C++ iterator and const_iterator problem for own container class

Question

I\'m writing an own container class and have run into a problem I can\'t get my head around. Here\'s the bare-bone sample that shows the problem.

It consists of a con

Answer 1

When you call begin() the compiler by default creates a call to the non-const begin(). Since myc isn't const, it has no way of knowing you mean to use the const begin() rather than the non-const begin().

The STL iterator contains a cast operator which allows an iterator to be silently converted to a const_iterator. If you want this to work you need to add one as well like so:

class iterator
{
public:
    typedef iterator self_type;
    inline iterator() { }

    operator const_iterator() { return const_iterator(); }
};

or allow const_iterator to be constructed from an iterator like so:

class const_iterator
{
public:
    typedef const_iterator self_type;

    const_iterator(iterator& ) {}
    inline const_iterator() { }
};