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std::replace, std::replace_if

Defined in header <algorithm>
(1) 
template< class ForwardIt, class T >
void replace( ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last,
              const T& old_value, const T& new_value );
 (until C++20) 
template< class ForwardIt, class T >
constexpr void replace( ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last,
                        const T& old_value, const T& new_value );
 (since C++20) 
template< class ExecutionPolicy, class ForwardIt, class T >
void replace( ExecutionPolicy&& policy, ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last,
              const T& old_value, const T& new_value );
 (2) (since C++17)
(3) 
template< class ForwardIt, class UnaryPredicate, class T >
void replace_if( ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last,
                 UnaryPredicate p, const T& new_value );
 (until C++20) 
template< class ForwardIt, class UnaryPredicate, class T >
constexpr void replace_if( ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last,
                           UnaryPredicate p, const T& new_value );
 (since C++20) 
template< class ExecutionPolicy, class ForwardIt,
          class UnaryPredicate, class T >
void replace_if( ExecutionPolicy&& policy, ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last,
                 UnaryPredicate p, const T& new_value );
 (4) (since C++17)

Replaces all elements satisfying specific criteria with new_value in the range [first, last).

1) Replaces all elements that are equal to old_value (using operator==).
3) Replaces all elements for which predicate p returns true.
2,4) Same as (1,3), but executed according to policy. These overloads do not participate in overload resolution unless

std::is_execution_policy_v<std::decay_t<ExecutionPolicy>> is true.

 (until C++20)

std::is_execution_policy_v<std::remove_cvref_t<ExecutionPolicy>> is true.

 (since C++20)

Parameters

first, last - the range of elements to process
old_value - the value of elements to replace
policy - the execution policy to use. See execution policy for details.
p - unary predicate which returns ​true if the element value should be replaced.

The expression p(v) must be convertible to bool for every argument v of type (possibly const) VT, where VT is the value type of ForwardIt, regardless of value category, and must not modify v. Thus, a parameter type of VT&is not allowed, nor is VT unless for VT a move is equivalent to a copy(since C++11). ​
new_value - the value to use as replacement
Type requirements
-ForwardIt must meet the requirements of LegacyForwardIterator.
-UnaryPredicate must meet the requirements of Predicate.

The expression *first = new_value must be valid.

 (until C++20)

new_value must be writable to first.

 (since C++20)

Return value

(none)

Complexity

Given N as std::distance(first, last):

1,2) exactly N comparisons with old_value using operator==.
3,4) exactly N applications of the predicate p.

Exceptions

The overloads with a template parameter named ExecutionPolicy report errors as follows:

  • If execution of a function invoked as part of the algorithm throws an exception and ExecutionPolicy is one of the standard policies, std::terminate is called. For any other ExecutionPolicy, the behavior is implementation-defined.
  • If the algorithm fails to allocate memory, std::bad_alloc is thrown.

Notes

Because the algorithm takes old_value and new_value by reference, it can have unexpected behavior if either is a reference to an element of the range [first, last).

Possible implementation

replace 
template<class ForwardIt, class T>
void replace(ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last,
             const T& old_value, const T& new_value)
{
    for (; first != last; ++first)
        if (*first == old_value)
            *first = new_value;
}
replace_if 
template<class ForwardIt, class UnaryPredicate, class T>
void replace_if(ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last,
                UnaryPredicate p, const T& new_value)
{
    for (; first != last; ++first)
        if (p(*first))
            *first = new_value;
}

Example

The following code at first replaces all occurrences of 8 with 88 in a vector of integers. Then it replaces all values less than 5 with 55.

#include <algorithm>
#include <array>
#include <functional>
#include <iostream>
 
int main()
{
    std::array<int, 10> s{5, 7, 4, 2, 8, 6, 1, 9, 0, 3};
 
    std::replace(s.begin(), s.end(), 8, 88);
 
    for (int a : s)
        std::cout << a << ' ';
    std::cout << '\n';
 
    std::replace_if(s.begin(), s.end(), 
                    std::bind(std::less<int>(), std::placeholders::_1, 5), 55);
 
    for (int a : s)
        std::cout << a << ' ';
    std::cout << '\n';
}

Output:

5 7 4 2 88 6 1 9 0 3
5 7 55 55 88 6 55 9 55 55

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

DR Applied to Behavior as published Correct behavior
LWG 283 C++98 T was required to be CopyAssignable (and EqualityComparable
for replace), but the value type of ForwardIt is not
always T and T is not always writable to ForwardIt		 required *first = new_value
to be valid instead

See also

copies a range, replacing elements satisfying specific criteria with another value
(function template)
(C++20)(C++20)
replaces all values satisfying specific criteria with another value
(niebloid)

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