C++ How to create a heterogeneous container

Question

I need to store a series of data-points in the form of (name, value), where the value could take different types.

I am trying to use a class template for each data-

Answer 1

The problem with containers like this is that when you want to access something in the container, you have to determine its type and then cast it to the actual type somehow. This is ugly, inefficient and error-prone, which is why the #1 choice in C++ is to use inheritance, unless you have a very good reason not to - something I've never actually come across in my C++ career.