What are the differences between variadic templates and function overloading?

What are the differences between variadic templates and function overloading?

Variadic templates allow functions to accept any number of arguments of different types, while function overloading lets you define multiple functions with the same name but different parameter types or counts.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! For variadic templates, you might have a function like template<typename... Args> void func(Args... args) { ... }. For function overloading, you could have void func(int a) { ... } and void func(double b) { ... }.

Which one is more efficient?

It depends on the context. Variadic templates can be more flexible and may lead to less code duplication, while function overloading can be more straightforward for specific cases.

When should I use one over the other?

Use variadic templates when you need a function that can handle a variable number of arguments of different types. Opt for function overloading when you have a clear set of different types or counts of parameters that you want to handle distinctly.