Front Page / Sequences / Intrinsic Metafunctions / size

# size

### Synopsis

    template<
          typename Sequence
        >
    struct size
    {
        typedef unspecified type;
    };

### Description

`size` returns the number of elements in the sequence, that is, the number of elements in the range [`begin<Sequence>::type`, `end<Sequence>::type`).

### Header

    #include <boost/mpl/size.hpp>

### Model of

Tag Dispatched Metafunction

### Parameters

Parameter | Requirement | Description
--- | --- | ---
`Sequence` | Forward Sequence | A sequence to query.

### Expression semantics

For any Forward Sequence `s`:

    typedef size<s>::type n;

Return type: | Integral Constant.
Semantics: | Equivalent to
    typedef distance< begin<s>::type,end<s>::type >::type n;
Postcondition: | `n::value >= 0`.

### Complexity

The complexity of the `size` metafunction directly depends on the implementation of the particular sequence it is applied to. In the worst case, `size` guarantees a linear complexity.

If the `s` is a Random Access Sequence, `size<s>::type` is an O(1) operation. The opposite is not necessarily true — for example, a sequence class that models Forward Sequence might still give us an O(1) `size` implementation.

### Example

    typedef list0<> empty_list;
    typedef vector_c<int,0,1,2,3,4,5> numbers;
    typedef range_c<int,0,100> more_numbers;

    BOOST_MPL_ASSERT_RELATION( size<list>::value, ==, 0 );
    BOOST_MPL_ASSERT_RELATION( size<numbers>::value, ==, 5 );
    BOOST_MPL_ASSERT_RELATION( size<more_numbers>::value, ==, 100 );

### See also

Forward Sequence, Random Access Sequence, empty, begin, end, distance