How to find a value in a sorted C++ vector in the most efficient way?

template<class T, class U>
bool contains(const std::vector<T>& container, const U& v)
{
    auto it = std::lower_bound(
        container.begin(),
        container.end(),
        v,
        [](const T& l, const U& r){ return l < r; });
    return it != container.end() && *it == v;
}

You can use find to locate a particular element in any container in time O(N). With vector you can do random access and take advantage of the lower_bound (log2(N)), upper_bound, or equal_range class of std algorithms. std::lower_bound will do that for you. It's in the equivalent-behavior section at the top for binary_search. However, the utility of binary_search is limited to yes and no answers (maybe the naming needs to be improved in the future version of C++; binary_in()).

There is a method, std::equal_range, which will give you a pair containing the lower and upper bound of the subset holding the desired value. If both of those items in the pair are identical, then the value you were looking for doesn't exist.