title: Using STL's Internal Implementation of Red-Black Tree
body: <p>I understand that my STL (that comes with g++ 4.x.x) uses red-black trees to implement containers such as the map. Is it possible to use the STL's internal red-black tree directly. If so, how? If not, why not - why does STL not expose the red-black tree?</p>
  
  <p>Surprisingly, I cannot find an answer using google.</p>
  
  <p>Edit: I'm investigating using the red-black tree as a solution to the extra allocator constructor call on insertion. See <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11373796/custom-memory-allocator-for-stl-map">this question</a>. My STL uses red-black trees for map implementation.</p>