Summary
This episode introduces std::any, a new type-safe container from C++17 that can hold a single value of any type. Jason demonstrates how to create, store, and retrieve values from std::any objects, including constructing vectors containing heterogeneous data types. The episode also explores std::any's key constraints, such as requiring stored types to be copy-constructible, and explains implementation details like the small object optimization for avoiding dynamic allocations with objects under 16 bytes.