how to compare structs

Question

I am having difficulties to set up the comparison correctly. Here is an example of my problem, where my code wrongly assumes {1,2}={2,1}: http://ideone.com/i7huL

#include <iostream>
#include <map>
using namespace std;

struct myStruct {
  int a;
  int b;
  bool operator<(const myStruct& rhs) const {
           return rhs.a < this->a && rhs.b < this->b;
  }
};


int main() {
       std::map  <myStruct, int> mymap ;
       myStruct m1={1,2};
       myStruct m2={2,1};
       mymap.insert(make_pair(m1,3));
       std::map<myStruct, int>::iterator it1 = mymap.find(m1);
       std::map<myStruct, int>::iterator it2 = mymap.find(m2);
       cout << it1->second << it2->second;
       // here it1->second=it2->second=3, although I would have expected it2 to be equal to map.end().
}

I could use || instead of &&, but I'm not sure this is the correct way either. I just want to have operator< implemented in such a way that I am able to find objects in my map, without making any errors, as is the case in the code I linked to.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Yes, this operator implementation doesn't make much sense. I'd recommend:

  bool operator<(const myStruct& rhs) const {
      return rhs.a < this->a || (rhs.a == this->a && rhs.b < this->b);
  }

Answer 2

bool operator<(const myStruct& rhs) const {
  if (a < rhs.a) return true;
  if (a == rhs.a) return b < rhs.b;
  return false;
}

If you are looking for a generalization to many data members, there is a great example using C++11 std::tie:

struct S {
    int n;
    std::string s;
    float d;
    bool operator<(const S& rhs) const {
        return std::tie(n, s, d) < std::tie(rhs.n, rhs.s, rhs.d);
    }
};