std::map default value

Question

Is there a way to specify the default value std::map\'s operator[] returns when an key does not exist?

Answer 1

No, there isn't. The simplest solution is to write your own free template function to do this. Something like:

#include 
#include 

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C++11 Update

Purpose: Account for generic associative containers, as well as optional comparator and allocator parameters.

template  class C, typename K, typename V, typename... Args>
V GetWithDef(const C& m, K const& key, const V & defval)
{
    typename C::const_iterator it = m.find( key );
    if (it == m.end())
        return defval;
    return it->second;
}