Returning a c++ std::vector without a copy?

Question

Is it possible to return a standard container from a function without making a copy?

Example code:

std::vector MyFunc();

...

std::vector&l         


        

Answer 1

If you can modify the signature of the function then you can use

std::vector& MyFunc(); 

or

void MyFunc(std::vector& vect);

You could also return a smart pointer, but that involves newing the object.

some_smart_pointer> MyFunc();

HTH