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

The [sequential containers](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container) have a lot in [common](https://www.educative.io/courses/cpp-fundamentals-for-professionals/introduction-3wLRkvRrPAA), but each container has its special domain. Before we dive into the details, we'll look at an overview of all five sequential containers of the std namespace. 

| **Criterial** | **Array** | **Vector** | **Deque** | **List** | **Forward List** |
|-|-|-|-|-|-|
| **Size** | static | dynamic | dynamic | dynamic| dynamic |
|
| **Implementation** | static array | dynamic array | sequence of arrays | doubled linked list | single linked list |
|
| **Access** | random | random | random| forward and backward | forward |
|
| **Optimized for insert and delete at** | --- | end: O(1) | begin and end: O(1) | begin and end: O(1); arbitrary: O(1) | begin: O(1); arbitrary: O(1) | 
|
| **Memory reservation** | --- | yes | no | no | no|
|
| **Release of memory** | --- | `shrink_to_fit` | `shrink_to_fit` | always | always|
|
| Strength** | no memory allocation; minimal memory requirements | 95% solution | insertion and deletion at the begin and end | insertion and deletion at an arbitrary position | fast insertion and deletion; minimal memory requirements | 
|
| **Weakness** | no dynamic memory; memory allocation | Insertion and deletion; at an arbitrary position: O(n) | Insertion and deletion; at an arbitrary position: O(n) | no random access | no random access |

 The sequential containers 

A few additional remarks to bring to the table. 

O(1) stands for the complexity (runtime) of an operation. So O(1) means that the runtime of an operation on a container is constant and is independent of the size of the container. Opposite to that, O(n) means that the runtime depends linearly on the number of the elements of the container. What does that mean for an `std::vector`? The access time on an element is independent of the size of the `std::vector`, but the insertion or deletion of an arbitrary element with k-times more elements is k-times slower.

Although the random access on the elements of an `std::vector` has the same complexity, O(1), as the random access on the element of an `std::deque`, that doesn't mean, that both operations are equally fast.

The complexity guarantee O(1) for the insertion or deletion of a double (`std::list`) or single linked list (`std::forward_list`) is only guaranteed if the iterator points to the right element.

>ℹ️ **std::string is like std::vector<char>**
\
Of course `std::string` is not a container of the standard template library. But from a behavioral point of view, it is like a sequential container, specifically an `std::vector<char>`. Therefore, we will treat `std::string` like an `std::vector<char>`.

The first category of containers we'll study are sequential containers. Listed below are the major features for various types of sequential containers.

Introduction