In C++ how do you store 2 different data types in 1 data structure?

Question

I most often work with python and therefore I'm used to being able to put a bool and integer in a single list. I realize that C++ has a different paradigm, however, I imagine that there is a workaround to this issue. Ideally I want a vector that could contain data that looks like {1, 7, true, 8, false, true, 9}. So this vector would have to be defined with syntax like (vector int bool intBoolsVec), however, I realize that isn't proper syntax.

I see that some people suggest using variant that was introduced in C++17, is this the best solution? Seems like this would be a common problem if C++ doesn't easily allow you to work with heterogenous containers, even if those containers are constrained to a couple defined types like a vector that only takes only ints and bools.

What is the easiest way to create a vector that contains both integers and booleans in C++? If someone could also provide me more insight on why C++ doesn't have an easy/obvious way to do this, that might help me better understand C++ as well.

Answer 1

My approach would probably be to create my own class, which does exactly what I want it to do. This might be your easiest solution, besides using std::any. Also, you could combine those by creating a custom array of std::any which only allows integers and booleans at certain entries for your example. This would be similar, but not equal to an array of std::variant. Also, In C++ you can store 2 types in a std::pair, if that fits your use-case.