What is mytinystl?

alinshans/mytinystl — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 12,438C++Audience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((MyTinySTL))
    What It Is
      STL re-implementation
      C++11 features
      Study project
    Containers
      Vector and list
      Hash map
      Red-black tree
    Build Options
      CMake optional
      Visual Studio
      g++ and clang++
    Platforms
      Linux
      Windows
      macOS
    Audience
      C++ learners
      CS students

mindmap root((MyTinySTL)) What It Is STL re-implementation C++11 features Study project Containers Vector and list Hash map Red-black tree Build Options CMake optional Visual Studio g++ and clang++ Platforms Linux Windows macOS Audience C++ learners CS students

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Study how STL containers like vectors, hash maps, and red-black trees are built internally by reading the source

USE CASE 2

Run the included test suite to verify your understanding of standard library container behavior

USE CASE 3

Use as a reference when learning data structures and algorithms at a low level in C++

USE CASE 4

Compare your own STL implementations against this codebase to spot differences and bugs

What is it built with?

C++C++11CMakeg++clang++MSVC

How does it compare?

	alinshans/mytinystl	joeydevries/learnopengl	snapchat/keydb
Stars	12,438	12,439	12,475
Language	C++	C++	C++
Setup difficulty	moderate	moderate	moderate
Complexity	3/5	3/5	3/5
Audience	developer	developer	ops devops

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Documentation and comments are written in Chinese, non-Chinese readers may need translation tools.

So what is it?

This repository is a re-implementation of a large portion of the C++ Standard Template Library, written using C++11 features. The Standard Template Library (STL) is the built-in collection of data structures and algorithms that comes with C++, providing things like dynamic arrays, linked lists, hash maps, and sorting routines. Building your own version from scratch is a common way to learn how those pieces work internally. The project was started as a first learning exercise by the author and has grown to version 2.x.x, which covers the vast majority of STL containers and functions. The documentation and source code comments are written in Chinese. From version 2.0.0 onward, the project entered a maintenance-only phase, meaning new features will not be added but bug fixes will continue. The README notes that there may still be deficiencies and bugs, and invites issues and pull requests. The code builds on Linux, Windows, and macOS using g++, clang++, or MSVC. CMake is listed as optional for building. A test suite is included and instructions for running it are in the Test subdirectory. For Windows, a Visual Studio solution file is provided as an alternative to CMake. This is a reference and study project rather than a library intended for production use. Anyone curious about how containers like vectors, queues, or red-black trees are built at a low level can read through the source. Additional documentation is available in the repository's Wiki.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Walk me through how a red-black tree is implemented in MyTinySTL, specifically how insertions maintain balance

Prompt 2

Show me how the vector container in MyTinySTL handles memory reallocation when its capacity is exceeded

Prompt 3

Help me run the MyTinySTL test suite on Windows using the Visual Studio solution file

Prompt 4

Compare the MyTinySTL unordered_map implementation to std::unordered_map, what trade-offs were made?

Frequently asked questions