Sorting a vector in descending order

Question

Should I use

std::sort(numbers.begin(), numbers.end(), std::greater<int>());

or

std::sort(numbers.rbegin(), numbers.rend());   // note: reverse iterators

to sort a vector in descending order? Are there any benefits or drawbacks with one approach or the other?

Answer 1

Actually, the first one is a bad idea. Use either the second one, or this:

struct greater
{
    template<class T>
    bool operator()(T const &a, T const &b) const { return a > b; }
};

std::sort(numbers.begin(), numbers.end(), greater());

That way your code won't silently break when someone decides numbers should hold long or long long instead of int.

Answer 2

With c++14 you can do this:

std::sort(numbers.begin(), numbers.end(), std::greater<>());