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c++tuplesvariadic-templatesstdtuplevariadic-tuple-types

How can I get the first N elements of a tuple c++?


lets say I had a function like the following, how could I get the first n elements of a tuple?

template<std::size_t N, class... Ts>
void foo(Ts... ts){
   std::tuple<Ts...> all_elements(ts...);
   auto first_elements = //the first N elements of the tuple all_elements
}

What would be the best way to define the variable first_elements with the first N elements of the all_elements tuple?

Update

This is just going off of Sam Varshavchik's answer for a version compatible with lower versions of C++ such as C++17 as well:

template<typename T, T... ints, class...DTs>
auto reduce_tuple(std::integer_sequence<T, ints...> int_seq, std::tuple<DTs&&...>&& t){
    return std::forward_as_tuple((std::move(std::get<ints>(t)))...);
}

template<std::size_t N, class... Ts>
auto foo(Ts... ts){
   std::tuple<Ts&&...> all_elements(std::forward<Ts>(ts)...);
   return reduce_tuple(std::make_index_sequence<N>{}, std::move(all_elements));  
}

//usage
int main(){
    auto t=foo<2>(3, "a", 0.1);

    static_assert(std::is_same_v<decltype(t), std::tuple<int, const char*>>);

    std::cout << std::get<0>(t) << " " << std::get<1>(t) << "\n";
}


Solution

  • Here's a classical C++20 solution: use a template closure, in combination with std::integer_sequence.

    Let's improve things a little bit by using universal references and a forwarding tuple in order to minimize the number of copies.

    Rather than defining a tuple the following example forwards the first N parameters to another function.

    And by sheer coincidence, the function in question is std::make_tuple that ...produces a tuple. But, any function will do.

    #include <tuple>
    #include <utility>
    #include <iostream>
    #include <type_traits>
    
    template<std::size_t N, typename ...Ts>
    auto foo(Ts && ...ts)
    {
        auto all_elements=std::forward_as_tuple(
            std::forward<Ts>(ts)...
        );
    
        return [&]<std::size_t ...I>(std::index_sequence<I...>)
            {
                return std::make_tuple(std::get<I>(all_elements)...);
            }(
                std::make_index_sequence<N>{}
            );
    }
    
    int main()
    {
        auto t=foo<2>(3, "a", 0.1);
    
        static_assert(std::is_same_v<decltype(t), std::tuple<int, const char*>>);
    
        std::cout << std::get<0>(t) << " " << std::get<1>(t) << "\n";
    }
    

    (live demo)