How is C++ std::vector implemented?
c++, stl
Solution
It's implemented by using an underlying array.
It's not possible to implement a `std::vector<T>` with a linked list because the standard guarantees the elements in the list will be held in contiguous memory.
Problem
I have been using `std::vector` a lot, and recently I asked myself this question: "How is `std::vector` implemented?" I had two alternatives: 1) Linked list, and then making the API feel like random access (i.e. overloading `operator[]`). 2) Using `new`, e.g. `Foo* temp = new Foo[20]`: I believe they do something like this, but then it raises one more question. Do they always allocate a maximum (`uint32_t`) storage to give random access? (This is inefficient in terms of memory.) Or is there something else that I should be aware of?