Question

When creating a node for a linked list it might look something like this:

template <class T>
class node {
 T data;
 node* next;
}

for a doubly linked list it might look something like this:

template <class T>
class node {
 T data;
 node* next;
 node* prev;
}

and for a BST it might look something like this:

template <class T>
class node {
 T data;
 node* left_child;
 node* right_child;
}

this can all be generalized in the following format:

template <class T>
class node {
 T data;
 node* links[N]; // N = 1 for linked list, N = 2 for tree or doubly linked list, etc...
}

What is the best way to specify N in the class ctor without using STL vectors?

Answer 1

How about

template <class T, int N>
class node {
 T data;
 node* links[N];
};

and use it as:

node<int, 2> doubleLinkedListNode;
node<int, 1> singleLinkedListNode;

I however think it’s too complicated, and should keep it as you had it originally. Much cleaner.