std::basic_string::npos

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< cpplrm; | stringlrm; | basic string
std::basic_string
static const size_type npos = -1;

This is a special value equal to the maximum value representable by the type size_type. The exact meaning depends on context, but it is generally used either as end of string indicator by the functions that expect a string index or as the error indicator by the functions that return a string index.

Note

Although the definition uses -1, size_type is an unsigned integer type, and the value of npos is the largest positive value it can hold, due to signed-to-unsigned implicit conversion. This is a portable way to specify the largest value of any unsigned type.

Example

#include <iostream>
#include <bitset>
#include <string>

int main()
{
    // string search functions return npos if nothing is found
    std::string s = "test";
    if(s.find('a') == std::string::npos)
        std::cout << "no 'a' in 'test'\n";

    // functions that take string subsets as arguments 
    // use npos as the "all the way to the end" indicator
    std::string s2(s, 2, std::string::npos);
    std::cout << s2 << '\n';

    std::bitset<5> b("aaabb", std::string::npos, 'a', 'b');
    std::cout << b << '\n';
}

Output:

no 'a' in 'test'
st
00011