std::initializer_list<T>::data - cppreference.com

const T* data() const noexcept;

Obtains a pointer to the first element in the initializer_list. Equivalent to return begin();.

If the initializer list is empty, the return values of data() and end() are unspecified but identical.

Return value

A pointer to the first element in the initializer list

Complexity

Constant

Notes

As for 2026-05-27, libstdc++ has not treated the addition of the data function from P3016R6 as a defect report against C++11, and only adds data since C++26.

Example

#include <initializer_list>

int main()
{
    static constexpr auto il = {42, 24};
    static_assert(il.data() == il.begin());
    static_assert(*il.data() == 0x2A);
    static_assert(il.data()[1] == 030);
}

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

See also