Re: cannot compile example 1-1 of "More Exceptional C++"

From:
Thomas Maeder <maeder@glue.ch>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++.moderated
Date:
Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:29:05 CST
Message-ID:
<m2hcmuw63j.fsf@glue.ch>
wei.niu@gmail.com writes:

Below is the example 1-1 of "More Exceptional C++":

#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( int argc, char **argv )
{
    (argc > 2 ? ofstream( argv[2], ios_base::binary | ios_base::out ) :
cout )
    <<
    (argc > 1 ? ifstream( argv[1], ios_base::binary | ios_base::in ) :
cin ).rdbuf() ;

    return 0 ;
}

When compiling the program above,BCC55 reports:
Error E2125 echo.cpp 7: Compiler could not generate copy constructor
for class '
ostream' in function main(int,char * *)
Error E2125 echo.cpp 9: Compiler could not generate copy constructor
for class '
istream' in function main(int,char * *)

Why does it need to generate copy constructor for class 'ostream' and
'istream'?


The result type of the first ?: expression is std::ostream, and that
of the second ?: expression std::istream. To convert the temporary
ofstream object to std::ostream, it is sliced and then copied; same
thing for the temporary ifstream object.

At least that's what all compilers I have tried "think" (gcc, Comeau
online, C++BuilderX). It seems to me that they are all wrong, and the
book is right, though.

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