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 > However, I suspect that most iterators can be written as iterating over an array.

From my experience, I wouldn't expect this to be the case. From the standard library containers, only `std::vector` and `std::array` can work with iterators implemented as pointers. All the other containers have internal structures different from a C-style array.

After all, a pointer is by definition a `contiguous_iterator`, and most containers (not just `std` ones) are structured such that they don't (and can't) support contiguous iterators.

I've written many various iterator classes; mostly over ranges, but some over containers too. Not once was there a single contiguous array in the underlying the data structure such that a pointer could be used in place of the iterator.

> Is there any reason to wrap an iterator for array-like classes in a custom iterator class?

Nothing major. If I was writing a container/range that could use a pointer as an iterator, I'd probably use it and invest the saved development time elsewhere.

One possible reason to wrap a pointer in a class is that you can introduce custom behaviour, such as `assert`-based bounds checking which can catch some bugs in debug builds without slowing down production code.

> If yes, is there any class in the standard library that implements this?

I am not aware of anything in the standard library. However, when writing your own iterators, it's well worth it to look into the [Boost.Iterator](https://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_85_0/libs/iterator/doc/index.html) library; in particular, you should consider checking out the [`boost::iterator_facade` class template](https://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_85_0/libs/iterator/doc/iterator_facade.html).