C + + Standard Template Library by Ranges *

The C++ Standard Template Library (STL) is the most popular library based on the generic programming paradigm. STL is widely-used, because the library is part of the C++ Standard. It consists of many useful generic data structures and generic algorithms, that are fairly irrespective of the used container. Iterators bridge the gap between containers and algorithms. As a result of this layout the complexity of the library is greatly reduced and we can extend the library with new containers and algorithms simultaneously. Iterators introduced many different problems. First, hard to write handcrafted iterators. Some people argue for the range types which can be a superior abstraction. Ranges can be aggregated in a better way. They have better checking abilities. In this paper we present an overview about the differences between ranges and iterators. We examine a set of algorithms with ranges. Creating new range types is also considered.