vector<> VS <> deque<> VS list<>

Here is the summary from an interesting performance benchmark article which comparing vector and list int C++11

Conclusion for vector<> VS deque<> VS list<>:

To conclude, we can get some facts about each data structure:

• std::list is very very slow to iterate through the collection due to its very poor spatial locality.
• std::vector and std::deque perform always faster than std::list with very small data
• std::list handles very well large elements
• std::deque performs better than a std::vector for inserting at random positions (especially at the front, which is constant time)
• std::deque and std::vector do not support very well data types with high cost of copy/assignment

This draw simple conclusions on usage of each data structure:

• Number crunching: use std::vector or std::deque
• Linear search: use std::vector or std::deque
• Random Insert/Remove: use std::list (if data size very small (< 64B on my computer), use std::deque)
• Big data size: use std::list (not if intended for searching)
• Non-trivial data type: use std::list
• Push to front: use std::deque or std::list

Updated conclusion for vector<> VS list<>:

• std::vector is insanely faster than std::list to find an element
• std::vector performs always faster than std::list with very small data
• std::vector is always faster to push elements at the back than std::list
• std::list handles very well large elements, especially for sorting or inserting in the front

This draw simple conclusions on usage of each data structure:

• Number crunching: use std::vector
• Linear search: use std::vector
• Random Insert/Remove: use std::list (if data size very small (< 64B on my computer), use std::vector)
• Big data size: use std::list (not if intended for searching)

Reference:
http://www.baptiste-wicht.com/2012/11/cpp-benchmark-vector-vs-list/
http://www.baptiste-wicht.com/2012/12/cpp-benchmark-vector-list-deque/