PST: Lexicographical Comparable Type in C++ It has been years since last update to this blog. It should be good to write some small (for happily copy’n paste :-) tips for re-familiar writing. Lexicographical comparing a aggregated type in C++ struct Version { int major ; int minor ; int patch ; friend bool operator < ( const Version & lhs , const Version & rhs ) { if ( lhs . major < rhs . major ) return true ; if ( lhs . minor < rhs . minor ) return true ; return lhs . patch < rhs . patch ; } } ; Nothing wrong with above code. However # include <tuple> using Version = std :: tuple < int , int , int > ; is sometimes sufficient. Pro: No need to write all comparison operators Con: Not that obvious accessing method, e.g. get<0>(var) – Written with StackEdit .