size_type max_size () const;

Return maximum size

Returns the maximum number of elements that the list container can hold.

This is the maximum potential size the container can reach due to system or library implementation limitations.

Parameters

Return Value

Member type size_type is an unsigned integral type.

Example

// list::max_size
#include <iostream>
#include <list>
using namespace std;

int main ()
{
  unsigned int i;
  list<int> mylist;

  cout << "Enter number of elements: ";
  cin >> i;

  if (i<mylist.max_size()) mylist.resize(i);
  else cout << "That size exceeds the limit.\n";

  return 0;
}

Here, member max_size is used to check beforehand whether the requested size will be allowed by member resize.

Complexity

See also