c++for-loopc++17iterationstdmap

How do you iterate over the keys of a std::map?


I am looking for a way to iterate through the keys of a map in C++ 17. The way that I have in mind right now is based on the answer of this question, the way is presented below.

for (auto const& [i, val] : myMap)
...

However, I do not need to use the value val, I just need the value i. Therefore, the piece of code ... does not contain any call to the value val. Consequently, whenever I compile the code, the following warning message appears:

warning: unused variable ‘val’ [-Wunused-variable]
         for (auto const& [i, val] : myMap){
                                  ^

What I want is to find a way to iterate through (only) the keys of the map, ignoring the values. Does anyone have any idea how to do it?


Solution

  • Two options:

    1. A ranged-for version of @πάνταῥεῖ 's answer:

      for (auto const& pair : myMap) {
          auto key = pair.first;
          // etc. etc.
      }
      
    2. Use the ranges-v3 library, or std::ranges in C++20, to adapt the range myMap.begin() and myMap.end() by projecting it onto its first coordinate. Then you'd write something like:

      for (auto key : std::views::keys(myMap)) {
          // etc. etc.
      }
      

      See also std::views::keys. You can do this without ranges by creating a new container which only contains the keys, but that could be expensive for a larger map.

      (If you have weird, heavy keys, then const auto& key instead of auto key.)