Suppose I have a float-integer map m:
m[1.23] = 3
m[1.25] = 34
m[2.65] = 54
m[3.12] = 51
Imagine that I know that there's a mapping between 2.65 and 54, but I don't know about any other mappings.
Is there any way to visit the adjacent mappings without iterating from the beginning or searching using the find function?
In other words: can I directly access the adjacent values by just knowing about a single mapping...such as m[2.65]=54?
UPDATE Perhaps a more important "point" than my answer, brought up by @MattMcNabb:
Floating point keys in std:map
Can I directly access the adjacent values by just knowing about a single mapping (m[2.65]=54)
Yes. std::map is an ordered collection; which is to say that if an operator< exists (more generally, std::less) for the key type you can expect it to have sorted access. In fact--you won't be able to make a map for a key type if it doesn't have this comparison operator available (unless you pass in a predicate function to perform this comparison in the template invocation)
Note there is also a std::unordered_map which is often preferable for cases where you don't need this property of being able to navigate quickly between "adjacent" map entries. However you will need to have std::hash defined in that case. You can still iterate it, but adjacency of items in the iteration won't have anything to do with the sort order of the keys.
UPDATE also due to @MattMcNabb
Is there any way to visit the adjacent mappings without iterating from the beginning or searching using the find function?
You allude to array notation, and the general answer here would be "not really". Which is to say there is no way of saying:
if (not m[2.65][-2]) {
std::cout << "no element 2 steps prior to m[2.65]";
} else {
std::cout << "the element 2 before m[2.65] is " << *m[2.65][-2];
}
While no such notational means exist, the beauty (and perhaps the horror) of C++ is that you could write an augmentation of map that did that. Though people would come after you with torches and pitchforks. Or maybe they'd give you cult status and put your book on the best seller list. It's a fine line--but before you even try, count the letters and sequential consonants in your last name and make sure it's a large number.
What you need to access the ordering is an iterator. And find will get you one; and all the flexibility that it affords.
If you only use the array notation to read or write from a std::map, it's essentially a less-capable convenience layer built above iterators. So unless you build your own class derived from map, you're going to be stuck with the limits of that layer. The notation provides no way to get information about adjacent values...nor does it let you test for whether a key is in the map or not. (With find you can do this by comparing the result of a lookup to end(m) if m is your map.)
Technically speaking, find gives you the same effect as you could get by walking through the iterators front-to-back or back-to-front and comparing, as they are sorted. But that would be slower if you're seeking arbitrary elements. All the containers have a kind of algorithmic complexity guarantee that you can read up on.
When dereferencing an iterator, you will receive a pair whose first element is the key and second element is the value. The value will be mutable, but the key is constant. So you cannot find an element, then navigate to an adjacent element, and alter its key directly...just its value.
