C++ -- fastest way to set an array of floats to the same value

Question

I naively thought I could use memset for this, but apparently memset is only for chars. Is there a memset-type thing that will work on an array of floats? Or is simple iteration the fastest way to copy a single value to every spot in an array?

Answer 1

I won't speak to what code runs the fastest. You should compare them yourself, in the intended environment.

But, here are two readable, maintainable, correct solutions.

std::fill(std::begin(array), std::end(array), 3.14);

Or, if you have a dynamic array:

std::fill(array, array+size, 3.14);

Answer 2

The standard way is:

std::fill(float_array, float_array + array_size, 0.0f);

I suspect you could beat this standard facility without non-standard methods.