Explore the full potential of C++ by mastering the standard library.

Become a C++ Programmer

The C++ standard library is a collection of all the tools and utilities available in C++. It received its latest update in 2017, known as C++17. The update introduces many new features that further optimize our code. This module will help us fully grasp C++ and use it to its full potential.

C++ Standard Library

Access to the elements of a string `str` is very convenient because the strings support [random access iterators](https://www.educative.io/courses/cpp-fundamentals-for-professionals/categories). We can access with `str.front()` the first character and with `str.back()` the last character of the string. With `str[n]` and `str.at(n)` we get the n-th element by index. 

The following table provides an overview. 

# Access the elements of the string
| **Methods** | **Example** |
|-|-|
| `str.front()` | Returns the first character of `str`. |
| `str.back()` | Returns the last character of `str`. | 
| `str[n]` | Returns the n-th character of `str`. The string boundaries **will not be checked**. | 
| `str.at(n)` | Returns the n-th character of `str`. The string boundaries **will be checked**. If the boundaries are violated a `std::out_of_range` exception is thrown. | 

Accessing a character in a string is very easy and similar to element access in arrays.

Element Access