Re: overloading address operator and standard containers

From:
James Kanze <james.kanze@gmail.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:51:38 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID:
<ac258067-af8c-4dfa-9be7-81ecd13cc7d3@e34g2000vbc.googlegroups.com>
On Oct 22, 8:03 pm, Kai-Uwe Bux <jkherci...@gmx.net> wrote:

please consider:

#include <list>

struct aaa {};

struct bbb {
  aaa operator & ( void ) const {
    return aaa();
  }
};

int main ( void ) {
  std::list< bbb > a;
}

Is this required to compile or is a compiler within its rights
to reject the code?


Objects in a standard container have to be CopyConstructible.
One of the requirements of CopyConstructible is that the
expression &t return a T* denoting the address of t, see
=A720.1.3.

I recently posted a bug report and have been told that the
code is invalid. The address operator is supposed to be not
overloaded. This, I have learned, should follow from the
provisions in C++03 about allocator::address(). I am still
trying to understand the reasoning, but I feel that I need
some help.


The reasoning is another issue. Why CopyConstructible has this
requirement is beyond me. (If the restriction is necessary, for
some reason, it should be a separate requirement, with an
appropriate name, and not piggy-backed on top of
CopyConstructible. And off hand, I'm not sure why it's
necessary, although on the other hand, it sounds like a
reasonable restriction to me.)

--
James Kanze

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