The following code example is taken from the book
The C++ Standard Library - A Tutorial and Reference, 2nd Edition
by Nicolai M. Josuttis, Addison Wesley Longman, 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. and Nicolai M. Josuttis
#include "algostuff.hpp"
using namespace std;
void printCollection (const list<int>& l)
{
PRINT_ELEMENTS(l);
}
bool lessForCollection (const list<int>& l1, const list<int>& l2)
{
return lexicographical_compare
(l1.cbegin(), l1.cend(), // first range
l2.cbegin(), l2.cend()); // second range
}
int main()
{
list<int> c1, c2, c3, c4;
// fill all collections with the same starting values
INSERT_ELEMENTS(c1,1,5);
c4 = c3 = c2 = c1;
// and now some differences
c1.push_back(7);
c3.push_back(2);
c3.push_back(0);
c4.push_back(2);
// create collection of collections
vector<list<int>> cc;
cc.insert ( cc.begin(), { c1, c2, c3, c4, c3, c1, c4, c2 } );
// print all collections
for_each (cc.cbegin(), cc.cend(),
printCollection);
cout << endl;
// sort collection lexicographically
sort (cc.begin(), cc.end(), // range
lessForCollection); // sorting criterion
// print all collections again
for_each (cc.cbegin(), cc.cend(),
printCollection);
}