std::prev

Defined in header `<iterator>`
template< class BidirIt > BidirIt prev( BidirIt it, typename std::iterator_traits<BidirIt>::difference_type n = 1 );		(since C++11) (until C++17)
template< class BidirIt > constexpr BidirIt prev( BidirIt it, typename std::iterator_traits<BidirIt>::difference_type n = 1 );		(since C++17)

Return the nth predecessor of iterator it.

Parameters

it	-	an iterator
n	-	number of elements it should be descended
Type requirements
- `BidirIt` must meet the requirements of BidirectionalIterator.

Return value

The nth predecessor of iterator it.

Possible implementation

template<class BidirIt>
BidirIt prev(BidirIt it, typename std::iterator_traits<BidirIt>::difference_type n = 1)
{
    std::advance(it, -n);
    return it;
}

Notes

Although the expression --c.end() often compiles, it is not guaranteed to do so: c.end() is an rvalue expression, and there is no iterator requirement that specifies that decrement of an rvalue is guaranteed to work. In particular, when iterators are implemented as pointers, --c.end() does not compile, while std::prev(c.end()) does.

Example

Run this code

#include <iostream>
#include <iterator>
#include <vector>

int main() 
{
    std::vector<int> v{ 3, 1, 4 };

    auto it = v.end();

    auto pv = std::prev(it, 2);

    std::cout << *pv << '\n';
}

Output:

Language
Headers
Freestanding and hosted implementations
Named requirements
Language support library
Concepts library (C++20)
Diagnostics library
Utilities library
Strings library
Containers library
Algorithms library
Iterators library
Numerics library
Input/output library
Localizations library
Regular expressions library (C++11)
Atomic operations library (C++11)
Thread support library (C++11)
Filesystem library (C++17)
Technical Specifications