Re: Strange behaviors of Iterator for set

From:
"Victor Bazarov" <v.Abazarov@comAcast.net>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:35:13 -0500
Message-ID:
<gfvu1c$q42$1@news.datemas.de>
Bo Yang wrote:

Hi,
  Today, I make some test on the C++ STL iterators of set containers
with GNU g++ compiler. The code is:

#include <set>
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
 set<int> ms;
 int i;
 for (i=1; i<10; i++)
   ms.insert(i);

 set<int>::iterator it = ms.begin();
 it++;

 ms.erase(it);
 cout << "Deleted: " << *(it) << endl;


Undefined behaviour. You're trying to dereference an invalid
iterator.

 set<int>::iterator ii = it;


You're constructing another iterator and initialising it from
the invalid iterator; the 'ii' becomes invalid immediately.

 cout << "++: " << *(++ii) << endl;
 cout << "+2: " << *(++ii) << endl;
 cout << "--: " << *(--it) << endl;
 it++;
 cout << "--++: " << *(it) << endl;


All this is undefined behaviour, by itself and due to the
preceding undefined behaviour.

 ms.insert(2);
 it = ms.begin();
 it++;
 it++;
 it++;
 it++;


This is all fine. 'it' is valid still, because your set
contains more than 4 values.

 ms.erase(it);
 cout << "Deleted: " << *(it) << endl;
 ii = it;
 cout << "++: " << *(++ii) << endl;
 cout << "+2: " << *(++ii) << endl;
 cout << "--: " << *(--it) << endl;
 it++;
 cout << "--++: " << *(it) << endl;


Here you go again...

 it = ms.end();
 it--;


That's fine. 'it' refers to the last element in the set.

 ms.erase(it);


'it' now is invalid.

 cout << "Deelted: " << *(it) << endl;
 cout << "++: " << *(++it) << endl;
 cout << "+2: " << *(++it) << endl;


And again, you're using an invalid iterator. Undefined
behaviour.

 return 0;
}

and the output is:
Deleted: 2
++: 1
+2: 3
--: 1
--++: 3
Deleted: 5
++: 6
+2: 7
--: 6
--++: 7
Deelted: 9
++: 8
+2: 7

I find that, when I erase something, the whole iterator's behavior is
unpredicted.


Of course. When you erase the element through an iterator, the
iterator becomes *invalid*. It has no behavior defined by the
language.

I can't make sure what is a next ++ is in a set unlike I
am sure with a vector...


I don't understand that sentence. With all standard containers
if you erase the object, the iterator that used to refer to the
deleted object becomes *invalid*. What ++, what vector?

Does this a right behaviors?


Yes, it does, I guess.

And when I use the remove_if and many
other algorithm on set, it will make some crash, why?


Don't know. Show the code, then we can talk.

V
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