C++ Forward_list::clear() Function
The C++ std::forward_list::clear() function is used to erase all elements of the forward_list.
It destroys the forward_list by removing all elements from the forward_list and sets the size of the forward_list to zero. The return type of this function is void which implies that it does not return any value.
Syntax
Following is the syntax of the C++ std::forward_list::clear() function −
void clear();
Parameters
- It does not accept any parameter.
Return value
This function does not return any value.
Example 1
If the forward_list is a int-type, the clear() function eases all the elements from the forward_list.
In the following program, we are using the C++ std::forward_list::clear() function to erase all the elements of the current forward_list {10, 20, 30, 40, 50}, and this function calls the size of the forward list will be zero.
#include<iostream>
#include<forward_list>
using namespace std;
int main(){
//create a forward_list
forward_list<int> num_list = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
cout<<"The forward_list contents before the clear operation: "<<endl;
for(int n : num_list) {
cout<<n<<endl;
}
cout<<"The size of the forward_list before clear operation: ";
int size = distance(num_list.begin(), num_list.end());
cout<<size<<endl;
//using the clear() function
num_list.clear();
int new_size = distance(num_list.begin(), num_list.end());
cout<<"The size of forward_list after clear operation: "<<new_size;
}
Output
Following is the output of the above program −
The forward_list contents before the clear operation: 10 20 30 40 50 The size of the forward_list before clear operation: 5 The size of forward_list after clear operation: 0
Example 2
If the forward_list is a char-type, this function erases all the elements from the forward_list.
Following is another example of the C++ std::forward_list::clear() function. Here, we are creating a forward_list(type char) named char_list with the contents {'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E'}. Then, using the clear() function, we are trying to erase all elements of this forward_list.
#include<iostream>
#include<forward_list>
using namespace std;
int main(){
//create a forward_list
forward_list<int> char_list = {'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E'};
cout<<"The forward_list contents before the clear operation: "<<endl;
for(char c : char_list) {
cout<<c<<endl;
}
cout<<"The size of the forward_list before clear operation: ";
int size = distance(char_list.begin(), char_list.end());
cout<<size<<endl;
//using the clear() function
char_list.clear();
int new_size = distance(char_list.begin(), char_list.end());
cout<<"The size of forward_list after clear operation: "<<new_size;
}
Output
This will generate the following output −
The forward_list contents before the clear operation: A B C D E The size of the forward_list before clear operation: 5 The size of forward_list after clear operation: 0
Example 3
Apart from the int-type and char-type forward_list elements, we can also erase the string-type forward_list elements.
In this example, we are creating a forward_list(type string) named languages with the contents {"Java", "HTML", "CSS", "JavaScript"}. Using the clear() function, we are trying to erase all elements of this forward_list.
#include<iostream>
#include<forward_list>
using namespace std;
int main(){
//create a forward_list
forward_list<string> languages = {"Java", "HTML", "CSS", "JavaScript"};
cout<<"The forward_list contents before the clear operation: "<<endl;
for(string l : languages) {
cout<<l<<endl;
}
cout<<"The size of the forward_list before clear operation: ";
int size = distance(languages.begin(), languages.end());
cout<<size<<endl;
//using the clear() function
languages.clear();
int new_size = distance(languages.begin(), languages.end());
if(new_size == 0) {
cout<<"The forward_list has no elements and size is: "<<new_size;
}else{
cout<<"The forward_list is non_empty and size is: "<<new_size;
}
}
Output
The above program produces the following output −
The forward_list contents before the clear operation: Java HTML CSS JavaScript The size of the forward_list before clear operation: 4 The forward_list has no elements and size is: 0