std::unique and removing duplicates from a container of objects

Question

I would like to know if there is an efficient way to remove objects from a container based on values of member fields of the objects. For example, I can do the following using stl::unique with a list of strings:

#include<iostream>
#include<list>
#include<string>
#include<algorithm>
using namespace std;

bool stringCompare(const string & l, const string & r)                                                                                   
{                                                                                                                                    
   return (l==r);                                                                                                                         
}

int main()                                                                                                                               
{                                                                                                                                        

  list<string> myStrings;                                                                                                                
  myStrings.push_back("1001");                                                                                                           
  myStrings.push_back("1001");                                                                                                           
  myStrings.push_back("81");                                                                                                             
  myStrings.push_back("1001");                                                                                                           
  myStrings.push_back("81");                                                                                                             

  myStrings.sort();                                                                                                                      
  myStrings.erase(unique(myStrings.begin(), myStrings.end(), stringCompare), myStrings.end());                                           

  list<string>::iterator it;                                                                                                             
  for(it = myStrings.begin(); it != myStrings.end(); ++it)                                                                               
  {                                                                                                                                      
    cout << *it << endl;                                                                                                                 
  }                                                                                                                                      

  return     0;                                                                                                                              
}

prints 1001, 81...

Is there a way I can do something similar with the following code, or do I need to perform the comparisons "manually" using operators and iterating through the containers. I couldn't think of a more elegant solution and would like to know if this is possible without writing a lot of code. Any help will be much appreciated!

class Packet
{
public:
Packet(string fTime, string rID) : filingTime(fTime), recordID(rID)

  string getFilingTime() {return filingTime;}
  string getRecordId() {return recordID;}

private:
  string filingTime;
  string recordID;

};

int main()
{
vector<Packet*> pkts;
pkts.push_back(new Packet("10:20", "1004"));
pkts.push_back(new Packet("10:20", "1004")); // not unique (duplicate of the line above)
pkts.push_back(new Packet("10:20", "251"));
pkts.push_back(new Packet("10:20", "1006"));

// remove packet from vector if time and ID are the same

return 0;
}

Thanks

Answer 1

Two options to be able to use std::unique:

1. Define an operator== method for Packet and change the vector<Packet*> to vector<Packet>.

   bool Packet::operator==(const Packet& rhs) const
   {
       if (getFilingTime() != rhs.getFilingTime())
           return false;
       if (getSpid() != rhs.getSpid())
           return false;
       return true;
   }
   
   //etc.
   
   int main()
   {
       vector<Packet> pkts;
       pkts.push_back(Packet("10:20", "1004"));
       pkts.push_back(Packet("10:20", "1004")); // not unique (duplicate of the line above)
       pkts.push_back(Packet("10:20", "251"));
       pkts.push_back(Packet("10:20", "1006"));
   
       // remove packet from vector if time and ID are the same
   
        pkts.erase(unique(pkts.begin(), pkts.end()), pkts.end());                   
   
       return 0;
   }
   

2. Keep the vector as vector<Packet*> and define a method to compare the elements.

   bool comparePacketPtrs(Packet* lhs, Packet* rhs)
   {
       if (lhs->getFilingTime() != rhs->getFilingTime())
           return false;
       if (lhs->getSpid() != rhs->getSpid())
           return false;
       return true;
   }
   
   //etc.
   
   int main()
   {
       vector<Packet*> pkts;
       pkts.push_back(new Packet("10:20", "1004"));
       pkts.push_back(new Packet("10:20", "1004")); // not unique (duplicate of the line above)
       pkts.push_back(new Packet("10:20", "251"));
       pkts.push_back(new Packet("10:20", "1006"));
   
       // remove packet from vector if time and ID are the same
   
        pkts.erase(unique(pkts.begin(), pkts.end(), comparePacketPtrs), pkts.end());                   
   
       return 0;
   }
   

Answer 2

As an alternative to unique, you could simply insert the elements into a set (or unordered_set in C++11).

Whichever way you decide to go, you'll need to define comparison operators for Packet. For unique, you'll need operator==; for set you'll need operator<. For completeness, you should define both, and their counterparts:

class Packet {
    …
    bool operator==(const Packet& p) const {
        return fillingTime == p.fillingTime && recordID == p.recordID;
    }
    bool operator<(const Packet& p) const {
        return fillingTime < p.fillingTime ||
               (fillingTime == p.fillingTime && recordID < p.recordID);
    }
    bool operator!=(const Packet& p) const { return !(*this == p); }
    bool operator> (const Packet& p) const { return p < *this; }
    bool operator>=(const Packet& p) const { return !(*this < p); }
    bool operator<=(const Packet& p) const { return !(p < *this); }
    …
};

If you use C++11's unordered_set, you'll need to go one step further and define a hash function.

EDIT: I just noticed you're storing pointers to Packet. Why? Just store Packet directly.