I recently found out (not through research, so if this is wrong please tell me and I will correct this) that the following somehow works:
std::map<T*, U*> map;
std::cout << map[key_that_is_not_in_map] << std::endl;
// OUTPUT:
// 0
However a lot of people recommend using std::map::find(key_.....) != std::map::end().
Is there something about the latter that makes it safer, or is the first only applicable to pointers keys and values?
Is there something about the latter that makes it safer, or is the first only applicable to pointers keys and values?
Yes, std::map::operator[] performs an insertion if no key exists. And the std::map::find does not.
From cppreference.com the std::map::operator[]
Returns a reference to the value that is mapped to a key equivalent to key, performing an insertion if such key does not already exist.