Re: Link problem of static data members in template class

From:
=?windows-1252?Q?Daniel_Kr=FCgler?= <daniel.kruegler@googlemail.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++.moderated
Date:
Sat, 26 Jul 2014 11:28:37 CST
Message-ID:
<lqu6ef$ab6$1@dont-email.me>
Am 25.07.2014 um 17:19 schrieb TS:

Today I came across a problem related to static data members initialization
in template class:


[..]

template <typename T>
class Object {
public:
     static Type s;
};

template <typename T>
Type Object<T>::s; // okay


This is OK, because this is a definition of Object<T>::s for every T of
the static member of this primary template. This kind of declaration is
the equivalent form as for a static member of a non-template, such as

class ObjectInt {
public:
    static int s;
};

int ObjectInt::s; // okay

// template<>
// Type Object<int>::s; // unable to link


Note that this is an explicit specialization of a member of some
template. For an explicit specialization, we can provide a non-defining
declaration (This is what you do above), or you can provide a defining
declaration (This would require an initializer, see 14.7.3 p13:

"An explicit specialization of a static data member of a template or an
explicit specialization of a static data member template is a definition
if the declaration includes an initializer; otherwise, it is a declaration."

)

// template<>
// Type Object<int>::s = Type(); // okay


This is OK, because as of the core language this is a defining
declaration of an explicit static member specialization.

I used GCC, and wondering if I can have a specialized definition of s
without a initialization.


No, this isn't possible. What you can do instead of writing

template<>
Type Object<int>::s = Type();

is to change this to

template<>
Type Object<int>::s{};

For T=int, there is no difference in either form, but the difference
matters if T would be a non-movable and non-copyable type, because the
copy-initialization used in the first form would require at least a
move-constructor.

HTH & Greetings from Bremen,

Daniel Kr?gler

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