sendmail.cf"; // portable format

fs::path p2 = "C:\\users\\abcdef\\"; // native format

cout << "p1: " << p1; // /usr/lib/sendmail.cf

cout << "p2: " << p2; // C:\users\abcdef\

out << "p3: " << p2 + "xyz\\"; // C:\users\abcdef\xyz\

82/87
path Methods

Decomposition (member) methods:

• Return root-name of the path
root name()

• Return path relative to the root path

relative path()

• Return the path of the parent path

parent path()

• Return the filename path component

filename()

• Return the file extension path component

extension()
83/87
Filesystem Methods - Query

• Check if a file or path exists

exists(path)

• Return the file size

file size(path)

• Check if a file is a directory

is directory(path)

• Check if a file (or directory) is empty

is empty(path)

• Check if a file is a regular file

is regular file(path)

• Returns the current path

current path() 84/87
Directory Iterators

Iterate over files of a directory (recursively/non-recursively)

# include <filesystem>

namespace fs = std::filesystem;

for(auto& path : fs::directory_iterator("/usr/tmp/"))

cout << path << '\n';

for(auto& path : fs::recursive_directory_iterator("/usr/tmp/"))

cout << path << '\n';

85/87
Filesystem Methods - Modify

• Copy files or directories

copy(path1, path2)

• Copy files
copy file(src path, src path, [fs::copy options::recursive])

• Create new directory

create directory(path)

• Remove a file or empty directory

remove(path)

• Remove a file or directory and all its contents, recursively

remove all(path)

• Rename a file or directory

rename(old path, new path) 86/87
Examples

# include <filesystem> // required

namespace fs = std::filesystem;
fs::path p1 = "/usr/tmp/my_file.txt";

cout << p1.exists(); // true

cout << p1.parent_path(); // "/usr/tmp/"
cout << p1.filename(); // "my_file"
cout << p1.extension(); // "txt"
cout << p1.is_directory(); // false
cout << p1.is_regular_file(); // true

fs::create_directory("/my_dir/");
fs::copy(p1.parent_path(), "/my_dir/", fs::copy_options::recursive);
fs::copy_file(p1, "/my_dir/my_file2.txt");
fs::remove(p1);
87/87
fs::remove_all(p1.parent_path());