std::initializer_list (C++11)

In a Nutshell

A lightweight, read-only proxy object that lets you conveniently pass any number of same-typed initial values to containers or custom classes using curly braces {}.

Header

#include <initializer_list>

Core API Quick Reference

Operation	Signature	Description
Constructor	initializer_list() noexcept	Creates an empty list (usually implicitly constructed by the compiler)
Element Count	std::size_t size() const noexcept	Returns the number of elements in the list
Begin Pointer	const T* begin() const noexcept	Pointer to the first element
End Pointer	const T* end() const noexcept	Pointer to one past the last element
Begin Iterator	const T* begin(std::initializer_list<T> il) noexcept	Overload of std::begin
End Iterator	const T* end(std::initializer_list<T> il) noexcept	Overload of std::end

Minimal Example

// Standard: C++11
#include <iostream>
#include <initializer_list>
#include <vector>

struct Container {
    std::vector<int> v;
    Container(std::initializer_list<int> l) : v(l) {}
    void append(std::initializer_list<int> l) {
        v.insert(v.end(), l.begin(), l.end());
    }
};

int main() {
    Container c = {1, 2, 3}; // implicitly constructs the initializer_list
    c.append({4, 5});
    for (int x : c.v) std::cout << x << ' ';
}

Embedded Applicability: High

• The underlying implementation usually holds just a pointer and a length (or two pointers), so the memory overhead is minimal
• Copying a std::initializer_list does not copy the underlying array — only the proxy object itself is copied, with no extra allocation cost
• The underlying array may live in read-only memory, which makes it a good fit for initializing static configuration tables placed in ROM

Compiler Support

GCC	Clang	MSVC
To be added	To be added	To be added

See Also

• Tutorial: Initializer Lists
• cppreference: std::initializer_list

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