How much functionality is “acceptable” for a C++ struct?

Question

My first post so please go easy on me!

I know that there\'s no real difference between structs and classes in C++, but a lot of people including me use a struct or class

Answer 1

alot of people including me use a struct or class to show intent - structs for grouping "plain old data" and classes for encapsulated data that has meaningful operations.

IMHO, this differentiation is a misunderstanding but it's well understood why it is used like that. It is based on traditional conventions and built-in feeling about class vs struct. I'd follow Marshall Cline's suggestion:

7.8 What's the difference between the keywords struct and class?

Since that's the connotation most people already have, you should probably use the struct keyword if you have a class that has very few methods and has public data (such things do exist in well designed systems!), but otherwise you should probably use the class keyword.

Personally, I (over)use struct keyword for metafunctions