Re: Template parameter visibility in specialization

From:
=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Daniel_Kr=FCgler?= <daniel.kruegler@googlemail.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++.moderated
Date:
Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:33:57 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID:
<jh5f3n$76m$1@dont-email.me>
Am 11.02.2012 10:43, schrieb Vidar Hasfjord:

It would be useful to have the primary template parameters visible in
a specialization. Now you need to restate the provided arguments if
you need them within the specialization, and this is a maintenance
hazard. For example:

  template<int MessageId>
  struct TDispatch;

  template<> struct TDispatch<42>
  {
    enum {Id = MessageId}; // Error: MessageId is undefined.
    //enum {Id = 42}; // Works, of course, but error-prone.
  };

  int main()
  {return TDispatch<42>::Id;}

Is there a good reason why the parameters are not visible?


I would find it *very* astonishing and problematic, if renaming
the parameter name of a primary template would have impact on a
specialization where this parameter would be somehow implied. The
specialization TDispatch<42> is a class type, no class template anymore,
so why bother about names in a completely unrelated type family?

Further, this mapping would very much depend on the kind of declaration
that the specialization sees, e.g. consider

// Header 1:

template<int MessageId>
struct TDispatch;

// Header 2:

template<int MI>
struct TDispatch;

// Header 3:

template<int>
struct TDispatch;

All three declarations of the TDispatch template are equivalent. Noe
consider

// Header for specialization

#include <HeaderI> // I=1, 2, or 3

const int MessageId = 42;

template<> struct TDispatch<42>
{
      enum {Id = MessageId};
};

The meaning of this program would now strongly depend on the form of the
declaration of the primary template - this looks extremely dangerous to me.

As the last example demonstares, there are much easier way to ensure
consistency, e.g.

const int MyMessageId = 42;

template<> struct TDispatch<MyMessageId>
{
      enum {Id = MyMessageId};
};

HTH & Greetings from Bremen,

Daniel Kr?gler

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