c++ sorting and keeping track of indexes
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <numeric> // std::iota
#include <algorithm> // std::sort, std::stable_sort
using namespace std;
template <typename T>
vector<size_t> sort_indexes(const vector<T> &v) {
// initialize original index locations
vector<size_t> idx(v.size());
iota(idx.begin(), idx.end(), 0);
// sort indexes based on comparing values in v
// using std::stable_sort instead of std::sort
// to avoid unnecessary index re-orderings
// when v contains elements of equal values
stable_sort(idx.begin(), idx.end(),
[&v](size_t i1, size_t i2) {return v[i1] < v[i2];});
return idx;
}