C++23: A New Way of Error Handling with std::expected

C++23 extends the interface of std::optional and gets the new data type std::expected for error handling.

Before I dive into the extended monadic interface of std::optional in C++23, I want to introduce this C++17 type.

`std::optional`

std::optional is quite comfortable for calculations such as database queries that may have a result. This vocabulary type requires the header <optional>.

The various constructors and the convenience function std::make_optional let you define an optional object opt with or without a value. opt.emplace will construct the contained value in-place and opt.reset will destroy the container value. You can explicitly ask a std::optional container if it has a value, or you can check it in a logical expression. opt.value returns the value, and opt.value_or returns the value or a default value. If opt has no contained value, the call opt.value will throw a std::bad_optional_access exception.

Here is a short example using std::optional.

// optional.cpp

#include <optional>
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>

std::optional<int> getFirst(const std::vector<int>& vec){
  if ( !vec.empty() ) return std::optional<int>(vec[0]);
  else return std::optional<int>();
}

int main() {

    std::cout << '\n';
    
    std::vector<int> myVec{1, 2, 3};
    std::vector<int> myEmptyVec;
    
    auto myInt= getFirst(myVec);
    
    if (myInt){
        std::cout << "*myInt: "  << *myInt << '\n';
        std::cout << "myInt.value(): " << myInt.value() << '\n';
        std::cout << "myInt.value_or(2017):" << myInt.value_or(2017) << '\n';
    }
    
    std::cout << '\n';
    
    auto myEmptyInt= getFirst(myEmptyVec);
    
    if (!myEmptyInt){
        std::cout << "myEmptyInt.value_or(2017):" << myEmptyInt.value_or(2017) << '\n';
    }

    std::cout << '\n';

}

I use std::optional in the function getFirst. getFirst returns the first element if it exists. You get a std::optional object if not. The main function has two vectors. Both invoke getFirst and return a std::optional object. In the case of myInt, the object has a value; in the case of myEmptyInt, the object has no value. The program displays the value of myInt and myEmptyInt. myInt.value_or(2017) returns the value, but myEmptyInt.value_or(2017) returns the default value.

Here is the output of the program.

The Monadic Extension of `std::optional`

In C++23, std::optional is extended with monadic operations opt.and_then, opt.transform, and opt.or_else.

opt.and_then returns the result of the given function call if it exists or an empty std::optional.
opt.transform returns a std::optional containing its transformed value or an empty std::optional.
opt.or_else returns the std::optional if it contains a value or the result of the given function otherwise.

These monadic operations enable the composition of operations on std::optional:

// optionalMonadic.cpp

#include <iostream>
#include <optional>
#include <vector>
#include <string>

std::optional<int> getInt(std::string arg) {
    try {
        return {std::stoi(arg)};
    }
    catch (...) {
        return { };
    }
}

 
int main() {
 
    std::cout << '\n'; 

    std::vector<std::optional<std::string>> strings = {"66", "foo", "-5"};

    for (auto s: strings) {
        auto res = s.and_then(getInt)
                  .transform( [](int n) { return n + 100;})
                  .transform( [](int n) { return std::to_string(n); })
                  .or_else([] { return std::optional{std::string("Error") }; });
        std::cout << *res << ' ';
    }

    std::cout << '\n';

}

The range-based for-loop iterates through the std::vector<std::optional<std::string>>. First, the function getInt converts each element to an integer, adds 100, converts it back to a string, and finally displays it. If the initial conversion to int fails, the string Error is returned and displayed.

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std::expected already supports the monadic interface.

`std::expected`

std::expected<T, E> provides a way to store either of two values. An instance of std::expected always holds a value: either the expected value of type T, or the unexpected value of type E. This vocabulary type requires the header <expected>. Thanks to std::expected, you can implement functions that either return a value or an error. The stored value is allocated directly within the storage occupied by the expected object. No dynamic memory allocation takes place.

std::expected has a similar interface, such as std::optional. In contrast to std::optional, std::exptected can return an error message.

The various constructors let you define an expected object exp with an expected value. exp.emplace will construct the contained value in-place. You can explicitly ask a std::expected container if it has a value, or you can check it in a logical expression. exp.value returns the expected value, and exp.value_or returns the expected value or a default value. If exp has an unexpected value, the call exp.value will throw a std::bad_expected_access exception.

std::unexpected represents the unexpected value stored in std::expected.

// expected.cpp

#include <iostream>
#include <expected>
#include <vector>
#include <string>

std::expected<int, std::string> getInt(std::string arg) {
    try {
        return std::stoi(arg);
    }
    catch (...) {
        return std::unexpected{std::string(arg + ": Error")};
    }
}

 
int main() {

    std::cout << '\n';

    std::vector<std::string> strings = {"66", "foo", "-5"};

    for (auto s: strings) {                                 // (1)
        auto res = getInt(s);
        if (res) {
            std::cout << res.value() << ' ';                // (3)
        }
        else {
            std::cout << res.error() << ' ';                // (4)
        }
    }

    std::cout << '\n';

    for (auto s: strings) {                                 // (2)
        auto res = getInt(s);
        std::cout << res.value_or(2023) << ' ';             // (5)
    }

    std::cout << '\n';

}

The function getInt converts each string to an integer and returns a std::expected<int, std::string>. int represents the expected, and std::string the unexpected value. The two range-based for-loops (lines 1 and 2) iterate through the std::vector<std::string>. In the first range-based for-loop (line 1), the expected (line 3) or the unexpected value (line 4) is displayed. In the second range-based for-loop (line 2), the expected or the default value 2023 (line 5) is displayed.

std::expected supports monadic operations for convenient function composition: exp.and_then, exp.transform, exp.or_else, and exp.transform_error.

exp.and_then returns the result of the given function call if it exists or an empty std::expected.
exp.transform returns a std::expected containing its transformed value or an empty std::exptected.
exp.or_else returns the std::expected if it contains a value or the result of the given function otherwise.
exp.transform_error returns the std::expected if it contains an expected value. Otherwise, it returns a std::expected that contains a transformed unexpected value.

The following program is based on the previous program optionalMonadic.cpp. Essentially, the type std::optional is replaced with std::expected.

// expectedMonadic.cpp

#include <iostream>
#include <expected>
#include <vector>
#include <string>


std::expected<int, std::string> getInt(std::string arg) {
    try {
        return std::stoi(arg);
    }
    catch (...) {
        return std::unexpected{std::string(arg + ": Error")};
    }
}
 
int main() {

    std::cout << '\n';

    std::vector<std::string> strings = {"66", "foo", "-5"};

    for (auto s: strings) {
        auto res = getInt(s)
                   .transform( [](int n) { return n + 100; })
                   .transform( [](int n) { return std::to_string(n); });
        std::cout << *res << ' ';        
    }   

    std::cout << '\n';                                  
                                        
}

The range-based for-loop iterates through the std::vector<std::string>. First, the function getInt converts each string to an integer, adds 100, converts it back to a string, and finally displays it. If the initial conversion to int fails, the string arg + ": Error" is returned and displayed.

What’s Next?

The four associative containers std::flat_map, std::flat_multimap, std::flat_set, and std::flat_multiset in C++23 are a drop-in replacement for the ordered associative containers std::map, std::multimap, std::set, and std::multiset. We have them for one reason in C++23: performance.

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