Why is the use of tuples in C++ not more common?

Question

Why does nobody seem to use tuples in C++, either the Boost Tuple Library or the standard library for TR1? I have read a lot of C++ code, and very rarely do I see the use of tup

Answer 1

Certainly tuples can be useful, but as mentioned there's a bit of overhead and a hurdle or two you have to jump through before you can even really use them.

If your program consistently finds places where you need to return multiple values or swap several values, it might be worth it to go the tuple route, but otherwise sometimes it's just easier to do things the classic way.

Generally speaking, not everyone already has Boost installed, and I certainly wouldn't go through the hassle of downloading it and configuring my include directories to work with it just for its tuple facilities. I think you'll find that people already using Boost are more likely to find tuple uses in their programs than non-Boost users, and migrants from other languages (Python comes to mind) are more likely to simply be upset about the lack of tuples in C++ than to explore methods of adding tuple support.