CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++referenceiterator
rf_circ
rf_circ

Reputation: 1915

What should I do when someone dereferences my end() iterator?

I am writing a custom container class, with a custom iterator.

I am avoiding STL because I am an embedded C person and don't understand the STL well enough to trust myself to write a custom container and iterator with it.

If someone tries to deference my iterator (using (*it).Whatever() ) when it is one-past-the-end, I get a segfault. That's expected because internally it's a NULL pointer.

Currently my * override looks like this:

Event& EventList::iterator::operator*()
{
  return * m_pBlock->GetAt(m_EventIdx);
}

So, what should I do?

  1. Throw an exception? Which one? I am trying to avoid exceptions though.

  2. Give up on emulating STL and return a pointer or NULL pointer from my iterator.

  3. Keep a global static Event instance around to use as an error return value.

  4. Something else.

I have to say that I am very suspicious of the practice of returning references, since there is no way to return a NULL reference. The whole idea doesn't seem very well thought out.

Maybe someone could explain what it is that I am missing about the concept of returning references.

Thank you.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 362

Answers (1)

Edward Strange
Edward Strange

Reputation: 40859

Generally speaking, the STL specifies its own iterators as causing UB when you dereference end(). You can do the same. So you don't need to do anything here to be compatible with the STL in every way. There may be other aspects that are wrong, but this behavior is perfectly valid.

Upvotes: 5

Related Questions