std::chrono...n_clock::now(3)

💅 NAME 💅

std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now — and yeah, the man page literally lists std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now a second time right after the dash, no extra sauce, that's just how she filed herself. Periodt.

This page lives in the C++ Standard Libary (yes "Libary", the typo is canon, I don't make the rules 🎀), section 3 of the manual — and the header at the top of the page is genuinely truncated into std::chrono...n_clock::now(3) because the title got cut off mid-word. Iconic behavior, honestly. Anyway. Bestie. It's a clock. It tells you now. Let's go 🕐

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✨ Synopsis ✨

The man page formatting did us SO dirty here, so here's exactly what got printed on the page, verbatim, scrambled eggs and all 😭:

     static std::chrono::time_point<std::chrono::high_resolution_clock>
  now()     (since
     noexcept;
  C++11)

...and here's the same thing un-scrambled so your brain can vibe check it 🫶:

static std::chrono::time_point<std::chrono::high_resolution_clock> now() noexcept;
(since C++11)

🧚 what that actually means, lowkey

• static — it's a static member function, so no object needed. You don't instantiate anything, you just call it.
• std::chrono::time_point<std::chrono::high_resolution_clock> — that's the return type, a whole time point parameterized on the high resolution clock.
• now() — the function name. No arguments.
• noexcept — it's promising not to throw. A well-behaved queen.
• (since C++11) — she's been around since C++11. An elder icon.

Heads up: that's the entire synopsis. No overloads hiding in the back, no secret extra params. Just now().

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🌸 Description 🌸

Returns a time point representing the current point in time. That's it. That's the whole job 💖

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🦋 Parameters 🦋

(none) — literally zero arguments. Nada. She takes nothing, she needs nothing, she simply knows what time it is.

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⭐ Return value ⭐

A time point representing the current time. Slay 💅

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🔥 Example 🔥

The page says // Run this code, so here's the code, exactly as it appears, bestie — don't let the wrapped lines jump-scare you, that's just the man page being narrow:

        #include <chrono>
        #include <cstddef>
        #include <iomanip>
        #include <iostream>
        #include <numeric>
        #include <vector>

        volatile int sink;

        void do_some_work(std::size_t size)
        {
            std::vector<int> v(size, 42);
            sink = std::accumulate(v.begin(), v.end(), 0); // make sure it is a
       side effect
        }

        int main()
        {
            std::cout << std::fixed << std::setprecision(9) << std::left;
            for (auto size{1ull}; size < 10'00'00'00'00ull; size *= 100)
            {
                const auto start = std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();
                do_some_work(size);
                const auto end = std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();

                const std::chrono::duration<double> diff = end - start;

                std::cout << "Time to fill and iterate a vector of " <<
       std::setw(9)
                          << size << " ints : " << diff << '\n';
            }
        }

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🎀 Possible output 🎀

Note the word possible — this is one run, not a promise, your numbers may lowkey differ:

        Time to fill and iterate a vector of 1         ints : 0.000006568s
        Time to fill and iterate a vector of 100       ints : 0.000002854s
        Time to fill and iterate a vector of 10000     ints : 0.000116290s
        Time to fill and iterate a vector of 1000000   ints : 0.011742752s
        Time to fill and iterate a vector of 100000000 ints : 0.505534949s

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And that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 No SEE ALSO, no bugs section, no author credits — she's short and she knows it.

Cute little sign-off for the record: this page came from http://cppreference.com, dated 2024.06.10, and it's filed under std::chrono...n_clock::now(3) — same truncated-name situation as the header. Bye bye, go time something, I'm obsessed with you getting it right 💜⏱️