C++ <array> - cbegin() Function

The C++ array::cbegin function returns the constant iterator (const_iterator) pointing to the first element of the array. Please note that, Unlike the array::front function, which returns a direct reference to the first element, it returns the const_iterator pointing to the same element of the array.

Note: A const_iterator is an iterator that points to constant value. The difference between iterator and const_iterator is that the const_iterator cannot be used to modify the content it points to, even if the array element is not itself constant.

Syntax

• C++11

const_iterator cbegin() const noexcept;

Parameters

No parameter is required.

Return Value

A const_iterator to the beginning of the sequence container.

Time Complexity

Constant i.e, Θ(1)

Example:

In the example below, the array::cbegin function returns the const_iterator pointing to the first element of the array called MyArray.

#include <iostream>
#include <array>
using namespace std;
 
int main (){
  array<string, 3> MyArray{"Alpha","Coding","Skills"};
  array<string, 3>::const_iterator cit;

  cit = MyArray.cbegin();
  cout<<*cit<<" ";
  cit++;
  cout<<*cit<<" ";
  cit++;
  cout<<*cit<<" ";
  return 0;
}

The output of the above code will be:

Alpha Coding Skills

Example:

Lets see another example where the array called MyArray contains integer values and array::cbegin function is used with array::cend function to specify a range including all elements of the array container.

#include <iostream>
#include <array>
using namespace std;
 
int main (){
  array<int, 5> MyArray{10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
  array<int, 5>::const_iterator cit;

  for(cit = MyArray.cbegin(); cit != MyArray.cend(); ++cit)
    cout<<*cit<<" ";

  return 0;
}

The output of the above code will be:

10 20 30 40 50