Understanding Iterators in the STL

Question

What exactly are iterators in the C++ STL?

In my case, I\'m using a list, and I don\'t understand why you have to make an iterator std::list

Answer 1

An iterator is to an STL container what a pointer is to an array. You can think of them as pointer objects to STL containers. As pointers, you will be able to use them with the pointer notation (e.g. *iElementLocator, iElementLocator++). As objects, they will have their own attributes and methods (http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/std/iterator).