c++ - std::map insert or std::map find?

Question

Assuming a map where you want to preserve existing entries. 20% of the time, the entry you are inserting is new data. Is there an advantage to doing std::map::find then std::map::insert using that returned iterator? Or is it quicker to attempt the insert and then act based on whether or not the iterator indicates the record was or was not inserted?

Answer 1

The answer is you do neither. Instead you want to do something suggested by Item 24 of Effective STL by Scott Meyers:

typedef map<int, int> MapType;    // Your map type may vary, just change the typedef

MapType mymap;
// Add elements to map here
int k = 4;   // assume we're searching for keys equal to 4
int v = 0;   // assume we want the value 0 associated with the key of 4

MapType::iterator lb = mymap.lower_bound(k);

if(lb != mymap.end() && !(mymap.key_comp()(k, lb->first)))
{
    // key already exists
    // update lb->second if you care to
}
else
{
    // the key does not exist in the map
    // add it to the map
    mymap.insert(lb, MapType::value_type(k, v));    // Use lb as a hint to insert,
                                                    // so it can avoid another lookup
}