Initializing std::array of std::std::structs using uniform initialization in C++

24 Oct 2023

In C++, the std::array container provides a fixed-size array-like data structure with compile-time size checking. With the introduction of uniform initialization in C++11, initializing std::array of structs becomes easier and more concise. In this blog post, we will explore how to initialize a std::array of structs using uniform initialization in C++.

Creating a Struct

Let’s start by defining a simple struct that we want to store in our std::array:

struct Person {
    std::string name;
    int age;
};

Here, we have a Person struct with two members: name of type std::string and age of type int.

Initializing std::array Using Uniform Initialization

To create a std::array of Person structs and initialize it using uniform initialization, we can follow these steps:

Include the necessary headers:

#include <array>
#include <string>

Declare and initialize the std::array as follows:

std::array<Person, 3> personArray = {
    {"Alice", 25},
    {"Bob", 30},
    {"Charlie", 35}
};

In the above code, we declare and initialize a std::array named personArray with a size of 3. We use uniform initialization to provide the initial values for each Person struct element.

Accessing the Elements

Once we have initialized the std::array, we can access its elements using the usual array indexing syntax. For example, to access the name and age of the first person in the array:

std::cout << "Name: " << personArray[0].name << ", Age: " << personArray[0].age << std::endl;

This will output:

Name: Alice, Age: 25

Conclusion

Initializing a std::array of structs using uniform initialization in C++ is a convenient way to initialize multiple elements at once. By utilizing the power of uniform initialization, we can easily create and initialize complex data structures like arrays of structs in a concise and readable manner.

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