Why should I learn STL?

What are the benefits of STL?

STL can dramatically change your programming style, allowing your code to be more reusable, solid, and robust. If you take advantage of STL, you can make your life efficient through simplicity. STL is also extensible, letting you add your own containers and algorithms.

Should I learn STL or DSA first?

Start by learning C++ with DSA ( Data structures and Algorithms) and during that course you will learn about STL ( Standard Template Library) as STL is some in build library that ease your work of Programming .

Is using STL good?

STL is well tested and reliable but it is not the fastest solution. Some of the containers allocate a lot of small memory blocks rather than one big block. If you really have a speed problem then you may consider making your own fixed-size list. But for many purposes STL is the standard solution.

Is STL important for CP?

There are plenty of algorithms in the STL library and many functions for each container. So it’s always good to learn STL in C++ before starting CP as it saves a lot of time during a contest. Also, don’t forget to implement these data structures by yourself and learn how these data structures work.

What are STL containers?

An STL container is a collection of objects of the same type (the elements). Container owns the elements. Creation and destruction is controlled by the container.

Can we use STL in C?

C can’t have an “exact equivalent” of STL because C doesn’t have templates or classes. You might be interested in the “Glib collections” library: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/tutorials/l-glib/

Is DS algo important?

Data structures and algorithms play a major role in implementing software and in the hiring process as well.

Which should I learn first DS or algorithm?

You should learn Data Structures first. Algorithms are based on Data Structures. Data Structures are easy to learn and includes things like Arrays, Stacks, Queues etc and then move to Algorithm.

Is C++ necessary for DSA?

Most competitive programmers use C++ because of its efficiency for DSA. That being said, the language is just a medium and any language that you are affluent with is appropriate for you to implement DSA.

Is C++ STL slow?

STL is usually faster at runtime than either C-style solutions with callback pointers or polymorphism-based solutions with virtual methods (see also this Bjarne Stroustrup’s keynote).

Can we use C++ STL in coding interviews?

Yes for sure, unless they want you to implement an algorithm or a data structure in which case you’ll have to implement from scratch.

Is C++ STL important?

C++ STL provides a range of data structures that are very useful in various scenarios. A lot of data structures are based on real-life applications. It is a library of container classes, algorithms, and iterators.

What is the use of STL in C++?

The Standard Template Library (STL) is a set of C++ template classes to provide common programming data structures and functions such as lists, stacks, arrays, etc.

How STL is different from the C++ Standard Library?

Note that the term “STL” or “Standard Template Library” does not show up anywhere in the ISO 14882 C++ standard. So referring to the C++ standard library as STL is wrong, ie, STL and C++ Standard Library are 2 different things with the former being the subset of the latter.

Where can I learn C++ STL?

For a beginner, I believe the best place to start with is the Power up C++ with the Standard Template Library Part 1 and Part 2 on Topcoder. It will guide you through the very basics in a clean and elegant manner. Simultaneously while learning about the STL, you need to get good at implementing it.