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Getting Union, Intersection, or Difference of Sets in C++

I have a couple questions about how to use C++ sets (std::set)

  1. Is there a way to get the union, intersection, or difference of two C++ sets? (It's pretty easy to write my own functionto do that but I wanted to know if there was a built in function for it)

  2. Can C++ sets be used as keys in a map?

Solution

  • Use the set_difference(), set_union(), set_intersection() and set_symmetric_difference() functions.

    Sets and maps support any key type that can compare. By default this means the type has operator<() defined, but you can provide your own comparator. C++ sets don't have operator<() defined and therefore can't be used as keys unless you provide your own comparator.