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C++
  • 1. C++ Basics
    • 1.1 Input, Output, and Program Structure
      • 1.1.1 Welcome to Data Structures in C++
      • 1.1.2 Hello World
      • 1.1.3 Input and Output
      • 1.1.4 getline and cin
      • 1.1.5 Program Structure
    • 1.2 Basic Data Types
      • 1.2.1 Basic Data Types
        • 1.2.1.1 Differences between C++ and Java Data Types and Variables
      • 1.2.2 Strings and Characters
      • 1.2.3 Numbers
      • 1.2.4 Booleans
    • 1.3 Conditional Statements
      • 1.3.1 Conditional Statements
      • 1.3.2 Basic If/Else Statements
      • 1.3.3 Comparing Strings
      • 1.3.4 Logical Operators
    • 1.4 Loops
      • 1.4.1 Loops
      • 1.4.2 For Loops
      • 1.4.3 While Loops
      • 1.4.4 Searching a String
    • 1.5 Functions in C++
      • 1.5.1 Functions in C++
      • 1.5.2 Defining and Calling Functions
      • 1.5.3 Passing by Reference vs Value
      • 1.5.4 Function Prototypes
  • 2. Going Beyond the Basics
    • 2.1 Vector Basics
      • 2.1.1 Vector Basics
      • 2.1.2 Creating and Accessing Vectors
      • 2.1.3 Inserting into a Vector
      • 2.1.4 Looping Through a Vector
    • 2.2 Function Default Values
      • 2.2.1 Function Default Values
      • 2.2.2 Default Values
      • 2.2.3 Default Values with a Prototype
      • 2.2.4 Example: Splitting a String
    • 2.3 Structs
      • 2.3.1 Structs
      • 2.3.2 Defining and Accessing Structs
      • 2.3.3 Using Structs: Line Length
    • 2.4 File Input/Output
      • 2.4.1 File Input/Output
      • 2.4.2 Reading in a File
      • 2.4.3 Processing a File
      • 2.4.4 Writing to a File
      • 2.4.5 Creating an Input Stream from a String
    • 2.5 Error Handling
      • 2.5.1 Error Handling
      • 2.5.2 Validating a Number
      • 2.5.3 Validating a Vector Index
      • 2.5.4 Throwing Other Values
  • 3. Libraries
    • 3.1 Header Files
      • 3.1.1 Header Files
      • 3.1.2 Header File
      • 3.1.3 Header and Implementation File
      • 3.1.4 Safer Header
    • 3.2 Using Libraries
      • 3.2.1 Using a Utilities Library
      • 3.2.2 The Util Library
  • 4. 2D Vectors, Stacks, and Queues
    • 4.1 2D Vectors
      • 4.1.1 2D Vectors
      • 4.1.2 The 2D Vector
      • 4.1.3 Creating a 2D Vector
    • 4.3 Stacks
      • 4.3.1 Stacks
      • 4.3.2 Basic Stack
      • 4.3.3 Stack Example: Reverse a String
    • 4.5 Queues
      • 4.5.1 Queues
      • 4.5.2 Basic Queues
      • 4.5.3 Queue Example: Next in Line
  • 5. Sets and Maps
    • 5.1 Pairs and Iterators
      • 5.1.1 Pairs and Iterators
      • 5.1.2 Pairs
      • 5.1.3 Iterators
    • 5.3 Sets
      • 5.3.1 Sets
      • 5.3.2 Basic Sets
      • 5.3.3 Iterating Through a Set
      • 5.3.4 Sets of Struct Values
    • 5.4 Maps
      • 5.4.1 Maps
      • 5.4.2 Map Basics
      • 5.4.3 Iterating Through a Map
      • 5.4.4 Updating Maps
  • 6. Recursion
    • 6.1 Functional Recursion
      • 6.1.1 Functional Recursion
      • 6.1.2 Basic Recursive Problem: Exponential
      • 6.1.3 Recursion Example: Reverse String
      • 6.1.4 Recursion Example: Make Sum
    • 6.2 Procedural Recursion
      • 6.2.1 Procedural Recursion
      • 6.2.2 Print Binary
      • 6.2.3 Print Permutations
      • 6.2.4 Depth vs Breadth Search
  • 7. Pointers, Linked Lists, and Graphs
    • 7.1 Pointers
      • 7.1.1 Pointers
      • 7.1.2 Assigning and Updating Pointers
      • 7.1.3 Pointers and Functions
      • 7.1.4 Pointers and Data Structures
    • 7.2 Linked Lists
      • 7.2.1 Linked Lists
      • 7.2.2 Basic Linked List
      • 7.2.3 Linked List and Recursion
      • 7.2.4 Example: Sorted Phone Book
      • 7.2.5 Doubly Linked List
    • 7.3 Graphs
      • 7.3.1 Graphs
      • 7.3.2 Basic Example: Breadth First Search
      • 7.3.3 Application: Connecting Cities
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On this page
  • Creating Pairs
  • Accessing and Updating Values
  • Using Pairs
  • Try This Example
  1. 5. Sets and Maps
  2. 5.1 Pairs and Iterators

5.1.2 Pairs

A pair is exactly how it sounds, it is a pair of values. Pairs can be two values of the same type, but they can also contain values of a different type. Pairs are often used to hold two pieces of related data. You will see pairs used later as you explore key/value pairs with maps.

Creating Pairs

Pairs are part of the C++ standard library and do not need a special import statement.

To declare a pair, you use the keyword pair and specify the two types of variables inside angled brackets and then the variable name.

Basic Form:

pair<type1, type2> variableName;

Examples:

pair<string, string> address;
pair<string, int> nameAge;
pair<double, double> math;

When creating the pair, you can assign initial values by placing them inside curly brackets.

Examples:

pair<string, int> nameAge {"Betsy", 9};
pair<double, double> math {5.3, 8.7};

Accessing and Updating Values

Accessing and updating values is similar to how values are accessed and updated with a struct. With structs, you access the value with a dot and the member name. Since a pair doesn’t have member variables, you simply access using the keywords first and second.

Example:

pair<string, string> address {"Richardson", "TX"};

cout << address.first << endl;
cout << address.second << endl;

Output:

Richardson
TX

Updates are done using the same access.

pair<string, int> nameAge {"Betsy", 9};
nameAge.second = 10;

Using Pairs

Just like any other data structure, pairs can be used as a separate data structure or as part of another data structure. In this example, you can see how pairs can be used with a vector or a queue.

Examples:

vector<pair<string, int> > classRoster;
queue<pair<string, string> > names;

As mentioned above, pairs will be used for specific purposes in C++, like maps. Beyond that, pairs do have limited use since it can often be just as easy and more descriptive to create a struct. For example, if you wanted to store the first and last name, you can do this with a pair and then represent the first name in the first position and the last name in the second position.

Alternatively, you can create a name struct and give the member names more descriptive values such as firstName and lastName.

Try This Example

Previous5.1.1 Pairs and IteratorsNext5.1.3 Iterators

Last updated 3 years ago