How can I use find() on a map inside a vector of maps?

Question

I want to access specific elements in a vector of maps. My code is as follows:

#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <map>

using namespace std;

int main() {
    std::vector<map <string, int> > vecOfMaps;
    map <string, int> myMap;

    for (int j = 0; j < 10; j++) {
        myMap["alpha"] = j;
        myMap["beta"] = j*2;
        vecOfMaps.push_back(myMap);
    }

    int start = 3;
    int end = 5;
    int counter = start;

    for (std::vector<map <string, int> >::iterator vecIter = vecOfMaps.begin()+start; vecIter != vecOfMaps.begin()+end; ++vecIter) {
        map<string, int>::iterator mapIter = vecIter.find("alpha");
        cout << "\n vecElement " << counter << " mapString " << mapIter->first << " mapInt " << mapIter->second;
        counter++;
    }
    return 0;
}

However, this code gives the following compilation error:

error: ‘std::vector, int> >::iterator’ has no member named ‘find’
map::iterator mapIter = vecIter.find("alpha");

How to find an entry inside a map in a vector of maps?

Answer 1

The iterator acts like a pointer to the vector, so use the arrow, i.e., indirection, notation:

vecIter->find("alpha");