How to Print Standard Library Containers

c++17 containers intermediate

Related: How to Print in C++

C++’s standard library containers do not come with printing capability. In order to print a std::vector or a std::map we need to write our own printing function. Here’s example functions for std::vector and std::map containing any other types.

#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <map>

using std::ostream;

template <typename T>
ostream& operator<<(ostream& o, const std::vector<T>& v) {
  o << "[";
  if (v.empty()) {
    o << "]";
    return o;
  }
  // For every item except the last write "Item, "
  for (auto it = v.begin(); it != --v.end(); it++) {
    o << *it << ", ";
  }
  // Write out the last item
  o << v.back() << "]";
  return o;
}

template <typename KeyT, typename ValueT>
ostream& operator<<(ostream& o, const std::map<KeyT, ValueT>& m) {
    o << "{";
    if (m.empty()) {
        o << "}";
        return o;
    }
    // For every pair except the last write "Key: Value, "
    for (auto it = m.begin(); it != --m.end(); it++) {
        const auto& [key, value] = *it;
        o << key << ": " << value << ", ";
    }
    // Write out the last item
    const auto& [key, value] = *--m.end();
    o << key << ": " << value << "}";
    return o;
}

int main() {
    std::vector vec{1.0f, 2.0f, 3.0f};
    std::cout << vec << "\n";

    std::map<std::string, float> planetDistances {
        {"Venus", 0.723f},
        {"Earth", 1.0f},
        {"Mars", 1.5f},
    };
    std::cout << planetDistances << "\n";
}

[1, 2, 3]
{Earth: 1, Mars: 1.5, Venus: 0.723}