Re: c++98/c++03 constructor overloading

From:
Chris Vine <chris@cvine--nospam--.freeserve.co.uk>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Tue, 7 Dec 2010 12:41:15 +0000
Message-ID:
<bkm1t7-0u1.ln1@cvinex--nospam--x.freeserve.co.uk>
On Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:31 +0100
"Johannes Schaub (litb)" <schaub-johannes@web.de> wrote:

Chris Vine wrote:

Hi,

With gcc-4.2 and earlier, and with subsequent versions of gcc when
using the -std=c++98 option, the following code fails to compile:

--------------------------

#include <iostream>
#include <ostream>

enum ByRef {by_ref};

template <class T>
class MyClass {
  T t;
public:
  MyClass(const T& arg): t(arg) { // (1)
    std::cout << "Without ByRef tag" << std::endl;
  }
  MyClass(T arg, ByRef): t(arg) { // (2)
    std::cout << "With ByRef tag" << std::endl;
  }
};

int main() {
  int i = 0;
  MyClass<int&> m2(i, by_ref);
}

--------------------------

gcc ignores the ByRef tag, and picks constructor 1, and then fails
to compile because of the resulting reference to a reference.


No, It's an error right way when you implicitly instantiate
MyClass<int&>. Try

sizeof(MyClass<int&>);

On a literal C++03 compiler, this *must* result in a compile error
because the declaration of the destructor is invalid. You don't even
get to the point where a constructor could be chosen by overload
resolution.


If I omit constructor (1), the code compiles, as does
sizeof(MyClass<int&>).

However, I think I can now see the problem: the constructor is not
templated (it can't be), so SFINAE does not apply. This means
constructor (1) must be capable of compiling for an instantiation of
MyClass<int&> even if it is never in fact called.

So gcc and comeau must, for the purposes of overload resolution, be
accepting a reference to a reference. I assume then that Comeau in
strict c++03 mode is still accepting some non-c++03 constructs?

Chris

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