From Jason Turner

Ep 325: Why vector of bool is Weird

2022-05-23 12:14 25,078 views 936 likes
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Summary

This episode explores why std::vector behaves differently from other vector specializations in C++. Jason explains that vector uses a space-optimized representation that packs boolean values as individual bits rather than full bytes, resulting in significant space savings. However, this optimization comes with unexpected behaviors, particularly when trying to get references to individual elements, as C++ has no way to reference individual bits directly.

Related C++ Standard Sections

This episode covers topics found in these sections of the C++ standard:

Resources

Tags

vector proxy objects bit packing optimization forwarding references range-based for loops