Stdlib family collections
This family page is the encyclopedia entry for one stdlib area. It explains why the family exists, what responsibility belongs here, and which files make up the surface.
Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Family | collections |
| Module count | 11 |
| Purpose | Container and traversal surfaces such as vector, deque, queue, stack, linked list, hashmap, hashset, graph, and matrix. |
Architecture role
Use `collections` when the shape of data matters more than the host system. This family owns grouping, ordering, indexing, and traversal concerns.
Main responsibilities
- Offer explicit data-structure choices for program state.
- Keep container behavior separated from business rules.
- Support larger flows where data shape and access cost both matter.
Real usage story
- A build report groups diagnostics in a vector and indexes them in a hashmap.
- A scheduler stores pending work in a queue or deque.
- A graph or matrix page should explain why those shapes exist, not just list filenames.