Better way to iterate std::map - c++

Question

Given a map, I need to retrieve and operate two immediately stored items.
To me, working on a vector is litter easier since I can do "iter + 1" or "iter - 1".
While for map, I am out of luck.
For example, I give a simple example as follows:
Note: in my real application, I don't simply subtract those numbers.
int main ()
{
map<char,int> mymap;
map<char,int>::iterator it;
mymap['b'] = 100;
mymap['a'] = 200;
mymap['c'] = 300;
// show content:
map<char,int>::iterator firstItem = mymap.begin();
map<char,int>::iterator secondItem = ++mymap.begin();
for ( ; secondItem != mymap.end(); ++firstItem, ++secondItem )
cout << secondItem->second - firstItem->second << endl;
return 0;
}
Question> Is there a better solution for this?
Thank you

Answer 1

Instead of incrementing both iterators in the loop control (incrementing is a bit slow), just assign firstItem = secondItem then increment secondItem.

Answer 2

You can do it with a single iterator. Move the increment from the header to the middle of your loop, and exit the loop when you hit the end of your map, like this:
map<char,int>::iterator item = mymap.begin();
for (;;) {
int first = item->second;
++item;
if ( item == mymap.end()) break;
cout << item->second - first << endl;
}

Answer 3

This is a matter of style. You can do eg.
auto first = m.begin();
if (first != m.end())
{
auto second = first;
second++;
for (; second != m.end(); first = second++)
{
...
}
}
You can also bailout more elegantly in the case where the map is empty. For instance you can do:
if (m.empty()) return;
auto first = m.begin(), second = first;
for (second++; second != m.end(); first = second++)
{
...
}
I'd favor the latter if I can, and use the former only if I must.

Answer 4

Your current loop will show undefined behaviour if the map is empty.
Your loop could be rewritten (more simply, and checking for an empty map) like so:
int main(int argc, char * argv[])
{
map<char,int> mymap;
map<char,int>::iterator it;
mymap['b'] = 100;
mymap['a'] = 200;
mymap['c'] = 300;
for ( it = ( mymap.begin() == mymap.end() ? mymap.end() : std::next(mymap.begin()) ) ; it != mymap.end(); ++it )
cout << it->second - std::prev(it)->second << endl;
return 0;
}

Answer 5

Your code will have undefined behavior if the map is empty but other than that it seems to be a reasonable approach, depending on your overall goal. Since map iterators are not random access you can't just add or subtract one, only increment/decrement.
An alternate approach is to make a copy of the iterator and then incrementing inside the loop.

Answer 6

Neither better, nor worse, just an alternative:
if (map.size() >=2)
std::accumulate(
++mymap.begin(),
mymap.end(),
mymap.begin(),
[](mymap_type::const_iterator iprev, mymap_type::value_type const& entry)->mymap_type::const_iterator
{
/* do something */;
return ++iprev;
});