`std::optional` represents an optional value. It indicates whether a value is present or not. This helps avoid null pointer exceptions. Here’s a simple example:
```cpp
#include
#include
using namespace std;
optional getValue(bool provide) {
if (provide) return 42;
return nullopt;
}
int main() {
auto val = getValue(true);
if (val) cout << *val << endl; // Outputs 42
return 0;
} ```In this code, `std::optional` safely handles potential absence of values. It makes code cleaner and more reliable.