in_place_t, in_place_type_t, in_place_index_t struct

Introduced in C++17.

The in_place_t, in_place_type_t, and in_place_index_t tag types are used to select the overloaded constructor that creates the object in place in the desired way. For the types that use these tag types, they can also help avoid temporary copy or move operations.

Syntax

struct in_place_t
{
    explicit in_place_t() = default;
};

inline constexpr in_place_t in_place{};

template <class T>
struct in_place_type_t
{
    explicit in_place_type_t() = default;
};

template <class T>
constexpr in_place_type_t<T> in_place_type{};

template <size_t I>
struct in_place_index_t
{
    explicit in_place_index_t() = default;
};

template <size_t I>
constexpr in_place_index_t<I> in_place_index{};

Parameters

I
The index where the object is created in place.

T
The type of object to create.

Remarks

• in_place_t indicates in-place construction of an object. Used to create objects in place inside a std::optional.
• in_place_type_t indicates in-place construction of an object of a specific type. It's useful with std::any because std::any can hold any kind of type, so we need to specify the type it holds.
• in_place_index_t indicates in-place construction of an object at a specific index. Use with std::variant to specify the index where the object is created.

The following class types use these structs in their constructors: expected, optional, single_view, any or variant.

Example

#include <iostream>
#include <optional>
#include <any>
#include <variant>

// compile with /std:c++17

struct MyStruct
{
    double value;
    MyStruct(double v0, double v1 = 0) : value(v0 + v1) {}
};

int main()
{
    // Construct a MyStruct directly inside opt
    std::optional<MyStruct> opt(std::in_place, 29.0, 13.0);

    // Construct a MyStruct object inside an any object
    std::any a(std::in_place_type<MyStruct>, 3.14);

    // Construct a MyStruct object inside a vector at index 0
    std::variant<MyStruct, int> v(std::in_place_index<0>, 2.718);

    if (opt)
    {
        std::cout << opt->value << ", ";
    }

    std::cout << std::any_cast<MyStruct>(a).value << ", "
              << std::get<0>(v).value;

    return 0;
}

42, 3.14, 2.718

Requirements

Header: <utility>

Namespace: std

Compiler Option: /std:c++17 or later.