std::ptr_fun replacement for c++17

You use a lambda:

static inline std::string &ltrim(std::string &s) {
    s.erase(s.begin(), std::find_if(s.begin(), s.end(), [](int c) {return !std::isspace(c);}));
    return s;
}

The answer you cited is from 2008, well before C++11 and lambdas existed.