std::tuple

Defined in header `<tuple>`
template< class... Types > class tuple;		(since C++11)

Class template std::tuple is a fixed-size collection of heterogeneous values. It is a generalization of std::pair.

If (std::is_trivially_destructible_v<Types> && ...) is true, the destructor of tuple is trivial.

(since C++17)

Template parameters

Types...

-

the types of the elements that the tuple stores. Empty list is supported.

Member functions

(constructor)	constructs a new `tuple` (public member function)
operator=	assigns the contents of one `tuple` to another (public member function)
swap	swaps the contents of two `tuple`s (public member function)

Non-member functions

make_tuple	creates a `tuple` object of the type defined by the argument types (function template)
tie	creates a `tuple` of lvalue references or unpacks a tuple into individual objects (function template)
forward_as_tuple	creates a `tuple` of rvalue references (function template)
tuple_cat	creates a `tuple` by concatenating any number of tuples (function template)
std::get(std::tuple)	tuple accesses specified element (function template)
operator==operator!=operator<operator<=operator>operator>=	lexicographically compares the values in the tuple (function template)
std::swap(std::tuple) (C++11)	specializes the std::swap algorithm (function template)

Helper classes

tuple_size	obtains the size of `tuple` at compile time (class template specialization)
tuple_element	obtains the type of the specified element (class template specialization)
std::uses_allocator<std::tuple> (C++11)	specializes the std::uses_allocator type trait (class template specialization)
ignore	placeholder to skip an element when unpacking a `tuple` using `tie` (constant)

Deduction guides(since C++17)

Notes

Until C++17, a function could not return a tuple using list-initialization:

std::tuple<int, int> foo_tuple() 
{
  return {1, -1};  // Error until C++17
  return std::make_tuple(1, -1); // Always works
}

Example

Run this code

#include <tuple>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <stdexcept>

std::tuple<double, char, std::string> get_student(int id)
{
    if (id == 0) return std::make_tuple(3.8, 'A', "Lisa Simpson");
    if (id == 1) return std::make_tuple(2.9, 'C', "Milhouse Van Houten");
    if (id == 2) return std::make_tuple(1.7, 'D', "Ralph Wiggum");
    throw std::invalid_argument("id");
}

int main()
{
    auto student0 = get_student(0);
    std::cout << "ID: 0, "
              << "GPA: " << std::get<0>(student0) << ", "
              << "grade: " << std::get<1>(student0) << ", "
              << "name: " << std::get<2>(student0) << '\n';

    double gpa1;
    char grade1;
    std::string name1;
    std::tie(gpa1, grade1, name1) = get_student(1);
    std::cout << "ID: 1, "
              << "GPA: " << gpa1 << ", "
              << "grade: " << grade1 << ", "
              << "name: " << name1 << '\n';

    // C++17 structured binding:
    auto [ gpa2, grade2, name2 ] = get_student(2);
    std::cout << "ID: 2, "
              << "GPA: " << gpa2 << ", "
              << "grade: " << grade2 << ", "
              << "name: " << name2 << '\n';
}

Output:

ID: 0, GPA: 3.8, grade: A, name: Lisa Simpson
ID: 1, GPA: 2.9, grade: C, name: Milhouse Van Houten
ID: 2, GPA: 1.7, grade: D, name: Ralph Wiggum

References

C++11 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2011):

20.4 Tuples [tuple]

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