std::equal

From cppreference.com
 
 
 
Defined in header <algorithm>
template< class InputIt1, class InputIt2 >

bool equal( InputIt1 first1, InputIt1 last1,

            InputIt2 first2 );
(1)
template< class InputIt1, class InputIt2, class BinaryPredicate >

bool equal( InputIt1 first1, InputIt1 last1,

            InputIt2 first2, BinaryPredicate p );
(2)

Returns true if the elements are the same in two ranges: one defined by [first1, last1) and another starting at first2. The first version of the function uses operator== to compare the elements, the second uses the given binary predicate p.

Contents

[edit] Parameters

first1, last1 - the first range of the elements to compare
first2 - beginning of the second range of the elements to compare
p - binary predicate which returns ​true if the elements should be treated as equal.

The signature of the predicate function should be equivalent to the following:

bool pred(const Type1 &a, const Type2 &b);

The signature does not need to have const &, but the function must not modify the objects passed to it.
The types  Type1 and  Type2 must be such that objects of types InputIt1 and InputIt2 can be dereferenced and then implicitly converted to  Type1 and  Type2 respectively.

Type requirements
-
InputIt1, InputIt2 must meet the requirements of InputIterator.

[edit] Return value

true if the elements in the two ranges are equal

[edit] Notes

std::equal may not be used to compare the ranges formed by the iterators from std::unordered_set, std::unordered_multiset, std::unordered_map, or std::unordered_multimap because the order in which the elements are stored in those containers may be different even if the two containers store the same elements.

When comparing entire containers for equality, operator== is usually preferred.

[edit] Complexity

At most last1 - first1 applications of the predicate

[edit] Possible implementation

First version
template<class InputIt1, class InputIt2>
bool equal(InputIt1 first1, InputIt1 last1, 
           InputIt2 first2)
{
    for (; first1 != last1; ++first1, ++first2) {
        if (!(*first1 == *first2)) {
            return false;
        }
    }
    return true;
}
Second version
template<class InputIt1, class InputIt2, class BinaryPredicate>
bool equal(InputIt1 first1, InputIt1 last1, 
           InputIt2 first2, BinaryPredicate p)
{
    for (; first1 != last1; ++first1, ++first2) {
        if (!p(*first1, *first2)) {
            return false;
        }
    }
    return true;
}

[edit] Example

The following code uses equal() to test if a string is a palindrome

#include <iostream>
#include <algorithm>
#include <string>
 
void test(const std::string& s)
{
    if(std::equal(s.begin(), s.begin() + s.size()/2, s.rbegin())) {
        std::cout << "\"" << s << "\" is a palindrome\n";
    } else {
        std::cout << "\"" << s << "\" is not palindrome\n";
    }
}
int main()
{
    test("radar");
    test("hello");
}

Output:

"radar" is a palindrome
"hello" is not palindrome
finds the first element satisfying specific criteria
(function template)
returns true if one range is lexicographically less than another
(function template)
finds the first position where two ranges differ
(function template)
searches for a range of elements
(function template)