Finding in a std::vector of structures - c++

Question

I have:
struct MyStruct
{
char* name;
int* somethingElse;
};
And I need to find in a std::vector<MyStruct*> an element (by using std::find_if) whose name is "XYZ" ... but ... the Predicate of std::find_if (if I have managed to understand it correctly) is a plain function, and it takes in a MyStruct pointer and I have no idea where I can specify the extra "XYZ" value to be used in the comparison.
So, how can I use std::find_if or this purpose? (Obviously, looking for a nice solution, not a global variable, or just walk through the list, ....)
Thanks, f

Answer 1

You can use a functor for this (hope I didn't get anything wrong, as I typed it in the browser):
class finder
{
const char* name;
public:
finder(const char* _name): name(_name) {}
bool operator()(MyStruct* elem) {return strcmp(elem->name, name) == 0;}
};
finder f("sample");
std::find_if(myvector.begin(), myvector.end(), f);

Answer 2

If you use C++11 and lambda:
std::vector<MyStruct> mystructus;
std::find_if(mystructus.begin(), mystructus.end(),
[](const MyStruct& ms){ return ms.name == std::string("XYZ"); } );

Answer 3

You have two options, either use functors or lamdas.
Using functors, you create a new class (or structure) whose constructor takes the string you want to search for, then it has an operator() function that is called by std::find_if:
class my_finder
{
std::string search;
public:
my_finder(const std::string& str)
: search(str)
{}
bool operator()(const MyStruct* my_struct) const
{ return search == my_struct->name; }
};
// ...
std::find_if(std::begin(...), std::end(...), my_finder("XYZ"));
The second using lambdas is less code, but requires recent version of the compiler that can handle C++11 lambdas:
std::find_if(std::begin(...), std::end(...), [](const MyStruct* my_struct)
{ return std::string("XYZ") == my_struct->name; });
The last example can even be generalized further:
using namespace std::placeholders; // For `_1` used below in `std::bind`
// Declare a "finder" function, to find your structure
auto finder = [](const MyStruct* my_struct, const std::string& to_find) {
return to_find == my_struct->name;
};
auto xyz = std::find_if(std::begin(...), std::end(...), std::bind(finder, _1, "XYZ"));
auto abc = std::find_if(std::begin(...), std::end(...), std::bind(finder, _1, "ABC"));
This way the lambda can be reused.

Answer 4

Predicate is anything, that can have operator () applied to it (with the expected argument(s) and returns something convertible to bool). A pointer to function is such thing, but so is an object that defines operator().

Answer 5

You need to provide a predicate like this:
struct Comparator
{
Comparator(const char* find) : m_find(find){}
bool operator()(MyStruct* p) const
{
return strcmp(p->name, m_find) == 0;
}
const char* m_find;
};
Then you can std::find_if like this:
vector<MyStruct*>::iterator iter = std::find_if(vec.begin(), vec.end(), Comparator("XYZ"));
if(iter != vec.end())
{
MyStruct* p = *iter;
}
Or if your compiler supports C++11 you can use lambdas and get rid of the predicate functor:
auto it = std::find_if(vec.begin(), vec.end(), [](MyStruct* p) { return strcmp(p->name, "XYZ") == 0;});