Variadic Templates in C++: From Zero to Hero

How to Write Templates That Accept Any Number of Types and Build High-Performance, Zero-Overhead Utilities

Why This Topic Matters

Before C++11, functions or classes that needed to accept a variable number of arguments relied on:

• Repetitive overloading (10 versions of the same function)

• Or C-style variadic arguments (...), which discard type safety and introduce serious runtime risks

Variadic Templates solved this by providing:

• Full type safety

• Compile-time expansion

• Excellent performance

• The foundation of modern utilities such as logging systems, formatters, factories, tuples, visitors, and wrappers

1. The Core Idea: Type Packs and Value Packs

Variadic templates introduce two related concepts:

• Args... → a type pack

• args... → a value pack

Example:

template<typename... Args>
void f(Args... args) {
    // Args... → types
    // args... → values
}

Call site:

f(1, 2.5, "hi");

This expands to:

• Args... → <int, double, const char*>

• args... → (1, 2.5, "hi")

2. A Real “Hello World”: Printing Any Number of Values

With C++17, Fold Expressions eliminate recursive templates.

Printing Without Separators

template<typename... Args>
void print_raw(const Args&... args) {
    (std::cout << ... << args) << '\n';
}

Printing With Spaces (No Trailing Space)

template<typename... Args>
void print(const Args&... args) {
    const char* sep = "";
    ((std::cout << sep << args, sep = " "), ...) << '\n';
}

Usage:

print(1);
print(1, 2.5);
print("Hello", 42, 3.14);

3. Pre-C++17: Recursive Variadic Templates (You Must Understand This)

Even if you use fold expressions, understanding recursion explains how the compiler reasons.

void print_old() { std::cout << '\n'; } // base case

template<typename T, typename... Rest>
void print_old(const T& first, const Rest&... rest) {
    std::cout << first;
    if constexpr (sizeof...(rest) > 0) std::cout << ' ';
    print_old(rest...);
}

• T → first argument

• Rest... → remaining arguments

• Each instantiation reduces the pack until the base case

✔ Educational ❌ Verbose and slower to compile than folds

4. Counting Elements: sizeof...(Args)

template<typename... Args>
constexpr std::size_t count_types() {
    return sizeof...(Args);
}

template<typename... Args>
void count_values(const Args&... args) {
    std::cout << "count = " << sizeof...(args) << '\n';
}

5. Pack Expansion: The Most Important Skill

Applying an Operation to Each Argument

template<typename... Args>
void touch_all(const Args&... args) {
    ((std::cout << args << '\n'), ...);
}

Building a std::vector from Variadic Arguments

template<typename... Args>
auto make_vector(Args&&... args) {
    using T = std::common_type_t<Args...>;
    std::vector<T> v;
    v.reserve(sizeof...(Args));
    (v.push_back(static_cast<T>(std::forward<Args>(args))), ...);
    return v;
}

Usage:

auto v = make_vector(1, 2, 3, 4);
auto w = make_vector(1, 2.5, 3); // common_type → double

6. Perfect Forwarding: The Professional Weapon

Variadic templates are often used to forward arguments exactly as received.

Key tools:

• Args&&... (forwarding references)

• std::forward<Args>(args)...

Generic Factory Example

template<typename T, typename... Args>
std::unique_ptr<T> make(Args&&... args) {
    return std::make_unique<T>(std::forward<Args>(args)...);
}

Usage:

struct User {
    std::string name;
    int age;
    User(std::string n, int a) : name(std::move(n)), age(a) {}
};

auto u = make<User>("Ayman", 30);

Why this matters:

• Preserves lvalues and rvalues

• Avoids unnecessary copies

• Enables clean, generic APIs

7. A Practical Example: A Real Logger

template<typename... Args>
void log(const char* tag, const Args&... args) {
    std::cout << '[' << tag << "] ";
    const char* sep = "";
    ((std::cout << sep << args, sep = " "), ...) << '\n';
}

Usage:

log("INFO", "Started", 42, 3.14);
log("WARN", "Disk low:", 5, "%");

8. Variadic Templates in Classes (Tuple-Like Concept)

This demonstrates how early tuple implementations worked conceptually.

template<typename... Ts>
struct Pack;

template<>
struct Pack<> {};

template<typename T, typename... Rest>
struct Pack<T, Rest...> : Pack<Rest...> {
    T value;
    Pack(T v, Rest... rest)
        : Pack<Rest...>(rest...), value(std::move(v)) {}
};

Educational purpose only—modern code uses std::tuple.

9. Common and Dangerous Mistakes

1) Using std::move Instead of std::forward

template<typename... Args>
void bad(Args&&... args) {
    foo(std::move(args)...); // WRONG
}

Correct:

template<typename... Args>
void good(Args&&... args) {
    foo(std::forward<Args>(args)...);
}

2) Assuming Folds Accept Empty Packs

Some fold expressions fail with empty packs.

template<typename... Args>
void print(const Args&... args) {
    if constexpr (sizeof...(Args) == 0) {
        std::cout << '\n';
    } else {
        const char* sep = "";
        ((std::cout << sep << args, sep = " "), ...) << '\n';
    }
}

3) Ignoring Constraints (Concepts – C++20)

template<typename T>
concept Streamable = requires(std::ostream& os, const T& v) {
    os << v;
};

template<Streamable... Args>
void print(const Args&... args) {
    const char* sep = "";
    ((std::cout << sep << args, sep = " "), ...) << '\n';
}

10. Zero-to-Hero Mental Roadmap

Level 1 — Fundamentals

• Args..., args...

• sizeof...(Args)

• Pack expansion

Level 2 — Execution

• Recursive templates

• if constexpr

Level 3 — C++17 Fold Expressions

• Unary and binary folds

• Comma folds

Level 4 — Perfect Forwarding

• Args&&...

• std::forward

• Factories and wrappers

Level 5 — Professional Interfaces

• Concepts and constraints

• Clean diagnostics

• Robust API design

Selected Advanced Utilities

1) Call Wrapper with Argument Logging

template<typename F, typename... Args>
decltype(auto) call_and_log(F&& f, Args&&... args) {
    std::cout << "call: ";
    const char* sep = "";
    ((std::cout << sep << args, sep = ", "), ...) << '\n';
    return std::invoke(std::forward<F>(f), std::forward<Args>(args)...);
}

2) Apply a Function to All Arguments

template<typename F, typename... Args>
void for_each_arg(F&& f, Args&&... args) {
    (std::invoke(std::forward<F>(f), std::forward<Args>(args)), ...);
}

Final Summary

Variadic Templates are not a luxury feature—they are a core pillar of Modern C++.

Mastering:

1. Pack expansion

2. Fold expressions

3. Perfect forwarding

4. Concepts

means you can design:

• Safe, generic, high-performance APIs

• Modern libraries

• Professional-grade C++ systems