Doc. no. N2613=08-0123
Date: 2008-05-18
Project: Programming Language C++
Reply to: Howard Hinnant <howard.hinnant@gmail.com>

C++ Standard Library Defect Report List (Revision R56)

Reference ISO/IEC IS 14882:1998(E)

Also see:

This document contains only library issues which have been closed by the Library Working Group (LWG) after being found to be defects in the standard. That is, issues which have a status of DR, TC, or RR. See the Library Closed Issues List for issues closed as non-defects. See the Library Active Issues List for active issues and more information. The introductory material in that document also applies to this document.

Revision History

Defect Reports


1. C library linkage editing oversight

Section: 17.4.2.2 [using.linkage] Status: TC Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 1997-11-16

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

The change specified in the proposed resolution below did not make it into the Standard. This change was accepted in principle at the London meeting, and the exact wording below was accepted at the Morristown meeting.

Proposed resolution:

Change 17.4.2.2 [using.linkage] paragraph 2 from:

It is unspecified whether a name from the Standard C library declared with external linkage has either extern "C" or extern "C++" linkage.

to:

Whether a name from the Standard C library declared with external linkage has extern "C" or extern "C++" linkage is implementation defined. It is recommended that an implementation use extern "C++" linkage for this purpose.


3. Atexit registration during atexit() call is not described

Section: 18.4 [support.start.term] Status: TC Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 1997-12-12

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

We appear not to have covered all the possibilities of exit processing with respect to atexit registration.

Example 1: (C and C++)

    #include <stdlib.h>
    void f1() { }
    void f2() { atexit(f1); }
    
    int main()
    {
        atexit(f2); // the only use of f2
        return 0; // for C compatibility
    }

At program exit, f2 gets called due to its registration in main. Running f2 causes f1 to be newly registered during the exit processing. Is this a valid program? If so, what are its semantics?

Interestingly, neither the C standard, nor the C++ draft standard nor the forthcoming C9X Committee Draft says directly whether you can register a function with atexit during exit processing.

All 3 standards say that functions are run in reverse order of their registration. Since f1 is registered last, it ought to be run first, but by the time it is registered, it is too late to be first.

If the program is valid, the standards are self-contradictory about its semantics.

Example 2: (C++ only)

    
    void F() { static T t; } // type T has a destructor

    int main()
    {
        atexit(F); // the only use of F
    }

Function F registered with atexit has a local static variable t, and F is called for the first time during exit processing. A local static object is initialized the first time control flow passes through its definition, and all static objects are destroyed during exit processing. Is the code valid? If so, what are its semantics?

Section 18.3 "Start and termination" says that if a function F is registered with atexit before a static object t is initialized, F will not be called until after t's destructor completes.

In example 2, function F is registered with atexit before its local static object O could possibly be initialized. On that basis, it must not be called by exit processing until after O's destructor completes. But the destructor cannot be run until after F is called, since otherwise the object could not be constructed in the first place.

If the program is valid, the standard is self-contradictory about its semantics.

I plan to submit Example 1 as a public comment on the C9X CD, with a recommendation that the results be undefined. (Alternative: make it unspecified. I don't think it is worthwhile to specify the case where f1 itself registers additional functions, each of which registers still more functions.)

I think we should resolve the situation in the whatever way the C committee decides.

For Example 2, I recommend we declare the results undefined.

[See reflector message lib-6500 for further discussion.]

Proposed resolution:

Change section 18.3/8 from:

First, objects with static storage duration are destroyed and functions registered by calling atexit are called. Objects with static storage duration are destroyed in the reverse order of the completion of their constructor. (Automatic objects are not destroyed as a result of calling exit().) Functions registered with atexit are called in the reverse order of their registration. A function registered with atexit before an object obj1 of static storage duration is initialized will not be called until obj1's destruction has completed. A function registered with atexit after an object obj2 of static storage duration is initialized will be called before obj2's destruction starts.

to:

First, objects with static storage duration are destroyed and functions registered by calling atexit are called. Non-local objects with static storage duration are destroyed in the reverse order of the completion of their constructor. (Automatic objects are not destroyed as a result of calling exit().) Functions registered with atexit are called in the reverse order of their registration, except that a function is called after any previously registered functions that had already been called at the time it was registered. A function registered with atexit before a non-local object obj1 of static storage duration is initialized will not be called until obj1's destruction has completed. A function registered with atexit after a non-local object obj2 of static storage duration is initialized will be called before obj2's destruction starts. A local static object obj3 is destroyed at the same time it would be if a function calling the obj3 destructor were registered with atexit at the completion of the obj3 constructor.

Rationale:

See 99-0039/N1215, October 22, 1999, by Stephen D. Clamage for the analysis supporting to the proposed resolution.


5. String::compare specification questionable

Section: 21.3.6.8 [string::swap] Status: TC Submitter: Jack Reeves Date: 1997-12-11

View all other issues in [string::swap].

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Duplicate of: 87

Discussion:

At the very end of the basic_string class definition is the signature: int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, const charT* s, size_type n2 = npos) const; In the following text this is defined as: returns basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>(*this,pos1,n1).compare( basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>(s,n2);

Since the constructor basic_string(const charT* s, size_type n, const Allocator& a = Allocator()) clearly requires that s != NULL and n < npos and further states that it throws length_error if n == npos, it appears the compare() signature above should always throw length error if invoked like so: str.compare(1, str.size()-1, s); where 's' is some null terminated character array.

This appears to be a typo since the obvious intent is to allow either the call above or something like: str.compare(1, str.size()-1, s, strlen(s)-1);

This would imply that what was really intended was two signatures int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, const charT* s) const int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1, const charT* s, size_type n2) const; each defined in terms of the corresponding constructor.

Proposed resolution:

Replace the compare signature in 21.3 [basic.string] (at the very end of the basic_string synopsis) which reads:

int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1,
            const charT* s, size_type n2 = npos) const;

with:

int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1,
            const charT* s) const;
int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1,
            const charT* s, size_type n2) const;

Replace the portion of 21.3.6.8 [string::swap] paragraphs 5 and 6 which read:

int compare(size_type pos, size_type n1,
            charT * s, size_type n2 = npos) const;
Returns:
basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>(*this, pos, n1).compare(
             basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>( s, n2))

with:

int compare(size_type pos, size_type n1,
            const charT * s) const;
Returns:
basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>(*this, pos, n1).compare(
             basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>( s ))

int compare(size_type pos, size_type n1,
            const charT * s, size_type n2) const;
Returns:
basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>(*this, pos, n1).compare(
             basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>( s, n2))

Editors please note that in addition to splitting the signature, the third argument becomes const, matching the existing synopsis.

Rationale:

While the LWG dislikes adding signatures, this is a clear defect in the Standard which must be fixed.  The same problem was also identified in issues 7 (item 5) and 87.


7. String clause minor problems

Section: 21 [strings] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1997-12-15

View all other issues in [strings].

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Discussion:

(1) In 21.3.6.4 [string::insert], the description of template <class InputIterator> insert(iterator, InputIterator, InputIterator) makes no sense. It refers to a member function that doesn't exist. It also talks about the return value of a void function.

(2) Several versions of basic_string::replace don't appear in the class synopsis.

(3) basic_string::push_back appears in the synopsis, but is never described elsewhere. In the synopsis its argument is const charT, which doesn't makes much sense; it should probably be charT, or possible const charT&.

(4) basic_string::pop_back is missing.

(5) int compare(size_type pos, size_type n1, charT* s, size_type n2 = npos) make no sense. First, it's const charT* in the synopsis and charT* in the description. Second, given what it says in RETURNS, leaving out the final argument will always result in an exception getting thrown. This is paragraphs 5 and 6 of 21.3.6.8 [string::swap]

(6) In table 37, in section 21.1.1 [char.traits.require], there's a note for X::move(s, p, n). It says "Copies correctly even where p is in [s, s+n)". This is correct as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough; it should also guarantee that the copy is correct even where s in in [p, p+n). These are two orthogonal guarantees, and neither one follows from the other. Both guarantees are necessary if X::move is supposed to have the same sort of semantics as memmove (which was clearly the intent), and both guarantees are necessary if X::move is actually supposed to be useful.

Proposed resolution:

ITEM 1: In 21.3.5.4 [lib.string::insert], change paragraph 16 to

    EFFECTS: Equivalent to insert(p - begin(), basic_string(first, last)).

ITEM 2:  Not a defect; the Standard is clear.. There are ten versions of replace() in the synopsis, and ten versions in 21.3.5.6 [lib.string::replace].

ITEM 3: Change the declaration of push_back in the string synopsis (21.3, [lib.basic.string]) from:

     void push_back(const charT)

to

     void push_back(charT)

Add the following text immediately after 21.3.5.2 [lib.string::append], paragraph 10.

    void basic_string::push_back(charT c);
    EFFECTS: Equivalent to append(static_cast<size_type>(1), c);

ITEM 4: Not a defect. The omission appears to have been deliberate.

ITEM 5: Duplicate; see issue 5 (and 87).

ITEM 6: In table 37, Replace:

    "Copies correctly even where p is in [s, s+n)."

with:

     "Copies correctly even where the ranges [p, p+n) and [s, s+n) overlap."


8. Locale::global lacks guarantee

Section: 22.1.1.5 [locale.statics] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1997-12-24

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

It appears there's an important guarantee missing from clause 22. We're told that invoking locale::global(L) sets the C locale if L has a name. However, we're not told whether or not invoking setlocale(s) sets the global C++ locale.

The intent, I think, is that it should not, but I can't find any such words anywhere.

Proposed resolution:

Add a sentence at the end of 22.1.1.5 [locale.statics], paragraph 2: 

No library function other than locale::global() shall affect the value returned by locale().


9. Operator new(0) calls should not yield the same pointer

Section: 18.5.1 [new.delete] Status: TC Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 1998-01-04

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

Scott Meyers, in a comp.std.c++ posting: I just noticed that section 3.7.3.1 of CD2 seems to allow for the possibility that all calls to operator new(0) yield the same pointer, an implementation technique specifically prohibited by ARM 5.3.3.Was this prohibition really lifted? Does the FDIS agree with CD2 in the regard? [Issues list maintainer's note: the IS is the same.]

Proposed resolution:

Change the last paragraph of 3.7.3 from:

Any allocation and/or deallocation functions defined in a C++ program shall conform to the semantics specified in 3.7.3.1 and 3.7.3.2.

to:

Any allocation and/or deallocation functions defined in a C++ program, including the default versions in the library, shall conform to the semantics specified in 3.7.3.1 and 3.7.3.2.

Change 3.7.3.1/2, next-to-last sentence, from :

If the size of the space requested is zero, the value returned shall not be a null pointer value (4.10).

to:

Even if the size of the space requested is zero, the request can fail. If the request succeeds, the value returned shall be a non-null pointer value (4.10) p0 different from any previously returned value p1, unless that value p1 was since passed to an operator delete.

5.3.4/7 currently reads:

When the value of the expression in a direct-new-declarator is zero, the allocation function is called to allocate an array with no elements. The pointer returned by the new-expression is non-null. [Note: If the library allocation function is called, the pointer returned is distinct from the pointer to any other object.]

Retain the first sentence, and delete the remainder.

18.5.1 currently has no text. Add the following:

Except where otherwise specified, the provisions of 3.7.3 apply to the library versions of operator new and operator delete.

To 18.5.1.3, add the following text:

The provisions of 3.7.3 do not apply to these reserved placement forms of operator new and operator delete.

Rationale:

See 99-0040/N1216, October 22, 1999, by Stephen D. Clamage for the analysis supporting to the proposed resolution.


11. Bitset minor problems

Section: 23.3.5 [template.bitset] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-01-22

View all other issues in [template.bitset].

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Discussion:

(1) bitset<>::operator[] is mentioned in the class synopsis (23.3.5), but it is not documented in 23.3.5.2.

(2) The class synopsis only gives a single signature for bitset<>::operator[], reference operator[](size_t pos). This doesn't make much sense. It ought to be overloaded on const. reference operator[](size_t pos); bool operator[](size_t pos) const.

(3) Bitset's stream input function (23.3.5.3) ought to skip all whitespace before trying to extract 0s and 1s. The standard doesn't explicitly say that, though. This should go in the Effects clause.

Proposed resolution:

ITEMS 1 AND 2:

In the bitset synopsis (23.3.5 [template.bitset]), replace the member function

    reference operator[](size_t pos);

with the two member functions

    bool operator[](size_t pos) const;
    reference operator[](size_t pos);

Add the following text at the end of 23.3.5.2 [bitset.members], immediately after paragraph 45:

bool operator[](size_t pos) const;
Requires: pos is valid
Throws: nothing
Returns: test(pos)

bitset<N>::reference operator[](size_t pos);
Requires: pos is valid
Throws: nothing
Returns: An object of type bitset<N>::reference such that (*this)[pos] == this->test(pos), and such that (*this)[pos] = val is equivalent to this->set(pos, val);

Rationale:

The LWG believes Item 3 is not a defect. "Formatted input" implies the desired semantics. See 27.6.1.2 [istream.formatted].


13. Eos refuses to die

Section: 27.6.1.2.3 [istream::extractors] Status: TC Submitter: William M. Miller Date: 1998-03-03

View all other issues in [istream::extractors].

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Discussion:

In 27.6.1.2.3, there is a reference to "eos", which is the only one in the whole draft (at least using Acrobat search), so it's undefined.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.1.2.3 [istream::extractors], replace "eos" with "charT()"


14. Locale::combine should be const

Section: 22.1.1.3 [locale.members] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale.members].

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Discussion:

locale::combine is the only member function of locale (other than constructors and destructor) that is not const. There is no reason for it not to be const, and good reasons why it should have been const. Furthermore, leaving it non-const conflicts with 22.1.1 paragraph 6: "An instance of a locale is immutable."

History: this member function originally was a constructor. it happened that the interface it specified had no corresponding language syntax, so it was changed to a member function. As constructors are never const, there was no "const" in the interface which was transformed into member "combine". It should have been added at that time, but the omission was not noticed.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.1.1 [locale] and also in 22.1.1.3 [locale.members], add "const" to the declaration of member combine:

template <class Facet> locale combine(const locale& other) const; 

15. Locale::name requirement inconsistent

Section: 22.1.1.3 [locale.members] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale.members].

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Discussion:

locale::name() is described as returning a string that can be passed to a locale constructor, but there is no matching constructor.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.1.1.3 [locale.members], paragraph 5, replace "locale(name())" with "locale(name().c_str())".


16. Bad ctype_byname<char> decl

Section: 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt].

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Discussion:

The new virtual members ctype_byname<char>::do_widen and do_narrow did not get edited in properly. Instead, the member do_widen appears four times, with wrong argument lists.

Proposed resolution:

The correct declarations for the overloaded members do_narrow and do_widen should be copied from 22.2.1.3 [facet.ctype.special].


17. Bad bool parsing

Section: 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View other active issues in [facet.num.get.virtuals].

View all other issues in [facet.num.get.virtuals].

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Discussion:

This section describes the process of parsing a text boolean value from the input stream. It does not say it recognizes either of the sequences "true" or "false" and returns the corresponding bool value; instead, it says it recognizes only one of those sequences, and chooses which according to the received value of a reference argument intended for returning the result, and reports an error if the other sequence is found. (!) Furthermore, it claims to get the names from the ctype<> facet rather than the numpunct<> facet, and it examines the "boolalpha" flag wrongly; it doesn't define the value "loc"; and finally, it computes wrongly whether to use numeric or "alpha" parsing.

I believe the correct algorithm is "as if":

  // in, err, val, and str are arguments.
  err = 0;
  const numpunct<charT>& np = use_facet<numpunct<charT> >(str.getloc());
  const string_type t = np.truename(), f = np.falsename();
  bool tm = true, fm = true;
  size_t pos = 0;
  while (tm && pos < t.size() || fm && pos < f.size()) {
    if (in == end) { err = str.eofbit; }
    bool matched = false;
    if (tm && pos < t.size()) {
      if (!err && t[pos] == *in) matched = true;
      else tm = false;
    }
    if (fm && pos < f.size()) {
      if (!err && f[pos] == *in) matched = true;
      else fm = false;
    }
    if (matched) { ++in; ++pos; }
    if (pos > t.size()) tm = false;
    if (pos > f.size()) fm = false;
  }
  if (tm == fm || pos == 0) { err |= str.failbit; }
  else                      { val = tm; }
  return in;

Notice this works reasonably when the candidate strings are both empty, or equal, or when one is a substring of the other. The proposed text below captures the logic of the code above.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals], in the first line of paragraph 14, change "&&" to "&".

Then, replace paragraphs 15 and 16 as follows:

Otherwise target sequences are determined "as if" by calling the members falsename() and truename() of the facet obtained by use_facet<numpunct<charT> >(str.getloc()). Successive characters in the range [in,end) (see [lib.sequence.reqmts]) are obtained and matched against corresponding positions in the target sequences only as necessary to identify a unique match. The input iterator in is compared to end only when necessary to obtain a character. If and only if a target sequence is uniquely matched, val is set to the corresponding value.

The in iterator is always left pointing one position beyond the last character successfully matched. If val is set, then err is set to str.goodbit; or to str.eofbit if, when seeking another character to match, it is found that (in==end). If val is not set, then err is set to str.failbit; or to (str.failbit|str.eofbit)if the reason for the failure was that (in==end). [Example: for targets true:"a" and false:"abb", the input sequence "a" yields val==true and err==str.eofbit; the input sequence "abc" yields err=str.failbit, with in ending at the 'c' element. For targets true:"1" and false:"0", the input sequence "1" yields val==true and err=str.goodbit. For empty targets (""), any input sequence yields err==str.failbit. --end example]


18. Get(...bool&) omitted

Section: 22.2.2.1.1 [facet.num.get.members] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [facet.num.get.members].

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Discussion:

In the list of num_get<> non-virtual members on page 22-23, the member that parses bool values was omitted from the list of definitions of non-virtual members, though it is listed in the class definition and the corresponding virtual is listed everywhere appropriate.

Proposed resolution:

Add at the beginning of 22.2.2.1.1 [facet.num.get.members] another get member for bool&, copied from the entry in 22.2.2.1 [locale.num.get].


19. "Noconv" definition too vague

Section: 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt].

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Duplicate of: 10

Discussion:

In the definitions of codecvt<>::do_out and do_in, they are specified to return noconv if "no conversion is needed". This definition is too vague, and does not say normatively what is done with the buffers.

Proposed resolution:

Change the entry for noconv in the table under paragraph 4 in section 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals] to read:

noconv: internT and externT are the same type, and input sequence is identical to converted sequence.

Change the Note in paragraph 2 to normative text as follows:

If returns noconv, internT and externT are the same type and the converted sequence is identical to the input sequence [from,from_next). to_next is set equal to to, the value of state is unchanged, and there are no changes to the values in [to, to_limit).


20. Thousands_sep returns wrong type

Section: 22.2.3.1.2 [facet.numpunct.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

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Discussion:

The synopsis for numpunct<>::do_thousands_sep, and the definition of numpunct<>::thousands_sep which calls it, specify that it returns a value of type char_type. Here it is erroneously described as returning a "string_type".

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.3.1.2 [facet.numpunct.virtuals], above paragraph 2, change "string_type" to "char_type".


21. Codecvt_byname<> instantiations

Section: 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale.category].

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Discussion:

In the second table in the section, captioned "Required instantiations", the instantiations for codecvt_byname<> have been omitted. These are necessary to allow users to construct a locale by name from facets.

Proposed resolution:

Add in 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category] to the table captioned "Required instantiations", in the category "ctype" the lines

codecvt_byname<char,char,mbstate_t>,
codecvt_byname<wchar_t,char,mbstate_t> 

22. Member open vs. flags

Section: 27.8.1.9 [ifstream.members] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [ifstream.members].

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Discussion:

The description of basic_istream<>::open leaves unanswered questions about how it responds to or changes flags in the error status for the stream. A strict reading indicates that it ignores the bits and does not change them, which confuses users who do not expect eofbit and failbit to remain set after a successful open. There are three reasonable resolutions: 1) status quo 2) fail if fail(), ignore eofbit 3) clear failbit and eofbit on call to open().

Proposed resolution:

In 27.8.1.9 [ifstream.members] paragraph 3, and in 27.8.1.13 [ofstream.members] paragraph 3, under open() effects, add a footnote:

A successful open does not change the error state.

Rationale:

This may seem surprising to some users, but it's just an instance of a general rule: error flags are never cleared by the implementation. The only way error flags are are ever cleared is if the user explicitly clears them by hand.

The LWG believed that preserving this general rule was important enough so that an exception shouldn't be made just for this one case. The resolution of this issue clarifies what the LWG believes to have been the original intent.


24. "do_convert" doesn't exist

Section: 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt].

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Duplicate of: 72

Discussion:

The description of codecvt<>::do_out and do_in mentions a symbol "do_convert" which is not defined in the standard. This is a leftover from an edit, and should be "do_in and do_out".

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt], paragraph 3, change "do_convert" to "do_in or do_out". Also, in 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals], change "do_convert()" to "do_in or do_out".


25. String operator<< uses width() value wrong

Section: 21.3.8.9 [string.io] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

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Duplicate of: 67

Discussion:

In the description of operator<< applied to strings, the standard says that uses the smaller of os.width() and str.size(), to pad "as described in stage 3" elsewhere; but this is inconsistent, as this allows no possibility of space for padding.

Proposed resolution:

Change 21.3.8.9 [string.io] paragraph 4 from:

    "... where n is the smaller of os.width() and str.size(); ..."

to:

    "... where n is the larger of os.width() and str.size(); ..."


26. Bad sentry example

Section: 27.6.1.1.3 [istream::sentry] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

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Discussion:

In paragraph 6, the code in the example:

  template <class charT, class traits = char_traits<charT> >
  basic_istream<charT,traits>::sentry(
           basic_istream<charT,traits>& is, bool noskipws = false) {
      ...
      int_type c;
      typedef ctype<charT> ctype_type;
      const ctype_type& ctype = use_facet<ctype_type>(is.getloc());
      while ((c = is.rdbuf()->snextc()) != traits::eof()) {
        if (ctype.is(ctype.space,c)==0) {
          is.rdbuf()->sputbackc (c);
          break;
        }
      }
      ...
   }

fails to demonstrate correct use of the facilities described. In particular, it fails to use traits operators, and specifies incorrect semantics. (E.g. it specifies skipping over the first character in the sequence without examining it.)

Proposed resolution:

Remove the example above from 27.6.1.1.3 [istream::sentry] paragraph 6.

Rationale:

The originally proposed replacement code for the example was not correct. The LWG tried in Kona and again in Tokyo to correct it without success. In Tokyo, an implementor reported that actual working code ran over one page in length and was quite complicated. The LWG decided that it would be counter-productive to include such a lengthy example, which might well still contain errors.


27. String::erase(range) yields wrong iterator

Section: 21.3.6.5 [string::erase] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [string::erase].

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Discussion:

The string::erase(iterator first, iterator last) is specified to return an element one place beyond the next element after the last one erased. E.g. for the string "abcde", erasing the range ['b'..'d') would yield an iterator for element 'e', while 'd' has not been erased.

Proposed resolution:

In 21.3.6.5 [string::erase], paragraph 10, change:

Returns: an iterator which points to the element immediately following _last_ prior to the element being erased.

to read

Returns: an iterator which points to the element pointed to by _last_ prior to the other elements being erased.


28. Ctype<char>is ambiguous

Section: 22.2.1.3.2 [facet.ctype.char.members] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [facet.ctype.char.members].

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Duplicate of: 236

Discussion:

The description of the vector form of ctype<char>::is can be interpreted to mean something very different from what was intended. Paragraph 4 says

Effects: The second form, for all *p in the range [low, high), assigns vec[p-low] to table()[(unsigned char)*p].

This is intended to copy the value indexed from table()[] into the place identified in vec[].

Proposed resolution:

Change 22.2.1.3.2 [facet.ctype.char.members], paragraph 4, to read

Effects: The second form, for all *p in the range [low, high), assigns into vec[p-low] the value table()[(unsigned char)*p].


29. Ios_base::init doesn't exist

Section: 27.3.1 [narrow.stream.objects] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [narrow.stream.objects].

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Discussion:

Sections 27.3.1 [narrow.stream.objects] and 27.3.2 [wide.stream.objects] mention a function ios_base::init, which is not defined. Probably they mean basic_ios<>::init, defined in 27.4.4.1 [basic.ios.cons], paragraph 3.

Proposed resolution:

[R12: modified to include paragraph 5.]

In 27.3.1 [narrow.stream.objects] paragraph 2 and 5, change

ios_base::init

to

basic_ios<char>::init

Also, make a similar change in 27.3.2 [wide.stream.objects] except it should read

basic_ios<wchar_t>::init


30. Wrong header for LC_*

Section: 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale.category].

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Discussion:

Paragraph 2 implies that the C macros LC_CTYPE etc. are defined in <cctype>, where they are in fact defined elsewhere to appear in <clocale>.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category], paragraph 2, change "<cctype>" to read "<clocale>".


31. Immutable locale values

Section: 22.1.1 [locale] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale].

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Duplicate of: 378

Discussion:

Paragraph 6, says "An instance of locale is immutable; once a facet reference is obtained from it, ...". This has caused some confusion, because locale variables are manifestly assignable.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.1.1 [locale] replace paragraph 6

An instance of locale is immutable; once a facet reference is obtained from it, that reference remains usable as long as the locale value itself exists.

with

Once a facet reference is obtained from a locale object by calling use_facet<>, that reference remains usable, and the results from member functions of it may be cached and re-used, as long as some locale object refers to that facet.


32. Pbackfail description inconsistent

Section: 27.5.2.4.4 [streambuf.virt.pback] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

The description of the required state before calling virtual member basic_streambuf<>::pbackfail requirements is inconsistent with the conditions described in 27.5.2.2.4 [lib.streambuf.pub.pback] where member sputbackc calls it. Specifically, the latter says it calls pbackfail if:

    traits::eq(c,gptr()[-1]) is false

where pbackfail claims to require:

    traits::eq(*gptr(),traits::to_char_type(c)) returns false

It appears that the pbackfail description is wrong.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.5.2.4.4 [streambuf.virt.pback], paragraph 1, change:

"traits::eq(*gptr(),traits::to_char_type( c))"

to

"traits::eq(traits::to_char_type(c),gptr()[-1])"

Rationale:

Note deliberate reordering of arguments for clarity in addition to the correction of the argument value.


33. Codecvt<> mentions from_type

Section: 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt].

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Duplicate of: 43

Discussion:

In the table defining the results from do_out and do_in, the specification for the result error says

encountered a from_type character it could not convert

but from_type is not defined. This clearly is intended to be an externT for do_in, or an internT for do_out.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals] paragraph 4, replace the definition in the table for the case of _error_ with

encountered a character in [from,from_end) that it could not convert.


34. True/falsename() not in ctype<>

Section: 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [facet.num.put.virtuals].

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Discussion:

In paragraph 19, Effects:, members truename() and falsename are used from facet ctype<charT>, but it has no such members. Note that this is also a problem in 22.2.2.1.2, addressed in (4).

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals], paragraph 19, in the Effects: clause for member put(...., bool), replace the initialization of the string_type value s as follows:

const numpunct& np = use_facet<numpunct<charT> >(loc);
string_type s = val ? np.truename() : np.falsename(); 

35. No manipulator unitbuf in synopsis

Section: 27.4 [iostreams.base] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

In 27.4.5.1 [fmtflags.manip], we have a definition for a manipulator named "unitbuf". Unlike other manipulators, it's not listed in synopsis. Similarly for "nounitbuf".

Proposed resolution:

Add to the synopsis for <ios> in 27.4 [iostreams.base], after the entry for "nouppercase", the prototypes:

ios_base& unitbuf(ios_base& str);
ios_base& nounitbuf(ios_base& str); 

36. Iword & pword storage lifetime omitted

Section: 27.4.2.5 [ios.base.storage] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [ios.base.storage].

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Discussion:

In the definitions for ios_base::iword and pword, the lifetime of the storage is specified badly, so that an implementation which only keeps the last value stored appears to conform. In particular, it says:

The reference returned may become invalid after another call to the object's iword member with a different index ...

This is not idle speculation; at least one implementation was done this way.

Proposed resolution:

Add in 27.4.2.5 [ios.base.storage], in both paragraph 2 and also in paragraph 4, replace the sentence:

The reference returned may become invalid after another call to the object's iword [pword] member with a different index, after a call to its copyfmt member, or when the object is destroyed.

with:

The reference returned is invalid after any other operations on the object. However, the value of the storage referred to is retained, so that until the next call to copyfmt, calling iword [pword] with the same index yields another reference to the same value.

substituting "iword" or "pword" as appropriate.


37. Leftover "global" reference

Section: 22.1.1 [locale] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [locale].

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Discussion:

In the overview of locale semantics, paragraph 4, is the sentence

If Facet is not present in a locale (or, failing that, in the global locale), it throws the standard exception bad_cast.

This is not supported by the definition of use_facet<>, and represents semantics from an old draft.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.1.1 [locale], paragraph 4, delete the parenthesized expression

(or, failing that, in the global locale)


38. Facet definition incomplete

Section: 22.1.2 [locale.global.templates] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

It has been noticed by Esa Pulkkinen that the definition of "facet" is incomplete. In particular, a class derived from another facet, but which does not define a member id, cannot safely serve as the argument F to use_facet<F>(loc), because there is no guarantee that a reference to the facet instance stored in loc is safely convertible to F.

Proposed resolution:

In the definition of std::use_facet<>(), replace the text in paragraph 1 which reads:

Get a reference to a facet of a locale.

with:

Requires: Facet is a facet class whose definition contains the public static member id as defined in 22.1.1.1.2 [locale.facet].

[ Kona: strike as overspecification the text "(not inherits)" from the original resolution, which read "... whose definition contains (not inherits) the public static member id..." ]


39. istreambuf_iterator<>::operator++(int) definition garbled

Section: 24.5.3.4 [istreambuf.iterator::op++] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

Following the definition of istreambuf_iterator<>::operator++(int) in paragraph 3, the standard contains three lines of garbage text left over from a previous edit.

istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> tmp = *this;
sbuf_->sbumpc();
return(tmp); 

Proposed resolution:

In 24.5.3.4 [istreambuf.iterator::op++], delete the three lines of code at the end of paragraph 3.


40. Meaningless normative paragraph in examples

Section: 22.2.8 [facets.examples] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [facets.examples].

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Discussion:

Paragraph 3 of the locale examples is a description of part of an implementation technique that has lost its referent, and doesn't mean anything.

Proposed resolution:

Delete 22.2.8 [facets.examples] paragraph 3 which begins "This initialization/identification system depends...", or (at the editor's option) replace it with a place-holder to keep the paragraph numbering the same.


41. Ios_base needs clear(), exceptions()

Section: 27.4.2 [ios.base] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [ios.base].

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Duplicate of: 157

Discussion:

The description of ios_base::iword() and pword() in 27.4.2.4 [ios.members.static], say that if they fail, they "set badbit, which may throw an exception". However, ios_base offers no interface to set or to test badbit; those interfaces are defined in basic_ios<>.

Proposed resolution:

Change the description in 27.4.2.5 [ios.base.storage] in paragraph 2, and also in paragraph 4, as follows. Replace

If the function fails it sets badbit, which may throw an exception.

with

If the function fails, and *this is a base sub-object of a basic_ios<> object or sub-object, the effect is equivalent to calling basic_ios<>::setstate(badbit) on the derived object (which may throw failure).

[Kona: LWG reviewed wording; setstate(failbit) changed to setstate(badbit).]


42. String ctors specify wrong default allocator

Section: 21.3 [basic.string] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View other active issues in [basic.string].

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Discussion:

The basic_string<> copy constructor:

basic_string(const basic_string& str, size_type pos = 0,
             size_type n = npos, const Allocator& a = Allocator()); 

specifies an Allocator argument default value that is counter-intuitive. The natural choice for a the allocator to copy from is str.get_allocator(). Though this cannot be expressed in default-argument notation, overloading suffices.

Alternatively, the other containers in Clause 23 (deque, list, vector) do not have this form of constructor, so it is inconsistent, and an evident source of confusion, for basic_string<> to have it, so it might better be removed.

Proposed resolution:

In 21.3 [basic.string], replace the declaration of the copy constructor as follows:

basic_string(const basic_string& str);
basic_string(const basic_string& str, size_type pos, size_type n = npos,
             const Allocator& a = Allocator());

In 21.3.1 [string.require], replace the copy constructor declaration as above. Add to paragraph 5, Effects:

In the first form, the Allocator value used is copied from str.get_allocator().

Rationale:

The LWG believes the constructor is actually broken, rather than just an unfortunate design choice.

The LWG considered two other possible resolutions:

A. In 21.3 [basic.string], replace the declaration of the copy constructor as follows:

basic_string(const basic_string& str, size_type pos = 0,
             size_type n = npos);
basic_string(const basic_string& str, size_type pos,
             size_type n, const Allocator& a); 

In 21.3.1 [string.require], replace the copy constructor declaration as above. Add to paragraph 5, Effects:

When no Allocator argument is provided, the string is constructed using the value str.get_allocator().

B. In 21.3 [basic.string], and also in 21.3.1 [string.require], replace the declaration of the copy constructor as follows:

basic_string(const basic_string& str, size_type pos = 0,
             size_type n = npos); 

The proposed resolution reflects the original intent of the LWG. It was also noted by Pete Becker that this fix "will cause a small amount of existing code to now work correctly."

[ Kona: issue editing snafu fixed - the proposed resolution now correctly reflects the LWG consensus. ]


44. Iostreams use operator== on int_type values

Section: 27 [input.output] Status: WP Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-06

View all other issues in [input.output].

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Discussion:

Many of the specifications for iostreams specify that character values or their int_type equivalents are compared using operators == or !=, though in other places traits::eq() or traits::eq_int_type is specified to be used throughout. This is an inconsistency; we should change uses of == and != to use the traits members instead.

Proposed resolution:

[Pre-Kona: Dietmar supplied wording]

List of changes to clause 27:

  1. In lib.basic.ios.members paragraph 13 (postcondition clause for 'fill(cT)') change
         fillch == fill()
    
    to
         traits::eq(fillch, fill())
    
  2. In lib.istream.unformatted paragraph 7 (effects clause for 'get(cT,streamsize,cT)'), third bullet, change
         c == delim for the next available input character c
    
    to
         traits::eq(c, delim) for the next available input character c
    
  3. In lib.istream.unformatted paragraph 12 (effects clause for 'get(basic_streambuf<cT,Tr>&,cT)'), third bullet, change
         c == delim for the next available input character c
    
    to
         traits::eq(c, delim) for the next available input character c
    
  4. In lib.istream.unformatted paragraph 17 (effects clause for 'getline(cT,streamsize,cT)'), second bullet, change
         c == delim for the next available input character c
    
    to
         traits::eq(c, delim) for the next available input character c
      
  5. In lib.istream.unformatted paragraph 24 (effects clause for 'ignore(int,int_type)'), second bullet, change
         c == delim for the next available input character c
    
    to
         traits::eq_int_type(c, delim) for the next available input
         character c
    
  6. In lib.istream.unformatted paragraph 25 (notes clause for 'ignore(int,int_type)'), second bullet, change
         The last condition will never occur if delim == traits::eof()
    
    to
         The last condition will never occur if
         traits::eq_int_type(delim, traits::eof()).
    
  7. In lib.istream.sentry paragraph 6 (example implementation for the sentry constructor) change
         while ((c = is.rdbuf()->snextc()) != traits::eof()) {
    
    to
         while (!traits::eq_int_type(c = is.rdbuf()->snextc(), traits::eof())) {
    

List of changes to Chapter 21:

  1. In lib.string::find paragraph 1 (effects clause for find()), second bullet, change
         at(xpos+I) == str.at(I) for all elements ...
    
    to
         traits::eq(at(xpos+I), str.at(I)) for all elements ...
    
  2. In lib.string::rfind paragraph 1 (effects clause for rfind()), second bullet, change
         at(xpos+I) == str.at(I) for all elements ...
    
    to
         traits::eq(at(xpos+I), str.at(I)) for all elements ...
    
  3. In lib.string::find.first.of paragraph 1 (effects clause for find_first_of()), second bullet, change
         at(xpos+I) == str.at(I) for all elements ...
    
    to
         traits::eq(at(xpos+I), str.at(I)) for all elements ...
    
  4. In lib.string::find.last.of paragraph 1 (effects clause for find_last_of()), second bullet, change
         at(xpos+I) == str.at(I) for all elements ...
    
    to
         traits::eq(at(xpos+I), str.at(I)) for all elements ...
    
  5. In lib.string::find.first.not.of paragraph 1 (effects clause for find_first_not_of()), second bullet, change
         at(xpos+I) == str.at(I) for all elements ...
    
    to
         traits::eq(at(xpos+I), str.at(I)) for all elements ...
    
  6. In lib.string::find.last.not.of paragraph 1 (effects clause for find_last_not_of()), second bullet, change
         at(xpos+I) == str.at(I) for all elements ...
    
    to
         traits::eq(at(xpos+I), str.at(I)) for all elements ...
    
  7. In lib.string.ios paragraph 5 (effects clause for getline()), second bullet, change
         c == delim for the next available input character c 
    
    to
         traits::eq(c, delim) for the next available input character c 
    

Notes:


46. Minor Annex D errors

Section: D.7 [depr.str.strstreams] Status: TC Submitter: Brendan Kehoe Date: 1998-06-01

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

See lib-6522 and edit-814.

Proposed resolution:

Change D.7.1 [depr.strstreambuf] (since streambuf is a typedef of basic_streambuf<char>) from:

         virtual streambuf<char>* setbuf(char* s, streamsize n);

to:

         virtual streambuf* setbuf(char* s, streamsize n);

In D.7.4 [depr.strstream] insert the semicolon now missing after int_type:

     namespace std {
       class strstream
         : public basic_iostream<char> {
       public:
         // Types
         typedef char                                char_type;
         typedef typename char_traits<char>::int_type int_type
         typedef typename char_traits<char>::pos_type pos_type;

47. Imbue() and getloc() Returns clauses swapped

Section: 27.4.2.3 [ios.base.locales] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-21

View all other issues in [ios.base.locales].

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Discussion:

Section 27.4.2.3 specifies how imbue() and getloc() work. That section has two RETURNS clauses, and they make no sense as stated. They make perfect sense, though, if you swap them. Am I correct in thinking that paragraphs 2 and 4 just got mixed up by accident?

Proposed resolution:

In 27.4.2.3 [ios.base.locales] swap paragraphs 2 and 4.


48. Use of non-existent exception constructor

Section: 27.4.2.1.1 [ios::failure] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-21

View all other issues in [ios::failure].

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Discussion:

27.4.2.1.1, paragraph 2, says that class failure initializes the base class, exception, with exception(msg). Class exception (see 18.6.1) has no such constructor.

Proposed resolution:

Replace 27.4.2.1.1 [ios::failure], paragraph 2, with

EFFECTS: Constructs an object of class failure.


49. Underspecification of ios_base::sync_with_stdio

Section: 27.4.2.4 [ios.members.static] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-21

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Two problems

(1) 27.4.2.4 doesn't say what ios_base::sync_with_stdio(f) returns. Does it return f, or does it return the previous synchronization state? My guess is the latter, but the standard doesn't say so.

(2) 27.4.2.4 doesn't say what it means for streams to be synchronized with stdio. Again, of course, I can make some guesses. (And I'm unhappy about the performance implications of those guesses, but that's another matter.)

Proposed resolution:

Change the following sentence in 27.4.2.4 [ios.members.static] returns clause from:

true if the standard iostream objects (27.3) are synchronized and otherwise returns false.

to:

true if the previous state of the standard iostream objects (27.3) was synchronized and otherwise returns false.

Add the following immediately after 27.4.2.4 [ios.members.static], paragraph 2:

When a standard iostream object str is synchronized with a standard stdio stream f, the effect of inserting a character c by

  fputc(f, c);

is the same as the effect of

  str.rdbuf()->sputc(c);

for any sequence of characters; the effect of extracting a character c by

  c = fgetc(f);

is the same as the effect of:

  c = str.rdbuf()->sbumpc(c);

for any sequences of characters; and the effect of pushing back a character c by

  ungetc(c, f);

is the same as the effect of

  str.rdbuf()->sputbackc(c);

for any sequence of characters. [Footnote: This implies that operations on a standard iostream object can be mixed arbitrarily with operations on the corresponding stdio stream. In practical terms, synchronization usually means that a standard iostream object and a standard stdio object share a buffer. --End Footnote]

[pre-Copenhagen: PJP and Matt contributed the definition of "synchronization"]

[post-Copenhagen: proposed resolution was revised slightly: text was added in the non-normative footnote to say that operations on the two streams can be mixed arbitrarily.]


50. Copy constructor and assignment operator of ios_base

Section: 27.4.2 [ios.base] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-21

View all other issues in [ios.base].

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Discussion:

As written, ios_base has a copy constructor and an assignment operator. (Nothing in the standard says it doesn't have one, and all classes have copy constructors and assignment operators unless you take specific steps to avoid them.) However, nothing in 27.4.2 says what the copy constructor and assignment operator do.

My guess is that this was an oversight, that ios_base is, like basic_ios, not supposed to have a copy constructor or an assignment operator.

Jerry Schwarz comments: Yes, its an oversight, but in the opposite sense to what you're suggesting. At one point there was a definite intention that you could copy ios_base. It's an easy way to save the entire state of a stream for future use. As you note, to carry out that intention would have required a explicit description of the semantics (e.g. what happens to the iarray and parray stuff).

Proposed resolution:

In 27.4.2 [ios.base], class ios_base, specify the copy constructor and operator= members as being private.

Rationale:

The LWG believes the difficulty of specifying correct semantics outweighs any benefit of allowing ios_base objects to be copyable.


51. Requirement to not invalidate iterators missing

Section: 23.1 [container.requirements] Status: TC Submitter: David Vandevoorde Date: 1998-06-23

View other active issues in [container.requirements].

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Discussion:

The std::sort algorithm can in general only sort a given sequence by moving around values. The list<>::sort() member on the other hand could move around values or just update internal pointers. Either method can leave iterators into the list<> dereferencable, but they would point to different things.

Does the FDIS mandate anywhere which method should be used for list<>::sort()?

Matt Austern comments:

I think you've found an omission in the standard.

The library working group discussed this point, and there was supposed to be a general requirement saying that list, set, map, multiset, and multimap may not invalidate iterators, or change the values that iterators point to, except when an operation does it explicitly. So, for example, insert() doesn't invalidate any iterators and erase() and remove() only invalidate iterators pointing to the elements that are being erased.

I looked for that general requirement in the FDIS, and, while I found a limited form of it for the sorted associative containers, I didn't find it for list. It looks like it just got omitted.

The intention, though, is that list<>::sort does not invalidate any iterators and does not change the values that any iterator points to. There would be no reason to have the member function otherwise.

Proposed resolution:

Add a new paragraph at the end of 23.1:

Unless otherwise specified (either explicitly or by defining a function in terms of other functions), invoking a container member function or passing a container as an argument to a library function shall not invalidate iterators to, or change the values of, objects within that container.

Rationale:

This was US issue CD2-23-011; it was accepted in London but the change was not made due to an editing oversight. The wording in the proposed resolution below is somewhat updated from CD2-23-011, particularly the addition of the phrase "or change the values of"


52. Small I/O problems

Section: 27.4.3.2 [fpos.operations] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-23

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

First, 27.4.4.1 [basic.ios.cons], table 89. This is pretty obvious: it should be titled "basic_ios<>() effects", not "ios_base() effects".

[The second item is a duplicate; see issue 6 for resolution.]

Second, 27.4.3.2 [fpos.operations] table 88 . There are a couple different things wrong with it, some of which I've already discussed with Jerry, but the most obvious mechanical sort of error is that it uses expressions like P(i) and p(i), without ever defining what sort of thing "i" is.

(The other problem is that it requires support for streampos arithmetic. This is impossible on some systems, i.e. ones where file position is a complicated structure rather than just a number. Jerry tells me that the intention was to require syntactic support for streampos arithmetic, but that it wasn't actually supposed to do anything meaningful except on platforms, like Unix, where genuine arithmetic is possible.)

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.4.4.1 [basic.ios.cons] table 89 title from "ios_base() effects" to "basic_ios<>() effects".


53. Basic_ios destructor unspecified

Section: 27.4.4.1 [basic.ios.cons] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-23

View all other issues in [basic.ios.cons].

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Discussion:

There's nothing in 27.4.4 saying what basic_ios's destructor does. The important question is whether basic_ios::~basic_ios() destroys rdbuf().

Proposed resolution:

Add after 27.4.4.1 [basic.ios.cons] paragraph 2:

virtual ~basic_ios();

Notes: The destructor does not destroy rdbuf().

Rationale:

The LWG reviewed the additional question of whether or not rdbuf(0) may set badbit. The answer is clearly yes; it may be set via clear(). See 27.4.4.2 [basic.ios.members], paragraph 6. This issue was reviewed at length by the LWG, which removed from the original proposed resolution a footnote which incorrectly said "rdbuf(0) does not set badbit".


54. Basic_streambuf's destructor

Section: 27.5.2.1 [streambuf.cons] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-25

View all other issues in [streambuf.cons].

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Discussion:

The class synopsis for basic_streambuf shows a (virtual) destructor, but the standard doesn't say what that destructor does. My assumption is that it does nothing, but the standard should say so explicitly.

Proposed resolution:

Add after 27.5.2.1 [streambuf.cons] paragraph 2:

virtual  ~basic_streambuf();

Effects: None.


55. Invalid stream position is undefined

Section: 27 [input.output] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-26

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Discussion:

Several member functions in clause 27 are defined in certain circumstances to return an "invalid stream position", a term that is defined nowhere in the standard. Two places (27.5.2.4.2, paragraph 4, and 27.8.1.4, paragraph 15) contain a cross-reference to a definition in _lib.iostreams.definitions_, a nonexistent section.

I suspect that the invalid stream position is just supposed to be pos_type(-1). Probably best to say explicitly in (for example) 27.5.2.4.2 that the return value is pos_type(-1), rather than to use the term "invalid stream position", define that term somewhere, and then put in a cross-reference.

The phrase "invalid stream position" appears ten times in the C++ Standard. In seven places it refers to a return value, and it should be changed. In three places it refers to an argument, and it should not be changed. Here are the three places where "invalid stream position" should not be changed:

27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals], paragraph 14
27.8.1.5 [filebuf.virtuals], paragraph 14
D.7.1.3 [depr.strstreambuf.virtuals], paragraph 17

Proposed resolution:

In 27.5.2.4.2 [streambuf.virt.buffer], paragraph 4, change "Returns an object of class pos_type that stores an invalid stream position (_lib.iostreams.definitions_)" to "Returns pos_type(off_type(-1))".

In 27.5.2.4.2 [streambuf.virt.buffer], paragraph 6, change "Returns an object of class pos_type that stores an invalid stream position" to "Returns pos_type(off_type(-1))".

In 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals], paragraph 13, change "the object stores an invalid stream position" to "the return value is pos_type(off_type(-1))".

In 27.8.1.5 [filebuf.virtuals], paragraph 13, change "returns an invalid stream position (27.4.3)" to "returns pos_type(off_type(-1))"

In 27.8.1.5 [filebuf.virtuals], paragraph 15, change "Otherwise returns an invalid stream position (_lib.iostreams.definitions_)" to "Otherwise returns pos_type(off_type(-1))"

In D.7.1.3 [depr.strstreambuf.virtuals], paragraph 15, change "the object stores an invalid stream position" to "the return value is pos_type(off_type(-1))"

In D.7.1.3 [depr.strstreambuf.virtuals], paragraph 18, change "the object stores an invalid stream position" to "the return value is pos_type(off_type(-1))"


56. Showmanyc's return type

Section: 27.5.2 [streambuf] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-06-29

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Discussion:

The class summary for basic_streambuf<>, in 27.5.2, says that showmanyc has return type int. However, 27.5.2.4.3 says that its return type is streamsize.

Proposed resolution:

Change showmanyc's return type in the 27.5.2 [streambuf] class summary to streamsize.


57. Mistake in char_traits

Section: 21.1.3.4 [char.traits.specializations.wchar.t] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-07-01

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Discussion:

21.1.3.2, paragraph 3, says "The types streampos and wstreampos may be different if the implementation supports no shift encoding in narrow-oriented iostreams but supports one or more shift encodings in wide-oriented streams".

That's wrong: the two are the same type. The <iosfwd> summary in 27.2 says that streampos and wstreampos are, respectively, synonyms for fpos<char_traits<char>::state_type> and fpos<char_traits<wchar_t>::state_type>, and, flipping back to clause 21, we see in 21.1.3.1 and 21.1.3.2 that char_traits<char>::state_type and char_traits<wchar_t>::state_type must both be mbstate_t.

Proposed resolution:

Remove the sentence in 21.1.3.4 [char.traits.specializations.wchar.t] paragraph 3 which begins "The types streampos and wstreampos may be different..." .


59. Ambiguity in specification of gbump

Section: 27.5.2.3.2 [streambuf.get.area] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-07-28

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Discussion:

27.5.2.3.1 says that basic_streambuf::gbump() "Advances the next pointer for the input sequence by n."

The straightforward interpretation is that it is just gptr() += n. An alternative interpretation, though, is that it behaves as if it calls sbumpc n times. (The issue, of course, is whether it might ever call underflow.) There is a similar ambiguity in the case of pbump.

(The "classic" AT&T implementation used the former interpretation.)

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.5.2.3.2 [streambuf.get.area] paragraph 4 gbump effects from:

Effects: Advances the next pointer for the input sequence by n.

to:

Effects: Adds n to the next pointer for the input sequence.

Make the same change to 27.5.2.3.3 [streambuf.put.area] paragraph 4 pbump effects.


60. What is a formatted input function?

Section: 27.6.1.2.1 [istream.formatted.reqmts] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-08-03

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Duplicate of: 162, 163, 166

Discussion:

Paragraph 1 of 27.6.1.2.1 contains general requirements for all formatted input functions. Some of the functions defined in section 27.6.1.2 explicitly say that those requirements apply ("Behaves like a formatted input member (as described in 27.6.1.2.1)"), but others don't. The question: is 27.6.1.2.1 supposed to apply to everything in 27.6.1.2, or only to those member functions that explicitly say "behaves like a formatted input member"? Or to put it differently: are we to assume that everything that appears in a section called "Formatted input functions" really is a formatted input function? I assume that 27.6.1.2.1 is intended to apply to the arithmetic extractors (27.6.1.2.2), but I assume that it is not intended to apply to extractors like

    basic_istream& operator>>(basic_istream& (*pf)(basic_istream&));

and

    basic_istream& operator>>(basic_streammbuf*);

There is a similar ambiguity for unformatted input, formatted output, and unformatted output.

Comments from Judy Ward: It seems like the problem is that the basic_istream and basic_ostream operator <<()'s that are used for the manipulators and streambuf* are in the wrong section and should have their own separate section or be modified to make it clear that the "Common requirements" listed in section 27.6.1.2.1 (for basic_istream) and section 27.6.2.5.1 (for basic_ostream) do not apply to them.

Additional comments from Dietmar Kühl: It appears to be somewhat nonsensical to consider the functions defined in 27.6.1.2.3 [istream::extractors] paragraphs 1 to 5 to be "Formatted input function" but since these functions are defined in a section labeled "Formatted input functions" it is unclear to me whether these operators are considered formatted input functions which have to conform to the "common requirements" from 27.6.1.2.1 [istream.formatted.reqmts]: If this is the case, all manipulators, not just ws, would skip whitespace unless noskipws is set (... but setting noskipws using the manipulator syntax would also skip whitespace :-)

It is not clear which functions are to be considered unformatted input functions. As written, it seems that all functions in 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] are unformatted input functions. However, it does not really make much sense to construct a sentry object for gcount(), sync(), ... Also it is unclear what happens to the gcount() if eg. gcount(), putback(), unget(), or sync() is called: These functions don't extract characters, some of them even "unextract" a character. Should this still be reflected in gcount()? Of course, it could be read as if after a call to gcount() gcount() return 0 (the last unformatted input function, gcount(), didn't extract any character) and after a call to putback() gcount() returns -1 (the last unformatted input function putback() did "extract" back into the stream). Correspondingly for unget(). Is this what is intended? If so, this should be clarified. Otherwise, a corresponding clarification should be used.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.1.2.2 [lib.istream.formatted.arithmetic], paragraph 1. Change the beginning of the second sentence from "The conversion occurs" to "These extractors behave as formatted input functions (as described in 27.6.1.2.1). After a sentry object is constructed, the conversion occurs"

In 27.6.1.2.3, [lib.istream::extractors], before paragraph 1. Add an effects clause. "Effects: None. This extractor does not behave as a formatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.2.1).

In 27.6.1.2.3, [lib.istream::extractors], paragraph 2. Change the effects clause to "Effects: Calls pf(*this). This extractor does not behave as a formatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.2.1).

In 27.6.1.2.3, [lib.istream::extractors], paragraph 4. Change the effects clause to "Effects: Calls pf(*this). This extractor does not behave as a formatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.2.1).

In 27.6.1.2.3, [lib.istream::extractors], paragraph 12. Change the first two sentences from "If sb is null, calls setstate(failbit), which may throw ios_base::failure (27.4.4.3). Extracts characters from *this..." to "Behaves as a formatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.2.1). If sb is null, calls setstate(failbit), which may throw ios_base::failure (27.4.4.3). After a sentry object is constructed, extracts characters from *this...".

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], before paragraph 2. Add an effects clause. "Effects: none. This member function does not behave as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1)."

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 3. Change the beginning of the first sentence of the effects clause from "Extracts a character" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, extracts a character"

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 5. Change the beginning of the first sentence of the effects clause from "Extracts a character" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, extracts a character"

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 7. Change the beginning of the first sentence of the effects clause from "Extracts characters" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, extracts characters"

[No change needed in paragraph 10, because it refers to paragraph 7.]

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 12. Change the beginning of the first sentence of the effects clause from "Extracts characters" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, extracts characters"

[No change needed in paragraph 15.]

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 17. Change the beginning of the first sentence of the effects clause from "Extracts characters" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, extracts characters"

[No change needed in paragraph 23.]

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 24. Change the beginning of the first sentence of the effects clause from "Extracts characters" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, extracts characters"

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], before paragraph 27. Add an Effects clause: "Effects: Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, reads but does not extract the current input character."

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 28. Change the first sentence of the Effects clause from "If !good() calls" to Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, if !good() calls"

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 30. Change the first sentence of the Effects clause from "If !good() calls" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, if !good() calls"

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 32. Change the first sentence of the Effects clause from "If !good() calls..." to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, if !good() calls..." Add a new sentence to the end of the Effects clause: "[Note: this function extracts no characters, so the value returned by the next call to gcount() is 0.]"

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 34. Change the first sentence of the Effects clause from "If !good() calls" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, if !good() calls". Add a new sentence to the end of the Effects clause: "[Note: this function extracts no characters, so the value returned by the next call to gcount() is 0.]"

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 36. Change the first sentence of the Effects clause from "If !rdbuf() is" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1), except that it does not count the number of characters extracted and does not affect the value returned by subsequent calls to gcount(). After constructing a sentry object, if rdbuf() is"

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], before paragraph 37. Add an Effects clause: "Effects: Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1), except that it does not count the number of characters extracted and does not affect the value returned by subsequent calls to gcount()." Change the first sentence of paragraph 37 from "if fail()" to "after constructing a sentry object, if fail()".

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 38. Change the first sentence of the Effects clause from "If fail()" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1), except that it does not count the number of characters extracted and does not affect the value returned by subsequent calls to gcount(). After constructing a sentry object, if fail()

In 27.6.1.3, [lib.istream.unformatted], paragraph 40. Change the first sentence of the Effects clause from "If fail()" to "Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1), except that it does not count the number of characters extracted and does not affect the value returned by subsequent calls to gcount(). After constructing a sentry object, if fail()

In 27.6.2.5.2 [lib.ostream.inserters.arithmetic], paragraph 1. Change the beginning of the third sentence from "The formatting conversion" to "These extractors behave as formatted output functions (as described in 27.6.2.5.1). After the sentry object is constructed, the conversion occurs".

In 27.6.2.5.3 [lib.ostream.inserters], before paragraph 1. Add an effects clause: "Effects: None. Does not behave as a formatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.5.1).".

In 27.6.2.5.3 [lib.ostream.inserters], paragraph 2. Change the effects clause to "Effects: calls pf(*this). This extractor does not behave as a formatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.5.1).".

In 27.6.2.5.3 [lib.ostream.inserters], paragraph 4. Change the effects clause to "Effects: calls pf(*this). This extractor does not behave as a formatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.5.1).".

In 27.6.2.5.3 [lib.ostream.inserters], paragraph 6. Change the first sentence from "If sb" to "Behaves as a formatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.5.1). After the sentry object is constructed, if sb".

In 27.6.2.6 [lib.ostream.unformatted], paragraph 2. Change the first sentence from "Inserts the character" to "Behaves as an unformatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.6, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, inserts the character".

In 27.6.2.6 [lib.ostream.unformatted], paragraph 5. Change the first sentence from "Obtains characters" to "Behaves as an unformatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.6, paragraph 1). After constructing a sentry object, obtains characters".

In 27.6.2.6 [lib.ostream.unformatted], paragraph 7. Add a new sentence at the end of the paragraph: "Does not behave as an unformatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.6, paragraph 1)."

Rationale:

See J16/99-0043==WG21/N1219, Proposed Resolution to Library Issue 60, by Judy Ward and Matt Austern. This proposed resolution is section VI of that paper.


61. Ambiguity in iostreams exception policy

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-08-06

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Discussion:

The introduction to the section on unformatted input (27.6.1.3) says that every unformatted input function catches all exceptions that were thrown during input, sets badbit, and then conditionally rethrows the exception. That seems clear enough. Several of the specific functions, however, such as get() and read(), are documented in some circumstances as setting eofbit and/or failbit. (The standard notes, correctly, that setting eofbit or failbit can sometimes result in an exception being thrown.) The question: if one of these functions throws an exception triggered by setting failbit, is this an exception "thrown during input" and hence covered by 27.6.1.3, or does 27.6.1.3 only refer to a limited class of exceptions? Just to make this concrete, suppose you have the following snippet.

  
  char buffer[N];
  istream is;
  ...
  is.exceptions(istream::failbit); // Throw on failbit but not on badbit.
  is.read(buffer, N);

Now suppose we reach EOF before we've read N characters. What iostate bits can we expect to be set, and what exception (if any) will be thrown?

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1, after the sentence that begins "If an exception is thrown...", add the following parenthetical comment: "(Exceptions thrown from basic_ios<>::clear() are not caught or rethrown.)"

Rationale:

The LWG looked to two alternative wordings, and choose the proposed resolution as better standardese.


62. Sync's return value

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-08-06

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Discussion:

The Effects clause for sync() (27.6.1.3, paragraph 36) says that it "calls rdbuf()->pubsync() and, if that function returns -1 ... returns traits::eof()."

That looks suspicious, because traits::eof() is of type traits::int_type while the return type of sync() is int.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted], paragraph 36, change "returns traits::eof()" to "returns -1".


63. Exception-handling policy for unformatted output

Section: 27.6.2.7 [ostream.unformatted] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-08-11

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Discussion:

Clause 27 details an exception-handling policy for formatted input, unformatted input, and formatted output. It says nothing for unformatted output (27.6.2.6). 27.6.2.6 should either include the same kind of exception-handling policy as in the other three places, or else it should have a footnote saying that the omission is deliberate.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.2.6, paragraph 1, replace the last sentence ("In any case, the unformatted output function ends by destroying the sentry object, then returning the value specified for the formatted output function.") with the following text:

If an exception is thrown during output, then ios::badbit is turned on [Footnote: without causing an ios::failure to be thrown.] in *this's error state. If (exceptions() & badbit) != 0 then the exception is rethrown. In any case, the unformatted output function ends by destroying the sentry object, then, if no exception was thrown, returning the value specified for the formatted output function.

Rationale:

This exception-handling policy is consistent with that of formatted input, unformatted input, and formatted output.


64. Exception handling in basic_istream::operator>>(basic_streambuf*)

Section: 27.6.1.2.3 [istream::extractors] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-08-11

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Discussion:

27.6.1.2.3, paragraph 13, is ambiguous. It can be interpreted two different ways, depending on whether the second sentence is read as an elaboration of the first.

Proposed resolution:

Replace 27.6.1.2.3 [istream::extractors], paragraph 13, which begins "If the function inserts no characters ..." with:

If the function inserts no characters, it calls setstate(failbit), which may throw ios_base::failure (27.4.4.3). If it inserted no characters because it caught an exception thrown while extracting characters from sb and failbit is on in exceptions() (27.4.4.3), then the caught exception is rethrown.


66. Strstreambuf::setbuf

Section: D.7.1.3 [depr.strstreambuf.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-08-18

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Discussion:

D.7.1.3, paragraph 19, says that strstreambuf::setbuf "Performs an operation that is defined separately for each class derived from strstreambuf". This is obviously an incorrect cut-and-paste from basic_streambuf. There are no classes derived from strstreambuf.

Proposed resolution:

D.7.1.3 [depr.strstreambuf.virtuals], paragraph 19, replace the setbuf effects clause which currently says "Performs an operation that is defined separately for each class derived from strstreambuf" with:

Effects: implementation defined, except that setbuf(0,0) has no effect.


68. Extractors for char* should store null at end

Section: 27.6.1.2.3 [istream::extractors] Status: TC Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 1998-07-14

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Discussion:

Extractors for char* (27.6.1.2.3) do not store a null character after the extracted character sequence whereas the unformatted functions like get() do. Why is this?

Comment from Jerry Schwarz: There is apparently an editing glitch. You'll notice that the last item of the list of what stops extraction doesn't make any sense. It was supposed to be the line that said a null is stored.

Proposed resolution:

27.6.1.2.3 [istream::extractors], paragraph 7, change the last list item from:

A null byte (charT()) in the next position, which may be the first position if no characters were extracted.

to become a new paragraph which reads:

Operator>> then stores a null byte (charT()) in the next position, which may be the first position if no characters were extracted.


69. Must elements of a vector be contiguous?

Section: 23.2.6 [vector] Status: TC Submitter: Andrew Koenig Date: 1998-07-29

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Discussion:

The issue is this: Must the elements of a vector be in contiguous memory?

(Please note that this is entirely separate from the question of whether a vector iterator is required to be a pointer; the answer to that question is clearly "no," as it would rule out debugging implementations)

Proposed resolution:

Add the following text to the end of 23.2.6 [vector], paragraph 1.

The elements of a vector are stored contiguously, meaning that if v is a vector<T, Allocator> where T is some type other than bool, then it obeys the identity &v[n] == &v[0] + n for all 0 <= n < v.size().

Rationale:

The LWG feels that as a practical matter the answer is clearly "yes". There was considerable discussion as to the best way to express the concept of "contiguous", which is not directly defined in the standard. Discussion included:


70. Uncaught_exception() missing throw() specification

Section: 18.7 [support.exception], 18.7.4 [uncaught] Status: TC Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 1998-08-03

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Discussion:

In article 3E04@pratique.fr, Valentin Bonnard writes:

uncaught_exception() doesn't have a throw specification.

It is intentional ? Does it means that one should be prepared to handle exceptions thrown from uncaught_exception() ?

uncaught_exception() is called in exception handling contexts where exception safety is very important.

Proposed resolution:

In 15.5.3 [except.uncaught], paragraph 1, 18.7 [support.exception], and 18.7.4 [uncaught], add "throw()" to uncaught_exception().


71. Do_get_monthname synopsis missing argument

Section: 22.2.5.1 [locale.time.get] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-08-13

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Discussion:

The locale facet member time_get<>::do_get_monthname is described in 22.2.5.1.2 [locale.time.get.virtuals] with five arguments, consistent with do_get_weekday and with its specified use by member get_monthname. However, in the synopsis, it is specified instead with four arguments. The missing argument is the "end" iterator value.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.5.1 [locale.time.get], add an "end" argument to the declaration of member do_monthname as follows:

  virtual iter_type do_get_monthname(iter_type s, iter_type end, ios_base&,
                                     ios_base::iostate& err, tm* t) const;

74. Garbled text for codecvt::do_max_length

Section: 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-09-08

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Discussion:

The text of codecvt::do_max_length's "Returns" clause (22.2.1.5.2, paragraph 11) is garbled. It has unbalanced parentheses and a spurious n.

Proposed resolution:

Replace 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals] paragraph 11 with the following:

Returns: The maximum value that do_length(state, from, from_end, 1) can return for any valid range [from, from_end) and stateT value state. The specialization codecvt<char, char, mbstate_t>::do_max_length() returns 1.


75. Contradiction in codecvt::length's argument types

Section: 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-09-18

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Discussion:

The class synopses for classes codecvt<> (22.2.1.5) and codecvt_byname<> (22.2.1.6) say that the first parameter of the member functions length and do_length is of type const stateT&. The member function descriptions, however (22.2.1.5.1, paragraph 6; 22.2.1.5.2, paragraph 9) say that the type is stateT&. Either the synopsis or the summary must be changed.

If (as I believe) the member function descriptions are correct, then we must also add text saying how do_length changes its stateT argument.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt], and also in 22.2.1.5 [locale.codecvt.byname], change the stateT argument type on both member length() and member do_length() from

const stateT&

to

stateT&

In 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals], add to the definition for member do_length a paragraph:

Effects: The effect on the state argument is ``as if'' it called do_in(state, from, from_end, from, to, to+max, to) for to pointing to a buffer of at least max elements.


76. Can a codecvt facet always convert one internal character at a time?

Section: 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-09-25

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Discussion:

This issue concerns the requirements on classes derived from codecvt, including user-defined classes. What are the restrictions on the conversion from external characters (e.g. char) to internal characters (e.g. wchar_t)? Or, alternatively, what assumptions about codecvt facets can the I/O library make?

The question is whether it's possible to convert from internal characters to external characters one internal character at a time, and whether, given a valid sequence of external characters, it's possible to pick off internal characters one at a time. Or, to put it differently: given a sequence of external characters and the corresponding sequence of internal characters, does a position in the internal sequence correspond to some position in the external sequence?

To make this concrete, suppose that [first, last) is a sequence of M external characters and that [ifirst, ilast) is the corresponding sequence of N internal characters, where N > 1. That is, my_encoding.in(), applied to [first, last), yields [ifirst, ilast). Now the question: does there necessarily exist a subsequence of external characters, [first, last_1), such that the corresponding sequence of internal characters is the single character *ifirst?

(What a "no" answer would mean is that my_encoding translates sequences only as blocks. There's a sequence of M external characters that maps to a sequence of N internal characters, but that external sequence has no subsequence that maps to N-1 internal characters.)

Some of the wording in the standard, such as the description of codecvt::do_max_length (22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals], paragraph 11) and basic_filebuf::underflow (27.8.1.5 [filebuf.virtuals], paragraph 3) suggests that it must always be possible to pick off internal characters one at a time from a sequence of external characters. However, this is never explicitly stated one way or the other.

This issue seems (and is) quite technical, but it is important if we expect users to provide their own encoding facets. This is an area where the standard library calls user-supplied code, so a well-defined set of requirements for the user-supplied code is crucial. Users must be aware of the assumptions that the library makes. This issue affects positioning operations on basic_filebuf, unbuffered input, and several of codecvt's member functions.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following text as a new paragraph, following 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals] paragraph 2:

A codecvt facet that is used by basic_filebuf (27.8 [file.streams]) must have the property that if

    do_out(state, from, from_end, from_next, to, to_lim, to_next)

would return ok, where from != from_end, then

    do_out(state, from, from + 1, from_next, to, to_end, to_next)

must also return ok, and that if

    do_in(state, from, from_end, from_next, to, to_lim, to_next)

would return ok, where to != to_lim, then

    do_in(state, from, from_end, from_next, to, to + 1, to_next)

must also return ok. [Footnote: Informally, this means that basic_filebuf assumes that the mapping from internal to external characters is 1 to N: a codecvt that is used by basic_filebuf must be able to translate characters one internal character at a time. --End Footnote]

[Redmond: Minor change in proposed resolution. Original proposed resolution talked about "success", with a parenthetical comment that success meant returning ok. New wording removes all talk about "success", and just talks about the return value.]

Rationale:

The proposed resoluion says that conversions can be performed one internal character at a time. This rules out some encodings that would otherwise be legal. The alternative answer would mean there would be some internal positions that do not correspond to any external file position.

An example of an encoding that this rules out is one where the internT and externT are of the same type, and where the internal sequence c1 c2 corresponds to the external sequence c2 c1.

It was generally agreed that basic_filebuf relies on this property: it was designed under the assumption that the external-to-internal mapping is N-to-1, and it is not clear that basic_filebuf is implementable without that restriction.

The proposed resolution is expressed as a restriction on codecvt when used by basic_filebuf, rather than a blanket restriction on all codecvt facets, because basic_filebuf is the only other part of the library that uses codecvt. If a user wants to define a codecvt facet that implements a more general N-to-M mapping, there is no reason to prohibit it, so long as the user does not expect basic_filebuf to be able to use it.


78. Typo: event_call_back

Section: 27.4.2 [ios.base] Status: TC Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 1998-09-29

View all other issues in [ios.base].

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Discussion:

typo: event_call_back should be event_callback  

Proposed resolution:

In the 27.4.2 [ios.base] synopsis change "event_call_back" to "event_callback".


79. Inconsistent declaration of polar()

Section: 26.3.1 [complex.synopsis], 26.3.7 [complex.value.ops] Status: TC Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 1998-09-29

View all other issues in [complex.synopsis].

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Discussion:

In 26.3.1 [complex.synopsis] polar is declared as follows:

   template<class T> complex<T> polar(const T&, const T&); 

In 26.3.7 [complex.value.ops] it is declared as follows:

   template<class T> complex<T> polar(const T& rho, const T& theta = 0); 

Thus whether the second parameter is optional is not clear.

Proposed resolution:

In 26.3.1 [complex.synopsis] change:

   template<class T> complex<T> polar(const T&, const T&);

to:

   template<class T> complex<T> polar(const T& rho, const T& theta = 0); 

80. Global Operators of complex declared twice

Section: 26.3.1 [complex.synopsis], 26.3.2 [complex] Status: TC Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 1998-09-29

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Discussion:

Both 26.2.1 and 26.2.2 contain declarations of global operators for class complex. This redundancy should be removed.

Proposed resolution:

Reduce redundancy according to the general style of the standard.


83. String::npos vs. string::max_size()

Section: 21.3 [basic.string] Status: TC Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 1998-09-29

View other active issues in [basic.string].

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Duplicate of: 89

Discussion:

Many string member functions throw if size is getting or exceeding npos. However, I wonder why they don't throw if size is getting or exceeding max_size() instead of npos. May be npos is known at compile time, while max_size() is known at runtime. However, what happens if size exceeds max_size() but not npos, then? It seems the standard lacks some clarifications here.

Proposed resolution:

After 21.3 [basic.string] paragraph 4 ("The functions described in this clause...") add a new paragraph:

For any string operation, if as a result of the operation, size() would exceed max_size() then the operation throws length_error.

Rationale:

The LWG believes length_error is the correct exception to throw.


86. String constructors don't describe exceptions

Section: 21.3.1 [string.require] Status: TC Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 1998-09-29

View all other issues in [string.require].

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Discussion:

The constructor from a range:

template<class InputIterator> 
         basic_string(InputIterator begin, InputIterator end, 
                      const Allocator& a = Allocator());

lacks a throws clause. However, I would expect that it throws according to the other constructors if the numbers of characters in the range equals npos (or exceeds max_size(), see above).

Proposed resolution:

In 21.3.1 [string.require], Strike throws paragraphs for constructors which say "Throws: length_error if n == npos."

Rationale:

Throws clauses for length_error if n == npos are no longer needed because they are subsumed by the general wording added by the resolution for issue 83.


90. Incorrect description of operator >> for strings

Section: 21.3.8.9 [string.io] Status: TC Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 1998-09-29

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Discussion:

The effect of operator >> for strings contain the following item:

    isspace(c,getloc()) is true for the next available input character c.

Here getloc() has to be replaced by is.getloc().

Proposed resolution:

In 21.3.8.9 [string.io] paragraph 1 Effects clause replace:

isspace(c,getloc()) is true for the next available input character c.

with:

isspace(c,is.getloc()) is true for the next available input character c.


91. Description of operator>> and getline() for string<> might cause endless loop

Section: 21.3.8.9 [string.io] Status: WP Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 1998-09-29

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Discussion:

Operator >> and getline() for strings read until eof() in the input stream is true. However, this might never happen, if the stream can't read anymore without reaching EOF. So shouldn't it be changed into that it reads until !good() ?

Proposed resolution:

In 21.3.8.9 [string.io], paragraph 1, replace:

Effects: Begins by constructing a sentry object k as if k were constructed by typename basic_istream<charT,traits>::sentry k( is). If bool( k) is true, it calls str.erase() and then extracts characters from is and appends them to str as if by calling str.append(1, c). If is.width() is greater than zero, the maximum number n of characters appended is is.width(); otherwise n is str.max_size(). Characters are extracted and appended until any of the following occurs:

with:

Effects: Behaves as a formatted input function (27.6.1.2.1 [istream.formatted.reqmts]). After constructing a sentry object, if the sentry converts to true, calls str.erase() and then extracts characters from is and appends them to str as if by calling str.append(1,c). If is.width() is greater than zero, the maximum number n of characters appended is is.width(); otherwise n is str.max_size(). Characters are extracted and appended until any of the following occurs:

In 21.3.8.9 [string.io], paragraph 6, replace

Effects: Begins by constructing a sentry object k as if by typename basic_istream<charT,traits>::sentry k( is, true). If bool( k) is true, it calls str.erase() and then extracts characters from is and appends them to str as if by calling str.append(1, c) until any of the following occurs:

with:

Effects: Behaves as an unformatted input function (27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted]), except that it does not affect the value returned by subsequent calls to basic_istream<>::gcount(). After constructing a sentry object, if the sentry converts to true, calls str.erase() and then extracts characters from is and appends them to str as if by calling str.append(1,c) until any of the following occurs:

[Redmond: Made changes in proposed resolution. operator>> should be a formatted input function, not an unformatted input function. getline should not be required to set gcount, since there is no mechanism for gcount to be set except by one of basic_istream's member functions.]

[Curaçao: Nico agrees with proposed resolution.]

Rationale:

The real issue here is whether or not these string input functions get their characters from a streambuf, rather than by calling an istream's member functions, a streambuf signals failure either by returning eof or by throwing an exception; there are no other possibilities. The proposed resolution makes it clear that these two functions do get characters from a streambuf.


92. Incomplete Algorithm Requirements

Section: 25 [algorithms] Status: WP Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 1998-09-29

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Discussion:

The standard does not state, how often a function object is copied, called, or the order of calls inside an algorithm. This may lead to surprising/buggy behavior. Consider the following example:

class Nth {    // function object that returns true for the nth element 
  private: 
    int nth;     // element to return true for 
    int count;   // element counter 
  public: 
    Nth (int n) : nth(n), count(0) { 
    } 
    bool operator() (int) { 
        return ++count == nth; 
    } 
}; 
.... 
// remove third element 
    list<int>::iterator pos; 
    pos = remove_if(coll.begin(),coll.end(),  // range 
                    Nth(3)),                  // remove criterion 
    coll.erase(pos,coll.end()); 

This call, in fact removes the 3rd AND the 6th element. This happens because the usual implementation of the algorithm copies the function object internally:

template <class ForwIter, class Predicate> 
ForwIter std::remove_if(ForwIter beg, ForwIter end, Predicate op) 
{ 
    beg = find_if(beg, end, op); 
    if (beg == end) { 
        return beg; 
    } 
    else { 
        ForwIter next = beg; 
        return remove_copy_if(++next, end, beg, op); 
    } 
} 

The algorithm uses find_if() to find the first element that should be removed. However, it then uses a copy of the passed function object to process the resulting elements (if any). Here, Nth is used again and removes also the sixth element. This behavior compromises the advantage of function objects being able to have a state. Without any cost it could be avoided (just implement it directly instead of calling find_if()).

Proposed resolution:

Add a new paragraph following 25 [algorithms] paragraph 8:

[Note: Unless otherwise specified, algorithms that take function objects as arguments are permitted to copy those function objects freely. Programmers for whom object identity is important should consider using a wrapper class that points to a noncopied implementation object, or some equivalent solution.]

[Dublin: Pete Becker felt that this may not be a defect, but rather something that programmers need to be educated about. There was discussion of adding wording to the effect that the number and order of calls to function objects, including predicates, not affect the behavior of the function object.]

[Pre-Kona: Nico comments: It seems the problem is that we don't have a clear statement of "predicate" in the standard. People including me seemed to think "a function returning a Boolean value and being able to be called by an STL algorithm or be used as sorting criterion or ... is a predicate". But a predicate has more requirements: It should never change its behavior due to a call or being copied. IMHO we have to state this in the standard. If you like, see section 8.1.4 of my library book for a detailed discussion.]

[Kona: Nico will provide wording to the effect that "unless otherwise specified, the number of copies of and calls to function objects by algorithms is unspecified".  Consider placing in 25 [algorithms] after paragraph 9.]

[Santa Cruz: The standard doesn't currently guarantee that functions object won't be copied, and what isn't forbidden is allowed. It is believed (especially since implementations that were written in concert with the standard do make copies of function objects) that this was intentional. Thus, no normative change is needed. What we should put in is a non-normative note suggesting to programmers that if they want to guarantee the lack of copying they should use something like the ref wrapper.]

[Oxford: Matt provided wording.]


98. Input iterator requirements are badly written

Section: 24.1.1 [input.iterators] Status: WP Submitter: AFNOR Date: 1998-10-07

View all other issues in [input.iterators].

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Discussion:

Table 72 in 24.1.1 [input.iterators] specifies semantics for *r++ of:

   { T tmp = *r; ++r; return tmp; }

There are two problems with this. First, the return type is specified to be "T", as opposed to something like "convertible to T". This is too specific: we want to allow *r++ to return an lvalue.

Second, writing the semantics in terms of code misleadingly suggests that the effects *r++ should precisely replicate the behavior of this code, including side effects. (Does this mean that *r++ should invoke the copy constructor exactly as many times as the sample code above would?) See issue 334 for a similar problem.

Proposed resolution:

In Table 72 in 24.1.1 [input.iterators], change the return type for *r++ from T to "convertible to T".

Rationale:

This issue has two parts: the return type, and the number of times the copy constructor is invoked.

The LWG believes the the first part is a real issue. It's inappropriate for the return type to be specified so much more precisely for *r++ than it is for *r. In particular, if r is of (say) type int*, then *r++ isn't int, but int&.

The LWG does not believe that the number of times the copy constructor is invoked is a real issue. This can vary in any case, because of language rules on copy constructor elision. That's too much to read into these semantics clauses.

Additionally, as Dave Abrahams pointed out (c++std-lib-13703): since we're told (24.1/3) that forward iterators satisfy all the requirements of input iterators, we can't impose any requirements in the Input Iterator requirements table that forward iterators don't satisfy.


103. set::iterator is required to be modifiable, but this allows modification of keys

Section: 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] Status: WP Submitter: AFNOR Date: 1998-10-07

View all other issues in [associative.reqmts].

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Discussion:

Set::iterator is described as implementation-defined with a reference to the container requirement; the container requirement says that const_iterator is an iterator pointing to const T and iterator an iterator pointing to T.

23.1.2 paragraph 2 implies that the keys should not be modified to break the ordering of elements. But that is not clearly specified. Especially considering that the current standard requires that iterator for associative containers be different from const_iterator. Set, for example, has the following:

typedef implementation defined iterator;
       // See _lib.container.requirements_

23.1 [container.requirements] actually requires that iterator type pointing to T (table 65). Disallowing user modification of keys by changing the standard to require an iterator for associative container to be the same as const_iterator would be overkill since that will unnecessarily significantly restrict the usage of associative container. A class to be used as elements of set, for example, can no longer be modified easily without either redesigning the class (using mutable on fields that have nothing to do with ordering), or using const_cast, which defeats requiring iterator to be const_iterator. The proposed solution goes in line with trusting user knows what he is doing.

Other Options Evaluated:

Option A.   In 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts], paragraph 2, after first sentence, and before "In addition,...", add one line:

Modification of keys shall not change their strict weak ordering.

Option B. Add three new sentences to 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts]:

At the end of paragraph 5: "Keys in an associative container are immutable." At the end of paragraph 6: "For associative containers where the value type is the same as the key type, both iterator and const_iterator are constant iterators. It is unspecified whether or not iterator and const_iterator are the same type."

Option C. To 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts], paragraph 3, which currently reads:

The phrase ``equivalence of keys'' means the equivalence relation imposed by the comparison and not the operator== on keys. That is, two keys k1 and k2 in the same container are considered to be equivalent if for the comparison object comp, comp(k1, k2) == false && comp(k2, k1) == false.

  add the following:

For any two keys k1 and k2 in the same container, comp(k1, k2) shall return the same value whenever it is evaluated. [Note: If k2 is removed from the container and later reinserted, comp(k1, k2) must still return a consistent value but this value may be different than it was the first time k1 and k2 were in the same container. This is intended to allow usage like a string key that contains a filename, where comp compares file contents; if k2 is removed, the file is changed, and the same k2 (filename) is reinserted, comp(k1, k2) must again return a consistent value but this value may be different than it was the previous time k2 was in the container.]

Proposed resolution:

Add the following to 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] at the indicated location:

At the end of paragraph 3: "For any two keys k1 and k2 in the same container, calling comp(k1, k2) shall always return the same value."

At the end of paragraph 5: "Keys in an associative container are immutable."

At the end of paragraph 6: "For associative containers where the value type is the same as the key type, both iterator and const_iterator are constant iterators. It is unspecified whether or not iterator and const_iterator are the same type."

Rationale:

Several arguments were advanced for and against allowing set elements to be mutable as long as the ordering was not effected. The argument which swayed the LWG was one of safety; if elements were mutable, there would be no compile-time way to detect of a simple user oversight which caused ordering to be modified. There was a report that this had actually happened in practice, and had been painful to diagnose. If users need to modify elements, it is possible to use mutable members or const_cast.

Simply requiring that keys be immutable is not sufficient, because the comparison object may indirectly (via pointers) operate on values outside of the keys.

The types iterator and const_iterator are permitted to be different types to allow for potential future work in which some member functions might be overloaded between the two types. No such member functions exist now, and the LWG believes that user functionality will not be impaired by permitting the two types to be the same. A function that operates on both iterator types can be defined for const_iterator alone, and can rely on the automatic conversion from iterator to const_iterator.

[Tokyo: The LWG crafted the proposed resolution and rationale.]


106. Numeric library private members are implementation defined

Section: 26.5.5 [template.slice.array] Status: TC Submitter: AFNOR Date: 1998-10-07

View all other issues in [template.slice.array].

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Discussion:

This is the only place in the whole standard where the implementation has to document something private.

Proposed resolution:

Remove the comment which says "// remainder implementation defined" from:


108. Lifetime of exception::what() return unspecified

Section: 18.6.1 [type.info] Status: TC Submitter: AFNOR Date: 1998-10-07

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Discussion:

In 18.6.1, paragraphs 8-9, the lifetime of the return value of exception::what() is left unspecified. This issue has implications with exception safety of exception handling: some exceptions should not throw bad_alloc.

Proposed resolution:

Add to 18.6.1 [type.info] paragraph 9 (exception::what notes clause) the sentence:

The return value remains valid until the exception object from which it is obtained is destroyed or a non-const member function of the exception object is called.

Rationale:

If an exception object has non-const members, they may be used to set internal state that should affect the contents of the string returned by what().


109. Missing binders for non-const sequence elements

Section: D.8 [depr.lib.binders] Status: WP Submitter: Bjarne Stroustrup Date: 1998-10-07

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Discussion:

There are no versions of binders that apply to non-const elements of a sequence. This makes examples like for_each() using bind2nd() on page 521 of "The C++ Programming Language (3rd)" non-conforming. Suitable versions of the binders need to be added.

Further discussion from Nico:

What is probably meant here is shown in the following example:

class Elem { 
  public: 
    void print (int i) const { } 
    void modify (int i) { } 
}; 
int main() 
{ 
    vector<Elem> coll(2); 
    for_each (coll.begin(), coll.end(), bind2nd(mem_fun_ref(&Elem::print),42));    // OK 
    for_each (coll.begin(), coll.end(), bind2nd(mem_fun_ref(&Elem::modify),42));   // ERROR 
}

The error results from the fact that bind2nd() passes its first argument (the argument of the sequence) as constant reference. See the following typical implementation:

template <class Operation> 
class binder2nd 
  : public unary_function<typename Operation::first_argument_type, 
                          typename Operation::result_type> { 
protected: 
  Operation op; 
  typename Operation::second_argument_type value; 
public: 
  binder2nd(const Operation& o, 
            const typename Operation::second_argument_type& v) 
      : op(o), value(v) {} 
 typename Operation::result_type 
  operator()(const typename Operation::first_argument_type& x) const { 
    return op(x, value); 
  } 
};

The solution is to overload operator () of bind2nd for non-constant arguments:

template <class Operation> 
class binder2nd 
  : public unary_function<typename Operation::first_argument_type, 
                          typename Operation::result_type> { 
protected: 
  Operation op; 
  typename Operation::second_argument_type value; 
public: 
  binder2nd(const Operation& o, 
            const typename Operation::second_argument_type& v) 
      : op(o), value(v) {} 
 typename Operation::result_type 
  operator()(const typename Operation::first_argument_type& x) const { 
    return op(x, value); 
  } 
  typename Operation::result_type 
  operator()(typename Operation::first_argument_type& x) const { 
    return op(x, value); 
  } 
};

Proposed resolution:

Howard believes there is a flaw in this resolution. See c++std-lib-9127. We may need to reopen this issue.

In D.8 [depr.lib.binders] in the declaration of binder1st after:

typename Operation::result_type
 operator()(const typename Operation::second_argument_type& x) const;

insert:

typename Operation::result_type
 operator()(typename Operation::second_argument_type& x) const;

In D.8 [depr.lib.binders] in the declaration of binder2nd after:

typename Operation::result_type
 operator()(const typename Operation::first_argument_type& x) const;

insert:

typename Operation::result_type
 operator()(typename Operation::first_argument_type& x) const;

[Kona: The LWG discussed this at some length.It was agreed that this is a mistake in the design, but there was no consensus on whether it was a defect in the Standard. Straw vote: NAD - 5. Accept proposed resolution - 3. Leave open - 6.]

[Copenhagen: It was generally agreed that this was a defect. Strap poll: NAD - 0. Accept proposed resolution - 10. Leave open - 1.]


110. istreambuf_iterator::equal not const

Section: 24.5.3 [istreambuf.iterator], 24.5.3.5 [istreambuf.iterator::equal] Status: TC Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 1998-10-15

View all other issues in [istreambuf.iterator].

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Discussion:

Member istreambuf_iterator<>::equal is not declared "const", yet 24.5.3.6 [istreambuf.iterator::op==] says that operator==, which is const, calls it. This is contradictory.

Proposed resolution:

In 24.5.3 [istreambuf.iterator] and also in 24.5.3.5 [istreambuf.iterator::equal], replace:

bool equal(istreambuf_iterator& b);

with:

bool equal(const istreambuf_iterator& b) const;

112. Minor typo in ostreambuf_iterator constructor

Section: 24.5.4.1 [ostreambuf.iter.cons] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-10-20

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Discussion:

The requires clause for ostreambuf_iterator's constructor from an ostream_type (24.5.4.1, paragraph 1) reads "s is not null". However, s is a reference, and references can't be null.

Proposed resolution:

In 24.5.4.1 [ostreambuf.iter.cons]:

Move the current paragraph 1, which reads "Requires: s is not null.", from the first constructor to the second constructor.

Insert a new paragraph 1 Requires clause for the first constructor reading:

Requires: s.rdbuf() is not null.


114. Placement forms example in error twice

Section: 18.5.1.3 [new.delete.placement] Status: TC Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 1998-10-28

View all other issues in [new.delete.placement].

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Duplicate of: 196

Discussion:

Section 18.5.1.3 contains the following example:

[Example: This can be useful for constructing an object at a known address:
        char place[sizeof(Something)];
        Something* p = new (place) Something();
 -end example]

First code line: "place" need not have any special alignment, and the following constructor could fail due to misaligned data.

Second code line: Aren't the parens on Something() incorrect?  [Dublin: the LWG believes the () are correct.]

Examples are not normative, but nevertheless should not show code that is invalid or likely to fail.

Proposed resolution:

Replace the first line of code in the example in 18.5.1.3 [new.delete.placement] with:

void* place = operator new(sizeof(Something));

115. Typo in strstream constructors

Section: D.7.4.1 [depr.strstream.cons] Status: TC Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 1998-11-02

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Discussion:

D.7.4.1 strstream constructors paragraph 2 says:

Effects: Constructs an object of class strstream, initializing the base class with iostream(& sb) and initializing sb with one of the two constructors:

- If mode&app==0, then s shall designate the first element of an array of n elements. The constructor is strstreambuf(s, n, s).

- If mode&app==0, then s shall designate the first element of an array of n elements that contains an NTBS whose first element is designated by s. The constructor is strstreambuf(s, n, s+std::strlen(s)).

Notice the second condition is the same as the first. I think the second condition should be "If mode&app==app", or "mode&app!=0", meaning that the append bit is set.

Proposed resolution:

In D.7.3.1 [depr.ostrstream.cons] paragraph 2 and D.7.4.1 [depr.strstream.cons] paragraph 2, change the first condition to (mode&app)==0 and the second condition to (mode&app)!=0.


117. basic_ostream uses nonexistent num_put member functions

Section: 27.6.2.6.2 [ostream.inserters.arithmetic] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-11-20

View all other issues in [ostream.inserters.arithmetic].

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Discussion:

The effects clause for numeric inserters says that insertion of a value x, whose type is either bool, short, unsigned short, int, unsigned int, long, unsigned long, float, double, long double, or const void*, is delegated to num_put, and that insertion is performed as if through the following code fragment:

bool failed = use_facet<
   num_put<charT,ostreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> > 
   >(getloc()).put(*this, *this, fill(), val). failed();

This doesn't work, because num_put<>::put is only overloaded for the types bool, long, unsigned long, double, long double, and const void*. That is, the code fragment in the standard is incorrect (it is diagnosed as ambiguous at compile time) for the types short, unsigned short, int, unsigned int, and float.

We must either add new member functions to num_put, or else change the description in ostream so that it only calls functions that are actually there. I prefer the latter.

Proposed resolution:

Replace 27.6.2.5.2, paragraph 1 with the following:

The classes num_get<> and num_put<> handle locale-dependent numeric formatting and parsing. These inserter functions use the imbued locale value to perform numeric formatting. When val is of type bool, long, unsigned long, double, long double, or const void*, the formatting conversion occurs as if it performed the following code fragment:

bool failed = use_facet<
   num_put<charT,ostreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> >
   >(getloc()).put(*this, *this, fill(), val). failed();

When val is of type short the formatting conversion occurs as if it performed the following code fragment:

ios_base::fmtflags baseflags = ios_base::flags() & ios_base::basefield;
bool failed = use_facet<
   num_put<charT,ostreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> >
   >(getloc()).put(*this, *this, fill(),
      baseflags == ios_base::oct || baseflags == ios_base::hex
         ? static_cast<long>(static_cast<unsigned short>(val))
         : static_cast<long>(val)). failed();

When val is of type int the formatting conversion occurs as if it performed the following code fragment:

ios_base::fmtflags baseflags = ios_base::flags() & ios_base::basefield;
bool failed = use_facet<
   num_put<charT,ostreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> >
   >(getloc()).put(*this, *this, fill(),
      baseflags == ios_base::oct || baseflags == ios_base::hex
         ? static_cast<long>(static_cast<unsigned int>(val))
         : static_cast<long>(val)). failed();

When val is of type unsigned short or unsigned int the formatting conversion occurs as if it performed the following code fragment:

bool failed = use_facet<
   num_put<charT,ostreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> >
   >(getloc()).put(*this, *this, fill(), static_cast<unsigned long>(val)).
failed();

When val is of type float the formatting conversion occurs as if it performed the following code fragment:

bool failed = use_facet<
   num_put<charT,ostreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> >
   >(getloc()).put(*this, *this, fill(), static_cast<double>(val)).
failed();

[post-Toronto: This differs from the previous proposed resolution; PJP provided the new wording. The differences are in signed short and int output.]

Rationale:

The original proposed resolution was to cast int and short to long, unsigned int and unsigned short to unsigned long, and float to double, thus ensuring that we don't try to use nonexistent num_put<> member functions. The current proposed resolution is more complicated, but gives more expected results for hex and octal output of signed short and signed int. (On a system with 16-bit short, for example, printing short(-1) in hex format should yield 0xffff.)


118. basic_istream uses nonexistent num_get member functions

Section: 27.6.1.2.2 [istream.formatted.arithmetic] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1998-11-20

View all other issues in [istream.formatted.arithmetic].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Formatted input is defined for the types short, unsigned short, int, unsigned int, long, unsigned long, float, double, long double, bool, and void*. According to section 27.6.1.2.2, formatted input of a value x is done as if by the following code fragment:

typedef num_get< charT,istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> > numget; 
iostate err = 0; 
use_facet< numget >(loc).get(*this, 0, *this, err, val); 
setstate(err);

According to section 22.2.2.1.1 [facet.num.get.members], however, num_get<>::get() is only overloaded for the types bool, long, unsigned short, unsigned int, unsigned long, unsigned long, float, double, long double, and void*. Comparing the lists from the two sections, we find that 27.6.1.2.2 is using a nonexistent function for types short and int.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.1.2.2 [istream.formatted.arithmetic] Arithmetic Extractors, remove the two lines (1st and 3rd) which read:

operator>>(short& val);
...
operator>>(int& val);

And add the following at the end of that section (27.6.1.2.2) :

operator>>(short& val);

The conversion occurs as if performed by the following code fragment (using the same notation as for the preceding code fragment):

  typedef num_get< charT,istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> > numget;
  iostate err = 0;
  long lval;
  use_facet< numget >(loc).get(*this, 0, *this, err, lval);
        if (err == 0
                && (lval < numeric_limits<short>::min() || numeric_limits<short>::max() < lval))
                err = ios_base::failbit;
  setstate(err);
operator>>(int& val);

The conversion occurs as if performed by the following code fragment (using the same notation as for the preceding code fragment):

  typedef num_get< charT,istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> > numget;
  iostate err = 0;
  long lval;
  use_facet< numget >(loc).get(*this, 0, *this, err, lval);
        if (err == 0
                && (lval < numeric_limits<int>::min() || numeric_limits<int>::max() < lval))
                err = ios_base::failbit;
  setstate(err);

[Post-Tokyo: PJP provided the above wording.]


119. Should virtual functions be allowed to strengthen the exception specification?

Section: 17.4.4.8 [res.on.exception.handling] Status: TC Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 1998-12-15

View all other issues in [res.on.exception.handling].

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Discussion:

Section 17.4.4.8 [res.on.exception.handling] states:

"An implementation may strengthen the exception-specification for a function by removing listed exceptions."

The problem is that if an implementation is allowed to do this for virtual functions, then a library user cannot write a class that portably derives from that class.

For example, this would not compile if ios_base::failure::~failure had an empty exception specification:

#include <ios>
#include <string>

class D : public std::ios_base::failure {
public:
        D(const std::string&);
        ~D(); // error - exception specification must be compatible with 
              // overridden virtual function ios_base::failure::~failure()
};

Proposed resolution:

Change Section 17.4.4.8 [res.on.exception.handling] from:

     "may strengthen the exception-specification for a function"

to:

     "may strengthen the exception-specification for a non-virtual function".


120. Can an implementor add specializations?

Section: 17.4.3.2 [reserved.names] Status: WP Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 1998-12-15

View all other issues in [reserved.names].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The original issue asked whether a library implementor could specialize standard library templates for built-in types. (This was an issue because users are permitted to explicitly instantiate standard library templates.)

Specializations are no longer a problem, because of the resolution to core issue 259. Under the proposed resolution, it will be legal for a translation unit to contain both a specialization and an explicit instantiation of the same template, provided that the specialization comes first. In such a case, the explicit instantiation will be ignored. Further discussion of library issue 120 assumes that the core 259 resolution will be adopted.

However, as noted in lib-7047, one piece of this issue still remains: what happens if a standard library implementor explicitly instantiates a standard library templates? It's illegal for a program to contain two different explicit instantiations of the same template for the same type in two different translation units (ODR violation), and the core working group doesn't believe it is practical to relax that restriction.

The issue, then, is: are users allowed to explicitly instantiate standard library templates for non-user defined types? The status quo answer is 'yes'. Changing it to 'no' would give library implementors more freedom.

This is an issue because, for performance reasons, library implementors often need to explicitly instantiate standard library templates. (for example, std::basic_string<char>) Does giving users freedom to explicitly instantiate standard library templates for non-user defined types make it impossible or painfully difficult for library implementors to do this?

John Spicer suggests, in lib-8957, that library implementors have a mechanism they can use for explicit instantiations that doesn't prevent users from performing their own explicit instantiations: put each explicit instantiation in its own object file. (Different solutions might be necessary for Unix DSOs or MS-Windows DLLs.) On some platforms, library implementors might not need to do anything special: the "undefined behavior" that results from having two different explicit instantiations might be harmless.

Proposed resolution:

Append to 17.4.3.2 [reserved.names] paragraph 1:

A program may explicitly instantiate any templates in the standard library only if the declaration depends on the name of a user-defined type of external linkage and the instantiation meets the standard library requirements for the original template.

[Kona: changed the wording from "a user-defined name" to "the name of a user-defined type"]

Rationale:

The LWG considered another possible resolution:

In light of the resolution to core issue 259, no normative changes in the library clauses are necessary. Add the following non-normative note to the end of 17.4.3.2 [reserved.names] paragraph 1:

[Note: A program may explicitly instantiate standard library templates, even when an explicit instantiation does not depend on a user-defined name. --end note]

The LWG rejected this because it was believed that it would make it unnecessarily difficult for library implementors to write high-quality implementations. A program may not include an explicit instantiation of the same template, for the same template arguments, in two different translation units. If users are allowed to provide explicit instantiations of Standard Library templates for built-in types, then library implementors aren't, at least not without nonportable tricks.

The most serious problem is a class template that has writeable static member variables. Unfortunately, such class templates are important and, in existing Standard Library implementations, are often explicitly specialized by library implementors: locale facets, which have a writeable static member variable id. If a user's explicit instantiation collided with the implementations explicit instantiation, iostream initialization could cause locales to be constructed in an inconsistent state.

One proposed implementation technique was for Standard Library implementors to provide explicit instantiations in separate object files, so that they would not be picked up by the linker when the user also provides an explicit instantiation. However, this technique only applies for Standard Library implementations that are packaged as static archives. Most Standard Library implementations nowadays are packaged as dynamic libraries, so this technique would not apply.

The Committee is now considering standardization of dynamic linking. If there are such changes in the future, it may be appropriate to revisit this issue later.


122. streambuf/wstreambuf description should not say they are specializations

Section: 27.5.2 [streambuf] Status: TC Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 1998-12-15

View all other issues in [streambuf].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

Section 27.5.2 describes the streambuf classes this way:

The class streambuf is a specialization of the template class basic_streambuf specialized for the type char.

The class wstreambuf is a specialization of the template class basic_streambuf specialized for the type wchar_t.

This implies that these classes must be template specializations, not typedefs.

It doesn't seem this was intended, since Section 27.5 has them declared as typedefs.

Proposed resolution:

Remove 27.5.2 [streambuf] paragraphs 2 and 3 (the above two sentences).

Rationale:

The streambuf synopsis already has a declaration for the typedefs and that is sufficient.


123. Should valarray helper arrays fill functions be const?

Section: 26.5.5.3 [slice.arr.fill], 26.5.7.3 [gslice.array.fill], 26.5.8.3 [mask.array.fill], 26.5.9.3 [indirect.array.fill] Status: WP Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 1998-12-15

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

One of the operator= in the valarray helper arrays is const and one is not. For example, look at slice_array. This operator= in Section 26.5.5.1 [slice.arr.assign] is const:

    void operator=(const valarray<T>&) const;

but this one in Section 26.5.5.3 [slice.arr.fill] is not:

    void operator=(const T&);

The description of the semantics for these two functions is similar.

Proposed resolution:

26.5.5 [template.slice.array] Template class slice_array

In the class template definition for slice_array, replace the member function declaration

      void operator=(const T&);
    

with

      void operator=(const T&) const;
    

26.5.5.3 [slice.arr.fill] slice_array fill function

Change the function declaration

      void operator=(const T&);
    

to

      void operator=(const T&) const;
    

26.5.7 [template.gslice.array] Template class gslice_array

In the class template definition for gslice_array, replace the member function declaration

      void operator=(const T&);
    

with

      void operator=(const T&) const;
    

26.5.7.3 [gslice.array.fill] gslice_array fill function

Change the function declaration

      void operator=(const T&);
    

to

      void operator=(const T&) const;
    

26.5.8 [template.mask.array] Template class mask_array

In the class template definition for mask_array, replace the member function declaration

      void operator=(const T&);
    

with

      void operator=(const T&) const;
    

26.5.8.3 [mask.array.fill] mask_array fill function

Change the function declaration

      void operator=(const T&);
    

to

      void operator=(const T&) const;
    

26.5.9 [template.indirect.array] Template class indirect_array

In the class template definition for indirect_array, replace the member function declaration

      void operator=(const T&);
    

with

      void operator=(const T&) const;
    

26.5.9.3 [indirect.array.fill] indirect_array fill function

Change the function declaration

      void operator=(const T&);
    

to

      void operator=(const T&) const;
    

[Redmond: Robert provided wording.]

Rationale:

There's no good reason for one version of operator= being const and another one not. Because of issue 253, this now matters: these functions are now callable in more circumstances. In many existing implementations, both versions are already const.


124. ctype_byname<charT>::do_scan_is & do_scan_not return type should be const charT*

Section: 22.2.1.2 [locale.ctype.byname] Status: TC Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 1998-12-15

View all other issues in [locale.ctype.byname].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

In Section 22.2.1.2 [locale.ctype.byname] ctype_byname<charT>::do_scan_is() and do_scan_not() are declared to return a const char* not a const charT*.

Proposed resolution:

Change Section 22.2.1.2 [locale.ctype.byname] do_scan_is() and do_scan_not() to return a const charT*.


125. valarray<T>::operator!() return type is inconsistent

Section: 26.5.2 [template.valarray] Status: TC Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 1998-12-15

View all other issues in [template.valarray].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

In Section 26.5.2 [template.valarray] valarray<T>::operator!() is declared to return a valarray<T>, but in Section 26.5.2.5 [valarray.unary] it is declared to return a valarray<bool>. The latter appears to be correct.

Proposed resolution:

Change in Section 26.5.2 [template.valarray] the declaration of operator!() so that the return type is valarray<bool>.


126. typos in Effects clause of ctype::do_narrow()

Section: 22.2.1.1.2 [locale.ctype.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 1998-12-15

View all other issues in [locale.ctype.virtuals].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

Typos in 22.2.1.1.2 need to be fixed.

Proposed resolution:

In Section 22.2.1.1.2 [locale.ctype.virtuals] change:

   do_widen(do_narrow(c),0) == c

to:

   do_widen(do_narrow(c,0)) == c

and change:

   (is(M,c) || !ctc.is(M, do_narrow(c),dfault) )

to:

   (is(M,c) || !ctc.is(M, do_narrow(c,dfault)) )

127. auto_ptr<> conversion issues

Section: D.9.1 [auto.ptr] Status: TC Submitter: Greg Colvin Date: 1999-02-17

View all other issues in [auto.ptr].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

There are two problems with the current auto_ptr wording in the standard:

First, the auto_ptr_ref definition cannot be nested because auto_ptr<Derived>::auto_ptr_ref is unrelated to auto_ptr<Base>::auto_ptr_ref. Also submitted by Nathan Myers, with the same proposed resolution.

Second, there is no auto_ptr assignment operator taking an auto_ptr_ref argument.

I have discussed these problems with my proposal coauthor, Bill Gibbons, and with some compiler and library implementors, and we believe that these problems are not desired or desirable implications of the standard.

25 Aug 1999: The proposed resolution now reflects changes suggested by Dave Abrahams, with Greg Colvin's concurrence; 1) changed "assignment operator" to "public assignment operator", 2) changed effects to specify use of release(), 3) made the conversion to auto_ptr_ref const.

2 Feb 2000: Lisa Lippincott comments: [The resolution of] this issue states that the conversion from auto_ptr to auto_ptr_ref should be const. This is not acceptable, because it would allow initialization and assignment from _any_ const auto_ptr! It also introduces an implementation difficulty in writing this conversion function -- namely, somewhere along the line, a const_cast will be necessary to remove that const so that release() may be called. This may result in undefined behavior [7.1.5.1/4]. The conversion operator does not have to be const, because a non-const implicit object parameter may be bound to an rvalue [13.3.3.1.4/3] [13.3.1/5].

Tokyo: The LWG removed the following from the proposed resolution:

In 20.4.4 [meta.unary], paragraph 2, and 20.4.4.3 [meta.unary.prop], paragraph 2, make the conversion to auto_ptr_ref const:

template<class Y> operator auto_ptr_ref<Y>() const throw();

Proposed resolution:

In 20.4.4 [meta.unary], paragraph 2, move the auto_ptr_ref definition to namespace scope.

In 20.4.4 [meta.unary], paragraph 2, add a public assignment operator to the auto_ptr definition:

auto_ptr& operator=(auto_ptr_ref<X> r) throw();

Also add the assignment operator to 20.4.4.3 [meta.unary.prop]:

auto_ptr& operator=(auto_ptr_ref<X> r) throw()

Effects: Calls reset(p.release()) for the auto_ptr p that r holds a reference to.
Returns: *this.


129. Need error indication from seekp() and seekg()

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted], 27.6.2.5 [ostream.seeks] Status: TC Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 1999-02-22

View all other issues in [istream.unformatted].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

Currently, the standard does not specify how seekg() and seekp() indicate failure. They are not required to set failbit, and they can't return an error indication because they must return *this, i.e. the stream. Hence, it is undefined what happens if they fail. And they can fail, for instance, when a file stream is disconnected from the underlying file (is_open()==false) or when a wide character file stream must perform a state-dependent code conversion, etc.

The stream functions seekg() and seekp() should set failbit in the stream state in case of failure.

Proposed resolution:

Add to the Effects: clause of  seekg() in 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] and to the Effects: clause of seekp() in 27.6.2.5 [ostream.seeks]:

In case of failure, the function calls setstate(failbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure).

Rationale:

Setting failbit is the usual error reporting mechanism for streams


130. Return type of container::erase(iterator) differs for associative containers

Section: 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts], 23.1.1 [sequence.reqmts] Status: DR Submitter: Andrew Koenig Date: 1999-03-02

View all other issues in [associative.reqmts].

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Duplicate of: 451

Discussion:

Table 67 (23.1.1) says that container::erase(iterator) returns an iterator. Table 69 (23.1.2) says that in addition to this requirement, associative containers also say that container::erase(iterator) returns void. That's not an addition; it's a change to the requirements, which has the effect of making associative containers fail to meet the requirements for containers.

Proposed resolution:

In 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts], in Table 69 Associative container requirements, change the return type of a.erase(q) from void to iterator. Change the assertion/not/pre/post-condition from "erases the element pointed to by q" to "erases the element pointed to by q. Returns an iterator pointing to the element immediately following q prior to the element being erased. If no such element exists, a.end() is returned."

In 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts], in Table 69 Associative container requirements, change the return type of a.erase(q1, q2) from void to iterator. Change the assertion/not/pre/post-condition from "erases the elements in the range [q1, q2)" to "erases the elements in the range [q1, q2). Returns q2."

In 23.3.1 [map], in the map class synopsis; and in 23.3.2 [multimap], in the multimap class synopsis; and in 23.3.3 [set], in the set class synopsis; and in 23.3.4 [multiset], in the multiset class synopsis: change the signature of the first erase overload to

   iterator erase(iterator position);

and change the signature of the third erase overload to

  iterator erase(iterator first, iterator last); 

[Pre-Kona: reopened at the request of Howard Hinnant]

[Post-Kona: the LWG agrees the return type should be iterator, not void. (Alex Stepanov agrees too.) Matt provided wording.]

[ Sydney: the proposed wording went in the right direction, but it wasn't good enough. We want to return an iterator from the range form of erase as well as the single-iterator form. Also, the wording is slightly different from the wording we have for sequences; there's no good reason for having a difference. Matt provided new wording, (reflected above) which we will review at the next meeting. ]

[ Redmond: formally voted into WP. ]


132. list::resize description uses random access iterators

Section: 23.2.4.2 [list.capacity] Status: TC Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 1999-03-06

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

The description reads:

-1- Effects:

         if (sz > size())
           insert(end(), sz-size(), c);
         else if (sz < size())
           erase(begin()+sz, end());
         else
           ;                           //  do nothing

Obviously list::resize should not be specified in terms of random access iterators.

Proposed resolution:

Change 23.2.4.2 [list.capacity] paragraph 1 to:

Effects:

         if (sz > size())
           insert(end(), sz-size(), c);
         else if (sz < size())
         {
           iterator i = begin();
           advance(i, sz);
           erase(i, end());
         }

[Dublin: The LWG asked Howard to discuss exception safety offline with David Abrahams. They had a discussion and believe there is no issue of exception safety with the proposed resolution.]


133. map missing get_allocator()

Section: 23.3.1 [map] Status: TC Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 1999-03-06

View all other issues in [map].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

The title says it all.

Proposed resolution:

Insert in 23.3.1 [map], paragraph 2, after operator= in the map declaration:

    allocator_type get_allocator() const;

134. vector constructors over specified

Section: 23.2.6.1 [vector.cons] Status: TC Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 1999-03-06

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

The complexity description says: "It does at most 2N calls to the copy constructor of T and logN reallocations if they are just input iterators ...".

This appears to be overly restrictive, dictating the precise memory/performance tradeoff for the implementor.

Proposed resolution:

Change 23.2.6.1 [vector.cons], paragraph 1 to:

-1- Complexity: The constructor template <class InputIterator> vector(InputIterator first, InputIterator last) makes only N calls to the copy constructor of T (where N is the distance between first and last) and no reallocations if iterators first and last are of forward, bidirectional, or random access categories. It makes order N calls to the copy constructor of T and order logN reallocations if they are just input iterators.

Rationale:

"at most 2N calls" is correct only if the growth factor is greater than or equal to 2.


136. seekp, seekg setting wrong streams?

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 1999-03-06

View all other issues in [istream.unformatted].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

I may be misunderstanding the intent, but should not seekg set only the input stream and seekp set only the output stream? The description seems to say that each should set both input and output streams. If that's really the intent, I withdraw this proposal.

Proposed resolution:

In section 27.6.1.3 change:

basic_istream<charT,traits>& seekg(pos_type pos);
Effects: If fail() != true, executes rdbuf()->pubseekpos(pos). 

To:

basic_istream<charT,traits>& seekg(pos_type pos);
Effects: If fail() != true, executes rdbuf()->pubseekpos(pos, ios_base::in). 

In section 27.6.1.3 change:

basic_istream<charT,traits>& seekg(off_type& off, ios_base::seekdir dir);
Effects: If fail() != true, executes rdbuf()->pubseekoff(off, dir). 

To:

basic_istream<charT,traits>& seekg(off_type& off, ios_base::seekdir dir);
Effects: If fail() != true, executes rdbuf()->pubseekoff(off, dir, ios_base::in). 

In section 27.6.2.4, paragraph 2 change:

-2- Effects: If fail() != true, executes rdbuf()->pubseekpos(pos). 

To:

-2- Effects: If fail() != true, executes rdbuf()->pubseekpos(pos, ios_base::out). 

In section 27.6.2.4, paragraph 4 change:

-4- Effects: If fail() != true, executes rdbuf()->pubseekoff(off, dir). 

To:

-4- Effects: If fail() != true, executes rdbuf()->pubseekoff(off, dir, ios_base::out). 

[Dublin: Dietmar Kühl thinks this is probably correct, but would like the opinion of more iostream experts before taking action.]

[Tokyo: Reviewed by the LWG. PJP noted that although his docs are incorrect, his implementation already implements the Proposed Resolution.]

[Post-Tokyo: Matt Austern comments:
Is it a problem with basic_istream and basic_ostream, or is it a problem with basic_stringbuf? We could resolve the issue either by changing basic_istream and basic_ostream, or by changing basic_stringbuf. I prefer the latter change (or maybe both changes): I don't see any reason for the standard to require that std::stringbuf s(std::string("foo"), std::ios_base::in); s.pubseekoff(0, std::ios_base::beg); must fail.
This requirement is a bit weird. There's no similar requirement for basic_streambuf<>::seekpos, or for basic_filebuf<>::seekoff or basic_filebuf<>::seekpos.]


137. Do use_facet and has_facet look in the global locale?

Section: 22.1.1 [locale] Status: TC Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 1999-03-17

View all other issues in [locale].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

Section 22.1.1 [locale] says:

-4- In the call to use_facet<Facet>(loc), the type argument chooses a facet, making available all members of the named type. If Facet is not present in a locale (or, failing that, in the global locale), it throws the standard exception bad_cast. A C++ program can check if a locale implements a particular facet with the template function has_facet<Facet>().

This contradicts the specification given in section 22.1.2 [locale.global.templates]:

template <class  Facet> const  Facet& use_facet(const locale&  loc);

-1- Get a reference to a facet of a locale.
-2- Returns: a reference to the corresponding facet of loc, if present.
-3- Throws: bad_cast if has_facet<Facet>(loc) is false.
-4- Notes: The reference returned remains valid at least as long as any copy of loc exists

Proposed resolution:

Remove the phrase "(or, failing that, in the global locale)" from section 22.1.1.

Rationale:

Needed for consistency with the way locales are handled elsewhere in the standard.


139. Optional sequence operation table description unclear

Section: 23.1.1 [sequence.reqmts] Status: TC Submitter: Andrew Koenig Date: 1999-03-30

View all other issues in [sequence.reqmts].

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

The sentence introducing the Optional sequence operation table (23.1.1 paragraph 12) has two problems:

A. It says ``The operations in table 68 are provided only for the containers for which they take constant time.''

That could be interpreted in two ways, one of them being ``Even though table 68 shows particular operations as being provided, implementations are free to omit them if they cannot implement them in constant time.''

B. That paragraph says nothing about amortized constant time, and it should. 

Proposed resolution:

Replace the wording in 23.1.1 paragraph 12  which begins ``The operations in table 68 are provided only..." with:

Table 68 lists sequence operations that are provided for some types of sequential containers but not others. An implementation shall provide these operations for all container types shown in the ``container'' column, and shall implement them so as to take amortized constant time.


141. basic_string::find_last_of, find_last_not_of say pos instead of xpos

Section: 21.3.6.4 [string::insert], 21.3.6.6 [string::replace] Status: TC Submitter: Arch Robison Date: 1999-04-28

View all other issues in [string::insert].

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Discussion:

Sections 21.3.6.4 paragraph 1 and 21.3.6.6 paragraph 1 surely have misprints where they say:

xpos <= pos and pos < size();

Surely the document meant to say ``xpos < size()'' in both places.

[Judy Ward also sent in this issue for 21.3.6.4 with the same proposed resolution.]

Proposed resolution:

Change Sections 21.3.6.4 paragraph 1 and 21.3.6.6 paragraph 1, the line which says:

xpos <= pos and pos < size();

to:

xpos <= pos and xpos < size();


142. lexicographical_compare complexity wrong

Section: 25.3.8 [alg.lex.comparison] Status: TC Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 1999-06-20

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Discussion:

The lexicographical_compare complexity is specified as:

     "At most min((last1 - first1), (last2 - first2)) applications of the corresponding comparison."

The best I can do is twice that expensive.

Nicolai Josuttis comments in lib-6862: You mean, to check for equality you have to check both < and >? Yes, IMO you are right! (and Matt states this complexity in his book)

Proposed resolution:

Change 25.3.8 [alg.lex.comparison] complexity to:

At most 2*min((last1 - first1), (last2 - first2)) applications of the corresponding comparison.

Change the example at the end of paragraph 3 to read:

[Example:

    for ( ; first1 != last1 && first2 != last2 ; ++first1, ++first2) {
      if (*first1 < *first2) return true;
      if (*first2 < *first1) return false;
    }
    return first1 == last1 && first2 != last2;
   
--end example]


144. Deque constructor complexity wrong

Section: 23.2.2.1 [deque.cons] Status: TC Submitter: Herb Sutter Date: 1999-05-09

View all other issues in [deque.cons].

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Discussion:

In 23.2.2.1 [deque.cons] paragraph 6, the deque ctor that takes an iterator range appears to have complexity requirements which are incorrect, and which contradict the complexity requirements for insert(). I suspect that the text in question, below, was taken from vector:

Complexity: If the iterators first and last are forward iterators, bidirectional iterators, or random access iterators the constructor makes only N calls to the copy constructor, and performs no reallocations, where N is last - first.

The word "reallocations" does not really apply to deque. Further, all of the following appears to be spurious:

It makes at most 2N calls to the copy constructor of T and log N reallocations if they are input iterators.1)

1) The complexity is greater in the case of input iterators because each element must be added individually: it is impossible to determine the distance between first abd last before doing the copying.

This makes perfect sense for vector, but not for deque. Why should deque gain an efficiency advantage from knowing in advance the number of elements to insert?

Proposed resolution:

In 23.2.2.1 [deque.cons] paragraph 6, replace the Complexity description, including the footnote, with the following text (which also corrects the "abd" typo):

Complexity: Makes last - first calls to the copy constructor of T.


146. complex<T> Inserter and Extractor need sentries

Section: 26.3.6 [complex.ops] Status: TC Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 1999-05-12

View all other issues in [complex.ops].

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Discussion:

The extractor for complex numbers is specified as: 

template<class T, class charT, class traits> 
basic_istream<charT, traits>& 
operator>>(basic_istream<charT, traits>& is, complex<T>& x);
 
Effects: Extracts a complex number x of the form: u, (u), or (u,v), where u is the real part and v is the imaginary part (lib.istream.formatted). 
Requires: The input values be convertible to T. If bad input is encountered, calls is.setstate(ios::failbit) (which may throw ios::failure (lib.iostate.flags). 
Returns: is .

Is it intended that the extractor for complex numbers does not skip whitespace, unlike all other extractors in the standard library do? Shouldn't a sentry be used? 

The inserter for complex numbers is specified as:

template<class T, class charT, class traits> 
basic_ostream<charT, traits>& 
operator<<(basic_ostream<charT, traits>& o, const complex<T>& x);

Effects: inserts the complex number x onto the stream o as if it were implemented as follows:

template<class T, class charT, class traits> 
basic_ostream<charT, traits>& 
operator<<(basic_ostream<charT, traits>& o, const complex<T>& x) 

basic_ostringstream<charT, traits> s; 
s.flags(o.flags()); 
s.imbue(o.getloc()); 
s.precision(o.precision()); 
s << '(' << x.real() << "," << x.imag() << ')'; 
return o << s.str(); 
}

Is it intended that the inserter for complex numbers ignores the field width and does not do any padding? If, with the suggested implementation above, the field width were set in the stream then the opening parentheses would be adjusted, but the rest not, because the field width is reset to zero after each insertion.

I think that both operations should use sentries, for sake of consistency with the other inserters and extractors in the library. Regarding the issue of padding in the inserter, I don't know what the intent was. 

Proposed resolution:

After 26.3.6 [complex.ops] paragraph 14 (operator>>), add a Notes clause:

Notes: This extraction is performed as a series of simpler extractions. Therefore, the skipping of whitespace is specified to be the same for each of the simpler extractions.

Rationale:

For extractors, the note is added to make it clear that skipping whitespace follows an "all-or-none" rule.

For inserters, the LWG believes there is no defect; the standard is correct as written.


147. Library Intro refers to global functions that aren't global

Section: 17.4.4.3 [global.functions] Status: TC Submitter: Lois Goldthwaite Date: 1999-06-04

View all other issues in [global.functions].

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Discussion:

The library had many global functions until 17.4.1.1 [lib.contents] paragraph 2 was added:

All library entities except macros, operator new and operator delete are defined within the namespace std or namespaces nested within namespace std.

It appears "global function" was never updated in the following:

17.4.4.3 - Global functions [lib.global.functions]

-1- It is unspecified whether any global functions in the C++ Standard Library are defined as inline (dcl.fct.spec).

-2- A call to a global function signature described in Clauses lib.language.support through lib.input.output behaves the same as if the implementation declares no additional global function signatures.*

[Footnote: A valid C++ program always calls the expected library global function. An implementation may also define additional global functions that would otherwise not be called by a valid C++ program. --- end footnote]

-3- A global function cannot be declared by the implementation as taking additional default arguments. 

17.4.4.4 - Member functions [lib.member.functions]

-2- An implementation can declare additional non-virtual member function signatures within a class:

-- by adding arguments with default values to a member function signature; The same latitude does not extend to the implementation of virtual or global functions, however.

Proposed resolution:

Change "global" to "global or non-member" in:

17.4.4.3 [lib.global.functions] section title,
17.4.4.3 [lib.global.functions] para 1,
17.4.4.3 [lib.global.functions] para 2 in 2 places plus 2 places in the footnote,
17.4.4.3 [lib.global.functions] para 3,
17.4.4.4 [lib.member.functions] para 2

Rationale:

Because operator new and delete are global, the proposed resolution was changed from "non-member" to "global or non-member.


148. Functions in the example facet BoolNames should be const

Section: 22.2.8 [facets.examples] Status: TC Submitter: Jeremy Siek Date: 1999-06-03

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Discussion:

In 22.2.8 [facets.examples] paragraph 13, the do_truename() and do_falsename() functions in the example facet BoolNames should be const. The functions they are overriding in numpunct_byname<char> are const.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.8 [facets.examples] paragraph 13, insert "const" in two places:

string do_truename() const { return "Oui Oui!"; }
string do_falsename() const { return "Mais Non!"; }


150. Find_first_of says integer instead of iterator

Section: 25.1.4 [alg.find.first.of] Status: TC Submitter: Matt McClure Date: 1999-06-30

View all other issues in [alg.find.first.of].

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Discussion:

Proposed resolution:

Change 25.1.4 [alg.find.first.of] paragraph 2 from:

Returns: The first iterator i in the range [first1, last1) such that for some integer j in the range [first2, last2) ...

to:

Returns: The first iterator i in the range [first1, last1) such that for some iterator j in the range [first2, last2) ...


151. Can't currently clear() empty container

Section: 23.1.1 [sequence.reqmts] Status: TC Submitter: Ed Brey Date: 1999-06-21

View all other issues in [sequence.reqmts].

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Discussion:

For both sequences and associative containers, a.clear() has the semantics of erase(a.begin(),a.end()), which is undefined for an empty container since erase(q1,q2) requires that q1 be dereferenceable (23.1.1,3 and 23.1.2,7). When the container is empty, a.begin() is not dereferenceable.

The requirement that q1 be unconditionally dereferenceable causes many operations to be intuitively undefined, of which clearing an empty container is probably the most dire.

Since q1 and q2 are only referenced in the range [q1, q2), and [q1, q2) is required to be a valid range, stating that q1 and q2 must be iterators or certain kinds of iterators is unnecessary.

Proposed resolution:

In 23.1.1, paragraph 3, change:

p and q2 denote valid iterators to a, q and q1 denote valid dereferenceable iterators to a, [q1, q2) denotes a valid range

to:

p denotes a valid iterator to a, q denotes a valid dereferenceable iterator to a, [q1, q2) denotes a valid range in a

In 23.1.2, paragraph 7, change:

p and q2 are valid iterators to a, q and q1 are valid dereferenceable iterators to a, [q1, q2) is a valid range

to

p is a valid iterator to a, q is a valid dereferenceable iterator to a, [q1, q2) is a valid range into a


152. Typo in scan_is() semantics

Section: 22.2.1.1.2 [locale.ctype.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [locale.ctype.virtuals].

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Discussion:

The semantics of scan_is() (paragraphs 4 and 6) is not exactly described because there is no function is() which only takes a character as argument. Also, in the effects clause (paragraph 3), the semantic is also kept vague.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.1.1.2 [locale.ctype.virtuals] paragraphs 4 and 6, change the returns clause from:

"... such that is(*p) would..."

to:  "... such that is(m, *p) would...."


153. Typo in narrow() semantics

Section: 22.2.1.3.2 [facet.ctype.char.members] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [facet.ctype.char.members].

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Duplicate of: 207

Discussion:

The description of the array version of narrow() (in paragraph 11) is flawed: There is no member do_narrow() which takes only three arguments because in addition to the range a default character is needed.

Additionally, for both widen and narrow we have two signatures followed by a Returns clause that only addresses one of them.

Proposed resolution:

Change the returns clause in 22.2.1.3.2 [facet.ctype.char.members] paragraph 10 from:

    Returns: do_widen(low, high, to).

to:

    Returns: do_widen(c) or do_widen(low, high, to), respectively.

Change 22.2.1.3.2 [facet.ctype.char.members] paragraph 10 and 11 from:

        char        narrow(char c, char /*dfault*/) const;
        const char* narrow(const char* low, const char* high,
                           char /*dfault*/, char* to) const;
        Returns: do_narrow(low, high, to).

to:

        char        narrow(char c, char dfault) const;
        const char* narrow(const char* low, const char* high,
                           char dfault, char* to) const;
        Returns: do_narrow(c, dfault) or
                 do_narrow(low, high, dfault, to), respectively.

[Kona: 1) the problem occurs in additional places, 2) a user defined version could be different.]

[Post-Tokyo: Dietmar provided the above wording at the request of the LWG. He could find no other places the problem occurred. He asks for clarification of the Kona "a user defined version..." comment above. Perhaps it was a circuitous way of saying "dfault" needed to be uncommented?]

[Post-Toronto: the issues list maintainer has merged in the proposed resolution from issue 207, which addresses the same paragraphs.]


154. Missing double specifier for do_get()

Section: 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View other active issues in [facet.num.get.virtuals].

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Discussion:

The table in paragraph 7 for the length modifier does not list the length modifier l to be applied if the type is double. Thus, the standard asks the implementation to do undefined things when using scanf() (the missing length modifier for scanf() when scanning doubles is actually a problem I found quite often in production code, too).

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals], paragraph 7, add a row in the Length Modifier table to say that for double a length modifier l is to be used.

Rationale:

The standard makes an embarrassing beginner's mistake.


155. Typo in naming the class defining the class Init

Section: 27.3 [iostream.objects] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [iostream.objects].

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Discussion:

There are conflicting statements about where the class Init is defined. According to 27.3 [iostream.objects] paragraph 2 it is defined as basic_ios::Init, according to 27.4.2 [ios.base] it is defined as ios_base::Init.

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.3 [iostream.objects] paragraph 2 from "basic_ios::Init" to "ios_base::Init".

Rationale:

Although not strictly wrong, the standard was misleading enough to warrant the change.


156. Typo in imbue() description

Section: 27.4.2.3 [ios.base.locales] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [ios.base.locales].

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Discussion:

There is a small discrepancy between the declarations of imbue(): in 27.4.2 [ios.base] the argument is passed as locale const& (correct), in 27.4.2.3 [ios.base.locales] it is passed as locale const (wrong).

Proposed resolution:

In 27.4.2.3 [ios.base.locales] change the imbue argument from "locale const" to "locale const&".


158. Underspecified semantics for setbuf()

Section: 27.5.2.4.2 [streambuf.virt.buffer] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [streambuf.virt.buffer].

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Discussion:

The default behavior of setbuf() is described only for the situation that gptr() != 0 && gptr() != egptr(): namely to do nothing. What has to be done in other situations  is not described although there is actually only one reasonable approach, namely to do nothing, too.

Since changing the buffer would almost certainly mess up most buffer management of derived classes unless these classes do it themselves, the default behavior of setbuf() should always be to do nothing.

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.5.2.4.2 [streambuf.virt.buffer], paragraph 3, Default behavior, to: "Default behavior: Does nothing. Returns this."


159. Strange use of underflow()

Section: 27.5.2.4.3 [streambuf.virt.get] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

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Discussion:

The description of the meaning of the result of showmanyc() seems to be rather strange: It uses calls to underflow(). Using underflow() is strange because this function only reads the current character but does not extract it, uflow() would extract the current character. This should be fixed to use sbumpc() instead.

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.5.2.4.3 [streambuf.virt.get] paragraph 1, showmanyc()returns clause, by replacing the word "supplied" with the words "extracted from the stream".


160. Typo: Use of non-existing function exception()

Section: 27.6.1.1 [istream] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

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Discussion:

The paragraph 4 refers to the function exception() which is not defined. Probably, the referred function is basic_ios<>::exceptions().

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.1.1 [istream], 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted], paragraph 1, 27.6.2.1 [ostream], paragraph 3, and 27.6.2.6.1 [ostream.formatted.reqmts], paragraph 1, change "exception()" to "exceptions()".

[Note to Editor: "exceptions" with an "s" is the correct spelling.]


161. Typo: istream_iterator vs. istreambuf_iterator

Section: 27.6.1.2.2 [istream.formatted.arithmetic] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [istream.formatted.arithmetic].

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Discussion:

The note in the second paragraph pretends that the first argument is an object of type istream_iterator. This is wrong: It is an object of type istreambuf_iterator.

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.6.1.2.2 [istream.formatted.arithmetic] from:

The first argument provides an object of the istream_iterator class...

to

The first argument provides an object of the istreambuf_iterator class...


164. do_put() has apparently unused fill argument

Section: 22.2.5.3.2 [locale.time.put.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 1999-07-23

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Discussion:

In 22.2.5.3.2 [locale.time.put.virtuals] the do_put() function is specified as taking a fill character as an argument, but the description of the function does not say whether the character is used at all and, if so, in which way. The same holds for any format control parameters that are accessible through the ios_base& argument, such as the adjustment or the field width. Is strftime() supposed to use the fill character in any way? In any case, the specification of time_put.do_put() looks inconsistent to me.

Is the signature of do_put() wrong, or is the effects clause incomplete?

Proposed resolution:

Add the following note after 22.2.5.3.2 [locale.time.put.virtuals] paragraph 2:

[Note: the fill argument may be used in the implementation-defined formats, or by derivations. A space character is a reasonable default for this argument. --end Note]

Rationale:

The LWG felt that while the normative text was correct, users need some guidance on what to pass for the fill argument since the standard doesn't say how it's used.


165. xsputn(), pubsync() never called by basic_ostream members?

Section: 27.6.2.1 [ostream] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [ostream].

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Discussion:

Paragraph 2 explicitly states that none of the basic_ostream functions falling into one of the groups "formatted output functions" and "unformatted output functions" calls any stream buffer function which might call a virtual function other than overflow(). Basically this is fine but this implies that sputn() (this function would call the virtual function xsputn()) is never called by any of the standard output functions. Is this really intended? At minimum it would be convenient to call xsputn() for strings... Also, the statement that overflow() is the only virtual member of basic_streambuf called is in conflict with the definition of flush() which calls rdbuf()->pubsync() and thereby the virtual function sync() (flush() is listed under "unformatted output functions").

In addition, I guess that the sentence starting with "They may use other public members of basic_ostream ..." probably was intended to start with "They may use other public members of basic_streamuf..." although the problem with the virtual members exists in both cases.

I see two obvious resolutions:

  1. state in a footnote that this means that xsputn() will never be called by any ostream member and that this is intended.
  2. relax the restriction and allow calling overflow() and xsputn(). Of course, the problem with flush() has to be resolved in some way.

Proposed resolution:

Change the last sentence of 27.6.2.1 (lib.ostream) paragraph 2 from:

They may use other public members of basic_ostream except that they do not invoke any virtual members of rdbuf() except overflow().

to:

They may use other public members of basic_ostream except that they shall not invoke any virtual members of rdbuf() except overflow(), xsputn(), and sync().

[Kona: the LWG believes this is a problem. Wish to ask Jerry or PJP why the standard is written this way.]

[Post-Tokyo: Dietmar supplied wording at the request of the LWG. He comments: The rules can be made a little bit more specific if necessary be explicitly spelling out what virtuals are allowed to be called from what functions and eg to state specifically that flush() is allowed to call sync() while other functions are not.]


167. Improper use of traits_type::length()

Section: 27.6.2.6.4 [ostream.inserters.character] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [ostream.inserters.character].

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Discussion:

Paragraph 4 states that the length is determined using traits::length(s). Unfortunately, this function is not defined for example if the character type is wchar_t and the type of s is char const*. Similar problems exist if the character type is char and the type of s is either signed char const* or unsigned char const*.

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.6.2.6.4 [ostream.inserters.character] paragraph 4 from:

Effects: Behaves like an formatted inserter (as described in lib.ostream.formatted.reqmts) of out. After a sentry object is constructed it inserts characters. The number of characters starting at s to be inserted is traits::length(s). Padding is determined as described in lib.facet.num.put.virtuals. The traits::length(s) characters starting at s are widened using out.widen (lib.basic.ios.members). The widened characters and any required padding are inserted into out. Calls width(0).

to:

Effects: Behaves like a formatted inserter (as described in lib.ostream.formatted.reqmts) of out. After a sentry object is constructed it inserts n characters starting at s, where n is the number that would be computed as if by:

Padding is determined as described in lib.facet.num.put.virtuals. The n characters starting at s are widened using out.widen (lib.basic.ios.members). The widened characters and any required padding are inserted into out. Calls width(0).

[Santa Cruz: Matt supplied new wording]

[Kona: changed "where n is" to " where n is the number that would be computed as if by"]

Rationale:

We have five separate cases. In two of them we can use the user-supplied traits class without any fuss. In the other three we try to use something as close to that user-supplied class as possible. In two cases we've got a traits class that's appropriate for char and what we've got is a const signed char* or a const unsigned char*; that's close enough so we can just use a reinterpret cast, and continue to use the user-supplied traits class. Finally, there's one case where we just have to give up: where we've got a traits class for some arbitrary charT type, and we somehow have to deal with a const char*. There's nothing better to do but fall back to char_traits<char>


168. Typo: formatted vs. unformatted

Section: 27.6.2.7 [ostream.unformatted] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [ostream.unformatted].

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Discussion:

The first paragraph begins with a descriptions what has to be done in formatted output functions. Probably this is a typo and the paragraph really want to describe unformatted output functions...

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.2.7 [ostream.unformatted] paragraph 1, the first and last sentences, change the word "formatted" to "unformatted":

"Each unformatted output function begins ..."
"... value specified for the unformatted output function."


169. Bad efficiency of overflow() mandated

Section: 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [stringbuf.virtuals].

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Discussion:

Paragraph 8, Notes, of this section seems to mandate an extremely inefficient way of buffer handling for basic_stringbuf, especially in view of the restriction that basic_ostream member functions are not allowed to use xsputn() (see 27.6.2.1 [ostream]): For each character to be inserted, a new buffer is to be created.

Of course, the resolution below requires some handling of simultaneous input and output since it is no longer possible to update egptr() whenever epptr() is changed. A possible solution is to handle this in underflow().

Proposed resolution:

In 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals] paragraph 8, Notes, insert the words "at least" as in the following:

To make a write position available, the function reallocates (or initially allocates) an array object with a sufficient number of elements to hold the current array object (if any), plus at least one additional write position.


170. Inconsistent definition of traits_type

Section: 27.7.4 [stringstream] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

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Discussion:

The classes basic_stringstream (27.7.4 [stringstream]), basic_istringstream (27.7.2 [istringstream]), and basic_ostringstream (27.7.3 [ostringstream]) are inconsistent in their definition of the type traits_type: For istringstream, this type is defined, for the other two it is not. This should be consistent.

Proposed resolution:

Proposed resolution:

To the declarations of basic_ostringstream (27.7.3 [ostringstream]) and basic_stringstream (27.7.4 [stringstream]) add:

typedef traits traits_type;

171. Strange seekpos() semantics due to joint position

Section: 27.8.1.5 [filebuf.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-20

View all other issues in [filebuf.virtuals].

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Discussion:

Overridden virtual functions, seekpos()

In 27.8.1.1 [filebuf] paragraph 3, it is stated that a joint input and output position is maintained by basic_filebuf. Still, the description of seekpos() seems to talk about different file positions. In particular, it is unclear (at least to me) what is supposed to happen to the output buffer (if there is one) if only the input position is changed. The standard seems to mandate that the output buffer is kept and processed as if there was no positioning of the output position (by changing the input position). Of course, this can be exactly what you want if the flag ios_base::ate is set. However, I think, the standard should say something like this:

Plus the appropriate error handling, that is...

Proposed resolution:

Change the unnumbered paragraph in 27.8.1.4 (lib.filebuf.virtuals) before paragraph 14 from:

pos_type seekpos(pos_type sp, ios_base::openmode = ios_base::in | ios_base::out);

Alters the file position, if possible, to correspond to the position stored in sp (as described below).

- if (which&ios_base::in)!=0, set the file position to sp, then update the input sequence

- if (which&ios_base::out)!=0, then update the output sequence, write any unshift sequence, and set the file position to sp.

to:

pos_type seekpos(pos_type sp, ios_base::openmode = ios_base::in | ios_base::out);

Alters the file position, if possible, to correspond to the position stored in sp (as described below). Altering the file position performs as follows:

1. if (om & ios_base::out)!=0, then update the output sequence and write any unshift sequence;

2. set the file position to sp;

3. if (om & ios_base::in)!=0, then update the input sequence;

where om is the open mode passed to the last call to open(). The operation fails if is_open() returns false.

[Kona: Dietmar is working on a proposed resolution.]

[Post-Tokyo: Dietmar supplied the above wording.]


172. Inconsistent types for basic_istream::ignore()

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: TC Submitter: Greg Comeau, Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-23

View all other issues in [istream.unformatted].

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Discussion:

In 27.6.1.1 [istream] the function ignore() gets an object of type streamsize as first argument. However, in 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] paragraph 23 the first argument is of type int.

As far as I can see this is not really a contradiction because everything is consistent if streamsize is typedef to be int. However, this is almost certainly not what was intended. The same thing happened to basic_filebuf::setbuf(), as described in issue 173.

Darin Adler also submitted this issue, commenting: Either 27.6.1.1 should be modified to show a first parameter of type int, or 27.6.1.3 should be modified to show a first parameter of type streamsize and use numeric_limits<streamsize>::max.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] paragraph 23 and 24, change both uses of int in the description of ignore() to streamsize.


173. Inconsistent types for basic_filebuf::setbuf()

Section: 27.8.1.5 [filebuf.virtuals] Status: TC Submitter: Greg Comeau, Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-23

View all other issues in [filebuf.virtuals].

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Discussion:

In 27.8.1.1 [filebuf] the function setbuf() gets an object of type streamsize as second argument. However, in 27.8.1.5 [filebuf.virtuals] paragraph 9 the second argument is of type int.

As far as I can see this is not really a contradiction because everything is consistent if streamsize is typedef to be int. However, this is almost certainly not what was intended. The same thing happened to basic_istream::ignore(), as described in issue 172.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.8.1.5 [filebuf.virtuals] paragraph 9, change all uses of int in the description of setbuf() to streamsize.


174. Typo: OFF_T vs. POS_T

Section: D.6 [depr.ios.members] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-23

View all other issues in [depr.ios.members].

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Discussion:

According to paragraph 1 of this section, streampos is the type OFF_T, the same type as streamoff. However, in paragraph 6 the streampos gets the type POS_T

Proposed resolution:

Change D.6 [depr.ios.members] paragraph 1 from "typedef OFF_T streampos;" to "typedef POS_T streampos;"


175. Ambiguity for basic_streambuf::pubseekpos() and a few other functions.

Section: D.6 [depr.ios.members] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-23

View all other issues in [depr.ios.members].

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Discussion:

According to paragraph 8 of this section, the methods basic_streambuf::pubseekpos(), basic_ifstream::open(), and basic_ofstream::open "may" be overloaded by a version of this function taking the type ios_base::open_mode as last argument argument instead of ios_base::openmode (ios_base::open_mode is defined in this section to be an alias for one of the integral types). The clause specifies, that the last argument has a default argument in three cases. However, this generates an ambiguity with the overloaded version because now the arguments are absolutely identical if the last argument is not specified.

Proposed resolution:

In D.6 [depr.ios.members] paragraph 8, remove the default arguments for basic_streambuf::pubseekpos(), basic_ifstream::open(), and basic_ofstream::open().


176. exceptions() in ios_base...?

Section: D.6 [depr.ios.members] Status: TC Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 1999-07-23

View all other issues in [depr.ios.members].

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Discussion:

The "overload" for the function exceptions() in paragraph 8 gives the impression that there is another function of this function defined in class ios_base. However, this is not the case. Thus, it is hard to tell how the semantics (paragraph 9) can be implemented: "Call the corresponding member function specified in clause 27 [input.output]."

Proposed resolution:

In D.6 [depr.ios.members] paragraph 8, move the declaration of the function exceptions()into class basic_ios.


179. Comparison of const_iterators to iterators doesn't work

Section: 23.1 [container.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 1998-07-02

View other active issues in [container.requirements].

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Discussion:

Currently the following will not compile on two well-known standard library implementations:

#include <set>
using namespace std;

void f(const set<int> &s)
{
  set<int>::iterator i;
  if (i==s.end()); // s.end() returns a const_iterator
}

The reason this doesn't compile is because operator== was implemented as a member function of the nested classes set:iterator and set::const_iterator, and there is no conversion from const_iterator to iterator. Surprisingly, (s.end() == i) does work, though, because of the conversion from iterator to const_iterator.

I don't see a requirement anywhere in the standard that this must work. Should there be one? If so, I think the requirement would need to be added to the tables in section 24.1.1. I'm not sure about the wording. If this requirement existed in the standard, I would think that implementors would have to make the comparison operators non-member functions.

This issues was also raised on comp.std.c++ by Darin Adler.  The example given was:

bool check_equal(std::deque<int>::iterator i,
std::deque<int>::const_iterator ci)
{
return i == ci;
}

Comment from John Potter:

In case nobody has noticed, accepting it will break reverse_iterator.

The fix is to make the comparison operators templated on two types.

    template <class Iterator1, class Iterator2>
    bool operator== (reverse_iterator<Iterator1> const& x,
                     reverse_iterator<Iterator2> const& y);
    

Obviously: return x.base() == y.base();

Currently, no reverse_iterator to const_reverse_iterator compares are valid.

BTW, I think the issue is in support of bad code. Compares should be between two iterators of the same type. All std::algorithms require the begin and end iterators to be of the same type.

Proposed resolution:

Insert this paragraph after 23.1 [container.requirements] paragraph 7:

In the expressions

    i == j
    i != j
    i < j
    i <= j
    i >= j
    i > j
    i - j
  

Where i and j denote objects of a container's iterator type, either or both may be replaced by an object of the container's const_iterator type referring to the same element with no change in semantics.

[post-Toronto: Judy supplied a proposed resolution saying that iterator and const_iterator could be freely mixed in iterator comparison and difference operations.]

[Redmond: Dave and Howard supplied a new proposed resolution which explicitly listed expressions; there was concern that the previous proposed resolution was too informal.]

Rationale:

The LWG believes it is clear that the above wording applies only to the nested types X::iterator and X::const_iterator, where X is a container. There is no requirement that X::reverse_iterator and X::const_reverse_iterator can be mixed. If mixing them is considered important, that's a separate issue. (Issue 280.)


181. make_pair() unintended behavior

Section: 20.2.3 [pairs] Status: TC Submitter: Andrew Koenig Date: 1999-08-03

View all other issues in [pairs].

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Discussion:

The claim has surfaced in Usenet that expressions such as

       make_pair("abc", 3)

are illegal, notwithstanding their use in examples, because template instantiation tries to bind the first template parameter to const char (&)[4], which type is uncopyable.

I doubt anyone intended that behavior...

Proposed resolution:

In 20.2 [utility], paragraph 1 change the following declaration of make_pair():

template <class T1, class T2> pair<T1,T2> make_pair(const T1&, const T2&);

to:

template <class T1, class T2> pair<T1,T2> make_pair(T1, T2);

In 20.2.3 [pairs] paragraph 7 and the line before, change:

template <class T1, class T2>
pair<T1, T2> make_pair(const T1& x, const T2& y);

to:

template <class T1, class T2>
pair<T1, T2> make_pair(T1 x, T2 y);

and add the following footnote to the effects clause:

According to 12.8 [class.copy], an implementation is permitted to not perform a copy of an argument, thus avoiding unnecessary copies.

Rationale:

Two potential fixes were suggested by Matt Austern and Dietmar Kühl, respectively, 1) overloading with array arguments, and 2) use of a reference_traits class with a specialization for arrays. Andy Koenig suggested changing to pass by value. In discussion, it appeared that this was a much smaller change to the standard that the other two suggestions, and any efficiency concerns were more than offset by the advantages of the solution. Two implementors reported that the proposed resolution passed their test suites.


182. Ambiguous references to size_t

Section: 17 [library] Status: WP Submitter: Al Stevens Date: 1999-08-15

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Discussion:

Many references to size_t throughout the document omit the std:: namespace qualification.

For example, 17.4.3.5 [replacement.functions] paragraph 2:

 operator new(size_t)
 operator new(size_t, const std::nothrow_t&)
 operator new[](size_t)
 operator new[](size_t, const std::nothrow_t&)

Proposed resolution:

In 17.4.3.5 [replacement.functions] paragraph 2: replace:

- operator new(size_t)
- operator new(size_t, const std::nothrow_t&)
- operator new[](size_t)
- operator new[](size_t, const std::nothrow_t&)

by:

- operator new(std::size_t)
- operator new(std::size_t, const std::nothrow_t&)
- operator new[](std::size_t)
- operator new[](std::size_t, const std::nothrow_t&)

In [lib.allocator.requirements] 20.1.5, paragraph 4: replace:

The typedef members pointer, const_pointer, size_type, and difference_type are required to be T*, T const*, size_t, and ptrdiff_t, respectively.

 by:

The typedef members pointer, const_pointer, size_type, and difference_type are required to be T*, T const*, std::size_t, and std::ptrdiff_t, respectively.

In [lib.allocator.members] 20.4.1.1, paragraphs 3 and 6: replace:

3 Notes: Uses ::operator new(size_t) (18.4.1).

6 Note: the storage is obtained by calling ::operator new(size_t), but it is unspecified when or how often this function is called. The use of hint is unspecified, but intended as an aid to locality if an implementation so desires.

by:

3 Notes: Uses ::operator new(std::size_t) (18.4.1).

6 Note: the storage is obtained by calling ::operator new(std::size_t), but it is unspecified when or how often this function is called. The use of hint is unspecified, but intended as an aid to locality if an implementation so desires.

In [lib.char.traits.require] 21.1.1, paragraph 1: replace:

In Table 37, X denotes a Traits class defining types and functions for the character container type CharT; c and d denote values of type CharT; p and q denote values of type const CharT*; s denotes a value of type CharT*; n, i and j denote values of type size_t; e and f denote values of type X::int_type; pos denotes a value of type X::pos_type; and state denotes a value of type X::state_type.

by:

In Table 37, X denotes a Traits class defining types and functions for the character container type CharT; c and d denote values of type CharT; p and q denote values of type const CharT*; s denotes a value of type CharT*; n, i and j denote values of type std::size_t; e and f denote values of type X::int_type; pos denotes a value of type X::pos_type; and state denotes a value of type X::state_type.

In [lib.char.traits.require] 21.1.1, table 37: replace the return type of X::length(p): "size_t" by "std::size_t".

In [lib.std.iterator.tags] 24.3.3, paragraph 2: replace:
    typedef ptrdiff_t difference_type;
by:
    typedef std::ptrdiff_t difference_type;

In [lib.locale.ctype] 22.2.1.1 put namespace std { ...} around the declaration of template <class charT> class ctype.

In [lib.iterator.traits] 24.3.1, paragraph 2 put namespace std { ...} around the declaration of:

    template<class Iterator> struct iterator_traits
    template<class T> struct iterator_traits<T*>
    template<class T> struct iterator_traits<const T*>

Rationale:

The LWG believes correcting names like size_t and ptrdiff_t to std::size_t and std::ptrdiff_t to be essentially editorial. There there can't be another size_t or ptrdiff_t meant anyway because, according to 17.4.3.2.4 [extern.types],

For each type T from the Standard C library, the types ::T and std::T are reserved to the implementation and, when defined, ::T shall be identical to std::T.

The issue is treated as a Defect Report to make explicit the Project Editor's authority to make this change.

[Post-Tokyo: Nico Josuttis provided the above wording at the request of the LWG.]

[Toronto: This is tangentially related to issue 229, but only tangentially: the intent of this issue is to address use of the name size_t in contexts outside of namespace std, such as in the description of ::operator new. The proposed changes should be reviewed to make sure they are correct.]

[pre-Copenhagen: Nico has reviewed the changes and believes them to be correct.]


183. I/O stream manipulators don't work for wide character streams

Section: 27.6.3 [std.manip] Status: WP Submitter: Andy Sawyer Date: 1999-07-07

View all other issues in [std.manip].

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Discussion:

27.6.3 [std.manip] paragraph 3 says (clause numbering added for exposition):

Returns: An object s of unspecified type such that if [1] out is an (instance of) basic_ostream then the expression out<<s behaves as if f(s) were called, and if [2] in is an (instance of) basic_istream then the expression in>>s behaves as if f(s) were called. Where f can be defined as: ios_base& f(ios_base& str, ios_base::fmtflags mask) { // reset specified flags str.setf(ios_base::fmtflags(0), mask); return str; } [3] The expression out<<s has type ostream& and value out. [4] The expression in>>s has type istream& and value in.

Given the definitions [1] and [2] for out and in, surely [3] should read: "The expression out << s has type basic_ostream& ..." and [4] should read: "The expression in >> s has type basic_istream& ..."

If the wording in the standard is correct, I can see no way of implementing any of the manipulators so that they will work with wide character streams.

e.g. wcout << setbase( 16 );

Must have value 'wcout' (which makes sense) and type 'ostream&' (which doesn't).

The same "cut'n'paste" type also seems to occur in Paras 4,5,7 and 8. In addition, Para 6 [setfill] has a similar error, but relates only to ostreams.

I'd be happier if there was a better way of saying this, to make it clear that the value of the expression is "the same specialization of basic_ostream as out"&

Proposed resolution:

Replace section 27.6.3 [std.manip] except paragraph 1 with the following:

2- The type designated smanip in each of the following function descriptions is implementation-specified and may be different for each function.

smanip resetiosflags(ios_base::fmtflags mask);

-3- Returns: An object s of unspecified type such that if out is an instance of basic_ostream<charT,traits> then the expression out<<s behaves as if f(s, mask) were called, or if in is an instance of basic_istream<charT,traits> then the expression in>>s behaves as if f(s, mask) were called. The function f can be defined as:*

[Footnote: The expression cin >> resetiosflags(ios_base::skipws) clears ios_base::skipws in the format flags stored in the basic_istream<charT,traits> object cin (the same as cin >> noskipws), and the expression cout << resetiosflags(ios_base::showbase) clears ios_base::showbase in the format flags stored in the basic_ostream<charT,traits> object cout (the same as cout << noshowbase). --- end footnote]

     ios_base& f(ios_base& str, ios_base::fmtflags mask)
   {
   // reset specified flags
   str.setf(ios_base::fmtflags(0), mask);
   return str;
   }

The expression out<<s has type basic_ostream<charT,traits>& and value out. The expression in>>s has type basic_istream<charT,traits>& and value in.

 smanip setiosflags(ios_base::fmtflags mask);

-4- Returns: An object s of unspecified type such that if out is an instance of basic_ostream<charT,traits> then the expression out<<s behaves as if f(s, mask) were called, or if in is an instance of basic_istream<charT,traits> then the expression in>>s behaves as if f(s, mask) were called. The function f can be defined as:

     ios_base& f(ios_base& str, ios_base::fmtflags mask)
   {
   // set specified flags
   str.setf(mask);
   return str;
   }

The expression out<<s has type basic_ostream<charT,traits>& and value out. The expression in>>s has type basic_istream<charT,traits>& and value in.

smanip setbase(int base);

-5- Returns: An object s of unspecified type such that if out is an instance of basic_ostream<charT,traits> then the expression out<<s behaves as if f(s, base) were called, or if in is an instance of basic_istream<charT,traits> then the expression in>>s behaves as if f(s, base) were called. The function f can be defined as:

     ios_base& f(ios_base& str, int base)
   {
   // set basefield
   str.setf(base == 8 ? ios_base::oct :
   base == 10 ? ios_base::dec :
   base == 16 ? ios_base::hex :
   ios_base::fmtflags(0), ios_base::basefield);
   return str;
   }

The expression out<<s has type basic_ostream<charT,traits>& and value out. The expression in>>s has type basic_istream<charT,traits>& and value in.

smanip setfill(char_type c);

-6- Returns: An object s of unspecified type such that if out is (or is derived from) basic_ostream<charT,traits> and c has type charT then the expression out<<s behaves as if f(s, c) were called. The function f can be defined as:

      template<class charT, class traits>
   basic_ios<charT,traits>& f(basic_ios<charT,traits>& str, charT c)
   {
   // set fill character
   str.fill(c);
   return str;
   }

The expression out<<s has type basic_ostream<charT,traits>& and value out.

smanip setprecision(int n);

-7- Returns: An object s of unspecified type such that if out is an instance of basic_ostream<charT,traits> then the expression out<<s behaves as if f(s, n) were called, or if in is an instance of basic_istream<charT,traits> then the expression in>>s behaves as if f(s, n) were called. The function f can be defined as:

      ios_base& f(ios_base& str, int n)
   {
   // set precision
   str.precision(n);
   return str;
   }

The expression out<<s has type basic_ostream<charT,traits>& and value out. The expression in>>s has type basic_istream<charT,traits>& and value in
.
smanip setw(int n);

-8- Returns: An object s of unspecified type such that if out is an instance of basic_ostream<charT,traits> then the expression out<<s behaves as if f(s, n) were called, or if in is an instance of basic_istream<charT,traits> then the expression in>>s behaves as if f(s, n) were called. The function f can be defined as:

      ios_base& f(ios_base& str, int n)
   {
   // set width
   str.width(n);
   return str;
   }

The expression out<<s has type basic_ostream<charT,traits>& and value out. The expression in>>s has type basic_istream<charT,traits>& and value in.

[Kona: Andy Sawyer and Beman Dawes will work to improve the wording of the proposed resolution.]

[Tokyo - The LWG noted that issue 216 involves the same paragraphs.]

[Post-Tokyo: The issues list maintainer combined the proposed resolution of this issue with the proposed resolution for issue 216 as they both involved the same paragraphs, and were so intertwined that dealing with them separately appear fraught with error. The full text was supplied by Bill Plauger; it was cross checked against changes supplied by Andy Sawyer. It should be further checked by the LWG.]


184. numeric_limits<bool> wording problems

Section: 18.2.1.5 [numeric.special] Status: WP Submitter: Gabriel Dos Reis Date: 1999-07-21

View all other issues in [numeric.special].

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Discussion:

bools are defined by the standard to be of integer types, as per 3.9.1 [basic.fundamental] paragraph 7. However "integer types" seems to have a special meaning for the author of 18.2. The net effect is an unclear and confusing specification for numeric_limits<bool> as evidenced below.

18.2.1.2/7 says numeric_limits<>::digits is, for built-in integer types, the number of non-sign bits in the representation.

4.5/4 states that a bool promotes to int ; whereas 4.12/1 says any non zero arithmetical value converts to true.

I don't think it makes sense at all to require numeric_limits<bool>::digits and numeric_limits<bool>::digits10 to be meaningful.

The standard defines what constitutes a signed (resp. unsigned) integer types. It doesn't categorize bool as being signed or unsigned. And the set of values of bool type has only two elements.

I don't think it makes sense to require numeric_limits<bool>::is_signed to be meaningful.

18.2.1.2/18 for numeric_limits<integer_type>::radix  says:

For integer types, specifies the base of the representation.186)

This disposition is at best misleading and confusing for the standard requires a "pure binary numeration system" for integer types as per 3.9.1/7

The footnote 186) says: "Distinguishes types with base other than 2 (e.g BCD)."  This also erroneous as the standard never defines any integer types with base representation other than 2.

Furthermore, numeric_limits<bool>::is_modulo and numeric_limits<bool>::is_signed have similar problems.

Proposed resolution:

Append to the end of 18.2.1.5 [numeric.special]:

The specialization for bool shall be provided as follows:

    namespace std {
       template<> class numeric_limits<bool> {
       public:
         static const bool is_specialized = true;
         static bool min() throw() { return false; }
         static bool max() throw() { return true; }

         static const int  digits = 1;
         static const int  digits10 = 0;
         static const bool is_signed = false;
         static const bool is_integer = true;
         static const bool is_exact = true;
         static const int  radix = 2;
         static bool epsilon() throw() { return 0; }
         static bool round_error() throw() { return 0; }

         static const int  min_exponent = 0;
         static const int  min_exponent10 = 0;
         static const int  max_exponent = 0;
         static const int  max_exponent10 = 0;

         static const bool has_infinity = false;
         static const bool has_quiet_NaN = false;
         static const bool has_signaling_NaN = false;
         static const float_denorm_style has_denorm = denorm_absent;
         static const bool has_denorm_loss = false;
         static bool infinity() throw() { return 0; }
         static bool quiet_NaN() throw() { return 0; }
         static bool signaling_NaN() throw() { return 0; }
         static bool denorm_min() throw() { return 0; }

         static const bool is_iec559 = false;
         static const bool is_bounded = true;
         static const bool is_modulo = false;

         static const bool traps = false;
         static const bool tinyness_before = false;
         static const float_round_style round_style = round_toward_zero;
       };
     }

[Tokyo:  The LWG desires wording that specifies exact values rather than more general wording in the original proposed resolution.]

[Post-Tokyo:  At the request of the LWG in Tokyo, Nico Josuttis provided the above wording.]


185. Questionable use of term "inline"

Section: 20.5 [function.objects] Status: WP Submitter: UK Panel Date: 1999-07-26

View all other issues in [function.objects].

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Discussion:

Paragraph 4 of 20.5 [function.objects] says:

 [Example: To negate every element of a: transform(a.begin(), a.end(), a.begin(), negate<double>()); The corresponding functions will inline the addition and the negation. end example]

(Note: The "addition" referred to in the above is in para 3) we can find no other wording, except this (non-normative) example which suggests that any "inlining" will take place in this case.

Indeed both:

17.4.4.3 Global Functions [lib.global.functions] 1 It is unspecified whether any global functions in the C++ Standard Library are defined as inline (7.1.2).

and

17.4.4.4 Member Functions [lib.member.functions] 1 It is unspecified whether any member functions in the C++ Standard Library are defined as inline (7.1.2).

take care to state that this may indeed NOT be the case.

Thus the example "mandates" behavior that is explicitly not required elsewhere.

Proposed resolution:

In 20.5 [function.objects] paragraph 1, remove the sentence:

They are important for the effective use of the library.

Remove 20.5 [function.objects] paragraph 2, which reads:

Using function objects together with function templates increases the expressive power of the library as well as making the resulting code much more efficient.

In 20.5 [function.objects] paragraph 4, remove the sentence:

The corresponding functions will inline the addition and the negation.

[Kona: The LWG agreed there was a defect.]

[Tokyo: The LWG crafted the proposed resolution.]


186. bitset::set() second parameter should be bool

Section: 23.3.5.2 [bitset.members] Status: WP Submitter: Darin Adler Date: 1999-08-13

View all other issues in [bitset.members].

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Discussion:

In section 23.3.5.2 [bitset.members], paragraph 13 defines the bitset::set operation to take a second parameter of type int. The function tests whether this value is non-zero to determine whether to set the bit to true or false. The type of this second parameter should be bool. For one thing, the intent is to specify a Boolean value. For another, the result type from test() is bool. In addition, it's possible to slice an integer that's larger than an int. This can't happen with bool, since conversion to bool has the semantic of translating 0 to false and any non-zero value to true.

Proposed resolution:

In 23.3.5 [template.bitset] Para 1 Replace:

bitset<N>& set(size_t pos, int val = true ); 

With:

bitset<N>& set(size_t pos, bool val = true );

In 23.3.5.2 [bitset.members] Para 12(.5) Replace:

bitset<N>& set(size_t pos, int val = 1 );

With:

bitset<N>& set(size_t pos, bool val = true );

[Kona: The LWG agrees with the description.  Andy Sawyer will work on better P/R wording.]

[Post-Tokyo: Andy provided the above wording.]

Rationale:

bool is a better choice. It is believed that binary compatibility is not an issue, because this member function is usually implemented as inline, and because it is already the case that users cannot rely on the type of a pointer to a nonvirtual member of a standard library class.


187. iter_swap underspecified

Section: 25.2.3 [alg.swap] Status: WP Submitter: Andrew Koenig Date: 1999-08-14

View all other issues in [alg.swap].

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Discussion:

The description of iter_swap in 25.2.2 paragraph 7,says that it ``exchanges the values'' of the objects to which two iterators refer.

What it doesn't say is whether it does so using swap or using the assignment operator and copy constructor.

This question is an important one to answer, because swap is specialized to work efficiently for standard containers.
For example:

vector<int> v1, v2;
iter_swap(&v1, &v2);

Is this call to iter_swap equivalent to calling swap(v1, v2)?  Or is it equivalent to

{
vector<int> temp = v1;
v1 = v2;
v2 = temp;
}

The first alternative is O(1); the second is O(n).

A LWG member, Dave Abrahams, comments:

Not an objection necessarily, but I want to point out the cost of that requirement:

iter_swap(list<T>::iterator, list<T>::iterator)

can currently be specialized to be more efficient than iter_swap(T*,T*) for many T (by using splicing). Your proposal would make that optimization illegal. 

[Kona: The LWG notes the original need for iter_swap was proxy iterators which are no longer permitted.]

Proposed resolution:

Change the effect clause of iter_swap in 25.2.2 paragraph 7 from:

Exchanges the values pointed to by the two iterators a and b.

to

swap(*a, *b).

Rationale:

It's useful to say just what iter_swap does. There may be some iterators for which we want to specialize iter_swap, but the fully general version should have a general specification.

Note that in the specific case of list<T>::iterator, iter_swap should not be specialized as suggested above. That would do much more than exchanging the two iterators' values: it would change predecessor/successor relationships, possibly moving the iterator from one list to another. That would surely be inappropriate.


189. setprecision() not specified correctly

Section: 27.4.2.2 [fmtflags.state] Status: TC Submitter: Andrew Koenig Date: 1999-08-25

View all other issues in [fmtflags.state].

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Discussion:

27.4.2.2 paragraph 9 claims that setprecision() sets the precision, and includes a parenthetical note saying that it is the number of digits after the decimal point.

This claim is not strictly correct. For example, in the default floating-point output format, setprecision sets the number of significant digits printed, not the number of digits after the decimal point.

I would like the committee to look at the definition carefully and correct the statement in 27.4.2.2

Proposed resolution:

Remove from 27.4.2.2 [fmtflags.state], paragraph 9, the text "(number of digits after the decimal point)".


193. Heap operations description incorrect

Section: 25.3.6 [alg.heap.operations] Status: TC Submitter: Markus Mauhart Date: 1999-09-24

View all issues with TC status.

Duplicate of: 216

Discussion:

25.3.6 [lib.alg.heap.operations] states two key properties of a heap [a,b), the first of them is

    `"(1) *a is the largest element"

I think this is incorrect and should be changed to the wording in the proposed resolution.

Actually there are two independent changes:

A-"part of largest equivalence class" instead of "largest", cause 25.3 [lib.alg.sorting] asserts "strict weak ordering" for all its sub clauses.

B-Take 'an oldest' from that equivalence class, otherwise the heap functions could not be used for a priority queue as explained in 23.2.3.2.2 [lib.priqueue.members] (where I assume that a "priority queue" respects priority AND time).

Proposed resolution:

Change 25.3.6 [alg.heap.operations] property (1) from:

(1) *a is the largest element

to:

(1) There is no element greater than *a


195. Should basic_istream::sentry's constructor ever set eofbit?

Section: 27.6.1.1.3 [istream::sentry] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1999-10-13

View all other issues in [istream::sentry].

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Discussion:

Suppose that is.flags() & ios_base::skipws is nonzero. What should basic_istream<>::sentry's constructor do if it reaches eof while skipping whitespace? 27.6.1.1.2/5 suggests it should set failbit. Should it set eofbit as well? The standard doesn't seem to answer that question.

On the one hand, nothing in 27.6.1.1.3 [istream::sentry] says that basic_istream<>::sentry should ever set eofbit. On the other hand, 27.6.1.1 [istream] paragraph 4 says that if extraction from a streambuf "returns traits::eof(), then the input function, except as explicitly noted otherwise, completes its actions and does setstate(eofbit)". So the question comes down to whether basic_istream<>::sentry's constructor is an input function.

Comments from Jerry Schwarz:

It was always my intention that eofbit should be set any time that a virtual returned something to indicate eof, no matter what reason iostream code had for calling the virtual.

The motivation for this is that I did not want to require streambufs to behave consistently if their virtuals are called after they have signaled eof.

The classic case is a streambuf reading from a UNIX file. EOF isn't really a state for UNIX file descriptors. The convention is that a read on UNIX returns 0 bytes to indicate "EOF", but the file descriptor isn't shut down in any way and future reads do not necessarily also return 0 bytes. In particular, you can read from tty's on UNIX even after they have signaled "EOF". (It isn't always understood that a ^D on UNIX is not an EOF indicator, but an EOL indicator. By typing a "line" consisting solely of ^D you cause a read to return 0 bytes, and by convention this is interpreted as end of file.)

Proposed resolution:

Add a sentence to the end of 27.6.1.1.2 paragraph 2:

If is.rdbuf()->sbumpc() or is.rdbuf()->sgetc() returns traits::eof(), the function calls setstate(failbit | eofbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure).


198. Validity of pointers and references unspecified after iterator destruction

Section: 24.1 [iterator.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 1999-11-03

View other active issues in [iterator.requirements].

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Discussion:

Is a pointer or reference obtained from an iterator still valid after destruction of the iterator?

Is a pointer or reference obtained from an iterator still valid after the value of the iterator changes?

#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <iterator>

int main()
{
    typedef std::vector<int> vec_t;
    vec_t v;
    v.push_back( 1 );

    // Is a pointer or reference obtained from an iterator still
    // valid after destruction of the iterator?
    int * p = &*v.begin();
    std::cout << *p << '\n';  // OK?

    // Is a pointer or reference obtained from an iterator still
    // valid after the value of the iterator changes?
    vec_t::iterator iter( v.begin() );
    p = &*iter++;
    std::cout << *p << '\n';  // OK?

    return 0;
}

The standard doesn't appear to directly address these questions. The standard needs to be clarified. At least two real-world cases have been reported where library implementors wasted considerable effort because of the lack of clarity in the standard. The question is important because requiring pointers and references to remain valid has the effect for practical purposes of prohibiting iterators from pointing to cached rather than actual elements of containers.

The standard itself assumes that pointers and references obtained from an iterator are still valid after iterator destruction or change. The definition of reverse_iterator::operator*(), 24.4.1.3.3 [reverse.iter.conv], which returns a reference, defines effects:

Iterator tmp = current;
return *--tmp;

The definition of reverse_iterator::operator->(), 24.4.1.3.4 [reverse.iter.op.star], which returns a pointer, defines effects:

return &(operator*());

Because the standard itself assumes pointers and references remain valid after iterator destruction or change, the standard should say so explicitly. This will also reduce the chance of user code breaking unexpectedly when porting to a different standard library implementation.

Proposed resolution:

Add a new paragraph to 24.1 [iterator.requirements]:

Destruction of an iterator may invalidate pointers and references previously obtained from that iterator.

Replace paragraph 1 of 24.4.1.3.3 [reverse.iter.conv] with:

Effects:

  this->tmp = current;
  --this->tmp;
  return *this->tmp;

[Note: This operation must use an auxiliary member variable, rather than a temporary variable, to avoid returning a reference that persists beyond the lifetime of its associated iterator. (See 24.1 [iterator.requirements].) The name of this member variable is shown for exposition only. --end note]

[Post-Tokyo: The issue has been reformulated purely in terms of iterators.]

[Pre-Toronto: Steve Cleary pointed out the no-invalidation assumption by reverse_iterator. The issue and proposed resolution was reformulated yet again to reflect this reality.]

[Copenhagen: Steve Cleary pointed out that reverse_iterator assumes its underlying iterator has persistent pointers and references. Andy Koenig pointed out that it is possible to rewrite reverse_iterator so that it no longer makes such an assupmption. However, this issue is related to issue 299. If we decide it is intentional that p[n] may return by value instead of reference when p is a Random Access Iterator, other changes in reverse_iterator will be necessary.]

Rationale:

This issue has been discussed extensively. Note that it is not an issue about the behavior of predefined iterators. It is asking whether or not user-defined iterators are permitted to have transient pointers and references. Several people presented examples of useful user-defined iterators that have such a property; examples include a B-tree iterator, and an "iota iterator" that doesn't point to memory. Library implementors already seem to be able to cope with such iterators: they take pains to avoid forming references to memory that gets iterated past. The only place where this is a problem is reverse_iterator, so this issue changes reverse_iterator to make it work.

This resolution does not weaken any guarantees provided by predefined iterators like list<int>::iterator. Clause 23 should be reviewed to make sure that guarantees for predefined iterators are as strong as users expect.


199. What does allocate(0) return?

Section: 20.1.2 [allocator.requirements] Status: TC Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1999-11-19

View other active issues in [allocator.requirements].

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Discussion:

Suppose that A is a class that conforms to the Allocator requirements of Table 32, and a is an object of class A What should be the return value of a.allocate(0)? Three reasonable possibilities: forbid the argument 0, return a null pointer, or require that the return value be a unique non-null pointer.

Proposed resolution:

Add a note to the allocate row of Table 32: "[Note: If n == 0, the return value is unspecified. --end note]"

Rationale:

A key to understanding this issue is that the ultimate use of allocate() is to construct an iterator, and that iterator for zero length sequences must be the container's past-the-end representation. Since this already implies special case code, it would be over-specification to mandate the return value.


200. Forward iterator requirements don't allow constant iterators

Section: 24.1.3 [forward.iterators] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 1999-11-19

View all other issues in [forward.iterators].

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Discussion:

In table 74, the return type of the expression *a is given as T&, where T is the iterator's value type. For constant iterators, however, this is wrong. ("Value type" is never defined very precisely, but it is clear that the value type of, say, std::list<int>::const_iterator is supposed to be int, not const int.)

Proposed resolution:

In table 74, in the *a and *r++ rows, change the return type from "T&" to "T& if X is mutable, otherwise const T&". In the a->m row, change the return type from "U&" to "U& if X is mutable, otherwise const U&".

[Tokyo: The LWG believes this is the tip of a larger iceberg; there are multiple const problems with the STL portion of the library and that these should be addressed as a single package.  Note that issue 180 has already been declared NAD Future for that very reason.]

[Redmond: the LWG thinks this is separable from other constness issues. This issue is just cleanup; it clarifies language that was written before we had iterator_traits. Proposed resolution was modified: the original version only discussed *a. It was pointed out that we also need to worry about *r++ and a->m.]


201. Numeric limits terminology wrong

Section: 18.2.1 [limits] Status: WP Submitter: Stephen Cleary Date: 1999-12-21

View all other issues in [limits].

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Discussion:

In some places in this section, the terms "fundamental types" and "scalar types" are used when the term "arithmetic types" is intended. The current usage is incorrect because void is a fundamental type and pointers are scalar types, neither of which should have specializations of numeric_limits.

[Lillehammer: it remains true that numeric_limits is using imprecise language. However, none of the proposals for changed wording are clearer. A redesign of numeric_limits is needed, but this is more a task than an open issue.]

Proposed resolution:

Change 18.2 [support.limits] to:

-1- The headers <limits>, <climits>, <cfloat>, and <cinttypes> supply characteristics of implementation-dependent fundamental arithmetic types (3.9.1).

Change 18.2.1 [limits] to:

-1- The numeric_limits component provides a C++ program with information about various properties of the implementation's representation of the fundamental arithmetic types.

-2- Specializations shall be provided for each fundamental arithmetic type, both floating point and integer, including bool. The member is_specialized shall be true for all such specializations of numeric_limits.

-4- Non-fundamentalarithmetic standard types, such as complex<T> (26.3.2), shall not have specializations.

Change 18.2.1.1 [numeric.limits] to:

-1- The member is_specialized makes it possible to distinguish between fundamental types, which have specializations, and non-scalar types, which do not.


202. unique() effects unclear when predicate not an equivalence relation

Section: 25.2.9 [alg.unique] Status: WP Submitter: Andrew Koenig Date: 2000-01-13

View all other issues in [alg.unique].

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Discussion:

What should unique() do if you give it a predicate that is not an equivalence relation? There are at least two plausible answers:

1. You can't, because 25.2.8 says that it it "eliminates all but the first element from every consecutive group of equal elements..." and it wouldn't make sense to interpret "equal" as meaning anything but an equivalence relation. [It also doesn't make sense to interpret "equal" as meaning ==, because then there would never be any sense in giving a predicate as an argument at all.]

2. The word "equal" should be interpreted to mean whatever the predicate says, even if it is not an equivalence relation (and in particular, even if it is not transitive).

The example that raised this question is from Usenet:

int f[] = { 1, 3, 7, 1, 2 };
int* z = unique(f, f+5, greater<int>());

If one blindly applies the definition using the predicate greater<int>, and ignore the word "equal", you get:

Eliminates all but the first element from every consecutive group of elements referred to by the iterator i in the range [first, last) for which *i > *(i - 1).

The first surprise is the order of the comparison. If we wanted to allow for the predicate not being an equivalence relation, then we should surely compare elements the other way: pred(*(i - 1), *i). If we do that, then the description would seem to say: "Break the sequence into subsequences whose elements are in strictly increasing order, and keep only the first element of each subsequence". So the result would be 1, 1, 2. If we take the description at its word, it would seem to call for strictly DEcreasing order, in which case the result should be 1, 3, 7, 2.

In fact, the SGI implementation of unique() does neither: It yields 1, 3, 7.

Proposed resolution:

Change 25.2.9 [alg.unique] paragraph 1 to:

For a nonempty range, eliminates all but the first element from every consecutive group of equivalent elements referred to by the iterator i in the range [first+1, last) for which the following conditions hold: *(i-1) == *i or pred(*(i-1), *i) != false.

Also insert a new paragraph, paragraph 2a, that reads: "Requires: The comparison function must be an equivalence relation."

[Redmond: discussed arguments for and against requiring the comparison function to be an equivalence relation. Straw poll: 14-2-5. First number is to require that it be an equivalence relation, second number is to explicitly not require that it be an equivalence relation, third number is people who believe they need more time to consider the issue. A separate issue: Andy Sawyer pointed out that "i-1" is incorrect, since "i" can refer to the first iterator in the range. Matt provided wording to address this problem.]

[Curaçao: The LWG changed "... the range (first, last)..." to "... the range [first+1, last)..." for clarity. They considered this change close enough to editorial to not require another round of review.]

Rationale:

The LWG also considered an alternative resolution: change 25.2.9 [alg.unique] paragraph 1 to:

For a nonempty range, eliminates all but the first element from every consecutive group of elements referred to by the iterator i in the range (first, last) for which the following conditions hold: *(i-1) == *i or pred(*(i-1), *i) != false.

Also insert a new paragraph, paragraph 1a, that reads: "Notes: The comparison function need not be an equivalence relation."

Informally: the proposed resolution imposes an explicit requirement that the comparison function be an equivalence relation. The alternative resolution does not, and it gives enough information so that the behavior of unique() for a non-equivalence relation is specified. Both resolutions are consistent with the behavior of existing implementations.


206. operator new(size_t, nothrow) may become unlinked to ordinary operator new if ordinary version replaced

Section: 18.5.1.1 [new.delete.single] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 1999-08-29

View all other issues in [new.delete.single].

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Discussion:

As specified, the implementation of the nothrow version of operator new does not necessarily call the ordinary operator new, but may instead simply call the same underlying allocator and return a null pointer instead of throwing an exception in case of failure.

Such an implementation breaks code that replaces the ordinary version of new, but not the nothrow version. If the ordinary version of new/delete is replaced, and if the replaced delete is not compatible with pointers returned from the library versions of new, then when the replaced delete receives a pointer allocated by the library new(nothrow), crash follows.

The fix appears to be that the lib version of new(nothrow) must call the ordinary new. Thus when the ordinary new gets replaced, the lib version will call the replaced ordinary new and things will continue to work.

An alternative would be to have the ordinary new call new(nothrow). This seems sub-optimal to me as the ordinary version of new is the version most commonly replaced in practice. So one would still need to replace both ordinary and nothrow versions if one wanted to replace the ordinary version.

Another alternative is to put in clear text that if one version is replaced, then the other must also be replaced to maintain compatibility. Then the proposed resolution below would just be a quality of implementation issue. There is already such text in paragraph 7 (under the new(nothrow) version). But this nuance is easily missed if one reads only the paragraphs relating to the ordinary new.

N2158 has been written explaining the rationale for the proposed resolution below.

Proposed resolution:

Change 18.5.1.1 [new.delete.single]:

void* operator new(std::size_t size, const std::nothrow_t&) throw();

-5- Effects: Same as above, except that it is called by a placement version of a new-expression when a C++ program prefers a null pointer result as an error indication, instead of a bad_alloc exception.

-6- Replaceable: a C++ program may define a function with this function signature that displaces the default version defined by the C++ Standard library.

-7- Required behavior: Return a non-null pointer to suitably aligned storage (3.7.4), or else return a null pointer. This nothrow version of operator new returns a pointer obtained as if acquired from the (possibly replaced) ordinary version. This requirement is binding on a replacement version of this function.

-8- Default behavior:

-9- [Example:

T* p1 = new T;                 // throws bad_alloc if it fails
T* p2 = new(nothrow) T;        // returns 0 if it fails

--end example]

void operator delete(void* ptr) throw();
void operator delete(void* ptr, const std::nothrow_t&) throw();

-10- Effects: The deallocation function (3.7.4.2) called by a delete-expression to render the value of ptr invalid.

-11- Replaceable: a C++ program may define a function with this function signature that displaces the default version defined by the C++ Standard library.

-12- Requires: the value of ptr is null or the value returned by an earlier call to the default (possibly replaced) operator new(std::size_t) or operator new(std::size_t, const std::nothrow_t&).

-13- Default behavior:

-14- Remarks: It is unspecified under what conditions part or all of such reclaimed storage is allocated by a subsequent call to operator new or any of calloc, malloc, or realloc, declared in <cstdlib>.

void operator delete(void* ptr, const std::nothrow_t&) throw();

-15- Effects: Same as above, except that it is called by the implementation when an exception propagates from a nothrow placement version of the new-expression (i.e. when the constructor throws an exception).

-16- Replaceable: a C++ program may define a function with this function signature that displaces the default version defined by the C++ Standard library.

-17- Requires: the value of ptr is null or the value returned by an earlier call to the (possibly replaced) operator new(std::size_t) or operator new(std::size_t, const std::nothrow_t&).

-18- Default behavior: Calls operator delete(ptr).

Change 18.5.1.2 [new.delete.array]

void* operator new[](std::size_t size, const std::nothrow_t&) throw();

-5- Effects: Same as above, except that it is called by a placement version of a new-expression when a C++ program prefers a null pointer result as an error indication, instead of a bad_alloc exception.

-6- Replaceable: a C++ program can define a function with this function signature that displaces the default version defined by the C++ Standard library.

-7- Required behavior: Same as for operator new(std::size_t, const std::nothrow_t&). This nothrow version of operator new[] returns a pointer obtained as if acquired from the ordinary version. Return a non-null pointer to suitably aligned storage (3.7.4), or else return a null pointer. This nothrow version of operator new returns a pointer obtained as if acquired from the (possibly replaced) operator new[](std::size_t size). This requirement is binding on a replacement version of this function.

-8- Default behavior: Returns operator new(size, nothrow).

void operator delete[](void* ptr) throw(); 
void operator delete[](void* ptr, const std::nothrow_t&) throw();

-9- Effects: The deallocation function (3.7.4.2) called by the array form of a delete-expression to render the value of ptr invalid.

-10- Replaceable: a C++ program can define a function with this function signature that displaces the default version defined by the C++ Standard library.

-11- Requires: the value of ptr is null or the value returned by an earlier call to operator new[](std::size_t) or operator new[](std::size_t, const std::nothrow_t&).

-12- Default behavior: Calls operator delete(ptr) or operator delete[](ptr, std::nothrow) respectively.

Rationale:

Yes, they may become unlinked, and that is by design. If a user replaces one, the user should also replace the other.

[ Reopened due to a gcc conversation between Howard, Martin and Gaby. Forwarding or not is visible behavior to the client and it would be useful for the client to know which behavior it could depend on. ]

[ Batavia: Robert voiced serious reservations about backwards compatibility for his customers. ]


208. Unnecessary restriction on past-the-end iterators

Section: 24.1 [iterator.requirements] Status: TC Submitter: Stephen Cleary Date: 2000-02-02

View other active issues in [iterator.requirements].

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Discussion:

In 24.1 paragraph 5, it is stated ". . . Dereferenceable and past-the-end values are always non-singular."

This places an unnecessary restriction on past-the-end iterators for containers with forward iterators (for example, a singly-linked list). If the past-the-end value on such a container was a well-known singular value, it would still satisfy all forward iterator requirements.

Removing this restriction would allow, for example, a singly-linked list without a "footer" node.

This would have an impact on existing code that expects past-the-end iterators obtained from different (generic) containers being not equal.

Proposed resolution:

Change 24.1 [iterator.requirements] paragraph 5, the last sentence, from:

Dereferenceable and past-the-end values are always non-singular.

to:

Dereferenceable values are always non-singular. 

Rationale:

For some kinds of containers, including singly linked lists and zero-length vectors, null pointers are perfectly reasonable past-the-end iterators. Null pointers are singular.


209. basic_string declarations inconsistent

Section: 21.3 [basic.string] Status: TC Submitter: Igor Stauder Date: 2000-02-11

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Discussion:

In Section 21.3 [basic.string] the basic_string member function declarations use a consistent style except for the following functions:

void push_back(const charT);
basic_string& assign(const basic_string&);
void swap(basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>&);

- push_back, assign, swap: missing argument name 
- push_back: use of const with charT (i.e. POD type passed by value not by reference - should be charT or const charT& )
- swap: redundant use of template parameters in argument basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>&

Proposed resolution:

In Section 21.3 [basic.string] change the basic_string member function declarations push_back, assign, and swap to:

void push_back(charT c); 

basic_string& assign(const basic_string& str);
void swap(basic_string& str);

Rationale:

Although the standard is in general not consistent in declaration style, the basic_string declarations are consistent other than the above. The LWG felt that this was sufficient reason to merit the change.


210. distance first and last confused

Section: 25 [algorithms] Status: TC Submitter: Lisa Lippincott Date: 2000-02-15

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Discussion:

In paragraph 9 of section 25 [algorithms], it is written:

In the description of the algorithms operators + and - are used for some of the iterator categories for which they do not have to be defined. In these cases the semantics of [...] a-b is the same as of

     return distance(a, b);

Proposed resolution:

On the last line of paragraph 9 of section 25 [algorithms] change "a-b" to "b-a".

Rationale:

There are two ways to fix the defect; change the description to b-a or change the return to distance(b,a). The LWG preferred the former for consistency.


211. operator>>(istream&, string&) doesn't set failbit

Section: 21.3.8.9 [string.io] Status: TC Submitter: Scott Snyder Date: 2000-02-04

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Discussion:

The description of the stream extraction operator for std::string (section 21.3.7.9 [lib.string.io]) does not contain a requirement that failbit be set in the case that the operator fails to extract any characters from the input stream.

This implies that the typical construction

std::istream is;
std::string str;
...
while (is >> str) ... ;

(which tests failbit) is not required to terminate at EOF.

Furthermore, this is inconsistent with other extraction operators, which do include this requirement. (See sections 27.6.1.2 [istream.formatted] and 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted]), where this requirement is present, either explicitly or implicitly, for the extraction operators. It is also present explicitly in the description of getline (istream&, string&, charT) in section 21.3.8.9 [string.io] paragraph 8.)

Proposed resolution:

Insert new paragraph after paragraph 2 in section 21.3.8.9 [string.io]:

If the function extracts no characters, it calls is.setstate(ios::failbit) which may throw ios_base::failure (27.4.4.3).


212. Empty range behavior unclear for several algorithms

Section: 25.3.7 [alg.min.max] Status: TC Submitter: Nico Josuttis Date: 2000-02-26

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Discussion:

The standard doesn't specify what min_element() and max_element() shall return if the range is empty (first equals last). The usual implementations return last. This problem seems also apply to partition(), stable_partition(), next_permutation(), and prev_permutation().

Proposed resolution:

In 25.3.7 [alg.min.max] - Minimum and maximum, paragraphs 7 and 9, append: Returns last if first==last.

Rationale:

The LWG looked in some detail at all of the above mentioned algorithms, but believes that except for min_element() and max_element() it is already clear that last is returned if first == last.


214. set::find() missing const overload

Section: 23.3.3 [set], 23.3.4 [multiset] Status: WP Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 2000-02-28

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Duplicate of: 450

Discussion:

The specification for the associative container requirements in Table 69 state that the find member function should "return iterator; const_iterator for constant a". The map and multimap container descriptions have two overloaded versions of find, but set and multiset do not, all they have is:

iterator find(const key_type & x) const;

Proposed resolution:

Change the prototypes for find(), lower_bound(), upper_bound(), and equal_range() in section 23.3.3 [set] and section 23.3.4 [multiset] to each have two overloads:

iterator find(const key_type & x);
const_iterator find(const key_type & x) const;
iterator lower_bound(const key_type & x);
const_iterator lower_bound(const key_type & x) const;
iterator upper_bound(const key_type & x);
const_iterator upper_bound(const key_type & x) const;
pair<iterator, iterator> equal_range(const key_type & x);
pair<const_iterator, const_iterator> equal_range(const key_type & x) const;

[Tokyo: At the request of the LWG, Judy Ward provided wording extending the proposed resolution to lower_bound, upper_bound, and equal_range.]


217. Facets example (Classifying Japanese characters) contains errors

Section: 22.2.8 [facets.examples] Status: TC Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-02-29

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Discussion:

The example in 22.2.8, paragraph 11 contains the following errors:

1) The member function `My::JCtype::is_kanji()' is non-const; the function must be const in order for it to be callable on a const object (a reference to which which is what std::use_facet<>() returns).

2) In file filt.C, the definition of `JCtype::id' must be qualified with the name of the namespace `My'.

3) In the definition of `loc' and subsequently in the call to use_facet<>() in main(), the name of the facet is misspelled: it should read `My::JCtype' rather than `My::JCType'.

Proposed resolution:

Replace the "Classifying Japanese characters" example in 22.2.8, paragraph 11 with the following:

#include <locale>
namespace My {
    using namespace std;
    class JCtype : public locale::facet {
    public:
        static locale::id id;     //  required for use as a new locale facet
        bool is_kanji (wchar_t c) const;
        JCtype() {}
    protected:
        ~JCtype() {}
    };
}
//  file:  filt.C
#include <iostream>
#include <locale>
#include "jctype"                 //  above
std::locale::id My::JCtype::id;   //  the static  JCtype  member
declared above.
int main()
{
    using namespace std;
    typedef ctype<wchar_t> wctype;
    locale loc(locale(""),              //  the user's preferred locale...
               new My::JCtype);         //  and a new feature ...
    wchar_t c = use_facet<wctype>(loc).widen('!');
    if (!use_facet<My::JCtype>(loc).is_kanji(c))
        cout << "no it isn't!" << endl;
    return 0;
}

220. ~ios_base() usage valid?

Section: 27.4.2.7 [ios.base.cons] Status: TC Submitter: Jonathan Schilling, Howard Hinnant Date: 2000-03-13

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

The pre-conditions for the ios_base destructor are described in 27.4.2.7 paragraph 2:

Effects: Destroys an object of class ios_base. Calls each registered callback pair (fn,index) (27.4.2.6) as (*fn)(erase_event,*this,index) at such time that any ios_base member function called from within fn has well defined results.

But what is not clear is: If no callback functions were ever registered, does it matter whether the ios_base members were ever initialized?

For instance, does this program have defined behavior:

#include <ios>
class D : public std::ios_base { };
int main() { D d; }

It seems that registration of a callback function would surely affect the state of an ios_base. That is, when you register a callback function with an ios_base, the ios_base must record that fact somehow.

But if after construction the ios_base is in an indeterminate state, and that state is not made determinate before the destructor is called, then how would the destructor know if any callbacks had indeed been registered? And if the number of callbacks that had been registered is indeterminate, then is not the behavior of the destructor undefined?

By comparison, the basic_ios class description in 27.4.4.1 paragraph 2 makes it explicit that destruction before initialization results in undefined behavior.

Proposed resolution:

Modify 27.4.2.7 paragraph 1 from

Effects: Each ios_base member has an indeterminate value after construction.

to

Effects: Each ios_base member has an indeterminate value after construction. These members must be initialized by calling basic_ios::init. If an ios_base object is destroyed before these initializations have taken place, the behavior is undefined.


221. num_get<>::do_get stage 2 processing broken

Section: 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2000-03-14

View other active issues in [facet.num.get.virtuals].

View all other issues in [facet.num.get.virtuals].

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Discussion:

Stage 2 processing of numeric conversion is broken.

Table 55 in 22.2.2.1.2 says that when basefield is 0 the integral conversion specifier is %i. A %i specifier determines a number's base by its prefix (0 for octal, 0x for hex), so the intention is clearly that a 0x prefix is allowed. Paragraph 8 in the same section, however, describes very precisely how characters are processed. (It must be done "as if" by a specified code fragment.) That description does not allow a 0x prefix to be recognized.

Very roughly, stage 2 processing reads a char_type ct. It converts ct to a char, not by using narrow but by looking it up in a translation table that was created by widening the string literal "0123456789abcdefABCDEF+-". The character "x" is not found in that table, so it can't be recognized by stage 2 processing.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.2.1.2 paragraph 8, replace the line:

static const char src[] = "0123456789abcdefABCDEF+-";

with the line:

static const char src[] = "0123456789abcdefxABCDEFX+-";

Rationale:

If we're using the technique of widening a string literal, the string literal must contain every character we wish to recognize. This technique has the consequence that alternate representations of digits will not be recognized. This design decision was made deliberately, with full knowledge of that limitation.


222. Are throw clauses necessary if a throw is already implied by the effects clause?

Section: 17.3.1.3 [structure.specifications] Status: TC Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 2000-03-17

View all other issues in [structure.specifications].

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Discussion:

Section 21.3.6.8 describes the basic_string::compare function this way:

21.3.6.8 - basic_string::compare [lib.string::compare]

int compare(size_type pos1, size_type n1,
                const basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>&  str ,
                size_type  pos2 , size_type  n2 ) const;

-4- Returns: 

    basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>(*this,pos1,n1).compare(
                 basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>(str,pos2,n2)) .

and the constructor that's implicitly called by the above is defined to throw an out-of-range exception if pos > str.size(). See section 21.3.1 [string.require] paragraph 4.

On the other hand, the compare function descriptions themselves don't have "Throws: " clauses and according to 17.3.1.3, paragraph 3, elements that do not apply to a function are omitted.

So it seems there is an inconsistency in the standard -- are the "Effects" clauses correct, or are the "Throws" clauses missing?

Proposed resolution:

In 17.3.1.3 [structure.specifications] paragraph 3, the footnote 148 attached to the sentence "Descriptions of function semantics contain the following elements (as appropriate):", insert the word "further" so that the foot note reads:

To save space, items that do not apply to a function are omitted. For example, if a function does not specify any further preconditions, there will be no "Requires" paragraph.

Rationale:

The standard is somewhat inconsistent, but a failure to note a throw condition in a throws clause does not grant permission not to throw. The inconsistent wording is in a footnote, and thus non-normative. The proposed resolution from the LWG clarifies the footnote.


223. reverse algorithm should use iter_swap rather than swap

Section: 25.2.10 [alg.reverse] Status: TC Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2000-03-21

View all issues with TC status.

Discussion:

Shouldn't the effects say "applies iter_swap to all pairs..."?

Proposed resolution:

In 25.2.10 [alg.reverse], replace:

Effects: For each non-negative integer i <= (last - first)/2, applies swap to all pairs of iterators first + i, (last - i) - 1.

with:

Effects: For each non-negative integer i <= (last - first)/2, applies iter_swap to all pairs of iterators first + i, (last - i) - 1.


224. clear() complexity for associative containers refers to undefined N

Section: 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] Status: TC Submitter: Ed Brey Date: 2000-03-23

View all other issues in [associative.reqmts].

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Discussion:

In the associative container requirements table in 23.1.2 paragraph 7, a.clear() has complexity "log(size()) + N". However, the meaning of N is not defined.

Proposed resolution:

In the associative container requirements table in 23.1.2 paragraph 7, the complexity of a.clear(), change "log(size()) + N" to "linear in size()".

Rationale:

It's the "log(size())", not the "N", that is in error: there's no difference between O(N) and O(N + log(N)). The text in the standard is probably an incorrect cut-and-paste from the range version of erase.


225. std:: algorithms use of other unqualified algorithms

Section: 17.4.4.3 [global.functions] Status: WP Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2000-04-01

View all other issues in [global.functions].

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Discussion:

Are algorithms in std:: allowed to use other algorithms without qualification, so functions in user namespaces might be found through Koenig lookup?

For example, a popular standard library implementation includes this implementation of std::unique:

namespace std {
    template <class _ForwardIter>
    _ForwardIter unique(_ForwardIter __first, _ForwardIter __last) {
      __first = adjacent_find(__first, __last);
      return unique_copy(__first, __last, __first);
    }
    }

Imagine two users on opposite sides of town, each using unique on his own sequences bounded by my_iterators . User1 looks at his standard library implementation and says, "I know how to implement a more efficient unique_copy for my_iterators", and writes:

namespace user1 {
    class my_iterator;
    // faster version for my_iterator
    my_iterator unique_copy(my_iterator, my_iterator, my_iterator);
    }

user1::unique_copy() is selected by Koenig lookup, as he intended.

User2 has other needs, and writes:

namespace user2 {
    class my_iterator;
    // Returns true iff *c is a unique copy of *a and *b.
    bool unique_copy(my_iterator a, my_iterator b, my_iterator c);
    }

User2 is shocked to find later that his fully-qualified use of std::unique(user2::my_iterator, user2::my_iterator, user2::my_iterator) fails to compile (if he's lucky). Looking in the standard, he sees the following Effects clause for unique():

Effects: Eliminates all but the first element from every consecutive group of equal elements referred to by the iterator i in the range [first, last) for which the following corresponding conditions hold: *i == *(i - 1) or pred(*i, *(i - 1)) != false

The standard gives user2 absolutely no reason to think he can interfere with std::unique by defining names in namespace user2. His standard library has been built with the template export feature, so he is unable to inspect the implementation. User1 eventually compiles his code with another compiler, and his version of unique_copy silently stops being called. Eventually, he realizes that he was depending on an implementation detail of his library and had no right to expect his unique_copy() to be called portably.

On the face of it, and given above scenario, it may seem obvious that the implementation of unique() shown is non-conforming because it uses unique_copy() rather than ::std::unique_copy(). Most standard library implementations, however, seem to disagree with this notion.

[Tokyo:  Steve Adamczyk from the core working group indicates that "std::" is sufficient;  leading "::" qualification is not required because any namespace qualification is sufficient to suppress Koenig lookup.]

Proposed resolution:

Add a paragraph and a note at the end of 17.4.4.3 [global.functions]:

Unless otherwise specified, no global or non-member function in the standard library shall use a function from another namespace which is found through argument-dependent name lookup (3.4.2 [basic.lookup.argdep]).

[Note: the phrase "unless otherwise specified" is intended to allow Koenig lookup in cases like that of ostream_iterators:

Effects:

*out_stream << value;
if(delim != 0) *out_stream << delim;
return (*this);

--end note]

[Tokyo: The LWG agrees that this is a defect in the standard, but is as yet unsure if the proposed resolution is the best solution. Furthermore, the LWG believes that the same problem of unqualified library names applies to wording in the standard itself, and has opened issue 229 accordingly. Any resolution of issue 225 should be coordinated with the resolution of issue 229.]

[Toronto: The LWG is not sure if this is a defect in the standard. Most LWG members believe that an implementation of std::unique like the one quoted in this issue is already illegal, since, under certain circumstances, its semantics are not those specified in the standard. The standard's description of unique does not say that overloading adjacent_find should have any effect.]

[Curaçao: An LWG-subgroup spent an afternoon working on issues 225, 226, and 229. Their conclusion was that the issues should be separated into an LWG portion (Howard's paper, N1387=02-0045), and a EWG portion (Dave will write a proposal). The LWG and EWG had (separate) discussions of this plan the next day. The proposed resolution for this issue is in accordance with Howard's paper.]

Rationale:

It could be argued that this proposed isn't strictly necessary, that the Standard doesn't grant implementors license to write a standard function that behaves differently than specified in the Standard just because of an unrelated user-defined name in some other namespace. However, this is at worst a clarification. It is surely right that algorithsm shouldn't pick up random names, that user-defined names should have no effect unless otherwise specified. Issue 226 deals with the question of when it is appropriate for the standard to explicitly specify otherwise.


226. User supplied specializations or overloads of namespace std function templates

Section: 17.4.3.2 [reserved.names] Status: WP Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2000-04-01

View all other issues in [reserved.names].

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Discussion:

The issues are: 

1. How can a 3rd party library implementor (lib1) write a version of a standard algorithm which is specialized to work with his own class template? 

2. How can another library implementor (lib2) write a generic algorithm which will take advantage of the specialized algorithm in lib1?

This appears to be the only viable answer under current language rules:

namespace lib1
{
    // arbitrary-precision numbers using T as a basic unit
    template <class T>
    class big_num { //...
    };
    
    // defining this in namespace std is illegal (it would be an
    // overload), so we hope users will rely on Koenig lookup
    template <class T>
    void swap(big_int<T>&, big_int<T>&);
}
#include <algorithm>
namespace lib2
{
    template <class T>
    void generic_sort(T* start, T* end)
    {
            ...
        // using-declaration required so we can work on built-in types
        using std::swap;
        // use Koenig lookup to find specialized algorithm if available
        swap(*x, *y);
    }
}

This answer has some drawbacks. First of all, it makes writing lib2 difficult and somewhat slippery. The implementor needs to remember to write the using-declaration, or generic_sort will fail to compile when T is a built-in type. The second drawback is that the use of this style in lib2 effectively "reserves" names in any namespace which defines types which may eventually be used with lib2. This may seem innocuous at first when applied to names like swap, but consider more ambiguous names like unique_copy() instead. It is easy to imagine the user wanting to define these names differently in his own namespace. A definition with semantics incompatible with the standard library could cause serious problems (see issue 225).

Why, you may ask, can't we just partially specialize std::swap()? It's because the language doesn't allow for partial specialization of function templates. If you write:

namespace std
{
    template <class T>
    void swap(lib1::big_int<T>&, lib1::big_int<T>&);
}

You have just overloaded std::swap, which is illegal under the current language rules. On the other hand, the following full specialization is legal:

namespace std
{
    template <>
    void swap(lib1::other_type&, lib1::other_type&);
}

This issue reflects concerns raised by the "Namespace issue with specialized swap" thread on comp.lang.c++.moderated. A similar set of concerns was earlier raised on the boost.org mailing list and the ACCU-general mailing list. Also see library reflector message c++std-lib-7354.

J. C. van Winkel points out (in c++std-lib-9565) another unexpected fact: it's impossible to output a container of std::pair's using copy and an ostream_iterator, as long as both pair-members are built-in or std:: types. That's because a user-defined operator<< for (for example) std::pair<const std::string, int> will not be found: lookup for operator<< will be performed only in namespace std. Opinions differed on whether or not this was a defect, and, if so, whether the defect is that something is wrong with user-defined functionality and std, or whether it's that the standard library does not provide an operator<< for std::pair<>.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the wording proposed in Howard Hinnant's paper N1523=03-0106, "Proposed Resolution To LWG issues 225, 226, 229".

[Tokyo: Summary, "There is no conforming way to extend std::swap for user defined templates."  The LWG agrees that there is a problem. Would like more information before proceeding. This may be a core issue. Core issue 229 has been opened to discuss the core aspects of this problem. It was also noted that submissions regarding this issue have been received from several sources, but too late to be integrated into the issues list. ]

[Post-Tokyo: A paper with several proposed resolutions, J16/00-0029==WG21/N1252, "Shades of namespace std functions " by Alan Griffiths, is in the Post-Tokyo mailing. It should be considered a part of this issue.]

[Toronto: Dave Abrahams and Peter Dimov have proposed a resolution that involves core changes: it would add partial specialization of function template. The Core Working Group is reluctant to add partial specialization of function templates. It is viewed as a large change, CWG believes that proposal presented leaves some syntactic issues unanswered; if the CWG does add partial specialization of function templates, it wishes to develop its own proposal. The LWG continues to believe that there is a serious problem: there is no good way for users to force the library to use user specializations of generic standard library functions, and in certain cases (e.g. transcendental functions called by valarray and complex) this is important. Koenig lookup isn't adequate, since names within the library must be qualified with std (see issue 225), specialization doesn't work (we don't have partial specialization of function templates), and users aren't permitted to add overloads within namespace std. ]

[Copenhagen: Discussed at length, with no consensus. Relevant papers in the pre-Copenhagen mailing: N1289, N1295, N1296. Discussion focused on four options. (1) Relax restrictions on overloads within namespace std. (2) Mandate that the standard library use unqualified calls for swap and possibly other functions. (3) Introduce helper class templates for swap and possibly other functions. (4) Introduce partial specialization of function templates. Every option had both support and opposition. Straw poll (first number is support, second is strongly opposed): (1) 6, 4; (2) 6, 7; (3) 3, 8; (4) 4, 4.]

[Redmond: Discussed, again no consensus. Herb presented an argument that a user who is defining a type T with an associated swap should not be expected to put that swap in namespace std, either by overloading or by partial specialization. The argument is that swap is part of T's interface, and thus should to in the same namespace as T and only in that namespace. If we accept this argument, the consequence is that standard library functions should use unqualified call of swap. (And which other functions? Any?) A small group (Nathan, Howard, Jeremy, Dave, Matt, Walter, Marc) will try to put together a proposal before the next meeting.]

[Curaçao: An LWG-subgroup spent an afternoon working on issues 225, 226, and 229. Their conclusion was that the issues should be separated into an LWG portion (Howard's paper, N1387=02-0045), and a EWG portion (Dave will write a proposal). The LWG and EWG had (separate) discussions of this plan the next day. The proposed resolution is the one proposed by Howard.]

[Santa Cruz: the LWG agreed with the general direction of Howard's paper, N1387. (Roughly: Koenig lookup is disabled unless we say otherwise; this issue is about when we do say otherwise.) However, there were concerns about wording. Howard will provide new wording. Bill and Jeremy will review it.]

[Kona: Howard proposed the new wording. The LWG accepted his proposed resolution.]

Rationale:

Informally: introduce a Swappable concept, and specify that the value types of the iterators passed to certain standard algorithms (such as iter_swap, swap_ranges, reverse, rotate, and sort) conform to that concept. The Swappable concept will make it clear that these algorithms use unqualified lookup for the calls to swap. Also, in 26.5.3.3 [valarray.transcend] paragraph 1, state that the valarray transcendentals use unqualified lookup.


227. std::swap() should require CopyConstructible or DefaultConstructible arguments

Section: 25.2.3 [alg.swap] Status: TC Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2000-04-09

View all other issues in [alg.swap].

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Discussion:

25.2.2 reads:

template<class T> void swap(T& a, T& b);

Requires: Type T is Assignable (_lib.container.requirements_).
Effects: Exchanges values stored in two locations.

The only reasonable** generic implementation of swap requires construction of a new temporary copy of one of its arguments:

template<class T> void swap(T& a, T& b);
  {
      T tmp(a);
      a = b;
      b = tmp;
  }

But a type which is only Assignable cannot be swapped by this implementation.

**Yes, there's also an unreasonable implementation which would require T to be DefaultConstructible instead of CopyConstructible. I don't think this is worthy of consideration:

template<class T> void swap(T& a, T& b);
{
    T tmp;
    tmp = a;
    a = b;
    b = tmp;
}

Proposed resolution:

Change 25.2.2 paragraph 1 from:

Requires: Type T is Assignable (23.1).

to:

Requires: Type T is CopyConstructible (20.1.3) and Assignable (23.1)


228. Incorrect specification of "..._byname" facets

Section: 22.2 [locale.categories] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 2000-04-20

View other active issues in [locale.categories].

View all other issues in [locale.categories].

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Discussion:

The sections 22.2.1.2 [locale.ctype.byname], 22.2.1.5 [locale.codecvt.byname], sref ref="22.2.1.6", 22.2.3.2 [locale.numpunct.byname], 22.2.4.2 [locale.collate.byname], 22.2.5.4 [locale.time.put.byname], 22.2.6.4 [locale.moneypunct.byname], and 22.2.7.2 [locale.messages.byname] overspecify the definitions of the "..._byname" classes by listing a bunch of virtual functions. At the same time, no semantics of these functions are defined. Real implementations do not define these functions because the functional part of the facets is actually implemented in the corresponding base classes and the constructor of the "..._byname" version just provides suitable date used by these implementations. For example, the 'numpunct' methods just return values from a struct. The base class uses a statically initialized struct while the derived version reads the contents of this struct from a table. However, no virtual function is defined in 'numpunct_byname'.

For most classes this does not impose a problem but specifically for 'ctype' it does: The specialization for 'ctype_byname<char>' is required because otherwise the semantics would change due to the virtual functions defined in the general version for 'ctype_byname': In 'ctype<char>' the method 'do_is()' is not virtual but it is made virtual in both 'ctype<cT>' and 'ctype_byname<cT>'. Thus, a class derived from 'ctype_byname<char>' can tell whether this class is specialized or not under the current specification: Without the specialization, 'do_is()' is virtual while with specialization it is not virtual.

Proposed resolution:

  Change section 22.2.1.2 (lib.locale.ctype.byname) to become:

     namespace std {
       template <class charT>
       class ctype_byname : public ctype<charT> {
       public:
         typedef ctype<charT>::mask mask;
         explicit ctype_byname(const char*, size_t refs = 0);
       protected:
        ~ctype_byname();             //  virtual
       };
     }

  Change section 22.2.1.6 (lib.locale.codecvt.byname) to become:

    namespace std {
      template <class internT, class externT, class stateT>
      class codecvt_byname : public codecvt<internT, externT, stateT> {
      public:
       explicit codecvt_byname(const char*, size_t refs = 0);
      protected:
      ~codecvt_byname();             //  virtual
       };
     }

  Change section 22.2.3.2 (lib.locale.numpunct.byname) to become:

     namespace std {
       template <class charT>
       class numpunct_byname : public numpunct<charT> {
     //  this class is specialized for  char  and  wchar_t.
       public:
         typedef charT                char_type;
         typedef basic_string<charT>  string_type;
         explicit numpunct_byname(const char*, size_t refs = 0);
       protected:
        ~numpunct_byname();          //  virtual
       };
     }

  Change section 22.2.4.2 (lib.locale.collate.byname) to become:

     namespace std {
       template <class charT>
       class collate_byname : public collate<charT> {
       public:
         typedef basic_string<charT> string_type;
         explicit collate_byname(const char*, size_t refs = 0);
       protected:
        ~collate_byname();           //  virtual
       };
     }

  Change section 22.2.5.2 (lib.locale.time.get.byname) to become:

     namespace std {
       template <class charT, class InputIterator = istreambuf_iterator<charT> >
       class time_get_byname : public time_get<charT, InputIterator> {
       public:
         typedef time_base::dateorder dateorder;
         typedef InputIterator        iter_type
         explicit time_get_byname(const char*, size_t refs = 0);
       protected:
        ~time_get_byname();          //  virtual
       };
     }

  Change section 22.2.5.4 (lib.locale.time.put.byname) to become:

     namespace std {
       template <class charT, class OutputIterator = ostreambuf_iterator<charT> >
       class time_put_byname : public time_put<charT, OutputIterator>
       {
       public:
         typedef charT          char_type;
         typedef OutputIterator iter_type;
         explicit time_put_byname(const char*, size_t refs = 0);
       protected:
        ~time_put_byname();          //  virtual
       };
     }"

  Change section 22.2.6.4 (lib.locale.moneypunct.byname) to become:

     namespace std {
       template <class charT, bool Intl = false>
       class moneypunct_byname : public moneypunct<charT, Intl> {
       public:
         typedef money_base::pattern pattern;
         typedef basic_string<charT> string_type;
         explicit moneypunct_byname(const char*, size_t refs = 0);
       protected:
        ~moneypunct_byname();        //  virtual
       };
     }

  Change section 22.2.7.2 (lib.locale.messages.byname) to become:

     namespace std {
       template <class charT>
       class messages_byname : public messages<charT> {
       public:
         typedef messages_base::catalog catalog;
         typedef basic_string<charT>    string_type;
         explicit messages_byname(const char*, size_t refs = 0);
       protected:
        ~messages_byname();          //  virtual
       };
     }

Remove section 22.2.1.4 [locale.codecvt] completely (because in this case only those members are defined to be virtual which are defined to be virtual in 'ctype<cT>'.)

[Post-Tokyo: Dietmar Kühl submitted this issue at the request of the LWG to solve the underlying problems raised by issue 138.]

[Copenhagen: proposed resolution was revised slightly, to remove three last virtual functions from messages_byname.]


229. Unqualified references of other library entities

Section: 17.4.1.1 [contents] Status: WP Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 2000-04-19

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Throughout the library chapters, the descriptions of library entities refer to other library entities without necessarily qualifying the names.

For example, section 25.2.2 "Swap" describes the effect of swap_ranges in terms of the unqualified name "swap". This section could reasonably be interpreted to mean that the library must be implemented so as to do a lookup of the unqualified name "swap", allowing users to override any ::std::swap function when Koenig lookup applies.

Although it would have been best to use explicit qualification with "::std::" throughout, too many lines in the standard would have to be adjusted to make that change in a Technical Corrigendum.

Issue 182, which addresses qualification of size_t, is a special case of this.

Proposed resolution:

To section 17.4.1.1 "Library contents" Add the following paragraph:

Whenever a name x defined in the standard library is mentioned, the name x is assumed to be fully qualified as ::std::x, unless explicitly described otherwise. For example, if the Effects section for library function F is described as calling library function G, the function ::std::G is meant.

[Post-Tokyo: Steve Clamage submitted this issue at the request of the LWG to solve a problem in the standard itself similar to the problem within implementations of library identified by issue 225. Any resolution of issue 225 should be coordinated with the resolution of this issue.]

[post-Toronto: Howard is undecided about whether it is appropriate for all standard library function names referred to in other standard library functions to be explicitly qualified by std: it is common advice that users should define global functions that operate on their class in the same namespace as the class, and this requires argument-dependent lookup if those functions are intended to be called by library code. Several LWG members are concerned that valarray appears to require argument-dependent lookup, but that the wording may not be clear enough to fall under "unless explicitly described otherwise".]

[Curaçao: An LWG-subgroup spent an afternoon working on issues 225, 226, and 229. Their conclusion was that the issues should be separated into an LWG portion (Howard's paper, N1387=02-0045), and a EWG portion (Dave will write a proposal). The LWG and EWG had (separate) discussions of this plan the next day. This paper resolves issues 225 and 226. In light of that resolution, the proposed resolution for the current issue makes sense.]


230. Assignable specified without also specifying CopyConstructible

Section: 17 [library] Status: WP Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 2000-04-26

View all other issues in [library].

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Discussion:

Issue 227 identified an instance (std::swap) where Assignable was specified without also specifying CopyConstructible. The LWG asked that the standard be searched to determine if the same defect existed elsewhere.

There are a number of places (see proposed resolution below) where Assignable is specified without also specifying CopyConstructible. There are also several cases where both are specified. For example, 26.4.1 [rand.req].

Proposed resolution:

In 23.1 [container.requirements] table 65 for value_type: change "T is Assignable" to "T is CopyConstructible and Assignable"

In 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] table 69 X::key_type; change "Key is Assignable" to "Key is CopyConstructible and Assignable"

In 24.1.2 [output.iterators] paragraph 1, change:

A class or a built-in type X satisfies the requirements of an output iterator if X is an Assignable type (23.1) and also the following expressions are valid, as shown in Table 73:

to:

A class or a built-in type X satisfies the requirements of an output iterator if X is a CopyConstructible (20.1.3) and Assignable type (23.1) and also the following expressions are valid, as shown in Table 73:

[Post-Tokyo: Beman Dawes submitted this issue at the request of the LWG. He asks that the 25.2.5 [alg.replace] and 25.2.6 [alg.fill] changes be studied carefully, as it is not clear that CopyConstructible is really a requirement and may be overspecification.]

[Portions of the resolution for issue 230 have been superceded by the resolution of issue 276.]

Rationale:

The original proposed resolution also included changes to input iterator, fill, and replace. The LWG believes that those changes are not necessary. The LWG considered some blanket statement, where an Assignable type was also required to be Copy Constructible, but decided against this because fill and replace really don't require the Copy Constructible property.


231. Precision in iostream?

Section: 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: James Kanze, Stephen Clamage Date: 2000-04-25

View all other issues in [facet.num.put.virtuals].

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Discussion:

What is the following program supposed to output?

#include <iostream>

    int
    main()
    {
        std::cout.setf( std::ios::scientific , std::ios::floatfield ) ;
        std::cout.precision( 0 ) ;
        std::cout << 1.00 << '\n' ;
        return 0 ;
    }

From my C experience, I would expect "1e+00"; this is what printf("%.0e" , 1.00 ); does. G++ outputs "1.000000e+00".

The only indication I can find in the standard is 22.2.2.2.2/11, where it says "For conversion from a floating-point type, if (flags & fixed) != 0 or if str.precision() > 0, then str.precision() is specified in the conversion specification." This is an obvious error, however, fixed is not a mask for a field, but a value that a multi-bit field may take -- the results of and'ing fmtflags with ios::fixed are not defined, at least not if ios::scientific has been set. G++'s behavior corresponds to what might happen if you do use (flags & fixed) != 0 with a typical implementation (floatfield == 3 << something, fixed == 1 << something, and scientific == 2 << something).

Presumably, the intent is either (flags & floatfield) != 0, or (flags & floatfield) == fixed; the first gives something more or less like the effect of precision in a printf floating point conversion. Only more or less, of course. In order to implement printf formatting correctly, you must know whether the precision was explicitly set or not. Say by initializing it to -1, instead of 6, and stating that for floating point conversions, if precision < -1, 6 will be used, for fixed point, if precision < -1, 1 will be used, etc. Plus, of course, if precision == 0 and flags & floatfield == 0, 1 should be = used. But it probably isn't necessary to emulate all of the anomalies of printf:-).

Proposed resolution:

Replace 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals], paragraph 11, with the following sentence:

For conversion from a floating-point type, str.precision() is specified in the conversion specification.

Rationale:

The floatfield determines whether numbers are formatted as if with %f, %e, or %g. If the fixed bit is set, it's %f, if scientific it's %e, and if both bits are set, or neither, it's %g.

Turning to the C standard, a precision of 0 is meaningful for %f and %e. For %g, precision 0 is taken to be the same as precision 1.

The proposed resolution has the effect that if neither fixed nor scientific is set we'll be specifying a precision of 0, which will be internally turned into 1. There's no need to call it out as a special case.

The output of the above program will be "1e+00".

[Post-Curaçao: Howard provided improved wording covering the case where precision is 0 and mode is %g.]


232. "depends" poorly defined in 17.4.3.1

Section: 17.4.3.2 [reserved.names] Status: WP Submitter: Peter Dimov Date: 2000-04-18

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Discussion:

17.4.3.1/1 uses the term "depends" to limit the set of allowed specializations of standard templates to those that "depend on a user-defined name of external linkage."

This term, however, is not adequately defined, making it possible to construct a specialization that is, I believe, technically legal according to 17.4.3.1/1, but that specializes a standard template for a built-in type such as 'int'.

The following code demonstrates the problem:

#include <algorithm>
template<class T> struct X
{
 typedef T type;
};
namespace std
{
 template<> void swap(::X<int>::type& i, ::X<int>::type& j);
}

Proposed resolution:

Change "user-defined name" to "user-defined type".

Rationale:

This terminology is used in section 2.5.2 and 4.1.1 of The C++ Programming Language. It disallows the example in the issue, since the underlying type itself is not user-defined. The only possible problem I can see is for non-type templates, but there's no possible way for a user to come up with a specialization for bitset, for example, that might not have already been specialized by the implementor?

[Toronto: this may be related to issue 120.]

[post-Toronto: Judy provided the above proposed resolution and rationale.]


233. Insertion hints in associative containers

Section: 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] Status: WP Submitter: Andrew Koenig Date: 2000-04-30

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Duplicate of: 192, 246

Discussion:

If mm is a multimap and p is an iterator into the multimap, then mm.insert(p, x) inserts x into mm with p as a hint as to where it should go. Table 69 claims that the execution time is amortized constant if the insert winds up taking place adjacent to p, but does not say when, if ever, this is guaranteed to happen. All it says it that p is a hint as to where to insert.

The question is whether there is any guarantee about the relationship between p and the insertion point, and, if so, what it is.

I believe the present state is that there is no guarantee: The user can supply p, and the implementation is allowed to disregard it entirely.

Additional comments from Nathan:
The vote [in Redmond] was on whether to elaborately specify the use of the hint, or to require behavior only if the value could be inserted adjacent to the hint. I would like to ensure that we have a chance to vote for a deterministic treatment: "before, if possible, otherwise after, otherwise anywhere appropriate", as an alternative to the proposed "before or after, if possible, otherwise [...]".

[Toronto: there was general agreement that this is a real defect: when inserting an element x into a multiset that already contains several copies of x, there is no way to know whether the hint will be used. The proposed resolution was that the new element should always be inserted as close to the hint as possible. So, for example, if there is a subsequence of equivalent values, then providing a.begin() as the hint means that the new element should be inserted before the subsequence even if a.begin() is far away. JC van Winkel supplied precise wording for this proposed resolution, and also for an alternative resolution in which hints are only used when they are adjacent to the insertion point.]

[Copenhagen: the LWG agreed to the original proposed resolution, in which an insertion hint would be used even when it is far from the insertion point. This was contingent on seeing a example implementation showing that it is possible to implement this requirement without loss of efficiency. John Potter provided such a example implementation.]

[Redmond: The LWG was reluctant to adopt the proposal that emerged from Copenhagen: it seemed excessively complicated, and went beyond fixing the defect that we identified in Toronto. PJP provided the new wording described in this issue. Nathan agrees that we shouldn't adopt the more detailed semantics, and notes: "we know that you can do it efficiently enough with a red-black tree, but there are other (perhaps better) balanced tree techniques that might differ enough to make the detailed semantics hard to satisfy."]

[Curaçao: Nathan should give us the alternative wording he suggests so the LWG can decide between the two options.]

[Lillehammer: The LWG previously rejected the more detailed semantics, because it seemed more loike a new feature than like defect fixing. We're now more sympathetic to it, but we (especially Bill) are still worried about performance. N1780 describes a naive algorithm, but it's not clear whether there is a non-naive implementation. Is it possible to implement this as efficently as the current version of insert?]

[Post Lillehammer: N1780 updated in post meeting mailing with feedback from Lillehammer with more information regarding performance. ]

[ Batavia: 1780 accepted with minor wording changes in the proposed wording (reflected in the proposed resolution below). Concerns about the performance of the algorithm were satisfactorily met by 1780. 371 already handles the stability of equal ranges and so that part of the resolution from 1780 is no longer needed (or reflected in the proposed wording below). ]

Proposed resolution:

Change the indicated rows of the "Associative container requirements" Table in 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] to:

Associative container requirements
expression return type assertion/note
pre/post-condition
complexity
a_eq.insert(t) iterator inserts t and returns the iterator pointing to the newly inserted element. If a range containing elements equivalent to t exists in a_eq, t is inserted at the end of that range. logarithmic
a.insert(p,t) iterator inserts t if and only if there is no element with key equivalent to the key of t in containers with unique keys; always inserts t in containers with equivalent keys. always returns the iterator pointing to the element with key equivalent to the key of t. iterator p is a hint pointing to where the insert should start to search. t is inserted as close as possible to the position just prior to p. logarithmic in general, but amortized constant if t is inserted right after before p.


234. Typos in allocator definition

Section: 20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 2000-04-24

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Discussion:

In paragraphs 12 and 13 the effects of construct() and destruct() are described as returns but the functions actually return void.

Proposed resolution:

Substitute "Returns" by "Effect".


235. No specification of default ctor for reverse_iterator

Section: 24.4.1.1 [reverse.iterator] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 2000-04-24

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Discussion:

The declaration of reverse_iterator lists a default constructor. However, no specification is given what this constructor should do.

Proposed resolution:

In section 24.4.1.3.1 [reverse.iter.cons] add the following paragraph:

reverse_iterator()

Default initializes current. Iterator operations applied to the resulting iterator have defined behavior if and only if the corresponding operations are defined on a default constructed iterator of type Iterator.

[pre-Copenhagen: Dietmar provide wording for proposed resolution.]


237. Undefined expression in complexity specification

Section: 23.2.2.1 [deque.cons] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 2000-04-24

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Discussion:

The complexity specification in paragraph 6 says that the complexity is linear in first - last. Even if operator-() is defined on iterators this term is in general undefined because it would have to be last - first.

Proposed resolution:

Change paragraph 6 from

Linear in first - last.

to become

Linear in distance(first, last).


238. Contradictory results of stringbuf initialization.

Section: 27.7.1.1 [stringbuf.cons] Status: WP Submitter: Dietmar Kühl Date: 2000-05-11

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Discussion:

In 27.7.1.1 paragraph 4 the results of calling the constructor of 'basic_stringbuf' are said to be str() == str. This is fine that far but consider this code:

  std::basic_stringbuf<char> sbuf("hello, world", std::ios_base::openmode(0));
  std::cout << "'" << sbuf.str() << "'\n";

Paragraph 3 of 27.7.1.1 basically says that in this case neither the output sequence nor the input sequence is initialized and paragraph 2 of 27.7.1.2 basically says that str() either returns the input or the output sequence. None of them is initialized, ie. both are empty, in which case the return from str() is defined to be basic_string<cT>().

However, probably only test cases in some testsuites will detect this "problem"...

Proposed resolution:

Remove 27.7.1.1 paragraph 4.

Rationale:

We could fix 27.7.1.1 paragraph 4, but there would be no point. If we fixed it, it would say just the same thing as text that's already in the standard.


239. Complexity of unique() and/or unique_copy incorrect

Section: 25.2.9 [alg.unique] Status: WP Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 2000-05-15

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Discussion:

The complexity of unique and unique_copy are inconsistent with each other and inconsistent with the implementations.  The standard specifies:

for unique():

-3- Complexity: If the range (last - first) is not empty, exactly (last - first) - 1 applications of the corresponding predicate, otherwise no applications of the predicate.

for unique_copy():

-7- Complexity: Exactly last - first applications of the corresponding predicate.

The implementations do it the other way round: unique() applies the predicate last-first times and unique_copy() applies it last-first-1 times.

As both algorithms use the predicate for pair-wise comparison of sequence elements I don't see a justification for unique_copy() applying the predicate last-first times, especially since it is not specified to which pair in the sequence the predicate is applied twice.

Proposed resolution:

Change both complexity sections in 25.2.9 [alg.unique] to:

Complexity: For nonempty ranges, exactly last - first - 1 applications of the corresponding predicate.


240. Complexity of adjacent_find() is meaningless

Section: 25.1.5 [alg.adjacent.find] Status: WP Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 2000-05-15

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Discussion:

The complexity section of adjacent_find is defective:

template <class ForwardIterator>
ForwardIterator adjacent_find(ForwardIterator first, ForwardIterator last
                              BinaryPredicate pred);

-1- Returns: The first iterator i such that both i and i + 1 are in the range [first, last) for which the following corresponding conditions hold: *i == *(i + 1), pred(*i, *(i + 1)) != false. Returns last if no such iterator is found.

-2- Complexity: Exactly find(first, last, value) - first applications of the corresponding predicate.

In the Complexity section, it is not defined what "value" is supposed to mean. My best guess is that "value" means an object for which one of the conditions pred(*i,value) or pred(value,*i) is true, where i is the iterator defined in the Returns section. However, the value type of the input sequence need not be equality-comparable and for this reason the term find(first, last, value) - first is meaningless.

A term such as find_if(first, last, bind2nd(pred,*i)) - first or find_if(first, last, bind1st(pred,*i)) - first might come closer to the intended specification. Binders can only be applied to function objects that have the function call operator declared const, which is not required of predicates because they can have non-const data members. For this reason, a specification using a binder could only be an "as-if" specification.

Proposed resolution:

Change the complexity section in 25.1.5 [alg.adjacent.find] to:

For a nonempty range, exactly min((i - first) + 1, (last - first) - 1) applications of the corresponding predicate, where i is adjacent_find's return value.

[Copenhagen: the original resolution specified an upper bound. The LWG preferred an exact count.]


241. Does unique_copy() require CopyConstructible and Assignable?

Section: 25.2.9 [alg.unique] Status: WP Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 2000-05-15

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Discussion:

Some popular implementations of unique_copy() create temporary copies of values in the input sequence, at least if the input iterator is a pointer. Such an implementation is built on the assumption that the value type is CopyConstructible and Assignable.

It is common practice in the standard that algorithms explicitly specify any additional requirements that they impose on any of the types used by the algorithm. An example of an algorithm that creates temporary copies and correctly specifies the additional requirements is accumulate(), 26.4.1 [rand.req].

Since the specifications of unique() and unique_copy() do not require CopyConstructible and Assignable of the InputIterator's value type the above mentioned implementations are not standard-compliant. I cannot judge whether this is a defect in the standard or a defect in the implementations.

Proposed resolution:

In 25.2.8 change:

-4- Requires: The ranges [first, last) and [result, result+(last-first)) shall not overlap.

to:

-4- Requires: The ranges [first, last) and [result, result+(last-first)) shall not overlap. The expression *result = *first must be valid. If neither InputIterator nor OutputIterator meets the requirements of forward iterator then the value type of InputIterator must be copy constructible. Otherwise copy constructible is not required.

[Redmond: the original proposed resolution didn't impose an explicit requirement that the iterator's value type must be copy constructible, on the grounds that an input iterator's value type must always be copy constructible. Not everyone in the LWG thought that this requirement was clear from table 72. It has been suggested that it might be possible to implement unique_copy without requiring assignability, although current implementations do impose that requirement. Howard provided new wording.]

[ Curaçao: The LWG changed the PR editorially to specify "neither...nor...meet..." as clearer than "both...and...do not meet...". Change believed to be so minor as not to require re-review. ]


242. Side effects of function objects

Section: 25.2.4 [alg.transform], 26.4 [rand] Status: WP Submitter: Angelika Langer Date: 2000-05-15

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Discussion:

The algorithms transform(), accumulate(), inner_product(), partial_sum(), and adjacent_difference() require that the function object supplied to them shall not have any side effects.

The standard defines a side effect in 1.9 [intro.execution] as:

-7- Accessing an object designated by a volatile lvalue (basic.lval), modifying an object, calling a library I/O function, or calling a function that does any of those operations are all side effects, which are changes in the state of the execution environment.

As a consequence, the function call operator of a function object supplied to any of the algorithms listed above cannot modify data members, cannot invoke any function that has a side effect, and cannot even create and modify temporary objects.  It is difficult to imagine a function object that is still useful under these severe limitations. For instance, any non-trivial transformator supplied to transform() might involve creation and modification of temporaries, which is prohibited according to the current wording of the standard.

On the other hand, popular implementations of these algorithms exhibit uniform and predictable behavior when invoked with a side-effect-producing function objects. It looks like the strong requirement is not needed for efficient implementation of these algorithms.

The requirement of  side-effect-free function objects could be replaced by a more relaxed basic requirement (which would hold for all function objects supplied to any algorithm in the standard library):

A function objects supplied to an algorithm shall not invalidate any iterator or sequence that is used by the algorithm. Invalidation of the sequence includes destruction of the sorting order if the algorithm relies on the sorting order (see section 25.3 - Sorting and related operations [lib.alg.sorting]).

I can't judge whether it is intended that the function objects supplied to transform(), accumulate(), inner_product(), partial_sum(), or adjacent_difference() shall not modify sequence elements through dereferenced iterators.

It is debatable whether this issue is a defect or a change request. Since the consequences for user-supplied function objects are drastic and limit the usefulness of the algorithms significantly I would consider it a defect.

Proposed resolution:

Things to notice about these changes:

  1. The fully-closed ("[]" as opposed to half-closed "[)" ranges are intentional. we want to prevent side-effects from invalidating the end iterators.
  2. That has the unintentional side-effect of prohibiting modification of the end element as a side-effect. This could conceivably be significant in some cases.
  3. The wording also prevents side-effects from modifying elements of the output sequence. I can't imagine why anyone would want to do this, but it is arguably a restriction that implementors don't need to place on users.
  4. Lifting the restrictions imposed in #2 and #3 above is possible and simple, but would require more verbiage.

Change 25.2.3/2 from:

-2- Requires: op and binary_op shall not have any side effects.

to:

-2- Requires: in the ranges [first1, last1], [first2, first2 + (last1 - first1)] and [result, result + (last1- first1)], op and binary_op shall neither modify elements nor invalidate iterators or subranges. [Footnote: The use of fully closed ranges is intentional --end footnote]

Change 25.2.3/2 from:

-2- Requires: op and binary_op shall not have any side effects.

to:

-2- Requires: op and binary_op shall not invalidate iterators or subranges, or modify elements in the ranges [first1, last1], [first2, first2 + (last1 - first1)], and [result, result + (last1 - first1)]. [Footnote: The use of fully closed ranges is intentional --end footnote]

Change 26.4.1/2 from:

-2- Requires: T must meet the requirements of CopyConstructible (lib.copyconstructible) and Assignable (lib.container.requirements) types. binary_op shall not cause side effects.

to:

-2- Requires: T must meet the requirements of CopyConstructible (lib.copyconstructible) and Assignable (lib.container.requirements) types. In the range [first, last], binary_op shall neither modify elements nor invalidate iterators or subranges. [Footnote: The use of a fully closed range is intentional --end footnote]

Change 26.4.2/2 from:

-2- Requires: T must meet the requirements of CopyConstructible (lib.copyconstructible) and Assignable (lib.container.requirements) types. binary_op1 and binary_op2 shall not cause side effects.

to:

-2- Requires: T must meet the requirements of CopyConstructible (lib.copyconstructible) and Assignable (lib.container.requirements) types. In the ranges [first, last] and [first2, first2 + (last - first)], binary_op1 and binary_op2 shall neither modify elements nor invalidate iterators or subranges. [Footnote: The use of fully closed ranges is intentional --end footnote]

Change 26.4.3/4 from:

-4- Requires: binary_op is expected not to have any side effects.

to:

-4- Requires: In the ranges [first, last] and [result, result + (last - first)], binary_op shall neither modify elements nor invalidate iterators or subranges. [Footnote: The use of fully closed ranges is intentional --end footnote]

Change 26.4.4/2 from:

-2- Requires: binary_op shall not have any side effects.

to:

-2- Requires: In the ranges [first, last] and [result, result + (last - first)], binary_op shall neither modify elements nor invalidate iterators or subranges. [Footnote: The use of fully closed ranges is intentional --end footnote]

[Toronto: Dave Abrahams supplied wording.]

[Copenhagen: Proposed resolution was modified slightly. Matt added footnotes pointing out that the use of closed ranges was intentional.]


243. get and getline when sentry reports failure

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-05-15

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Discussion:

basic_istream<>::get(), and basic_istream<>::getline(), are unclear with respect to the behavior and side-effects of the named functions in case of an error.

27.6.1.3, p1 states that "... If the sentry object returns true, when converted to a value of type bool, the function endeavors to obtain the requested input..." It is not clear from this (or the rest of the paragraph) what precisely the behavior should be when the sentry ctor exits by throwing an exception or when the sentry object returns false. In particular, what is the number of characters extracted that gcount() returns supposed to be?

27.6.1.3 p8 and p19 say about the effects of get() and getline(): "... In any case, it then stores a null character (using charT()) into the next successive location of the array." Is not clear whether this sentence applies if either of the conditions above holds (i.e., when sentry fails).

Proposed resolution:

Add to 27.6.1.3, p1 after the sentence

"... If the sentry object returns true, when converted to a value of type bool, the function endeavors to obtain the requested input."

the following

"Otherwise, if the sentry constructor exits by throwing an exception or if the sentry object returns false, when converted to a value of type bool, the function returns without attempting to obtain any input. In either case the number of extracted characters is set to 0; unformatted input functions taking a character array of non-zero size as an argument shall also store a null character (using charT()) in the first location of the array."

Rationale:

Although the general philosophy of the input functions is that the argument should not be modified upon failure, getline historically added a terminating null unconditionally. Most implementations still do that. Earlier versions of the draft standard had language that made this an unambiguous requirement; those words were moved to a place where their context made them less clear. See Jerry Schwarz's message c++std-lib-7618.


247. vector, deque::insert complexity

Section: 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers] Status: WP Submitter: Lisa Lippincott Date: 2000-06-06

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Discussion:

Paragraph 2 of 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers] describes the complexity of vector::insert:

Complexity: If first and last are forward iterators, bidirectional iterators, or random access iterators, the complexity is linear in the number of elements in the range [first, last) plus the distance to the end of the vector. If they are input iterators, the complexity is proportional to the number of elements in the range [first, last) times the distance to the end of the vector.

First, this fails to address the non-iterator forms of insert.

Second, the complexity for input iterators misses an edge case -- it requires that an arbitrary number of elements can be added at the end of a vector in constant time.

I looked to see if deque had a similar problem, and was surprised to find that deque places no requirement on the complexity of inserting multiple elements (23.2.2.3 [deque.modifiers], paragraph 3):

Complexity: In the worst case, inserting a single element into a deque takes time linear in the minimum of the distance from the insertion point to the beginning of the deque and the distance from the insertion point to the end of the deque. Inserting a single element either at the beginning or end of a deque always takes constant time and causes a single call to the copy constructor of T.

Proposed resolution:

Change Paragraph 2 of 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers] to

Complexity: The complexity is linear in the number of elements inserted plus the distance to the end of the vector.

[For input iterators, one may achieve this complexity by first inserting at the end of the vector, and then using rotate.]

Change 23.2.2.3 [deque.modifiers], paragraph 3, to:

Complexity: The complexity is linear in the number of elements inserted plus the shorter of the distances to the beginning and end of the deque. Inserting a single element at either the beginning or the end of a deque causes a single call to the copy constructor of T.

Rationale:

This is a real defect, and proposed resolution fixes it: some complexities aren't specified that should be. This proposed resolution does constrain deque implementations (it rules out the most naive possible implementations), but the LWG doesn't see a reason to permit that implementation.


248. time_get fails to set eofbit

Section: 22.2.5 [category.time] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-06-22

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Discussion:

There is no requirement that any of time_get member functions set ios::eofbit when they reach the end iterator while parsing their input. Since members of both the num_get and money_get facets are required to do so (22.2.2.1.2, and 22.2.6.1.2, respectively), time_get members should follow the same requirement for consistency.

Proposed resolution:

Add paragraph 2 to section 22.2.5.1 with the following text:

If the end iterator is reached during parsing by any of the get() member functions, the member sets ios_base::eofbit in err.

Rationale:

Two alternative resolutions were proposed. The LWG chose this one because it was more consistent with the way eof is described for other input facets.


250. splicing invalidates iterators

Section: 23.2.4.4 [list.ops] Status: WP Submitter: Brian Parker Date: 2000-07-14

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Discussion:

Section 23.2.4.4 [list.ops] states that

  void splice(iterator position, list<T, Allocator>& x);

invalidates all iterators and references to list x.

This is unnecessary and defeats an important feature of splice. In fact, the SGI STL guarantees that iterators to x remain valid after splice.

Proposed resolution:

Add a footnote to 23.2.4.4 [list.ops], paragraph 1:

[Footnote: As specified in [default.con.req], paragraphs 4-5, the semantics described in this clause applies only to the case where allocators compare equal. --end footnote]

In 23.2.4.4 [list.ops], replace paragraph 4 with:

Effects: Inserts the contents of x before position and x becomes empty. Pointers and references to the moved elements of x now refer to those same elements but as members of *this. Iterators referring to the moved elements will continue to refer to their elements, but they now behave as iterators into *this, not into x.

In 23.2.4.4 [list.ops], replace paragraph 7 with:

Effects: Inserts an element pointed to by i from list x before position and removes the element from x. The result is unchanged if position == i or position == ++i. Pointers and references to *i continue to refer to this same element but as a member of *this. Iterators to *i (including i itself) continue to refer to the same element, but now behave as iterators into *this, not into x.

In 23.2.4.4 [list.ops], replace paragraph 12 with:

Requires: [first, last) is a valid range in x. The result is undefined if position is an iterator in the range [first, last). Pointers and references to the moved elements of x now refer to those same elements but as members of *this. Iterators referring to the moved elements will continue to refer to their elements, but they now behave as iterators into *this, not into x.

[pre-Copenhagen: Howard provided wording.]

Rationale:

The original proposed resolution said that iterators and references would remain "valid". The new proposed resolution clarifies what that means. Note that this only applies to the case of equal allocators. From [default.con.req] paragraph 4, the behavior of list when allocators compare nonequal is outside the scope of the standard.


251. basic_stringbuf missing allocator_type

Section: 27.7.1 [stringbuf] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-07-28

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Discussion:

The synopsis for the template class basic_stringbuf doesn't list a typedef for the template parameter Allocator. This makes it impossible to determine the type of the allocator at compile time. It's also inconsistent with all other template classes in the library that do provide a typedef for the Allocator parameter.

Proposed resolution:

Add to the synopses of the class templates basic_stringbuf (27.7.1), basic_istringstream (27.7.2), basic_ostringstream (27.7.3), and basic_stringstream (27.7.4) the typedef:

  typedef Allocator allocator_type;

252. missing casts/C-style casts used in iostreams

Section: 27.7 [string.streams] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-07-28

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Discussion:

27.7.2.2, p1 uses a C-style cast rather than the more appropriate const_cast<> in the Returns clause for basic_istringstream<>::rdbuf(). The same C-style cast is being used in 27.7.3.2, p1, D.7.2.2, p1, and D.7.3.2, p1, and perhaps elsewhere. 27.7.6, p1 and D.7.2.2, p1 are missing the cast altogether.

C-style casts have not been deprecated, so the first part of this issue is stylistic rather than a matter of correctness.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.7.2.2, p1 replace

  -1- Returns: (basic_stringbuf<charT,traits,Allocator>*)&sb.

with

  -1- Returns: const_cast<basic_stringbuf<charT,traits,Allocator>*>(&sb).

In 27.7.3.2, p1 replace

  -1- Returns: (basic_stringbuf<charT,traits,Allocator>*)&sb.

with

  -1- Returns: const_cast<basic_stringbuf<charT,traits,Allocator>*>(&sb).

In 27.7.6, p1, replace

  -1- Returns: &sb

with

  -1- Returns: const_cast<basic_stringbuf<charT,traits,Allocator>*>(&sb).

In D.7.2.2, p1 replace

  -2- Returns: &sb. 

with

  -2- Returns: const_cast<strstreambuf*>(&sb).

253. valarray helper functions are almost entirely useless

Section: 26.5.2.1 [valarray.cons], 26.5.2.2 [valarray.assign] Status: WP Submitter: Robert Klarer Date: 2000-07-31

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Discussion:

This discussion is adapted from message c++std-lib-7056 posted November 11, 1999. I don't think that anyone can reasonably claim that the problem described below is NAD.

These valarray constructors can never be called:

   template <class T>
         valarray<T>::valarray(const slice_array<T> &);
   template <class T>
         valarray<T>::valarray(const gslice_array<T> &);
   template <class T>
         valarray<T>::valarray(const mask_array<T> &);
   template <class T>
         valarray<T>::valarray(const indirect_array<T> &);

Similarly, these valarray assignment operators cannot be called:

     template <class T>
     valarray<T> valarray<T>::operator=(const slice_array<T> &);
     template <class T>
     valarray<T> valarray<T>::operator=(const gslice_array<T> &);
     template <class T>
     valarray<T> valarray<T>::operator=(const mask_array<T> &);
     template <class T>
     valarray<T> valarray<T>::operator=(const indirect_array<T> &);

Please consider the following example:

   #include <valarray>
   using namespace std;

   int main()
   {
       valarray<double> va1(12);
       valarray<double> va2(va1[slice(1,4,3)]); // line 1
   }

Since the valarray va1 is non-const, the result of the sub-expression va1[slice(1,4,3)] at line 1 is an rvalue of type const std::slice_array<double>. This slice_array rvalue is then used to construct va2. The constructor that is used to construct va2 is declared like this:

     template <class T>
     valarray<T>::valarray(const slice_array<T> &);

Notice the constructor's const reference parameter. When the constructor is called, a slice_array must be bound to this reference. The rules for binding an rvalue to a const reference are in 8.5.3, paragraph 5 (see also 13.3.3.1.4). Specifically, paragraph 5 indicates that a second slice_array rvalue is constructed (in this case copy-constructed) from the first one; it is this second rvalue that is bound to the reference parameter. Paragraph 5 also requires that the constructor that is used for this purpose be callable, regardless of whether the second rvalue is elided. The copy-constructor in this case is not callable, however, because it is private. Therefore, the compiler should report an error.

Since slice_arrays are always rvalues, the valarray constructor that has a parameter of type const slice_array<T> & can never be called. The same reasoning applies to the three other constructors and the four assignment operators that are listed at the beginning of this post. Furthermore, since these functions cannot be called, the valarray helper classes are almost entirely useless.

Proposed resolution:

slice_array:

gslice_array:

mask_array:

indirect_array:

[Proposed resolution was modified in Santa Cruz: explicitly make copy constructor and copy assignment operators public, instead of removing them.]

Rationale:

Keeping the valarray constructors private is untenable. Merely making valarray a friend of the helper classes isn't good enough, because access to the copy constructor is checked in the user's environment.

Making the assignment operator public is not strictly necessary to solve this problem. A majority of the LWG (straw poll: 13-4) believed we should make the assignment operators public, in addition to the copy constructors, for reasons of symmetry and user expectation.


254. Exception types in clause 19 are constructed from std::string

Section: 19.1 [std.exceptions], 27.4.2.1.1 [ios::failure] Status: WP Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2000-08-01

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Discussion:

Many of the standard exception types which implementations are required to throw are constructed with a const std::string& parameter. For example:

     19.1.5  Class out_of_range                          [lib.out.of.range]
     namespace std {
       class out_of_range : public logic_error {
       public:
         explicit out_of_range(const string& what_arg);
       };
     }

   1 The class out_of_range defines the type of objects  thrown  as  excep-
     tions to report an argument value not in its expected range.

     out_of_range(const string& what_arg);

     Effects:
       Constructs an object of class out_of_range.
     Postcondition:
       strcmp(what(), what_arg.c_str()) == 0.

There are at least two problems with this:

  1. A program which is low on memory may end up throwing std::bad_alloc instead of out_of_range because memory runs out while constructing the exception object.
  2. An obvious implementation which stores a std::string data member may end up invoking terminate() during exception unwinding because the exception object allocates memory (or rather fails to) as it is being copied.

There may be no cure for (1) other than changing the interface to out_of_range, though one could reasonably argue that (1) is not a defect. Personally I don't care that much if out-of-memory is reported when I only have 20 bytes left, in the case when out_of_range would have been reported. People who use exception-specifications might care a lot, though.

There is a cure for (2), but it isn't completely obvious. I think a note for implementors should be made in the standard. Avoiding possible termination in this case shouldn't be left up to chance. The cure is to use a reference-counted "string" implementation in the exception object. I am not necessarily referring to a std::string here; any simple reference-counting scheme for a NTBS would do.

Further discussion, in email:

...I'm not so concerned about (1). After all, a library implementation can add const char* constructors as an extension, and users don't need to avail themselves of the standard exceptions, though this is a lame position to be forced into. FWIW, std::exception and std::bad_alloc don't require a temporary basic_string.

...I don't think the fixed-size buffer is a solution to the problem, strictly speaking, because you can't satisfy the postcondition
  strcmp(what(), what_arg.c_str()) == 0
For all values of what_arg (i.e. very long values). That means that the only truly conforming solution requires a dynamic allocation.

Further discussion, from Redmond:

The most important progress we made at the Redmond meeting was realizing that there are two separable issues here: the const string& constructor, and the copy constructor. If a user writes something like throw std::out_of_range("foo"), the const string& constructor is invoked before anything gets thrown. The copy constructor is potentially invoked during stack unwinding.

The copy constructor is a more serious problem, becuase failure during stack unwinding invokes terminate. The copy constructor must be nothrow. Curaçao: Howard thinks this requirement may already be present.

The fundamental problem is that it's difficult to get the nothrow requirement to work well with the requirement that the exception objects store a string of unbounded size, particularly if you also try to make the const string& constructor nothrow. Options discussed include:

(Not all of these options are mutually exclusive.)

Proposed resolution:

Change 19.1.1 [logic.error]

namespace std {
  class logic_error : public exception {
  public:
    explicit logic_error(const string& what_arg);
    explicit logic_error(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

logic_error(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class logic_error.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 19.1.2 [domain.error]

namespace std {
  class domain_error : public logic_error {
  public:
    explicit domain_error(const string& what_arg);
    explicit domain_error(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

domain_error(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class domain_error.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 19.1.3 [invalid.argument]

namespace std {
  class invalid_argument : public logic_error {
  public:
    explicit invalid_argument(const string& what_arg);
    explicit invalid_argument(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

invalid_argument(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class invalid_argument.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 19.1.4 [length.error]

namespace std {
  class length_error : public logic_error {
  public:
    explicit length_error(const string& what_arg);
    explicit length_error(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

length_error(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class length_error.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 19.1.5 [out.of.range]

namespace std {
  class out_of_range : public logic_error {
  public:
    explicit out_of_range(const string& what_arg);
    explicit out_of_range(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

out_of_range(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class out_of_range.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 19.1.6 [runtime.error]

namespace std {
  class runtime_error : public exception {
  public:
    explicit runtime_error(const string& what_arg);
    explicit runtime_error(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

runtime_error(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class runtime_error.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 19.1.7 [range.error]

namespace std {
  class range_error : public runtime_error {
  public:
    explicit range_error(const string& what_arg);
    explicit range_error(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

range_error(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class range_error.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 19.1.8 [overflow.error]

namespace std {
  class overflow_error : public runtime_error {
  public:
    explicit overflow_error(const string& what_arg);
    explicit overflow_error(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

overflow_error(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class overflow_error.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 19.1.9 [underflow.error]

namespace std {
  class underflow_error : public runtime_error {
  public:
    explicit underflow_error(const string& what_arg);
    explicit underflow_error(const char* what_arg);
  };
}

...

underflow_error(const char* what_arg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class underflow_error.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), what_arg) == 0.

Change 27.4.2.1.1 [ios::failure]

namespace std {
  class ios_base::failure : public exception {
  public:
    explicit failure(const string& msg);
    explicit failure(const char* msg);
    virtual const char* what() const throw();
};
}

...

failure(const char* msg);

-4- Effects: Constructs an object of class failure.

-5- Postcondition: strcmp(what(), msg) == 0.

Rationale:

Throwing a bad_alloc while trying to construct a message for another exception-derived class is not necessarily a bad thing. And the bad_alloc constructor already has a no throw spec on it (18.4.2.1).

Future:

All involved would like to see const char* constructors added, but this should probably be done for C++0X as opposed to a DR.

I believe the no throw specs currently decorating these functions could be improved by some kind of static no throw spec checking mechanism (in a future C++ language). As they stand, the copy constructors might fail via a call to unexpected. I think what is intended here is that the copy constructors can't fail.

[Pre-Sydney: reopened at the request of Howard Hinnant. Post-Redmond: James Kanze noticed that the copy constructors of exception-derived classes do not have nothrow clauses. Those classes have no copy constructors declared, meaning the compiler-generated implicit copy constructors are used, and those compiler-generated constructors might in principle throw anything.]

[ Batavia: Merged copy constructor and assignment operator spec into exception and added ios::failure into the proposed resolution. ]

[ Oxford: The proposed resolution simply addresses the issue of constructing the exception objects with const char* and string literals without the need to explicit include or construct a std::string. ]


256. typo in 27.4.4.2, p17: copy_event does not exist

Section: 27.4.4.2 [basic.ios.members] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-08-21

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Discussion:

27.4.4.2, p17 says

-17- Before copying any parts of rhs, calls each registered callback pair (fn,index) as (*fn)(erase_event,*this,index). After all parts but exceptions() have been replaced, calls each callback pair that was copied from rhs as (*fn)(copy_event,*this,index).

The name copy_event isn't defined anywhere. The intended name was copyfmt_event.

Proposed resolution:

Replace copy_event with copyfmt_event in the named paragraph.


258. Missing allocator requirement

Section: 20.1.2 [allocator.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2000-08-22

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Discussion:

From lib-7752:

I've been assuming (and probably everyone else has been assuming) that allocator instances have a particular property, and I don't think that property can be deduced from anything in Table 32.

I think we have to assume that allocator type conversion is a homomorphism. That is, if x1 and x2 are of type X, where X::value_type is T, and if type Y is X::template rebind<U>::other, then Y(x1) == Y(x2) if and only if x1 == x2.

Further discussion: Howard Hinnant writes, in lib-7757:

I think I can prove that this is not provable by Table 32. And I agree it needs to be true except for the "and only if". If x1 != x2, I see no reason why it can't be true that Y(x1) == Y(x2). Admittedly I can't think of a practical instance where this would happen, or be valuable. But I also don't see a need to add that extra restriction. I think we only need:

if (x1 == x2) then Y(x1) == Y(x2)

If we decide that == on allocators is transitive, then I think I can prove the above. But I don't think == is necessarily transitive on allocators. That is:

Given x1 == x2 and x2 == x3, this does not mean x1 == x3.

Example:

x1 can deallocate pointers from: x1, x2, x3
x2 can deallocate pointers from: x1, x2, x4
x3 can deallocate pointers from: x1, x3
x4 can deallocate pointers from: x2, x4

x1 == x2, and x2 == x4, but x1 != x4

[Toronto: LWG members offered multiple opinions. One opinion is that it should not be required that x1 == x2 implies Y(x1) == Y(x2), and that it should not even be required that X(x1) == x1. Another opinion is that the second line from the bottom in table 32 already implies the desired property. This issue should be considered in light of other issues related to allocator instances.]

Proposed resolution:

Accept proposed wording from N2436 part 3.

[Lillehammer: Same conclusion as before: this should be considered as part of an allocator redesign, not solved on its own.]

[ Batavia: An allocator redesign is not forthcoming and thus we fixed this one issue. ]

[ Toronto: Reopened at the request of the project editor (Pete) because the proposed wording did not fit within the indicated table. The intent of the resolution remains unchanged. Pablo to work with Pete on improved wording. ]

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2387 for this issue which was subsequently split out into a separate paper N2436 for the purposes of voting. The resolution in N2436 addresses this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


259. basic_string::operator[] and const correctness

Section: 21.3.4 [string.capacity] Status: WP Submitter: Chris Newton Date: 2000-08-27

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Discussion:

Paraphrased from a message that Chris Newton posted to comp.std.c++:

The standard's description of basic_string<>::operator[] seems to violate const correctness.

The standard (21.3.4/1) says that "If pos < size(), returns data()[pos]." The types don't work. The return value of data() is const charT*, but operator[] has a non-const version whose return type is reference.

Proposed resolution:

In section 21.3.4, paragraph 1, change "data()[pos]" to "*(begin() + pos)".


260. Inconsistent return type of istream_iterator::operator++(int)

Section: 24.5.1.2 [istream.iterator.ops] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-08-27

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Discussion:

The synopsis of istream_iterator::operator++(int) in 24.5.1 shows it as returning the iterator by value. 24.5.1.2, p5 shows the same operator as returning the iterator by reference. That's incorrect given the Effects clause below (since a temporary is returned). The `&' is probably just a typo.

Proposed resolution:

Change the declaration in 24.5.1.2, p5 from

 istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& operator++(int);
 

to

 istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance> operator++(int);
 

(that is, remove the `&').


261. Missing description of istream_iterator::operator!=

Section: 24.5.1.2 [istream.iterator.ops] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-08-27

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Discussion:

24.5.1, p3 lists the synopsis for

   template <class T, class charT, class traits, class Distance>
        bool operator!=(const istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& x,
                        const istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& y);

but there is no description of what the operator does (i.e., no Effects or Returns clause) in 24.5.1.2.

Proposed resolution:

Add paragraph 7 to the end of section 24.5.1.2 with the following text:

   template <class T, class charT, class traits, class Distance>
        bool operator!=(const istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& x,
                        const istream_iterator<T,charT,traits,Distance>& y);

-7- Returns: !(x == y).


262. Bitmask operator ~ specified incorrectly

Section: 17.3.2.1.2 [bitmask.types] Status: WP Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 2000-09-03

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Discussion:

The ~ operation should be applied after the cast to int_type.

Proposed resolution:

Change 17.3.2.1.2 [lib.bitmask.types] operator~ from:

   bitmask operator~ ( bitmask X )
     { return static_cast< bitmask>(static_cast<int_type>(~ X)); }

to:

   bitmask operator~ ( bitmask X )
     { return static_cast< bitmask>(~static_cast<int_type>(X)); }

263. Severe restriction on basic_string reference counting

Section: 21.3 [basic.string] Status: WP Submitter: Kevlin Henney Date: 2000-09-04

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Discussion:

The note in paragraph 6 suggests that the invalidation rules for references, pointers, and iterators in paragraph 5 permit a reference- counted implementation (actually, according to paragraph 6, they permit a "reference counted implementation", but this is a minor editorial fix).

However, the last sub-bullet is so worded as to make a reference-counted implementation unviable. In the following example none of the conditions for iterator invalidation are satisfied:

    // first example: "*******************" should be printed twice
    string original = "some arbitrary text", copy = original;
    const string & alias = original;

    string::const_iterator i = alias.begin(), e = alias.end();
    for(string::iterator j = original.begin(); j != original.end(); ++j)
        *j = '*';
    while(i != e)
        cout << *i++;
    cout << endl;
    cout << original << endl;

Similarly, in the following example:

    // second example: "some arbitrary text" should be printed out
    string original = "some arbitrary text", copy = original;
    const string & alias = original;

    string::const_iterator i = alias.begin();
    original.begin();
    while(i != alias.end())
        cout << *i++;

I have tested this on three string implementations, two of which were reference counted. The reference-counted implementations gave "surprising behavior" because they invalidated iterators on the first call to non-const begin since construction. The current wording does not permit such invalidation because it does not take into account the first call since construction, only the first call since various member and non-member function calls.

Proposed resolution:

Change the following sentence in 21.3 paragraph 5 from

Subsequent to any of the above uses except the forms of insert() and erase() which return iterators, the first call to non-const member functions operator[](), at(), begin(), rbegin(), end(), or rend().

to

Following construction or any of the above uses, except the forms of insert() and erase() that return iterators, the first call to non- const member functions operator[](), at(), begin(), rbegin(), end(), or rend().


264. Associative container insert(i, j) complexity requirements are not feasible.

Section: 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] Status: WP Submitter: John Potter Date: 2000-09-07

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Duplicate of: 102

Discussion:

Table 69 requires linear time if [i, j) is sorted. Sorted is necessary but not sufficient. Consider inserting a sorted range of even integers into a set<int> containing the odd integers in the same range.

Related issue: 102

Proposed resolution:

In Table 69, in section 23.1.2, change the complexity clause for insertion of a range from "N log(size() + N) (N is the distance from i to j) in general; linear if [i, j) is sorted according to value_comp()" to "N log(size() + N), where N is the distance from i to j".

[Copenhagen: Minor fix in proposed resolution: fixed unbalanced parens in the revised wording.]

Rationale:

Testing for valid insertions could be less efficient than simply inserting the elements when the range is not both sorted and between two adjacent existing elements; this could be a QOI issue.

The LWG considered two other options: (a) specifying that the complexity was linear if [i, j) is sorted according to value_comp() and between two adjacent existing elements; or (b) changing to Klog(size() + N) + (N - K) (N is the distance from i to j and K is the number of elements which do not insert immediately after the previous element from [i, j) including the first). The LWG felt that, since we can't guarantee linear time complexity whenever the range to be inserted is sorted, it's more trouble than it's worth to say that it's linear in some special cases.


265. std::pair::pair() effects overly restrictive

Section: 20.2.3 [pairs] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-09-11

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Discussion:

I don't see any requirements on the types of the elements of the std::pair container in 20.2.2. From the descriptions of the member functions it appears that they must at least satisfy the requirements of 20.1.3 [lib.copyconstructible] and 20.1.4 [lib.default.con.req], and in the case of the [in]equality operators also the requirements of 20.1.1 [lib.equalitycomparable] and 20.1.2 [lib.lessthancomparable].

I believe that the the CopyConstructible requirement is unnecessary in the case of 20.2.2, p2.

Proposed resolution:

Change the Effects clause in 20.2.2, p2 from

-2- Effects: Initializes its members as if implemented: pair() : first(T1()), second(T2()) {}

to

-2- Effects: Initializes its members as if implemented: pair() : first(), second() {}

Rationale:

The existing specification of pair's constructor appears to be a historical artifact: there was concern that pair's members be properly zero-initialized when they are built-in types. At one time there was uncertainty about whether they would be zero-initialized if the default constructor was written the obvious way. This has been clarified by core issue 178, and there is no longer any doubt that the straightforward implementation is correct.


266. bad_exception::~bad_exception() missing Effects clause

Section: 18.7.2.1 [bad.exception] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-09-24

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Discussion:

The synopsis for std::bad_exception lists the function ~bad_exception() but there is no description of what the function does (the Effects clause is missing).

Proposed resolution:

Remove the destructor from the class synopses of bad_alloc (18.5.2.1 [bad.alloc]), bad_cast (18.6.2 [bad.cast]), bad_typeid (18.6.3 [bad.typeid]), and bad_exception (18.7.2.1 [bad.exception]).

Rationale:

This is a general problem with the exception classes in clause 18. The proposed resolution is to remove the destructors from the class synopses, rather than to document the destructors' behavior, because removing them is more consistent with how exception classes are described in clause 19.


268. Typo in locale synopsis

Section: 22.1.1 [locale] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-10-05

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Discussion:

The synopsis of the class std::locale in 22.1.1 contains two typos: the semicolons after the declarations of the default ctor locale::locale() and the copy ctor locale::locale(const locale&) are missing.

Proposed resolution:

Add the missing semicolons, i.e., change

    //  construct/copy/destroy:
        locale() throw()
        locale(const locale& other) throw()

in the synopsis in 22.1.1 to

    //  construct/copy/destroy:
        locale() throw();
        locale(const locale& other) throw();

270. Binary search requirements overly strict

Section: 25.3.3 [alg.binary.search] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2000-10-18

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Duplicate of: 472

Discussion:

Each of the four binary search algorithms (lower_bound, upper_bound, equal_range, binary_search) has a form that allows the user to pass a comparison function object. According to 25.3, paragraph 2, that comparison function object has to be a strict weak ordering.

This requirement is slightly too strict. Suppose we are searching through a sequence containing objects of type X, where X is some large record with an integer key. We might reasonably want to look up a record by key, in which case we would want to write something like this:

    struct key_comp {
      bool operator()(const X& x, int n) const {
        return x.key() < n;
      }
    }

    std::lower_bound(first, last, 47, key_comp());

key_comp is not a strict weak ordering, but there is no reason to prohibit its use in lower_bound.

There's no difficulty in implementing lower_bound so that it allows the use of something like key_comp. (It will probably work unless an implementor takes special pains to forbid it.) What's difficult is formulating language in the standard to specify what kind of comparison function is acceptable. We need a notion that's slightly more general than that of a strict weak ordering, one that can encompass a comparison function that involves different types. Expressing that notion may be complicated.

Additional questions raised at the Toronto meeting:

Additional discussion from Copenhagen:

Proposed resolution:

Change 25.3 [lib.alg.sorting] paragraph 3 from:

3 For all algorithms that take Compare, there is a version that uses operator< instead. That is, comp(*i, *j) != false defaults to *i < *j != false. For the algorithms to work correctly, comp has to induce a strict weak ordering on the values.

to:

3 For all algorithms that take Compare, there is a version that uses operator< instead. That is, comp(*i, *j) != false defaults to *i < *j != false. For algorithms other than those described in lib.alg.binary.search (25.3.3) to work correctly, comp has to induce a strict weak ordering on the values.

Add the following paragraph after 25.3 [lib.alg.sorting] paragraph 5:

-6- A sequence [start, finish) is partitioned with respect to an expression f(e) if there exists an integer n such that for all 0 <= i < distance(start, finish), f(*(begin+i)) is true if and only if i < n.

Change 25.3.3 [lib.alg.binary.search] paragraph 1 from:

-1- All of the algorithms in this section are versions of binary search and assume that the sequence being searched is in order according to the implied or explicit comparison function. They work on non-random access iterators minimizing the number of comparisons, which will be logarithmic for all types of iterators. They are especially appropriate for random access iterators, because these algorithms do a logarithmic number of steps through the data structure. For non-random access iterators they execute a linear number of steps.

to:

-1- All of the algorithms in this section are versions of binary search and assume that the sequence being searched is partitioned with respect to an expression formed by binding the search key to an argument of the implied or explicit comparison function. They work on non-random access iterators minimizing the number of comparisons, which will be logarithmic for all types of iterators. They are especially appropriate for random access iterators, because these algorithms do a logarithmic number of steps through the data structure. For non-random access iterators they execute a linear number of steps.

Change 25.3.3.1 [lib.lower.bound] paragraph 1 from:

-1- Requires: Type T is LessThanComparable (lib.lessthancomparable).

to:

-1- Requires: The elements e of [first, last) are partitioned with respect to the expression e < value or comp(e, value)

Remove 25.3.3.1 [lib.lower.bound] paragraph 2:

-2- Effects: Finds the first position into which value can be inserted without violating the ordering.

Change 25.3.3.2 [lib.upper.bound] paragraph 1 from:

-1- Requires: Type T is LessThanComparable (lib.lessthancomparable).

to:

-1- Requires: The elements e of [first, last) are partitioned with respect to the expression !(value < e) or !comp(value, e)

Remove 25.3.3.2 [lib.upper.bound] paragraph 2:

-2- Effects: Finds the furthermost position into which value can be inserted without violating the ordering.

Change 25.3.3.3 [lib.equal.range] paragraph 1 from:

-1- Requires: Type T is LessThanComparable (lib.lessthancomparable).

to:

-1- Requires: The elements e of [first, last) are partitioned with respect to the expressions e < value and !(value < e) or comp(e, value) and !comp(value, e). Also, for all elements e of [first, last), e < value implies !(value < e) or comp(e, value) implies !comp(value, e)

Change 25.3.3.3 [lib.equal.range] paragraph 2 from:

-2- Effects: Finds the largest subrange [i, j) such that the value can be inserted at any iterator k in it without violating the ordering. k satisfies the corresponding conditions: !(*k < value) && !(value < *k) or comp(*k, value) == false && comp(value, *k) == false.

to:

   -2- Returns: 
         make_pair(lower_bound(first, last, value),
                   upper_bound(first, last, value))
       or
         make_pair(lower_bound(first, last, value, comp),
                   upper_bound(first, last, value, comp))

Change 25.3.3.3 [lib.binary.search] paragraph 1 from:

-1- Requires: Type T is LessThanComparable (lib.lessthancomparable).

to:

-1- Requires: The elements e of [first, last) are partitioned with respect to the expressions e < value and !(value < e) or comp(e, value) and !comp(value, e). Also, for all elements e of [first, last), e < value implies !(value < e) or comp(e, value) implies !comp(value, e)

[Copenhagen: Dave Abrahams provided this wording]

[Redmond: Minor changes in wording. (Removed "non-negative", and changed the "other than those described in" wording.) Also, the LWG decided to accept the "optional" part.]

Rationale:

The proposed resolution reinterprets binary search. Instead of thinking about searching for a value in a sorted range, we view that as an important special case of a more general algorithm: searching for the partition point in a partitioned range.

We also add a guarantee that the old wording did not: we ensure that the upper bound is no earlier than the lower bound, that the pair returned by equal_range is a valid range, and that the first part of that pair is the lower bound.


271. basic_iostream missing typedefs

Section: 27.6.1.5 [iostreamclass] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-11-02

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Discussion:

Class template basic_iostream has no typedefs. The typedefs it inherits from its base classes can't be used, since (for example) basic_iostream<T>::traits_type is ambiguous.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following to basic_iostream's class synopsis in 27.6.1.5 [iostreamclass], immediately after public:

  // types:
  typedef charT                     char_type;
  typedef typename traits::int_type int_type;
  typedef typename traits::pos_type pos_type;
  typedef typename traits::off_type off_type;
  typedef traits                    traits_type;

272. Missing parentheses around subexpression

Section: 27.4.4.3 [iostate.flags] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-11-02

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Duplicate of: 569

Discussion:

27.4.4.3, p4 says about the postcondition of the function: If rdbuf()!=0 then state == rdstate(); otherwise rdstate()==state|ios_base::badbit.

The expression on the right-hand-side of the operator==() needs to be parenthesized in order for the whole expression to ever evaluate to anything but non-zero.

Proposed resolution:

Add parentheses like so: rdstate()==(state|ios_base::badbit).


273. Missing ios_base qualification on members of a dependent class

Section: 27 [input.output] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-11-02

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Discussion:

27.5.2.4.2, p4, and 27.8.1.6, p2, 27.8.1.7, p3, 27.8.1.9, p2, 27.8.1.10, p3 refer to in and/or out w/o ios_base:: qualification. That's incorrect since the names are members of a dependent base class (14.6.2 [temp.dep]) and thus not visible.

Proposed resolution:

Qualify the names with the name of the class of which they are members, i.e., ios_base.


274. a missing/impossible allocator requirement

Section: 20.1.2 [allocator.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-11-02

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Discussion:

I see that table 31 in 20.1.5, p3 allows T in std::allocator<T> to be of any type. But the synopsis in 20.4.1 calls for allocator<>::address() to be overloaded on reference and const_reference, which is ill-formed for all T = const U. In other words, this won't work:

template class std::allocator<const int>;

The obvious solution is to disallow specializations of allocators on const types. However, while containers' elements are required to be assignable (which rules out specializations on const T's), I think that allocators might perhaps be potentially useful for const values in other contexts. So if allocators are to allow const types a partial specialization of std::allocator<const T> would probably have to be provided.

Proposed resolution:

Change the text in row 1, column 2 of table 32 in 20.1.5, p3 from

any type

to

any non-const, non-reference type

[Redmond: previous proposed resolution was "any non-const, non-volatile, non-reference type". Got rid of the "non-volatile".]

Rationale:

Two resolutions were originally proposed: one that partially specialized std::allocator for const types, and one that said an allocator's value type may not be const. The LWG chose the second. The first wouldn't be appropriate, because allocators are intended for use by containers, and const value types don't work in containers. Encouraging the use of allocators with const value types would only lead to unsafe code.

The original text for proposed resolution 2 was modified so that it also forbids volatile types and reference types.

[Curaçao: LWG double checked and believes volatile is correctly excluded from the PR.]


275. Wrong type in num_get::get() overloads

Section: 22.2.2.1.1 [facet.num.get.members] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2000-11-02

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Discussion:

In 22.2.2.1.1, we have a list of overloads for num_get<>::get(). There are eight overloads, all of which are identical except for the last parameter. The overloads are:

There is a similar list, in 22.2.2.1.2, of overloads for num_get<>::do_get(). In this list, the last parameter has the types:

These two lists are not identical. They should be, since get is supposed to call do_get with exactly the arguments it was given.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.2.1.1 [facet.num.get.members], change

  iter_type get(iter_type in, iter_type end, ios_base& str,
                ios_base::iostate& err, short& val) const;

to

  iter_type get(iter_type in, iter_type end, ios_base& str,
                ios_base::iostate& err, float& val) const;

276. Assignable requirement for container value type overly strict

Section: 23.1 [container.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Peter Dimov Date: 2000-11-07

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Discussion:

23.1/3 states that the objects stored in a container must be Assignable. 23.3.1 [map], paragraph 2, states that map satisfies all requirements for a container, while in the same time defining value_type as pair<const Key, T> - a type that is not Assignable.

It should be noted that there exists a valid and non-contradictory interpretation of the current text. The wording in 23.1/3 avoids mentioning value_type, referring instead to "objects stored in a container." One might argue that map does not store objects of type map::value_type, but of map::mapped_type instead, and that the Assignable requirement applies to map::mapped_type, not map::value_type.

However, this makes map a special case (other containers store objects of type value_type) and the Assignable requirement is needlessly restrictive in general.

For example, the proposed resolution of active library issue 103 is to make set::iterator a constant iterator; this means that no set operations can exploit the fact that the stored objects are Assignable.

This is related to, but slightly broader than, closed issue 140.

Proposed resolution:

23.1/3: Strike the trailing part of the sentence:

, and the additional requirements of Assignable types from 23.1/3

so that it reads:

-3- The type of objects stored in these components must meet the requirements of CopyConstructible types (lib.copyconstructible).

23.1/4: Modify to make clear that this requirement is not for all containers. Change to:

-4- Table 64 defines the Assignable requirement. Some containers require this property of the types to be stored in the container. T is the type used to instantiate the container. t is a value of T, and u is a value of (possibly const) T.

23.1, Table 65: in the first row, change "T is Assignable" to "T is CopyConstructible".

23.2.1/2: Add sentence for Assignable requirement. Change to:

-2- A deque satisfies all of the requirements of a container and of a reversible container (given in tables in lib.container.requirements) and of a sequence, including the optional sequence requirements (lib.sequence.reqmts). In addition to the requirements on the stored object described in 23.1[lib.container.requirements], the stored object must also meet the requirements of Assignable. Descriptions are provided here only for operations on deque that are not described in one of these tables or for operations where there is additional semantic information.

23.2.2/2: Add Assignable requirement to specific methods of list. Change to:

-2- A list satisfies all of the requirements of a container and of a reversible container (given in two tables in lib.container.requirements) and of a sequence, including most of the the optional sequence requirements (lib.sequence.reqmts). The exceptions are the operator[] and at member functions, which are not provided. [Footnote: These member functions are only provided by containers whose iterators are random access iterators. --- end foonote]

list does not require the stored type T to be Assignable unless the following methods are instantiated: [Footnote: Implementors are permitted but not required to take advantage of T's Assignable properties for these methods. -- end foonote]

     list<T,Allocator>& operator=(const list<T,Allocator>&  x );
     template <class InputIterator>
       void assign(InputIterator first, InputIterator last);
     void assign(size_type n, const T& t);

Descriptions are provided here only for operations on list that are not described in one of these tables or for operations where there is additional semantic information.

23.2.4/2: Add sentence for Assignable requirement. Change to:

-2- A vector satisfies all of the requirements of a container and of a reversible container (given in two tables in lib.container.requirements) and of a sequence, including most of the optional sequence requirements (lib.sequence.reqmts). The exceptions are the push_front and pop_front member functions, which are not provided. In addition to the requirements on the stored object described in 23.1[lib.container.requirements], the stored object must also meet the requirements of Assignable. Descriptions are provided here only for operations on vector that are not described in one of these tables or for operations where there is additional semantic information.

Rationale:

list, set, multiset, map, multimap are able to store non-Assignables. However, there is some concern about list<T>: although in general there's no reason for T to be Assignable, some implementations of the member functions operator= and assign do rely on that requirement. The LWG does not want to forbid such implementations.

Note that the type stored in a standard container must still satisfy the requirements of the container's allocator; this rules out, for example, such types as "const int". See issue 274 for more details.

In principle we could also relax the "Assignable" requirement for individual vector member functions, such as push_back. However, the LWG did not see great value in such selective relaxation. Doing so would remove implementors' freedom to implement vector::push_back in terms of vector::insert.


278. What does iterator validity mean?

Section: 23.2.4.4 [list.ops] Status: WP Submitter: P.J. Plauger Date: 2000-11-27

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Discussion:

Section 23.2.4.4 [list.ops] states that

  void splice(iterator position, list<T, Allocator>& x);

invalidates all iterators and references to list x.

But what does the C++ Standard mean by "invalidate"? You can still dereference the iterator to a spliced list element, but you'd better not use it to delimit a range within the original list. For the latter operation, it has definitely lost some of its validity.

If we accept the proposed resolution to issue 250, then we'd better clarify that a "valid" iterator need no longer designate an element within the same container as it once did. We then have to clarify what we mean by invalidating a past-the-end iterator, as when a vector or string grows by reallocation. Clearly, such an iterator has a different kind of validity. Perhaps we should introduce separate terms for the two kinds of "validity."

Proposed resolution:

Add the following text to the end of section 24.1 [iterator.requirements], after paragraph 5:

An invalid iterator is an iterator that may be singular. [Footnote: This definition applies to pointers, since pointers are iterators. The effect of dereferencing an iterator that has been invalidated is undefined.]

[post-Copenhagen: Matt provided wording.]

[Redmond: General agreement with the intent, some objections to the wording. Dave provided new wording.]

Rationale:

This resolution simply defines a term that the Standard uses but never defines, "invalid", in terms of a term that is defined, "singular".

Why do we say "may be singular", instead of "is singular"? That's becuase a valid iterator is one that is known to be nonsingular. Invalidating an iterator means changing it in such a way that it's no longer known to be nonsingular. An example: inserting an element into the middle of a vector is correctly said to invalidate all iterators pointing into the vector. That doesn't necessarily mean they all become singular.


280. Comparison of reverse_iterator to const reverse_iterator

Section: 24.4.1 [reverse.iterators] Status: WP Submitter: Steve Cleary Date: 2000-11-27

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Discussion:

This came from an email from Steve Cleary to Fergus in reference to issue 179. The library working group briefly discussed this in Toronto and believed it should be a separate issue. There was also some reservations about whether this was a worthwhile problem to fix.

Steve said: "Fixing reverse_iterator. std::reverse_iterator can (and should) be changed to preserve these additional requirements." He also said in email that it can be done without breaking user's code: "If you take a look at my suggested solution, reverse_iterator doesn't have to take two parameters; there is no danger of breaking existing code, except someone taking the address of one of the reverse_iterator global operator functions, and I have to doubt if anyone has ever done that. . . But, just in case they have, you can leave the old global functions in as well -- they won't interfere with the two-template-argument functions. With that, I don't see how any user code could break."

Proposed resolution:

Section: 24.4.1.1 [reverse.iterator] add/change the following declarations:

  A) Add a templated assignment operator, after the same manner
        as the templated copy constructor, i.e.:

  template < class U >
  reverse_iterator < Iterator >& operator=(const reverse_iterator< U >& u);

  B) Make all global functions (except the operator+) have
  two template parameters instead of one, that is, for
  operator ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=, - replace:

       template < class Iterator >
       typename reverse_iterator< Iterator >::difference_type operator-(
                 const reverse_iterator< Iterator >& x,
                 const reverse_iterator< Iterator >& y);

  with:

      template < class Iterator1, class Iterator2 >
      typename reverse_iterator < Iterator1 >::difference_type operator-(
                 const reverse_iterator < Iterator1 > & x,
                 const reverse_iterator < Iterator2 > & y);

Also make the addition/changes for these signatures in 24.4.1.3 [reverse.iter.ops].

[ Copenhagen: The LWG is concerned that the proposed resolution introduces new overloads. Experience shows that introducing overloads is always risky, and that it would be inappropriate to make this change without implementation experience. It may be desirable to provide this feature in a different way. ]

[ Lillehammer: We now have implementation experience, and agree that this solution is safe and correct. ]


281. std::min() and max() requirements overly restrictive

Section: 25.3.7 [alg.min.max] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-12-02

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Duplicate of: 486

Discussion:

The requirements in 25.3.7, p1 and 4 call for T to satisfy the requirements of LessThanComparable ( [lessthancomparable]) and CopyConstructible (20.1.1 [utility.arg.requirements]). Since the functions take and return their arguments and result by const reference, I believe the CopyConstructible requirement is unnecessary.

Proposed resolution:

Remove the CopyConstructible requirement. Specifically, replace 25.3.7, p1 with

-1- Requires: Type T is LessThanComparable ( [lessthancomparable]).

and replace 25.3.7, p4 with

-4- Requires: Type T is LessThanComparable ( [lessthancomparable]).


282. What types does numpunct grouping refer to?

Section: 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2000-12-05

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Discussion:

Paragraph 16 mistakenly singles out integral types for inserting thousands_sep() characters. This conflicts with the syntax for floating point numbers described under 22.2.3.1/2.

Proposed resolution:

Change paragraph 16 from:

For integral types, punct.thousands_sep() characters are inserted into the sequence as determined by the value returned by punct.do_grouping() using the method described in 22.2.3.1.2 [facet.numpunct.virtuals].

To:

For arithmetic types, punct.thousands_sep() characters are inserted into the sequence as determined by the value returned by punct.do_grouping() using the method described in 22.2.3.1.2 [facet.numpunct.virtuals].

[ Copenhagen: Opinions were divided about whether this is actually an inconsistency, but at best it seems to have been unintentional. This is only an issue for floating-point output: The standard is unambiguous that implementations must parse thousands_sep characters when performing floating-point. The standard is also unambiguous that this requirement does not apply to the "C" locale. ]

[ A survey of existing practice is needed; it is believed that some implementations do insert thousands_sep characters for floating-point output and others fail to insert thousands_sep characters for floating-point input even though this is unambiguously required by the standard. ]

[Post-Curaçao: the above proposed resolution is the consensus of Howard, Bill, Pete, Benjamin, Nathan, Dietmar, Boris, and Martin.]


283. std::replace() requirement incorrect/insufficient

Section: 25.2.5 [alg.replace] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-12-15

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Duplicate of: 483

Discussion:

(revision of the further discussion) There are a number of problems with the requires clauses for the algorithms in 25.1 and 25.2. The requires clause of each algorithm should describe the necessary and sufficient requirements on the inputs to the algorithm such that the algorithm compiles and runs properly. Many of the requires clauses fail to do this. Here is a summary of the kinds of mistakes:

  1. Use of EqualityComparable, which only puts requirements on a single type, when in fact an equality operator is required between two different types, typically either T and the iterator's value type or between the value types of two different iterators.
  2. Use of Assignable for T when in fact what was needed is Assignable for the value_type of the iterator, and convertability from T to the value_type of the iterator. Or for output iterators, the requirement should be that T is writable to the iterator (output iterators do not have value types).

Here is the list of algorithms that contain mistakes:

Also, in the requirements for EqualityComparable, the requirement that the operator be defined for const objects is lacking.

Proposed resolution:

20.1.1 Change p1 from

In Table 28, T is a type to be supplied by a C++ program instantiating a template, a, b, and c are values of type T.

to

In Table 28, T is a type to be supplied by a C++ program instantiating a template, a, b, and c are values of type const T.

25 Between p8 and p9

Add the following sentence:

When the description of an algorithm gives an expression such as *first == value for a condition, it is required that the expression evaluate to either true or false in boolean contexts.

25.1.2 Change p1 by deleting the requires clause.

25.1.6 Change p1 by deleting the requires clause.

25.1.9

Change p4 from

-4- Requires: Type T is EqualityComparable (20.1.1), type Size is convertible to integral type (4.7.12.3).

to

-4- Requires: The type Size is convertible to integral type (4.7.12.3).

25.2.4 Change p1 from

-1- Requires: Type T is Assignable (23.1 ) (and, for replace(), EqualityComparable (20.1.1 )).

to

-1- Requires: The expression *first = new_value must be valid.

and change p4 from

-4- Requires: Type T is Assignable (23.1) (and, for replace_copy(), EqualityComparable (20.1.1)). The ranges [first, last) and [result, result + (last - first)) shall not overlap.

to

-4- Requires: The results of the expressions *first and new_value must be writable to the result output iterator. The ranges [first, last) and [result, result + (last - first)) shall not overlap.

25.2.5 Change p1 from

-1- Requires: Type T is Assignable (23.1). The type Size is convertible to an integral type (4.7.12.3).

to

-1- Requires: The expression value must be is writable to the output iterator. The type Size is convertible to an integral type (4.7.12.3).

25.2.7 Change p1 from

-1- Requires: Type T is EqualityComparable (20.1.1).

to

-1- Requires: The value type of the iterator must be Assignable (23.1).

Rationale:

The general idea of the proposed solution is to remove the faulty requires clauses and let the returns and effects clauses speak for themselves. That is, the returns clauses contain expressions that must be valid, and therefore already imply the correct requirements. In addition, a sentence is added at the beginning of chapter 25 saying that expressions given as conditions must evaluate to true or false in a boolean context. An alternative would be to say that the type of these condition expressions must be literally bool, but that would be imposing a greater restriction that what the standard currently says (which is convertible to bool).


284. unportable example in 20.3.7, p6

Section: 20.5.7 [comparisons] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-12-26

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Discussion:

The example in 20.5.7 [comparisons], p6 shows how to use the C library function strcmp() with the function pointer adapter ptr_fun(). But since it's unspecified whether the C library functions have extern "C" or extern "C++" linkage [17.4.2.2 [using.linkage]], and since function pointers with different the language linkage specifications (7.5 [dcl.link]) are incompatible, whether this example is well-formed is unspecified.

Proposed resolution:

Change 20.5.7 [comparisons] paragraph 6 from:

[Example:

    replace_if(v.begin(), v.end(), not1(bind2nd(ptr_fun(strcmp), "C")), "C++");
  

replaces each C with C++ in sequence v.

to:

[Example:

    int compare(const char*, const char*);
    replace_if(v.begin(), v.end(),
               not1(bind2nd(ptr_fun(compare), "abc")), "def");
  

replaces each abc with def in sequence v.

Also, remove footnote 215 in that same paragraph.

[Copenhagen: Minor change in the proposed resolution. Since this issue deals in part with C and C++ linkage, it was believed to be too confusing for the strings in the example to be "C" and "C++". ]

[Redmond: More minor changes. Got rid of the footnote (which seems to make a sweeping normative requirement, even though footnotes aren't normative), and changed the sentence after the footnote so that it corresponds to the new code fragment.]


285. minor editorial errors in fstream ctors

Section: 27.8.1.7 [ifstream.cons] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2000-12-31

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Discussion:

27.8.1.7 [ifstream.cons], p2, 27.8.1.11 [ofstream.cons], p2, and 27.8.1.15 [fstream.cons], p2 say about the effects of each constructor:

... If that function returns a null pointer, calls setstate(failbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure).

The parenthetical note doesn't apply since the ctors cannot throw an exception due to the requirement in 27.4.4.1 [basic.ios.cons], p3 that exceptions() be initialized to ios_base::goodbit.

Proposed resolution:

Strike the parenthetical note from the Effects clause in each of the paragraphs mentioned above.


286. <cstdlib> requirements missing size_t typedef

Section: 25.4 [alg.c.library] Status: WP Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 2000-12-30

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Discussion:

The <cstdlib> header file contains prototypes for bsearch and qsort (C++ Standard section 25.4 paragraphs 3 and 4) and other prototypes (C++ Standard section 21.4 paragraph 1 table 49) that require the typedef size_t. Yet size_t is not listed in the <cstdlib> synopsis table 78 in section 25.4.

Proposed resolution:

Add the type size_t to Table 78 (section 25.4) and add the type size_t <cstdlib> to Table 97 (section C.2).

Rationale:

Since size_t is in <stdlib.h>, it must also be in <cstdlib>.


288. <cerrno> requirements missing macro EILSEQ

Section: 19.3 [errno] Status: WP Submitter: Judy Ward Date: 2000-12-30

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Discussion:

ISO/IEC 9899:1990/Amendment1:1994 Section 4.3 States: "The list of macros defined in <errno.h> is adjusted to include a new macro, EILSEQ"

ISO/IEC 14882:1998(E) section 19.3 does not refer to the above amendment.

Proposed resolution:

Update Table 26 (section 19.3) "Header <cerrno> synopsis" and Table 95 (section C.2) "Standard Macros" to include EILSEQ.


291. Underspecification of set algorithms

Section: 25.3.5 [alg.set.operations] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2001-01-03

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Discussion:

The standard library contains four algorithms that compute set operations on sorted ranges: set_union, set_intersection, set_difference, and set_symmetric_difference. Each of these algorithms takes two sorted ranges as inputs, and writes the output of the appropriate set operation to an output range. The elements in the output range are sorted.

The ordinary mathematical definitions are generalized so that they apply to ranges containing multiple copies of a given element. Two elements are considered to be "the same" if, according to an ordering relation provided by the user, neither one is less than the other. So, for example, if one input range contains five copies of an element and another contains three, the output range of set_union will contain five copies, the output range of set_intersection will contain three, the output range of set_difference will contain two, and the output range of set_symmetric_difference will contain two.

Because two elements can be "the same" for the purposes of these set algorithms, without being identical in other respects (consider, for example, strings under case-insensitive comparison), this raises a number of unanswered questions:

The standard should either answer these questions, or explicitly say that the answers are unspecified. I prefer the former option, since, as far as I know, all existing implementations behave the same way.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following to the end of 25.3.5.2 [set.union] paragraph 5:

If [first1, last1) contains m elements that are equivalent to each other and [first2, last2) contains n elements that are equivalent to them, then max(m, n) of these elements will be copied to the output range: all m of these elements from [first1, last1), and the last max(n-m, 0) of them from [first2, last2), in that order.

Add the following to the end of 25.3.5.3 [set.intersection] paragraph 5:

If [first1, last1) contains m elements that are equivalent to each other and [first2, last2) contains n elements that are equivalent to them, the first min(m, n) of those elements from [first1, last1) are copied to the output range.

Add a new paragraph, Notes, after 25.3.5.4 [set.difference] paragraph 4:

If [first1, last1) contains m elements that are equivalent to each other and [first2, last2) contains n elements that are equivalent to them, the last max(m-n, 0) elements from [first1, last1) are copied to the output range.

Add a new paragraph, Notes, after 25.3.5.5 [set.symmetric.difference] paragraph 4:

If [first1, last1) contains m elements that are equivalent to each other and [first2, last2) contains n elements that are equivalent to them, then |m - n| of those elements will be copied to the output range: the last m - n of these elements from [first1, last1) if m > n, and the last n - m of these elements from [first2, last2) if m < n.

[Santa Cruz: it's believed that this language is clearer than what's in the Standard. However, it's also believed that the Standard may already make these guarantees (although not quite in these words). Bill and Howard will check and see whether they think that some or all of these changes may be redundant. If so, we may close this issue as NAD.]

Rationale:

For simple cases, these descriptions are equivalent to what's already in the Standard. For more complicated cases, they describe the behavior of existing implementations.


292. effects of a.copyfmt (a)

Section: 27.4.4.2 [basic.ios.members] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-01-05

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Discussion:

The Effects clause of the member function copyfmt() in 27.4.4.2, p15 doesn't consider the case where the left-hand side argument is identical to the argument on the right-hand side, that is (this == &rhs). If the two arguments are identical there is no need to copy any of the data members or call any callbacks registered with register_callback(). Also, as Howard Hinnant points out in message c++std-lib-8149 it appears to be incorrect to allow the object to fire erase_event followed by copyfmt_event since the callback handling the latter event may inadvertently attempt to access memory freed by the former.

Proposed resolution:

Change the Effects clause in 27.4.4.2, p15 from

-15- Effects:Assigns to the member objects of *this the corresponding member objects of rhs, except that...

to

-15- Effects:If (this == &rhs) does nothing. Otherwise assigns to the member objects of *this the corresponding member objects of rhs, except that...


294. User defined macros and standard headers

Section: 17.4.3.2.1 [macro.names] Status: WP Submitter: James Kanze Date: 2001-01-11

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Discussion:

Paragraph 2 of 17.4.3.2.1 [macro.names] reads: "A translation unit that includes a header shall not contain any macros that define names declared in that header." As I read this, it would mean that the following program is legal:

  #define npos 3.14
  #include <sstream>

since npos is not defined in <sstream>. It is, however, defined in <string>, and it is hard to imagine an implementation in which <sstream> didn't include <string>.

I think that this phrase was probably formulated before it was decided that a standard header may freely include other standard headers. The phrase would be perfectly appropriate for C, for example. In light of 17.4.4.1 [res.on.headers] paragraph 1, however, it isn't stringent enough.

Proposed resolution:

For 17.4.3.2.1 [macro.names], replace the current wording, which reads:

Each name defined as a macro in a header is reserved to the implementation for any use if the translation unit includes the header.168)

A translation unit that includes a header shall not contain any macros that define names declared or defined in that header. Nor shall such a translation unit define macros for names lexically identical to keywords.

168) It is not permissible to remove a library macro definition by using the #undef directive.

with the wording:

A translation unit that includes a standard library header shall not #define or #undef names declared in any standard library header.

A translation unit shall not #define or #undef names lexically identical to keywords.

[Lillehammer: Beman provided new wording]


295. Is abs defined in <cmath>?

Section: 26.7 [c.math] Status: WP Submitter: Jens Maurer Date: 2001-01-12

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Discussion:

Table 80 lists the contents of the <cmath> header. It does not list abs(). However, 26.5, paragraph 6, which lists added signatures present in <cmath>, does say that several overloads of abs() should be defined in <cmath>.

Proposed resolution:

Add abs to Table 80. Also, remove the parenthetical list of functions "(abs(), div(), rand(), srand())" from 26.5 [numarray], paragraph 1.

[Copenhagen: Modified proposed resolution so that it also gets rid of that vestigial list of functions in paragraph 1.]

Rationale:

All this DR does is fix a typo; it's uncontroversial. A separate question is whether we're doing the right thing in putting some overloads in <cmath> that we aren't also putting in <cstdlib>. That's issue 323.


297. const_mem_fun_t<>::argument_type should be const T*

Section: 20.5.8 [logical.operations] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-01-06

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Discussion:

The class templates const_mem_fun_t in 20.5.8, p8 and const_mem_fun1_t in 20.5.8, p9 derive from unary_function<T*, S>, and binary_function<T*, A, S>, respectively. Consequently, their argument_type, and first_argument_type members, respectively, are both defined to be T* (non-const). However, their function call member operator takes a const T* argument. It is my opinion that argument_type should be const T* instead, so that one can easily refer to it in generic code. The example below derived from existing code fails to compile due to the discrepancy:

template <class T>
void foo (typename T::argument_type arg)   // #1
{
    typename T::result_type (T::*pf) (typename T::argument_type) const =   // #2
        &T::operator();
}

struct X { /* ... */ };

int main ()
{
    const X x;
    foo<std::const_mem_fun_t<void, X> >(&x);   // #3
}

#1 foo() takes a plain unqualified X* as an argument
#2 the type of the pointer is incompatible with the type of the member function
#3 the address of a constant being passed to a function taking a non-const X*

Proposed resolution:

Replace the top portion of the definition of the class template const_mem_fun_t in 20.5.8, p8

template <class S, class T> class const_mem_fun_t
          : public unary_function<T*, S> {

with

template <class S, class T> class const_mem_fun_t
          : public unary_function<const T*, S> {

Also replace the top portion of the definition of the class template const_mem_fun1_t in 20.5.8, p9

template <class S, class T, class A> class const_mem_fun1_t
          : public binary_function<T*, A, S> {

with

template <class S, class T, class A> class const_mem_fun1_t
          : public binary_function<const T*, A, S> {

Rationale:

This is simply a contradiction: the argument_type typedef, and the argument type itself, are not the same.


298. ::operator delete[] requirement incorrect/insufficient

Section: 18.5.1.2 [new.delete.array] Status: WP Submitter: John A. Pedretti Date: 2001-01-10

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Discussion:

The default behavior of operator delete[] described in 18.5.1.2, p12 - namely that for non-null value of ptr, the operator reclaims storage allocated by the earlier call to the default operator new[] - is not correct in all cases. Since the specified operator new[] default behavior is to call operator new (18.5.1.2, p4, p8), which can be replaced, along with operator delete, by the user, to implement their own memory management, the specified default behavior of operator delete[] must be to call operator delete.

Proposed resolution:

Change 18.5.1.2, p12 from

-12- Default behavior:

to

-12- Default behavior: Calls operator delete(ptr) or operator delete(ptr, std::nothrow) respectively.

and expunge paragraph 13.


300. list::merge() specification incomplete

Section: 23.2.4.4 [list.ops] Status: WP Submitter: John Pedretti Date: 2001-01-23

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Discussion:

The "Effects" clause for list::merge() (23.2.4.4 [list.ops], p23) appears to be incomplete: it doesn't cover the case where the argument list is identical to *this (i.e., this == &x). The requirement in the note in p24 (below) is that x be empty after the merge which is surely unintended in this case.

Proposed resolution:

In 23.2.4.4 [list.ops], replace paragraps 23-25 with:

23 Effects: if (&x == this) does nothing; otherwise, merges the two sorted ranges [begin(), end()) and [x.begin(), x.end()). The result is a range in which the elements will be sorted in non-decreasing order according to the ordering defined by comp; that is, for every iterator i in the range other than the first, the condition comp(*i, *(i - 1)) will be false.

24 Notes: Stable: if (&x != this), then for equivalent elements in the two original ranges, the elements from the original range [begin(), end()) always precede the elements from the original range [x.begin(), x.end()). If (&x != this) the range [x.begin(), x.end()) is empty after the merge.

25 Complexity: At most size() + x.size() - 1 applications of comp if (&x ! = this); otherwise, no applications of comp are performed. If an exception is thrown other than by a comparison there are no effects.

[Copenhagen: The original proposed resolution did not fix all of the problems in 23.2.4.4 [list.ops], p22-25. Three different paragraphs (23, 24, 25) describe the effects of merge. Changing p23, without changing the other two, appears to introduce contradictions. Additionally, "merges the argument list into the list" is excessively vague.]

[Post-Curaçao: Robert Klarer provided new wording.]


301. basic_string template ctor effects clause omits allocator argument

Section: 21.3.1 [string.require] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-01-27

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Discussion:

The effects clause for the basic_string template ctor in 21.3.1, p15 leaves out the third argument of type Allocator. I believe this to be a mistake.

Proposed resolution:

Replace

-15- Effects: If InputIterator is an integral type, equivalent to

basic_string(static_cast<size_type>(begin), static_cast<value_type>(end))

with

-15- Effects: If InputIterator is an integral type, equivalent to

basic_string(static_cast<size_type>(begin), static_cast<value_type>(end), a)


303. Bitset input operator underspecified

Section: 23.3.5.3 [bitset.operators] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2001-02-05

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Discussion:

In 23.3.5.3, we are told that bitset's input operator "Extracts up to N (single-byte) characters from is.", where is is a stream of type basic_istream<charT, traits>.

The standard does not say what it means to extract single byte characters from a stream whose character type, charT, is in general not a single-byte character type. Existing implementations differ.

A reasonable solution will probably involve widen() and/or narrow(), since they are the supplied mechanism for converting a single character between char and arbitrary charT.

Narrowing the input characters is not the same as widening the literals '0' and '1', because there may be some locales in which more than one wide character maps to the narrow character '0'. Narrowing means that alternate representations may be used for bitset input, widening means that they may not be.

Note that for numeric input, num_get<> (22.2.2.1.2/8) compares input characters to widened version of narrow character literals.

From Pete Becker, in c++std-lib-8224:

Different writing systems can have different representations for the digits that represent 0 and 1. For example, in the Unicode representation of the Devanagari script (used in many of the Indic languages) the digit 0 is 0x0966, and the digit 1 is 0x0967. Calling narrow would translate those into '0' and '1'. But Unicode also provides the ASCII values 0x0030 and 0x0031 for for the Latin representations of '0' and '1', as well as code points for the same numeric values in several other scripts (Tamil has no character for 0, but does have the digits 1-9), and any of these values would also be narrowed to '0' and '1'.

...

It's fairly common to intermix both native and Latin representations of numbers in a document. So I think the rule has to be that if a wide character represents a digit whose value is 0 then the bit should be cleared; if it represents a digit whose value is 1 then the bit should be set; otherwise throw an exception. So in a Devanagari locale, both 0x0966 and 0x0030 would clear the bit, and both 0x0967 and 0x0031 would set it. Widen can't do that. It would pick one of those two values, and exclude the other one.

From Jens Maurer, in c++std-lib-8233:

Whatever we decide, I would find it most surprising if bitset conversion worked differently from int conversion with regard to alternate local representations of numbers.

Thus, I think the options are:

Proposed resolution:

Replace the first two sentences of paragraph 5 with:

Extracts up to N characters from is. Stores these characters in a temporary object str of type basic_string<charT, traits>, then evaluates the expression x = bitset<N>(str).

Replace the third bullet item in paragraph 5 with:

Rationale:

Input for bitset should work the same way as numeric input. Using widen does mean that alternative digit representations will not be recognized, but this was a known consequence of the design choice.


305. Default behavior of codecvt<wchar_t, char, mbstate_t>::length()

Section: 22.2.1.5 [locale.codecvt.byname] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2001-01-24

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt.byname].

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Discussion:

22.2.1.5/3 introduces codecvt in part with:

codecvt<wchar_t,char,mbstate_t> converts between the native character sets for tiny and wide characters. Instantiations on mbstate_t perform conversion between encodings known to the library implementor.

But 22.2.1.5.2/10 describes do_length in part with:

... codecvt<wchar_t, char, mbstate_t> ... return(s) the lesser of max and (from_end-from).

The semantics of do_in and do_length are linked. What one does must be consistent with what the other does. 22.2.1.5/3 leads me to believe that the vendor is allowed to choose the algorithm that codecvt<wchar_t,char,mbstate_t>::do_in performs so that it makes his customers happy on a given platform. But 22.2.1.5.2/10 explicitly says what codecvt<wchar_t,char,mbstate_t>::do_length must return. And thus indirectly specifies the algorithm that codecvt<wchar_t,char,mbstate_t>::do_in must perform. I believe that this is not what was intended and is a defect.

Discussion from the -lib reflector:
This proposal would have the effect of making the semantics of all of the virtual functions in codecvt<wchar_t, char, mbstate_t> implementation specified. Is that what we want, or do we want to mandate specific behavior for the base class virtuals and leave the implementation specified behavior for the codecvt_byname derived class? The tradeoff is that former allows implementors to write a base class that actually does something useful, while the latter gives users a way to get known and specified---albeit useless---behavior, and is consistent with the way the standard handles other facets. It is not clear what the original intention was.

Nathan has suggest a compromise: a character that is a widened version of the characters in the basic execution character set must be converted to a one-byte sequence, but there is no such requirement for characters that are not part of the basic execution character set.

Proposed resolution:

Change 22.2.1.5.2/5 from:

The instantiations required in Table 51 (lib.locale.category), namely codecvt<wchar_t,char,mbstate_t> and codecvt<char,char,mbstate_t>, store no characters. Stores no more than (to_limit-to) destination elements. It always leaves the to_next pointer pointing one beyond the last element successfully stored.

to:

Stores no more than (to_limit-to) destination elements, and leaves the to_next pointer pointing one beyond the last element successfully stored. codecvt<char,char,mbstate_t> stores no characters.

Change 22.2.1.5.2/10 from:

-10- Returns: (from_next-from) where from_next is the largest value in the range [from,from_end] such that the sequence of values in the range [from,from_next) represents max or fewer valid complete characters of type internT. The instantiations required in Table 51 (21.1.1.1.1), namely codecvt<wchar_t, char, mbstate_t> and codecvt<char, char, mbstate_t>, return the lesser of max and (from_end-from).

to:

-10- Returns: (from_next-from) where from_next is the largest value in the range [from,from_end] such that the sequence of values in the range [from,from_next) represents max or fewer valid complete characters of type internT. The instantiation codecvt<char, char, mbstate_t> returns the lesser of max and (from_end-from).

[Redmond: Nathan suggested an alternative resolution: same as above, but require that, in the default encoding, a character from the basic execution character set would map to a single external character. The straw poll was 8-1 in favor of the proposed resolution.]

Rationale:

The default encoding should be whatever users of a given platform would expect to be the most natural. This varies from platform to platform. In many cases there is a preexisting C library, and users would expect the default encoding to be whatever C uses in the default "C" locale. We could impose a guarantee like the one Nathan suggested (a character from the basic execution character set must map to a single external character), but this would rule out important encodings that are in common use: it would rule out JIS, for example, and it would rule out a fixed-width encoding of UCS-4.

[Curaçao: fixed rationale typo at the request of Ichiro Koshida; "shift-JIS" changed to "JIS".]


306. offsetof macro and non-POD types

Section: 18.1 [support.types] Status: WP Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 2001-02-21

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Discussion:

Spliced together from reflector messages c++std-lib-8294 and -8295:

18.1, paragraph 5, reads: "The macro offsetof accepts a restricted set of type arguments in this International Standard. type shall be a POD structure or a POD union (clause 9). The result of applying the offsetof macro to a field that is a static data member or a function member is undefined."

For the POD requirement, it doesn't say "no diagnostic required" or "undefined behavior". I read 1.4 [intro.compliance], paragraph 1, to mean that a diagnostic is required. It's not clear whether this requirement was intended. While it's possible to provide such a diagnostic, the extra complication doesn't seem to add any value.

Proposed resolution:

Change 18.1, paragraph 5, to "If type is not a POD structure or a POD union the results are undefined."

[Copenhagen: straw poll was 7-4 in favor. It was generally agreed that requiring a diagnostic was inadvertent, but some LWG members thought that diagnostics should be required whenever possible.]


307. Lack of reference typedefs in container adaptors

Section: 23.2.4 [list] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2001-03-13

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Discussion:

From reflector message c++std-lib-8330. See also lib-8317.

The standard is currently inconsistent in 23.2.4.2 [list.capacity] paragraph 1 and 23.2.4.3 [list.modifiers] paragraph 1. 23.2.3.3/1, for example, says:

-1- Any sequence supporting operations back(), push_back() and pop_back() can be used to instantiate stack. In particular, vector (lib.vector), list (lib.list) and deque (lib.deque) can be used.

But this is false: vector<bool> can not be used, because the container adaptors return a T& rather than using the underlying container's reference type.

This is a contradiction that can be fixed by:

  1. Modifying these paragraphs to say that vector<bool> is an exception.
  2. Removing the vector<bool> specialization.
  3. Changing the return types of stack and priority_queue to use reference typedef's.

I propose 3. This does not preclude option 2 if we choose to do it later (see issue 96); the issues are independent. Option 3 offers a small step towards support for proxied containers. This small step fixes a current contradiction, is easy for vendors to implement, is already implemented in at least one popular lib, and does not break any code.

Proposed resolution:

Summary: Add reference and const_reference typedefs to queue, priority_queue and stack. Change return types of "value_type&" to "reference". Change return types of "const value_type&" to "const_reference". Details:

Change 23.2.3.1/1 from:

  namespace std {
    template <class T, class Container = deque<T> >
    class queue {
    public:
      typedef typename Container::value_type            value_type;
      typedef typename Container::size_type             size_type;
      typedef          Container                        container_type;
    protected:
      Container c;

    public:
      explicit queue(const Container& = Container());

      bool      empty() const             { return c.empty(); }
      size_type size()  const             { return c.size(); }
      value_type&       front()           { return c.front(); }
      const value_type& front() const     { return c.front(); }
      value_type&       back()            { return c.back(); }
      const value_type& back() const      { return c.back(); }
      void push(const value_type& x)      { c.push_back(x); }
      void pop()                          { c.pop_front(); }
    };

to:

  namespace std {
    template <class T, class Container = deque<T> >
    class queue {
    public:
      typedef typename Container::value_type            value_type;
      typedef typename Container::reference             reference;
      typedef typename Container::const_reference       const_reference;
      typedef typename Container::value_type            value_type;
      typedef typename Container::size_type             size_type;
      typedef          Container                        container_type;
    protected:
      Container c;

    public:
      explicit queue(const Container& = Container());

      bool      empty() const             { return c.empty(); }
      size_type size()  const             { return c.size(); }
      reference         front()           { return c.front(); }
      const_reference   front() const     { return c.front(); }
      reference         back()            { return c.back(); }
      const_reference   back() const      { return c.back(); }
      void push(const value_type& x)      { c.push_back(x); }
      void pop()                          { c.pop_front(); }
    };

Change 23.2.3.2/1 from:

  namespace std {
    template <class T, class Container = vector<T>,
              class Compare = less<typename Container::value_type> >
    class priority_queue {
    public:
      typedef typename Container::value_type            value_type;
      typedef typename Container::size_type             size_type;
      typedef          Container                        container_type;
    protected:
      Container c;
      Compare comp;

    public:
      explicit priority_queue(const Compare& x = Compare(),
                              const Container& = Container());
      template <class InputIterator>
        priority_queue(InputIterator first, InputIterator last,
                       const Compare& x = Compare(),
                       const Container& = Container());

      bool      empty() const       { return c.empty(); }
      size_type size()  const       { return c.size(); }
      const value_type& top() const { return c.front(); }
      void push(const value_type& x);
      void pop();
    };
                                  //  no equality is provided
  }

to:

  namespace std {
    template <class T, class Container = vector<T>,
              class Compare = less<typename Container::value_type> >
    class priority_queue {
    public:
      typedef typename Container::value_type            value_type;
      typedef typename Container::reference             reference;
      typedef typename Container::const_reference       const_reference;
      typedef typename Container::size_type             size_type;
      typedef          Container                        container_type;
    protected:
      Container c;
      Compare comp;

    public:
      explicit priority_queue(const Compare& x = Compare(),
                              const Container& = Container());
      template <class InputIterator>
        priority_queue(InputIterator first, InputIterator last,
                       const Compare& x = Compare(),
                       const Container& = Container());

      bool      empty() const       { return c.empty(); }
      size_type size()  const       { return c.size(); }
      const_reference   top() const { return c.front(); }
      void push(const value_type& x);
      void pop();
    };
                                  //  no equality is provided
  }

And change 23.2.3.3/1 from:

  namespace std {
    template <class T, class Container = deque<T> >
    class stack {
    public:
      typedef typename Container::value_type            value_type;
      typedef typename Container::size_type             size_type;
      typedef          Container                        container_type;
    protected:
      Container c;

    public:
      explicit stack(const Container& = Container());

      bool      empty() const             { return c.empty(); }
      size_type size()  const             { return c.size(); }
      value_type&       top()             { return c.back(); }
      const value_type& top() const       { return c.back(); }
      void push(const value_type& x)      { c.push_back(x); }
      void pop()                          { c.pop_back(); }
    };

    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator==(const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator< (const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator!=(const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator> (const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator>=(const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator<=(const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
  }

to:

  namespace std {
    template <class T, class Container = deque<T> >
    class stack {
    public:
      typedef typename Container::value_type            value_type;
      typedef typename Container::reference             reference;
      typedef typename Container::const_reference       const_reference;
      typedef typename Container::size_type             size_type;
      typedef          Container                        container_type;
    protected:
      Container c;

    public:
      explicit stack(const Container& = Container());

      bool      empty() const             { return c.empty(); }
      size_type size()  const             { return c.size(); }
      reference         top()             { return c.back(); }
      const_reference   top() const       { return c.back(); }
      void push(const value_type& x)      { c.push_back(x); }
      void pop()                          { c.pop_back(); }
    };

    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator==(const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator< (const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator!=(const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator> (const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator>=(const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
    template <class T, class Container>
      bool operator<=(const stack<T, Container>& x,
                      const stack<T, Container>& y);
  }

[Copenhagen: This change was discussed before the IS was released and it was deliberately not adopted. Nevertheless, the LWG believes (straw poll: 10-2) that it is a genuine defect.]


308. Table 82 mentions unrelated headers

Section: 27 [input.output] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-03-15

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Discussion:

Table 82 in section 27 mentions the header <cstdlib> for String streams (27.7 [string.streams]) and the headers <cstdio> and <cwchar> for File streams (27.8 [file.streams]). It's not clear why these headers are mentioned in this context since they do not define any of the library entities described by the subclauses. According to 17.4.1.1 [contents], only such headers are to be listed in the summary.

Proposed resolution:

Remove <cstdlib> and <cwchar> from Table 82.

[Copenhagen: changed the proposed resolution slightly. The original proposed resolution also said to remove <cstdio> from Table 82. However, <cstdio> is mentioned several times within section 27.8 [file.streams], including 27.8.2 [c.files].]


310. Is errno a macro?

Section: 17.4.1.2 [headers], 19.3 [errno] Status: WP Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 2001-03-21

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Discussion:

Exactly how should errno be declared in a conforming C++ header?

The C standard says in 7.1.4 that it is unspecified whether errno is a macro or an identifier with external linkage. In some implementations it can be either, depending on compile-time options. (E.g., on Solaris in multi-threading mode, errno is a macro that expands to a function call, but is an extern int otherwise. "Unspecified" allows such variability.)

The C++ standard:

I find no other references to errno.

We should either explicitly say that errno must be a macro, even though it need not be a macro in C, or else explicitly leave it unspecified. We also need to say something about namespace std. A user who includes <cerrno> needs to know whether to write errno, or ::errno, or std::errno, or else <cerrno> is useless.

Two acceptable fixes:

[ This issue was first raised in 1999, but it slipped through the cracks. ]

Proposed resolution:

Change the Note in section 17.4.1.2p5 from

Note: the names defined as macros in C include the following: assert, errno, offsetof, setjmp, va_arg, va_end, and va_start.

to

Note: the names defined as macros in C include the following: assert, offsetof, setjmp, va_arg, va_end, and va_start.

In section 19.3, change paragraph 2 from

The contents are the same as the Standard C library header <errno.h>.

to

The contents are the same as the Standard C library header <errno.h>, except that errno shall be defined as a macro.

Rationale:

C++ must not leave it up to the implementation to decide whether or not a name is a macro; it must explicitly specify exactly which names are required to be macros. The only one that really works is for it to be a macro.

[Curaçao: additional rationale added.]


311. Incorrect wording in basic_ostream class synopsis

Section: 27.6.2.1 [ostream] Status: WP Submitter: Andy Sawyer Date: 2001-03-21

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Discussion:

In 27.6.2.1 [ostream], the synopsis of class basic_ostream says:

  // partial specializationss
  template<class traits>
    basic_ostream<char,traits>& operator<<( basic_ostream<char,traits>&,
                                            const char * );

Problems:

Proposed resolution:

In the synopsis in 27.6.2.1 [ostream], remove the // partial specializationss comment. Also remove the same comment (correctly spelled, but still incorrect) from the synopsis in 27.6.2.6.4 [ostream.inserters.character].

[ Pre-Redmond: added 27.6.2.6.4 [ostream.inserters.character] because of Martin's comment in c++std-lib-8939. ]


312. Table 27 is missing headers

Section: 20 [utilities] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-03-29

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Discussion:

Table 27 in section 20 lists the header <memory> (only) for Memory (lib.memory) but neglects to mention the headers <cstdlib> and <cstring> that are discussed in 20.4.5 [meta.rel].

Proposed resolution:

Add <cstdlib> and <cstring> to Table 27, in the same row as <memory>.


315. Bad "range" in list::unique complexity

Section: 23.2.4.4 [list.ops] Status: WP Submitter: Andy Sawyer Date: 2001-05-01

View all other issues in [list.ops].

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Discussion:

23.2.4.4 [list.ops], Para 21 describes the complexity of list::unique as: "If the range (last - first) is not empty, exactly (last - first) -1 applications of the corresponding predicate, otherwise no applications of the predicate)".

"(last - first)" is not a range.

Proposed resolution:

Change the "range" from (last - first) to [first, last).


316. Vague text in Table 69

Section: 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-05-04

View all other issues in [associative.reqmts].

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Discussion:

Table 69 says this about a_uniq.insert(t):

inserts t if and only if there is no element in the container with key equivalent to the key of t. The bool component of the returned pair indicates whether the insertion takes place and the iterator component of the pair points to the element with key equivalent to the key of t.

The description should be more specific about exactly how the bool component indicates whether the insertion takes place.

Proposed resolution:

Change the text in question to

...The bool component of the returned pair is true if and only if the insertion takes place...


317. Instantiation vs. specialization of facets

Section: 22 [localization] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-05-04

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Discussion:

The localization section of the standard refers to specializations of the facet templates as instantiations even though the required facets are typically specialized rather than explicitly (or implicitly) instantiated. In the case of ctype<char> and ctype_byname<char> (and the wchar_t versions), these facets are actually required to be specialized. The terminology should be corrected to make it clear that the standard doesn't mandate explicit instantiation (the term specialization encompasses both explicit instantiations and specializations).

Proposed resolution:

In the following paragraphs, replace all occurrences of the word instantiation or instantiations with specialization or specializations, respectively:

22.1.1.1.1, p4, Table 52, 22.2.1.1, p2, 22.2.1.5, p3, 22.2.1.5.1, p5, 22.2.1.5.2, p10, 22.2.2, p2, 22.2.3.1, p1, 22.2.3.1.2, p1, p2 and p3, 22.2.4.1, p1, 22.2.4.1.2, p1, 22,2,5, p1, 22,2,6, p2, 22.2.6.3.2, p7, and Footnote 242.

And change the text in 22.1.1.1.1, p4 from

An implementation is required to provide those instantiations for facet templates identified as members of a category, and for those shown in Table 52:

to

An implementation is required to provide those specializations...

[Nathan will review these changes, and will look for places where explicit specialization is necessary.]

Rationale:

This is a simple matter of outdated language. The language to describe templates was clarified during the standardization process, but the wording in clause 22 was never updated to reflect that change.


318. Misleading comment in definition of numpunct_byname

Section: 22.2.3.2 [locale.numpunct.byname] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-05-12

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Discussion:

The definition of the numpunct_byname template contains the following comment:

    namespace std {
        template <class charT>
        class numpunct_byname : public numpunct<charT> {
    // this class is specialized for char and wchar_t.
        ...

There is no documentation of the specializations and it seems conceivable that an implementation will not explicitly specialize the template at all, but simply provide the primary template.

Proposed resolution:

Remove the comment from the text in 22.2.3.2 and from the proposed resolution of library issue 228.


319. Storage allocation wording confuses "Required behavior", "Requires"

Section: 18.5.1.1 [new.delete.single], 18.5.1.2 [new.delete.array] Status: WP Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 2001-05-15

View all other issues in [new.delete.single].

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Discussion:

The standard specifies 17.3.1.3 [structure.specifications] that "Required behavior" elements describe "the semantics of a function definition provided by either the implementation or a C++ program."

The standard specifies 17.3.1.3 [structure.specifications] that "Requires" elements describe "the preconditions for calling the function."

In the sections noted below, the current wording specifies "Required Behavior" for what are actually preconditions, and thus should be specified as "Requires".

Proposed resolution:

In 18.5.1.1 [new.delete.single] Para 12 Change:

Required behavior: accept a value of ptr that is null or that was returned by an earlier call ...

to:

Requires: the value of ptr is null or the value returned by an earlier call ...

In 18.5.1.2 [new.delete.array] Para 11 Change:

Required behavior: accept a value of ptr that is null or that was returned by an earlier call ...

to:

Requires: the value of ptr is null or the value returned by an earlier call ...


320. list::assign overspecified

Section: 23.2.4.1 [list.cons] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2001-05-17

View all other issues in [list.cons].

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Discussion:

Section 23.2.4.1 [list.cons], paragraphs 6-8 specify that list assign (both forms) have the "effects" of a call to erase followed by a call to insert.

I would like to document that implementers have the freedom to implement assign by other methods, as long as the end result is the same and the exception guarantee is as good or better than the basic guarantee.

The motivation for this is to use T's assignment operator to recycle existing nodes in the list instead of erasing them and reallocating them with new values. It is also worth noting that, with careful coding, most common cases of assign (everything but assignment with true input iterators) can elevate the exception safety to strong if T's assignment has a nothrow guarantee (with no extra memory cost). Metrowerks does this. However I do not propose that this subtlety be standardized. It is a QoI issue.

Existing practise: Metrowerks and SGI recycle nodes, Dinkumware and Rogue Wave don't.

Proposed resolution:

Change 23.2.4.1 [list.cons]/7 from:

Effects:

   erase(begin(), end());
   insert(begin(), first, last);

to:

Effects: Replaces the contents of the list with the range [first, last).

In 23.1.1 [sequence.reqmts], in Table 67 (sequence requirements), add two new rows:

      a.assign(i,j)     void      pre: i,j are not iterators into a.
                                  Replaces elements in a with a copy
                                  of [i, j).

      a.assign(n,t)     void      pre: t is not a reference into a.
                                  Replaces elements in a with n copies
                                  of t.

Change 23.2.4.1 [list.cons]/8 from:

Effects:

   erase(begin(), end());
   insert(begin(), n, t);

to:

Effects: Replaces the contents of the list with n copies of t.

[Redmond: Proposed resolution was changed slightly. Previous version made explicit statement about exception safety, which wasn't consistent with the way exception safety is expressed elsewhere. Also, the change in the sequence requirements is new. Without that change, the proposed resolution would have required that assignment of a subrange would have to work. That too would have been overspecification; it would effectively mandate that assignment use a temporary. Howard provided wording. ]

[Curaçao: Made editorial improvement in wording; changed "Replaces elements in a with copies of elements in [i, j)." with "Replaces the elements of a with a copy of [i, j)." Changes not deemed serious enough to requre rereview.]


321. Typo in num_get

Section: 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Kevin Djang Date: 2001-05-17

View other active issues in [facet.num.get.virtuals].

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Discussion:

Section 22.2.2.1.2 at p7 states that "A length specifier is added to the conversion function, if needed, as indicated in Table 56." However, Table 56 uses the term "length modifier", not "length specifier".

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.2.1.2 at p7, change the text "A length specifier is added ..." to be "A length modifier is added ..."

Rationale:

C uses the term "length modifier". We should be consistent.


322. iterator and const_iterator should have the same value type

Section: 23.1 [container.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2001-05-17

View other active issues in [container.requirements].

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Discussion:

It's widely assumed that, if X is a container, iterator_traits<X::iterator>::value_type and iterator_traits<X::const_iterator>::value_type should both be X::value_type. However, this is nowhere stated. The language in Table 65 is not precise about the iterators' value types (it predates iterator_traits), and could even be interpreted as saying that iterator_traits<X::const_iterator>::value_type should be "const X::value_type".

Related issue: 279.

Proposed resolution:

In Table 65 ("Container Requirements"), change the return type for X::iterator to "iterator type whose value type is T". Change the return type for X::const_iterator to "constant iterator type whose value type is T".

Rationale:

This belongs as a container requirement, rather than an iterator requirement, because the whole notion of iterator/const_iterator pairs is specific to containers' iterator.

It is existing practice that (for example) iterator_traits<list<int>::const_iterator>::value_type is "int", rather than "const int". This is consistent with the way that const pointers are handled: the standard already requires that iterator_traits<const int*>::value_type is int.


324. Do output iterators have value types?

Section: 24.1.2 [output.iterators] Status: WP Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2001-06-07

View all other issues in [output.iterators].

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Discussion:

Table 73 suggests that output iterators have value types. It requires the expression "*a = t". Additionally, although Table 73 never lists "a = t" or "X(a) = t" in the "expressions" column, it contains a note saying that "a = t" and "X(a) = t" have equivalent (but nowhere specified!) semantics.

According to 24.1/9, t is supposed to be "a value of value type T":

In the following sections, a and b denote values of X, n denotes a value of the difference type Distance, u, tmp, and m denote identifiers, r denotes a value of X&, t denotes a value of value type T.

Two other parts of the standard that are relevant to whether output iterators have value types:

The first of these passages suggests that "*i" is supposed to return a useful value, which contradicts the note in 24.1.2/2 saying that the only valid use of "*i" for output iterators is in an expression of the form "*i = t". The second of these passages appears to contradict Table 73, because it suggests that "*i"'s return value should be void. The second passage is also broken in the case of a an iterator type, like non-const pointers, that satisfies both the output iterator requirements and the forward iterator requirements.

What should the standard say about *i's return value when i is an output iterator, and what should it say about that t is in the expression "*i = t"? Finally, should the standard say anything about output iterators' pointer and reference types?

Proposed resolution:

24.1 p1, change

All iterators i support the expression *i, resulting in a value of some class, enumeration, or built-in type T, called the value type of the iterator.

to

All input iterators i support the expression *i, resulting in a value of some class, enumeration, or built-in type T, called the value type of the iterator. All output iterators support the expression *i = o where o is a value of some type that is in the set of types that are writable to the particular iterator type of i.

24.1 p9, add

o denotes a value of some type that is writable to the output iterator.

Table 73, change

*a = t

to

*r = o

and change

*r++ = t

to

*r++ = o

[post-Redmond: Jeremy provided wording]

Rationale:

The LWG considered two options: change all of the language that seems to imply that output iterators have value types, thus making it clear that output iterators have no value types, or else define value types for output iterator consistently. The LWG chose the former option, because it seems clear that output iterators were never intended to have value types. This was a deliberate design decision, and any language suggesting otherwise is simply a mistake.

A future revision of the standard may wish to revisit this design decision.


325. Misleading text in moneypunct<>::do_grouping

Section: 22.2.6.3.2 [locale.moneypunct.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-07-02

View all other issues in [locale.moneypunct.virtuals].

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Discussion:

The Returns clause in 22.2.6.3.2, p3 says about moneypunct<charT>::do_grouping()

Returns: A pattern defined identically as the result of numpunct<charT>::do_grouping().241)

Footnote 241 then reads

This is most commonly the value "\003" (not "3").

The returns clause seems to imply that the two member functions must return an identical value which in reality may or may not be true, since the facets are usually implemented in terms of struct std::lconv and return the value of the grouping and mon_grouping, respectively. The footnote also implies that the member function of the moneypunct facet (rather than the overridden virtual functions in moneypunct_byname) most commonly return "\003", which contradicts the C standard which specifies the value of "" for the (most common) C locale.

Proposed resolution:

Replace the text in Returns clause in 22.2.6.3.2, p3 with the following:

Returns: A pattern defined identically as, but not necessarily equal to, the result of numpunct<charT>::do_grouping().241)

and replace the text in Footnote 241 with the following:

To specify grouping by 3s the value is "\003", not "3".

Rationale:

The fundamental problem is that the description of the locale facet virtuals serves two purposes: describing the behavior of the base class, and describing the meaning of and constraints on the behavior in arbitrary derived classes. The new wording makes that separation a little bit clearer. The footnote (which is nonnormative) is not supposed to say what the grouping is in the "C" locale or in any other locale. It is just a reminder that the values are interpreted as small integers, not ASCII characters.


327. Typo in time_get facet in table 52

Section: 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category] Status: WP Submitter: Tiki Wan Date: 2001-07-06

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Duplicate of: 447

Discussion:

The wchar_t versions of time_get and time_get_byname are listed incorrectly in table 52, required instantiations. In both cases the second template parameter is given as OutputIterator. It should instead be InputIterator, since these are input facets.

Proposed resolution:

In table 52, required instantiations, in 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category], change

    time_get<wchar_t, OutputIterator>
    time_get_byname<wchar_t, OutputIterator>

to

    time_get<wchar_t, InputIterator>
    time_get_byname<wchar_t, InputIterator>

[Redmond: Very minor change in proposed resolution. Original had a typo, wchart instead of wchar_t.]


328. Bad sprintf format modifier in money_put<>::do_put()

Section: 22.2.6.2.2 [locale.money.put.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-07-07

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Discussion:

The sprintf format string , "%.01f" (that's the digit one), in the description of the do_put() member functions of the money_put facet in 22.2.6.2.2, p1 is incorrect. First, the f format specifier is wrong for values of type long double, and second, the precision of 01 doesn't seem to make sense. What was most likely intended was "%.0Lf"., that is a precision of zero followed by the L length modifier.

Proposed resolution:

Change the format string to "%.0Lf".

Rationale:

Fixes an obvious typo


329. vector capacity, reserve and reallocation

Section: 23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity], 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers] Status: WP Submitter: Anthony Williams Date: 2001-07-13

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Discussion:

There is an apparent contradiction about which circumstances can cause a reallocation of a vector in Section 23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity] and section 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers].

23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity],p5 says:

Notes: Reallocation invalidates all the references, pointers, and iterators referring to the elements in the sequence. It is guaranteed that no reallocation takes place during insertions that happen after a call to reserve() until the time when an insertion would make the size of the vector greater than the size specified in the most recent call to reserve().

Which implies if I do

  std::vector<int> vec;
  vec.reserve(23);
  vec.reserve(0);
  vec.insert(vec.end(),1);

then the implementation may reallocate the vector for the insert, as the size specified in the previous call to reserve was zero.

However, the previous paragraphs (23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity], p1-2) state:

(capacity) Returns: The total number of elements the vector can hold without requiring reallocation

...After reserve(), capacity() is greater or equal to the argument of reserve if reallocation happens; and equal to the previous value of capacity() otherwise...

This implies that vec.capacity() is still 23, and so the insert() should not require a reallocation, as vec.size() is 0. This is backed up by 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers], p1:

(insert) Notes: Causes reallocation if the new size is greater than the old capacity.

Though this doesn't rule out reallocation if the new size is less than the old capacity, I think the intent is clear.

Proposed resolution:

Change the wording of 23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity] paragraph 5 to:

Notes: Reallocation invalidates all the references, pointers, and iterators referring to the elements in the sequence. It is guaranteed that no reallocation takes place during insertions that happen after a call to reserve() until the time when an insertion would make the size of the vector greater than the value of capacity().

[Redmond: original proposed resolution was modified slightly. In the original, the guarantee was that there would be no reallocation until the size would be greater than the value of capacity() after the most recent call to reserve(). The LWG did not believe that the "after the most recent call to reserve()" added any useful information.]

Rationale:

There was general agreement that, when reserve() is called twice in succession and the argument to the second invocation is smaller than the argument to the first, the intent was for the second invocation to have no effect. Wording implying that such cases have an effect on reallocation guarantees was inadvertant.


331. bad declaration of destructor for ios_base::failure

Section: 27.4.2.1.1 [ios::failure] Status: WP Submitter: PremAnand M. Rao Date: 2001-08-23

View all other issues in [ios::failure].

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Discussion:

With the change in 17.4.4.8 [res.on.exception.handling] to state "An implementation may strengthen the exception-specification for a non-virtual function by removing listed exceptions." (issue 119) and the following declaration of ~failure() in ios_base::failure

    namespace std {
       class ios_base::failure : public exception {
       public:
           ...
           virtual ~failure();
           ...
       };
     }

the class failure cannot be implemented since in 18.6.1 [type.info] the destructor of class exception has an empty exception specification:

    namespace std {
       class exception {
       public:
         ...
         virtual ~exception() throw();
         ...
       };
     }

Proposed resolution:

Remove the declaration of ~failure().

Rationale:

The proposed resolution is consistent with the way that destructors of other classes derived from exception are handled.


333. does endl imply synchronization with the device?

Section: 27.6.2.8 [ostream.manip] Status: WP Submitter: PremAnand M. Rao Date: 2001-08-27

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Discussion:

A footnote in 27.6.2.8 [ostream.manip] states:

[Footnote: The effect of executing cout << endl is to insert a newline character in the output sequence controlled by cout, then synchronize it with any external file with which it might be associated. --- end foonote]

Does the term "file" here refer to the external device? This leads to some implementation ambiguity on systems with fully buffered files where a newline does not cause a flush to the device.

Choosing to sync with the device leads to significant performance penalties for each call to endl, while not sync-ing leads to errors under special circumstances.

I could not find any other statement that explicitly defined the behavior one way or the other.

Proposed resolution:

Remove footnote 300 from section 27.6.2.8 [ostream.manip].

Rationale:

We already have normative text saying what endl does: it inserts a newline character and calls flush. This footnote is at best redundant, at worst (as this issue says) misleading, because it appears to make promises about what flush does.


334. map::operator[] specification forces inefficient implementation

Section: 23.3.1.2 [map.access] Status: WP Submitter: Andrea Griffini Date: 2001-09-02

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Discussion:

The current standard describes map::operator[] using a code example. That code example is however quite inefficient because it requires several useless copies of both the passed key_type value and of default constructed mapped_type instances. My opinion is that was not meant by the comitee to require all those temporary copies.

Currently map::operator[] behaviour is specified as:

  Returns:
    (*((insert(make_pair(x, T()))).first)).second.

This specification however uses make_pair that is a template function of which parameters in this case will be deduced being of type const key_type& and const T&. This will create a pair<key_type,T> that isn't the correct type expected by map::insert so another copy will be required using the template conversion constructor available in pair to build the required pair<const key_type,T> instance.

If we consider calling of key_type copy constructor and mapped_type default constructor and copy constructor as observable behaviour (as I think we should) then the standard is in this place requiring two copies of a key_type element plus a default construction and two copy construction of a mapped_type (supposing the addressed element is already present in the map; otherwise at least another copy construction for each type).

A simple (half) solution would be replacing the description with:

  Returns:
    (*((insert(value_type(x, T()))).first)).second.

This will remove the wrong typed pair construction that requires one extra copy of both key and value.

However still the using of map::insert requires temporary objects while the operation, from a logical point of view, doesn't require any.

I think that a better solution would be leaving free an implementer to use a different approach than map::insert that, because of its interface, forces default constructed temporaries and copies in this case. The best solution in my opinion would be just requiring map::operator[] to return a reference to the mapped_type part of the contained element creating a default element with the specified key if no such an element is already present in the container. Also a logarithmic complexity requirement should be specified for the operation.

This would allow library implementers to write alternative implementations not using map::insert and reaching optimal performance in both cases of the addressed element being present or absent from the map (no temporaries at all and just the creation of a new pair inside the container if the element isn't present). Some implementer has already taken this option but I think that the current wording of the standard rules that as non-conforming.

Proposed resolution:

Replace 23.3.1.2 [map.access] paragraph 1 with

-1- Effects: If there is no key equivalent to x in the map, inserts value_type(x, T()) into the map.

-2- Returns: A reference to the mapped_type corresponding to x in *this.

-3- Complexity: logarithmic.

[This is the second option mentioned above. Howard provided wording. We may also wish to have a blanket statement somewhere in clause 17 saying that we do not intend the semantics of sample code fragments to be interpreted as specifing exactly how many copies are made. See issue 98 for a similar problem.]

Rationale:

This is the second solution described above; as noted, it is consistent with existing practice.

Note that we now need to specify the complexity explicitly, because we are no longer defining operator[] in terms of insert.


335. minor issue with char_traits, table 37

Section: 21.1.1 [char.traits.require] Status: WP Submitter: Andy Sawyer Date: 2001-09-06

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Table 37, in 21.1.1 [char.traits.require], descibes char_traits::assign as:

  X::assign(c,d)   assigns c = d.

And para 1 says:

[...] c and d denote values of type CharT [...]

Naturally, if c and d are values, then the assignment is (effectively) meaningless. It's clearly intended that (in the case of assign, at least), 'c' is intended to be a reference type.

I did a quick survey of the four implementations I happened to have lying around, and sure enough they all have signatures:

    assign( charT&, const charT& );

(or the equivalent). It's also described this way in Nico's book. (Not to mention the synopses of char_traits<char> in 21.1.3.1 and char_traits<wchar_t> in 21.1.3.2...)

Proposed resolution:

Add the following to 21.1.1 para 1:

r denotes an lvalue of CharT

and change the description of assign in the table to:

  X::assign(r,d)   assigns r = d

336. Clause 17 lack of references to deprecated headers

Section: 17 [library] Status: WP Submitter: Detlef Vollmann Date: 2001-09-05

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Discussion:

From c++std-edit-873:

17.4.1.2 [headers], Table 11. In this table, the header <strstream> is missing.

This shows a general problem: The whole clause 17 refers quite often to clauses 18 through 27, but D.7 is also a part of the standard library (though a deprecated one).

Proposed resolution:

To 17.4.1.2 [headers] Table 11, C++ Library Headers, add "<strstream>".

In the following places, change "clauses 17 through 27" to "clauses 17 through 27 and Annex D":


337. replace_copy_if's template parameter should be InputIterator

Section: 25.2.5 [alg.replace] Status: WP Submitter: Detlef Vollmann Date: 2001-09-07

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Discussion:

From c++std-edit-876:

In section 25.2.5 [alg.replace] before p4: The name of the first parameter of template replace_copy_if should be "InputIterator" instead of "Iterator". According to 17.3.2.1 [type.descriptions] p1 the parameter name conveys real normative meaning.

Proposed resolution:

Change Iterator to InputIterator.


338. is whitespace allowed between `-' and a digit?

Section: 22.2 [locale.categories] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-09-17

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Discussion:

From Stage 2 processing in 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals], p8 and 9 (the original text or the text corrected by the proposed resolution of issue 221) it seems clear that no whitespace is allowed within a number, but 22.2.3.1 [locale.numpunct], p2, which gives the format for integer and floating point values, says that whitespace is optional between a plusminus and a sign.

The text needs to be clarified to either consistently allow or disallow whitespace between a plusminus and a sign. It might be worthwhile to consider the fact that the C library stdio facility does not permit whitespace embedded in numbers and neither does the C or C++ core language (the syntax of integer-literals is given in 2.13.1 [lex.icon], that of floating-point-literals in 2.13.3 [lex.fcon] of the C++ standard).

Proposed resolution:

Change the first part of 22.2.3.1 [locale.numpunct] paragraph 2 from:

The syntax for number formats is as follows, where digit represents the radix set specified by the fmtflags argument value, whitespace is as determined by the facet ctype<charT> (22.2.1.1), and thousands-sep and decimal-point are the results of corresponding numpunct<charT> members. Integer values have the format:

  integer   ::= [sign] units
  sign      ::= plusminus [whitespace]
  plusminus ::= '+' | '-'
  units     ::= digits [thousands-sep units]
  digits    ::= digit [digits]

to:

The syntax for number formats is as follows, where digit represents the radix set specified by the fmtflags argument value, and thousands-sep and decimal-point are the results of corresponding numpunct<charT> members. Integer values have the format:

  integer   ::= [sign] units
  sign      ::= plusminus
  plusminus ::= '+' | '-'
  units     ::= digits [thousands-sep units]
  digits    ::= digit [digits]

Rationale:

It's not clear whether the format described in 22.2.3.1 [locale.numpunct] paragraph 2 has any normative weight: nothing in the standard says how, or whether, it's used. However, there's no reason for it to differ gratuitously from the very specific description of numeric processing in 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals]. The proposed resolution removes all mention of "whitespace" from that format.


339. definition of bitmask type restricted to clause 27

Section: 22.2.1 [category.ctype], 17.3.2.1.2 [bitmask.types] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-09-17

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Discussion:

The ctype_category::mask type is declared to be an enum in 22.2.1 [category.ctype] with p1 then stating that it is a bitmask type, most likely referring to the definition of bitmask type in 17.3.2.1.2 [bitmask.types], p1. However, the said definition only applies to clause 27, making the reference in 22.2.1 somewhat dubious.

Proposed resolution:

Clarify 17.3.2.1.2, p1 by changing the current text from

Several types defined in clause 27 are bitmask types. Each bitmask type can be implemented as an enumerated type that overloads certain operators, as an integer type, or as a bitset (23.3.5 [template.bitset]).

to read

Several types defined in clauses lib.language.support through lib.input.output and Annex D are bitmask types. Each bitmask type can be implemented as an enumerated type that overloads certain operators, as an integer type, or as a bitset (lib.template.bitset).

Additionally, change the definition in 22.2.1 to adopt the same convention as in clause 27 by replacing the existing text with the following (note, in particluar, the cross-reference to 17.3.2.1.2 in 22.2.1, p1):

22.2.1 The ctype category [lib.category.ctype]

namespace std {
    class ctype_base {
    public:
        typedef T mask;

        // numeric values are for exposition only.
        static const mask space = 1 << 0;
        static const mask print = 1 << 1;
        static const mask cntrl = 1 << 2;
        static const mask upper = 1 << 3;
        static const mask lower = 1 << 4;
        static const mask alpha = 1 << 5;
        static const mask digit = 1 << 6;
        static const mask punct = 1 << 7;
        static const mask xdigit = 1 << 8;
        static const mask alnum = alpha | digit;
        static const mask graph = alnum | punct;
    };
}

The type mask is a bitmask type (17.3.2.1.2 [bitmask.types]).

[Curaçao: The LWG notes that T above should be bold-italics to be consistent with the rest of the standard.]


340. interpretation of has_facet<Facet>(loc)

Section: 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-09-18

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Discussion:

It's unclear whether 22.1.1.1.1, p3 says that has_facet<Facet>(loc) returns true for any Facet from Table 51 or whether it includes Table 52 as well:

For any locale loc either constructed, or returned by locale::classic(), and any facet Facet that is a member of a standard category, has_facet<Facet>(loc) is true. Each locale member function which takes a locale::category argument operates on the corresponding set of facets.

It seems that it comes down to which facets are considered to be members of a standard category. Intuitively, I would classify all the facets in Table 52 as members of their respective standard categories, but there are an unbounded set of them...

The paragraph implies that, for instance, has_facet<num_put<C, OutputIterator> >(loc) must always return true. I don't think that's possible. If it were, then use_facet<num_put<C, OutputIterator> >(loc) would have to return a reference to a distinct object for each valid specialization of num_put<C, OutputIteratory>, which is clearly impossible.

On the other hand, if none of the facets in Table 52 is a member of a standard category then none of the locale member functions that operate on entire categories of facets will work properly.

It seems that what p3 should mention that it's required (permitted?) to hold only for specializations of Facet from Table 52 on C from the set { char, wchar_t }, and InputIterator and OutputIterator from the set of { {i,o}streambuf_iterator<{char,wchar_t}> }.

Proposed resolution:

In 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category], paragraph 3, change "that is a member of a standard category" to "shown in Table 51".

Rationale:

The facets in Table 52 are an unbounded set. Locales should not be required to contain an infinite number of facets.

It's not necessary to talk about which values of InputIterator and OutputIterator must be supported. Table 51 already contains a complete list of the ones we need.


341. Vector reallocation and swap

Section: 23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity] Status: WP Submitter: Anthony Williams Date: 2001-09-27

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Discussion:

It is a common idiom to reduce the capacity of a vector by swapping it with an empty one:

  std::vector<SomeType> vec;
  // fill vec with data
  std::vector<SomeType>().swap(vec);
  // vec is now empty, with minimal capacity

However, the wording of 23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity]paragraph 5 prevents the capacity of a vector being reduced, following a call to reserve(). This invalidates the idiom, as swap() is thus prevented from reducing the capacity. The proposed wording for issue 329 does not affect this. Consequently, the example above requires the temporary to be expanded to cater for the contents of vec, and the contents be copied across. This is a linear-time operation.

However, the container requirements state that swap must have constant complexity (23.1 [container.requirements] note to table 65).

This is an important issue, as reallocation affects the validity of references and iterators.

If the wording of 23.2.4.2p5 is taken to be the desired intent, then references and iterators remain valid after a call to swap, if they refer to an element before the new end() of the vector into which they originally pointed, in which case they refer to the element at the same index position. Iterators and references that referred to an element whose index position was beyond the new end of the vector are invalidated.

If the note to table 65 is taken as the desired intent, then there are two possibilities with regard to iterators and references:

  1. All Iterators and references into both vectors are invalidated.
  2. Iterators and references into either vector remain valid, and remain pointing to the same element. Consequently iterators and references that referred to one vector now refer to the other, and vice-versa.

Proposed resolution:

Add a new paragraph after 23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity] paragraph 5:

  void swap(vector<T,Allocator>& x);

Effects: Exchanges the contents and capacity() of *this with that of x.

Complexity: Constant time.

[This solves the problem reported for this issue. We may also have a problem with a circular definition of swap() for other containers.]

Rationale:

swap should be constant time. The clear intent is that it should just do pointer twiddling, and that it should exchange all properties of the two vectors, including their reallocation guarantees.


345. type tm in <cwchar>

Section: 21.5 [c.strings] Status: WP Submitter: Clark Nelson Date: 2001-10-19

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Discussion:

C99, and presumably amendment 1 to C90, specify that <wchar.h> declares struct tm as an incomplete type. However, table 48 in 21.5 [c.strings] does not mention the type tm as being declared in <cwchar>. Is this omission intentional or accidental?

Proposed resolution:

In section 21.5 [c.strings], add "tm" to table 48.


346. Some iterator member functions should be const

Section: 24.1 [iterator.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Jeremy Siek Date: 2001-10-20

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Discussion:

Iterator member functions and operators that do not change the state of the iterator should be defined as const member functions or as functions that take iterators either by const reference or by value. The standard does not explicitly state which functions should be const. Since this a fairly common mistake, the following changes are suggested to make this explicit.

The tables almost indicate constness properly through naming: r for non-const and a,b for const iterators. The following changes make this more explicit and also fix a couple problems.

Proposed resolution:

In 24.1 [iterator.requirements] Change the first section of p9 from "In the following sections, a and b denote values of X..." to "In the following sections, a and b denote values of type const X...".

In Table 73, change

    a->m   U&         ...

to

    a->m   const U&   ...
    r->m   U&         ...

In Table 73 expression column, change

    *a = t

to

    *r = t

[Redmond: The container requirements should be reviewed to see if the same problem appears there.]


347. locale::category and bitmask requirements

Section: 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category] Status: WP Submitter: P.J. Plauger, Nathan Myers Date: 2001-10-23

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Discussion:

In 22.1.1.1.1 [locale.category] paragraph 1, the category members are described as bitmask elements. In fact, the bitmask requirements in 17.3.2.1.2 [bitmask.types] don't seem quite right: none and all are bitmask constants, not bitmask elements.

In particular, the requirements for none interact poorly with the requirement that the LC_* constants from the C library must be recognizable as C++ locale category constants. LC_* values should not be mixed with these values to make category values.

We have two options for the proposed resolution. Informally: option 1 removes the requirement that LC_* values be recognized as category arguments. Option 2 changes the category type so that this requirement is implementable, by allowing none to be some value such as 0x1000 instead of 0.

Nathan writes: "I believe my proposed resolution [Option 2] merely re-expresses the status quo more clearly, without introducing any changes beyond resolving the DR.

Proposed resolution:

Replace the first two paragraphs of 22.1.1.1 [locale.types] with:

    typedef int category;

Valid category values include the locale member bitmask elements collate, ctype, monetary, numeric, time, and messages, each of which represents a single locale category. In addition, locale member bitmask constant none is defined as zero and represents no category. And locale member bitmask constant all is defined such that the expression

    (collate | ctype | monetary | numeric | time | messages | all) == all

is true, and represents the union of all categories. Further the expression (X | Y), where X and Y each represent a single category, represents the union of the two categories.

locale member functions expecting a category argument require one of the category values defined above, or the union of two or more such values. Such a category argument identifies a set of locale categories. Each locale category, in turn, identifies a set of locale facets, including at least those shown in Table 51:

[Curaçao: need input from locale experts.]

Rationale:

The LWG considered, and rejected, an alternate proposal (described as "Option 2" in the discussion). The main reason for rejecting it was that library implementors were concerened about implementation difficult, given that getting a C++ library to work smoothly with a separately written C library is already a delicate business. Some library implementers were also concerned about the issue of adding extra locale categories.

Option 2:
Replace the first paragraph of 22.1.1.1 [locale.types] with:

Valid category values include the enumerated values. In addition, the result of applying commutative operators | and & to any two valid values is valid, and results in the setwise union and intersection, respectively, of the argument categories. The values all and none are defined such that for any valid value cat, the expressions (cat | all == all), (cat & all == cat), (cat | none == cat) and (cat & none == none) are true. For non-equal values cat1 and cat2 of the remaining enumerated values, (cat1 & cat2 == none) is true. For any valid categories cat1 and cat2, the result of (cat1 & ~cat2) is valid, and equals the setwise union of those categories found in cat1 but not found in cat2. [Footnote: it is not required that all equal the setwise union of the other enumerated values; implementations may add extra categories.]


349. Minor typographical error in ostream_iterator

Section: 24.5.2 [ostream.iterator] Status: WP Submitter: Andy Sawyer Date: 2001-10-24

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Discussion:

24.5.2 [lib.ostream.iterator] states:

    [...]

    private:
    // basic_ostream<charT,traits>* out_stream; exposition only
    // const char* delim; exposition only

Whilst it's clearly marked "exposition only", I suspect 'delim' should be of type 'const charT*'.

Proposed resolution:

In 24.5.2 [ostream.iterator], replace const char* delim with const charT* delim.


352. missing fpos requirements

Section: 21.1.2 [char.traits.typedefs] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2001-12-02

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Discussion:

(1) There are no requirements on the stateT template parameter of fpos listed in 27.4.3. The interface appears to require that the type be at least Assignable and CopyConstructible (27.4.3.1, p1), and I think also DefaultConstructible (to implement the operations in Table 88).

21.1.2, p3, however, only requires that char_traits<charT>::state_type meet the requirements of CopyConstructible types.

(2) Additionally, the stateT template argument has no corresponding typedef in fpos which might make it difficult to use in generic code.

Proposed resolution:

Modify 21.1.2, p4 from

Requires: state_type shall meet the requirements of CopyConstructible types (20.1.3).

Requires: state_type shall meet the requirements of Assignable (23.1, p4), CopyConstructible (20.1.3), and DefaultConstructible (20.1.4) types.

Rationale:

The LWG feels this is two issues, as indicated above. The first is a defect---std::basic_fstream is unimplementable without these additional requirements---and the proposed resolution fixes it. The second is questionable; who would use that typedef? The class template fpos is used only in a very few places, all of which know the state type already. Unless motivation is provided, the second should be considered NAD.


354. Associative container lower/upper bound requirements

Section: 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] Status: WP Submitter: Hans Aberg Date: 2001-12-17

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Discussion:

Discussions in the thread "Associative container lower/upper bound requirements" on comp.std.c++ suggests that there is a defect in the C++ standard, Table 69 of section 23.1.2, "Associative containers", [lib.associative.reqmts]. It currently says:

a.find(k): returns an iterator pointing to an element with the key equivalent to k, or a.end() if such an element is not found.

a.lower_bound(k): returns an iterator pointing to the first element with key not less than k.

a.upper_bound(k): returns an iterator pointing to the first element with key greater than k.

We have "or a.end() if such an element is not found" for find, but not for upper_bound or lower_bound. As the text stands, one would be forced to insert a new element into the container and return an iterator to that in case the sought iterator does not exist, which does not seem to be the intention (and not possible with the "const" versions).

Proposed resolution:

Change Table 69 of section 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] indicated entries to:

a.lower_bound(k): returns an iterator pointing to the first element with key not less than k, or a.end() if such an element is not found.

a.upper_bound(k): returns an iterator pointing to the first element with key greater than k, or a.end() if such an element is not found.

[Curaçao: LWG reviewed PR.]


355. Operational semantics for a.back()

Section: 23.1.1 [sequence.reqmts] Status: WP Submitter: Yaroslav Mironov Date: 2002-01-23

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Discussion:

Table 68 "Optional Sequence Operations" in 23.1.1/12 specifies operational semantics for "a.back()" as "*--a.end()", which may be ill-formed [because calling operator-- on a temporary (the return) of a built-in type is ill-formed], provided a.end() returns a simple pointer rvalue (this is almost always the case for std::vector::end(), for example). Thus, the specification is not only incorrect, it demonstrates a dangerous construct: "--a.end()" may successfully compile and run as intended, but after changing the type of the container or the mode of compilation it may produce compile-time error.

Proposed resolution:

Change the specification in table 68 "Optional Sequence Operations" in 23.1.1/12 for "a.back()" from

*--a.end()

to

  { iterator tmp = a.end(); --tmp; return *tmp; }

and the specification for "a.pop_back()" from

a.erase(--a.end())

to

  { iterator tmp = a.end(); --tmp; a.erase(tmp); }

[Curaçao: LWG changed PR from "{ X::iterator tmp = a.end(); return *--tmp; }" to "*a.rbegin()", and from "{ X::iterator tmp = a.end(); a.erase(--tmp); }" to "a.erase(rbegin())".]

[There is a second possible defect; table 68 "Optional Sequence Operations" in the "Operational Semantics" column uses operations present only in the "Reversible Container" requirements, yet there is no stated dependency between these separate requirements tables. Ask in Santa Cruz if the LWG would like a new issue opened.]

[Santa Cruz: the proposed resolution is even worse than what's in the current standard: erase is undefined for reverse iterator. If we're going to make the change, we need to define a temporary and use operator--. Additionally, we don't know how prevalent this is: do we need to make this change in more than one place? Martin has volunteered to review the standard and see if this problem occurs elsewhere.]

[Oxford: Matt provided new wording to address the concerns raised in Santa Cruz. It does not appear that this problem appears anywhere else in clauses 23 or 24.]

[Kona: In definition of operational semantics of back(), change "*tmp" to "return *tmp;"]


358. interpreting thousands_sep after a decimal_point

Section: 22.2.2.1.2 [facet.num.get.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2002-03-12

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Discussion:

I don't think thousands_sep is being treated correctly after decimal_point has been seen. Since grouping applies only to the integral part of the number, the first such occurrence should, IMO, terminate Stage 2. (If it does not terminate it, then 22.2.2.1.2, p12 and 22.2.3.1.2, p3 need to explain how thousands_sep is to be interpreted in the fractional part of a number.)

The easiest change I can think of that resolves this issue would be something like below.

Proposed resolution:

Change the first sentence of 22.2.2.1.2, p9 from

If discard is true then the position of the character is remembered, but the character is otherwise ignored. If it is not discarded, then a check is made to determine if c is allowed as the next character of an input field of the conversion specifier returned by stage 1. If so it is accumulated.

to

If discard is true, then if '.' has not yet been accumulated, then the position of the character is remembered, but the character is otherwise ignored. Otherwise, if '.' has already been accumulated, the character is discarded and Stage 2 terminates. ...

Rationale:

We believe this reflects the intent of the Standard. Thousands sep characters after the decimal point are not useful in any locale. Some formatting conventions do group digits that follow the decimal point, but they usually introduce a different grouping character instead of reusing the thousand sep character. If we want to add support for such conventions, we need to do so explicitly.


359. num_put<>::do_put (..., bool) undocumented

Section: 22.2.2.2.1 [facet.num.put.members] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2002-03-12

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Discussion:

22.2.2.2.1, p1:

    iter_type put (iter_type out, ios_base& str, char_type fill,
                   bool val) const;
    ...

    1   Returns: do_put (out, str, fill, val).
    

AFAICS, the behavior of do_put (..., bool) is not documented anywhere, however, 22.2.2.2.2, p23:

iter_type put (iter_type out, ios_base& str, char_type fill,
               bool val) const;

Effects: If (str.flags() & ios_base::boolalpha) == 0 then do out = do_put(out, str, fill, (int)val) Otherwise do

             string_type s =
                 val ? use_facet<ctype<charT> >(loc).truename()
                     : use_facet<ctype<charT> >(loc).falsename();

and then insert the characters of s into out. out.

This means that the bool overload of do_put() will never be called, which contradicts the first paragraph. Perhaps the declaration should read do_put(), and not put()?

Note also that there is no Returns clause for this function, which should probably be corrected, just as should the second occurrence of "out." in the text.

I think the least invasive change to fix it would be something like the following:

Proposed resolution:

In 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals], just above paragraph 1, remove the bool overload.

In 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals], p23, make the following changes

Replace put() with do_put() in the declaration of the member function.

Change the Effects clause to a Returns clause (to avoid the requirement to call do_put(..., int) from do_put (..., bool)) like so:

23 Returns: If (str.flags() & ios_base::boolalpha) == 0 then do_put (out, str, fill, (long)val) Otherwise the function obtains a string s as if by

             string_type s =
                val ? use_facet<ctype<charT> >(loc).truename()
                    : use_facet<ctype<charT> >(loc).falsename();

and then inserts each character c of s into out via *out++ = c and returns out.

Rationale:

This fixes a couple of obvious typos, and also fixes what appears to be a requirement of gratuitous inefficiency.


360. locale mandates inefficient implementation

Section: 22.1.1 [locale] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2002-03-12

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Discussion:

22.1.1, p7 (copied below) allows iostream formatters and extractors to make assumptions about the values returned from facet members. However, such assumptions are apparently not guaranteed to hold in other cases (e.g., when the facet members are being called directly rather than as a result of iostream calls, or between successive calls to the same iostream functions with no interevening calls to imbue(), or even when the facet member functions are called from other member functions of other facets). This restriction prevents locale from being implemented efficiently.

Proposed resolution:

Change the first sentence in 22.1.1, p7 from

In successive calls to a locale facet member function during a call to an iostream inserter or extractor or a streambuf member function, the returned result shall be identical. [Note: This implies that such results may safely be reused without calling the locale facet member function again, and that member functions of iostream classes cannot safely call imbue() themselves, except as specified elsewhere. --end note]

to

In successive calls to a locale facet member function on a facet object installed in the same locale, the returned result shall be identical. ...

Rationale:

This change is reasonable becuase it clarifies the intent of this part of the standard.


362. bind1st/bind2nd type safety

Section: D.8 [depr.lib.binders] Status: WP Submitter: Andrew Demkin Date: 2002-04-26

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Discussion:

The definition of bind1st() (D.8 [depr.lib.binders]) can result in the construction of an unsafe binding between incompatible pointer types. For example, given a function whose first parameter type is 'pointer to T', it's possible without error to bind an argument of type 'pointer to U' when U does not derive from T:

   foo(T*, int);

   struct T {};
   struct U {};

   U u;

   int* p;
   int* q;

   for_each(p, q, bind1st(ptr_fun(foo), &u));    // unsafe binding

The definition of bind1st() includes a functional-style conversion to map its argument to the expected argument type of the bound function (see below):

  typename Operation::first_argument_type(x)

A functional-style conversion (D.8 [depr.lib.binders]) is defined to be semantically equivalent to an explicit cast expression (D.8 [depr.lib.binders]), which may (according to 5.4, paragraph 5) be interpreted as a reinterpret_cast, thus masking the error.

The problem and proposed change also apply to D.8 [depr.lib.binders].

Proposed resolution:

Add this sentence to the end of D.8 [depr.lib.binders]/1: "Binders bind1st and bind2nd are deprecated in favor of std::tr1::bind."

(Notes to editor: (1) when and if tr1::bind is incorporated into the standard, "std::tr1::bind" should be changed to "std::bind". (2) 20.5.6 should probably be moved to Annex D.

Rationale:

There is no point in fixing bind1st and bind2nd. tr1::bind is a superior solution. It solves this problem and others.


363. Missing exception specification in 27.4.2.1.1

Section: 27.4.2.1.1 [ios::failure] Status: WP Submitter: Walter Brown and Marc Paterno Date: 2002-05-20

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Discussion:

The destructor of ios_base::failure should have an empty throw specification, because the destructor of its base class, exception, is declared in this way.

Proposed resolution:

Change the destructor to

  virtual ~failure() throw();

Rationale:

Fixes an obvious glitch. This is almost editorial.


364. Inconsistent wording in 27.5.2.4.2

Section: 27.5.2.4.2 [streambuf.virt.buffer] Status: WP Submitter: Walter Brown, Marc Paterno Date: 2002-05-10

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Discussion:

27.5.2.4.2 [streambuf.virt.buffer] paragraph 1 is inconsistent with the Effects clause for seekoff.

Proposed resolution:

Make this paragraph, the Effects clause for setbuf, consistent in wording with the Effects clause for seekoff in paragraph 3 by amending paragraph 1 to indicate the purpose of setbuf:

Original text:

1 Effects: Performs an operation that is defined separately for each class derived from basic_streambuf in this clause (27.7.1.3, 27.8.1.4).

Proposed text:

1 Effects: Influences stream buffering in a way that is defined separately for each class derived from basic_streambuf in this clause (27.7.1.3, 27.8.1.4).

Rationale:

The LWG doesn't believe there is any normative difference between the existing wording and what's in the proposed resolution, but the change may make the intent clearer.


365. Lack of const-qualification in clause 27

Section: 27 [input.output] Status: WP Submitter: Walter Brown, Marc Paterno Date: 2002-05-10

View all other issues in [input.output].

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Discussion:

Some stream and streambuf member functions are declared non-const, even thought they appear only to report information rather than to change an object's logical state. They should be declared const. See document N1360 for details and rationale.

The list of member functions under discussion: in_avail, showmanyc, tellg, tellp, is_open.

Related issue: 73

Proposed resolution:

In 27.8.1.5, 27.8.1.7, 27.8.1.8, 27.8.1.10, 27.8.1.11, and 27.8.1.13

Replace

  bool is_open();

with

  bool is_open() const;

Rationale:

Of the changes proposed in N1360, the only one that is safe is changing the filestreams' is_open to const. The LWG believed that this was NAD the first time it considered this issue (issue 73), but now thinks otherwise. The corresponding streambuf member function, after all,is already const.

The other proposed changes are less safe, because some streambuf functions that appear merely to report a value do actually perform mutating operations. It's not even clear that they should be considered "logically const", because streambuf has two interfaces, a public one and a protected one. These functions may, and often do, change the state as exposed by the protected interface, even if the state exposed by the public interface is unchanged.

Note that implementers can make this change in a binary compatible way by providing both overloads; this would be a conforming extension.


369. io stream objects and static ctors

Section: 27.3 [iostream.objects] Status: WP Submitter: Ruslan Abdikeev Date: 2002-07-08

View all other issues in [iostream.objects].

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Discussion:

Is it safe to use standard iostream objects from constructors of static objects? Are standard iostream objects constructed and are their associations established at that time?

Surpisingly enough, Standard does NOT require that.

27.3/2 [lib.iostream.objects] guarantees that standard iostream objects are constructed and their associations are established before the body of main() begins execution. It also refers to ios_base::Init class as the panacea for constructors of static objects.

However, there's nothing in 27.3 [lib.iostream.objects], in 27.4.2 [lib.ios.base], and in 27.4.2.1.6 [lib.ios::Init], that would require implementations to allow access to standard iostream objects from constructors of static objects.

Details:

Core text refers to some magic object ios_base::Init, which will be discussed below:

"The [standard iostream] objects are constructed, and their associations are established at some time prior to or during first time an object of class basic_ios<charT,traits>::Init is constructed, and in any case before the body of main begins execution." (27.3/2 [lib.iostream.objects])

The first non-normative footnote encourages implementations to initialize standard iostream objects earlier than required.

However, the second non-normative footnote makes an explicit and unsupported claim:

"Constructors and destructors for static objects can access these [standard iostream] objects to read input from stdin or write output to stdout or stderr." (27.3/2 footnote 265 [lib.iostream.objects])

The only bit of magic is related to that ios_base::Init class. AFAIK, the rationale behind ios_base::Init was to bring an instance of this class to each translation unit which #included <iostream> or related header. Such an inclusion would support the claim of footnote quoted above, because in order to use some standard iostream object it is necessary to #include <iostream>.

However, while Standard explicitly describes ios_base::Init as an appropriate class for doing the trick, I failed to found a mention of an _instance_ of ios_base::Init in Standard.

Proposed resolution:

Add to 27.3 [iostream.objects], p2, immediately before the last sentence of the paragraph, the following two sentences:

If a translation unit includes <iostream>, or explicitly constructs an ios_base::Init object, these stream objects shall be constructed before dynamic initialization of non-local objects defined later in that translation unit, and these stream objects shall be destroyed after the destruction of dynamically initialized non-local objects defined later in that translation unit.

[Lillehammer: Matt provided wording.]

[Mont Tremblant: Matt provided revised wording.]

Rationale:

The original proposed resolution unconditionally required implementations to define an ios_base::Init object of some implementation-defined name in the header <iostream>. That's an overspecification. First, defining the object may be unnecessary and even detrimental to performance if an implementation can guarantee that the 8 standard iostream objects will be initialized before any other user-defined object in a program. Second, there is no need to require implementations to document the name of the object.

The new proposed resolution gives users guidance on what they need to do to ensure that stream objects are constructed during startup.


370. Minor error in basic_istream::get

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: WP Submitter: Ray Lischner Date: 2002-07-15

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Discussion:

Defect report for description of basic_istream::get (section 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted]), paragraph 15. The description for the get function with the following signature:

  basic_istream<charT,traits>& get(basic_streambuf<char_type,traits>&
  sb);

is incorrect. It reads

Effects: Calls get(s,n,widen('\n'))

which I believe should be:

Effects: Calls get(sb,widen('\n'))

Proposed resolution:

Change the Effects paragraph to:

Effects: Calls get(sb,this->widen('\n'))

[Pre-Oxford: Minor correction from Howard: replaced 'widen' with 'this->widen'.]

Rationale:

Fixes an obvious typo.


371. Stability of multiset and multimap member functions

Section: 23.1 [container.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Frank Compagner Date: 2002-07-20

View other active issues in [container.requirements].

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Discussion:

The requirements for multiset and multimap containers (23.1 [lib.containers.requirements], 23.1.2 [lib.associative.reqmnts], 23.3.2 [lib.multimap] and 23.3.4 [lib.multiset]) make no mention of the stability of the required (mutating) member functions. It appears the standard allows these functions to reorder equivalent elements of the container at will, yet the pervasive red-black tree implementation appears to provide stable behaviour.

This is of most concern when considering the behaviour of erase(). A stability requirement would guarantee the correct working of the following 'idiom' that removes elements based on a certain predicate function.

  multimap<int, int> m;
  multimap<int, int>::iterator i = m.begin();
  while (i != m.end()) {
      if (pred(i))
          m.erase (i++);
      else
          ++i;
  }

Although clause 23.1.2/8 guarantees that i remains a valid iterator througout this loop, absence of the stability requirement could potentially result in elements being skipped. This would make this code incorrect, and, furthermore, means that there is no way of erasing these elements without iterating first over the entire container, and second over the elements to be erased. This would be unfortunate, and have a negative impact on both performance and code simplicity.

If the stability requirement is intended, it should be made explicit (probably through an extra paragraph in clause 23.1.2).

If it turns out stability cannot be guaranteed, i'd argue that a remark or footnote is called for (also somewhere in clause 23.1.2) to warn against relying on stable behaviour (as demonstrated by the code above). If most implementations will display stable behaviour, any problems emerging on an implementation without stable behaviour will be hard to track down by users. This would also make the need for an erase_if() member function that much greater.

This issue is somewhat related to LWG issue 130.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following to the end of 23.1.2 [associative.reqmts] paragraph 4: "For multiset and multimap, insertand erase are stable: they preserve the relative ordering of equivalent elements.

[Lillehammer: Matt provided wording]

[Joe Gottman points out that the provided wording does not address multimap and multiset. N1780 also addresses this issue and suggests wording.]

[Mont Tremblant: Changed set and map to multiset and multimap.]

Rationale:

The LWG agrees that this guarantee is necessary for common user idioms to work, and that all existing implementations provide this property. Note that this resolution guarantees stability for multimap and multiset, not for all associative containers in general.


373. Are basic_istream and basic_ostream to use (exceptions()&badbit) != 0 ?

Section: 27.6.1.2.1 [istream.formatted.reqmts], 27.6.2.6.1 [ostream.formatted.reqmts] Status: WP Submitter: Keith Baker Date: 2002-07-23

View all other issues in [istream.formatted.reqmts].

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Discussion:

In 27.6.1.2.1 [istream.formatted.reqmts] and 27.6.2.6.1 [ostream.formatted.reqmts] (exception()&badbit) != 0 is used in testing for rethrow, yet exception() is the constructor to class std::exception in 18.6.1 [type.info] that has no return type. Should member function exceptions() found in 27.4.4 [ios] be used instead?

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.1.2.1 [istream.formatted.reqmts] and 27.6.2.6.1 [ostream.formatted.reqmts], change "(exception()&badbit) != 0" to "(exceptions()&badbit) != 0".

Rationale:

Fixes an obvious typo.


375. basic_ios should be ios_base in 27.7.1.3

Section: 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Ray Lischner Date: 2002-08-14

View all other issues in [stringbuf.virtuals].

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Discussion:

In Section 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals]: Table 90, Table 91, and paragraph 14 all contain references to "basic_ios::" which should be "ios_base::".

Proposed resolution:

Change all references to "basic_ios" in Table 90, Table 91, and paragraph 14 to "ios_base".

Rationale:

Fixes an obvious typo.


376. basic_streambuf semantics

Section: 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Ray Lischner Date: 2002-08-14

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Discussion:

In Section 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals], Table 90, the implication is that the four conditions should be mutually exclusive, but they are not. The first two cases, as written, are subcases of the third.

As written, it is unclear what should be the result if cases 1 and 2 are both true, but case 3 is false.

Proposed resolution:

Rewrite these conditions as:

(which & (ios_base::in|ios_base::out)) == ios_base::in

(which & (ios_base::in|ios_base::out)) == ios_base::out

(which & (ios_base::in|ios_base::out)) == (ios_base::in|ios_base::out) and way == either ios_base::beg or ios_base::end

Otherwise

Rationale:

It's clear what we wanted to say, we just failed to say it. This fixes it.


379. nonsensical ctype::do_widen() requirement

Section: 22.2.1.1.2 [locale.ctype.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2002-09-06

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Discussion:

The last sentence in 22.2.1.1.2, p11 below doesn't seem to make sense.

  charT do_widen (char c) const;

  -11- Effects: Applies the simplest reasonable transformation from
       a char value or sequence of char values to the corresponding
       charT value or values. The only characters for which unique
       transformations are required are those in the basic source
       character set (2.2). For any named ctype category with a
       ctype<charT> facet ctw and valid ctype_base::mask value
       M (is(M, c) || !ctw.is(M, do_widen(c))) is true.

Shouldn't the last sentence instead read

       For any named ctype category with a ctype<char> facet ctc
       and valid ctype_base::mask value M
       (ctc.is(M, c) || !is(M, do_widen(c))) is true.

I.e., if the narrow character c is not a member of a class of characters then neither is the widened form of c. (To paraphrase footnote 224.)

Proposed resolution:

Replace the last sentence of 22.2.1.1.2 [locale.ctype.virtuals], p11 with the following text:

       For any named ctype category with a ctype<char> facet ctc
       and valid ctype_base::mask value M,
       (ctc.is(M, c) || !is(M, do_widen(c))) is true.

[Kona: Minor edit. Added a comma after the M for clarity.]

Rationale:

The LWG believes this is just a typo, and that this is the correct fix.


380. typos in codecvt tables 53 and 54

Section: 22.2.1.5 [locale.codecvt.byname] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2002-09-06

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt.byname].

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Discussion:

Tables 53 and 54 in 22.2.1.5 [locale.codecvt.byname] are both titled "convert result values," when surely "do_in/do_out result values" must have been intended for Table 53 and "do_unshift result values" for Table 54.

Table 54, row 3 says that the meaning of partial is "more characters needed to be supplied to complete termination." The function is not supplied any characters, it is given a buffer which it fills with characters or, more precisely, destination elements (i.e., an escape sequence). So partial means that space for more than (to_limit - to) destination elements was needed to terminate a sequence given the value of state.

Proposed resolution:

Change the title of Table 53 to "do_in/do_out result values" and the title of Table 54 to "do_unshift result values."

Change the text in Table 54, row 3 (the partial row), under the heading Meaning, to "space for more than (to_limit - to) destination elements was needed to terminate a sequence given the value of state."


381. detection of invalid mbstate_t in codecvt

Section: 22.2.1.5 [locale.codecvt.byname] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2002-09-06

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt.byname].

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Discussion:

All but one codecvt member functions that take a state_type argument list as one of their preconditions that the state_type argument have a valid value. However, according to 22.2.1.5.2, p6, codecvt::do_unshift() is the only codecvt member that is supposed to return error if the state_type object is invalid.

It seems to me that the treatment of state_type by all codecvt member functions should be the same and the current requirements should be changed. Since the detection of invalid state_type values may be difficult in general or computationally expensive in some specific cases, I propose the following:

Proposed resolution:

Add a new paragraph before 22.2.1.5.2, p5, and after the function declaration below

    result do_unshift(stateT& state,
    externT* to, externT* to_limit, externT*& to_next) const;

as follows:

    Requires: (to <= to_end) well defined and true; state initialized,
    if at the beginning of a sequence, or else equal to the result of
    converting the preceding characters in the sequence.

and change the text in Table 54, row 4, the error row, under the heading Meaning, from

    state has invalid value

to

    an unspecified error has occurred

Rationale:

The intent is that implementations should not be required to detect invalid state values; such a requirement appears nowhere else. An invalid state value is a precondition violation, i.e. undefined behavior. Implementations that do choose to detect invalid state values, or that choose to detect any other kind of error, may return error as an indication.


383. Bidirectional iterator assertion typo

Section: 24.1.4 [bidirectional.iterators] Status: WP Submitter: ysapir (submitted via comp.std.c++) Date: 2002-10-17

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Discussion:

Following a discussion on the boost list regarding end iterators and the possibility of performing operator--() on them, it seems to me that there is a typo in the standard. This typo has nothing to do with that discussion.

I have checked this newsgroup, as well as attempted a search of the Active/Defect/Closed Issues List on the site for the words "s is derefer" so I believe this has not been proposed before. Furthermore, the "Lists by Index" mentions only DR 299 on section 24.1.4, and DR 299 is not related to this issue.

The standard makes the following assertion on bidirectional iterators, in section 24.1.4 [lib.bidirectional.iterators], Table 75:

                         operational  assertion/note
expression  return type   semantics    pre/post-condition

--r          X&                        pre: there exists s such
                                       that r == ++s.
                                       post: s is dereferenceable.
                                       --(++r) == r.
                                       --r == --s implies r == s.
                                       &r == &--r.

(See http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Mail/Message/boost/1395763.)

In particular, "s is dereferenceable" seems to be in error. It seems that the intention was to say "r is dereferenceable".

If it were to say "r is dereferenceable" it would make perfect sense. Since s must be dereferenceable prior to operator++, then the natural result of operator-- (to undo operator++) would be to make r dereferenceable. Furthermore, without other assertions, and basing only on precondition and postconditions, we could not otherwise know this. So it is also interesting information.

Proposed resolution:

Change the guarantee to "postcondition: r is dereferenceable."

Rationale:

Fixes an obvious typo


384. equal_range has unimplementable runtime complexity

Section: 25.3.3.3 [equal.range] Status: WP Submitter: Hans Bos Date: 2002-10-18

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Discussion:

Section 25.3.3.3 [equal.range] states that at most 2 * log(last - first) + 1 comparisons are allowed for equal_range.

It is not possible to implement equal_range with these constraints.

In a range of one element as in:

    int x = 1;
    equal_range(&x, &x + 1, 1)

it is easy to see that at least 2 comparison operations are needed.

For this case at most 2 * log(1) + 1 = 1 comparison is allowed.

I have checked a few libraries and they all use the same (nonconforming) algorithm for equal_range that has a complexity of

     2* log(distance(first, last)) + 2.

I guess this is the algorithm that the standard assumes for equal_range.

It is easy to see that 2 * log(distance) + 2 comparisons are enough since equal range can be implemented with lower_bound and upper_bound (both log(distance) + 1).

I think it is better to require something like 2log(distance) + O(1) (or even logarithmic as multiset::equal_range). Then an implementation has more room to optimize for certain cases (e.g. have log(distance) characteristics when at most match is found in the range but 2log(distance) + 4 for the worst case).

Proposed resolution:

In 25.3.3.1 [lower.bound]/4, change log(last - first) + 1 to log2(last - first) + O(1).

In 25.3.3.2 [upper.bound]/4, change log(last - first) + 1 to log2(last - first) + O(1).

In 25.3.3.3 [equal.range]/4, change 2*log(last - first) + 1 to 2*log2(last - first) + O(1).

[Matt provided wording]

Rationale:

The LWG considered just saying O(log n) for all three, but decided that threw away too much valuable information. The fact that lower_bound is twice as fast as equal_range is important. However, it's better to allow an arbitrary additive constant than to specify an exact count. An exact count would have to involve floor or ceil. It would be too easy to get this wrong, and don't provide any substantial value for users.


386. Reverse iterator's operator[] has impossible return type

Section: 24.4.1.3.11 [reverse.iter.op-=] Status: DR Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2002-10-23

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Discussion:

In 24.4.1.3.11 [reverse.iter.op-=], reverse_iterator<>::operator[] is specified as having a return type of reverse_iterator::reference, which is the same as iterator_traits<Iterator>::reference. (Where Iterator is the underlying iterator type.)

The trouble is that Iterator's own operator[] doesn't necessarily have a return type of iterator_traits<Iterator>::reference. Its return type is merely required to be convertible to Iterator's value type. The return type specified for reverse_iterator's operator[] would thus appear to be impossible.

With the resolution of issue 299, the type of a[n] will continue to be required (for random access iterators) to be convertible to the value type, and also a[n] = t will be a valid expression. Implementations of reverse_iterator will likely need to return a proxy from operator[] to meet these requirements. As mentioned in the comment from Dave Abrahams, the simplest way to specify that reverse_iterator meet this requirement to just mandate it and leave the return type of operator[] unspecified.

Proposed resolution:

In 24.4.1.2 [reverse.iter.requirements] change:

reference operator[](difference_type n) const;

to:

unspecified operator[](difference_type n) const; // see 24.1.5 [random.access.iterators]

[ Comments from Dave Abrahams: IMO we should resolve 386 by just saying that the return type of reverse_iterator's operator[] is unspecified, allowing the random access iterator requirements to impose an appropriate return type. If we accept 299's proposed resolution (and I think we should), the return type will be readable and writable, which is about as good as we can do. ]


389. Const overload of valarray::operator[] returns by value

Section: 26.5.2.3 [valarray.access] Status: WP Submitter: Gabriel Dos Reis Date: 2002-11-08

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Duplicate of: 77

Discussion:

Consider the following program:

    #include <iostream>
    #include <ostream>
    #include <vector>
    #include <valarray>
    #include <algorithm>
    #include <iterator>
    template<typename Array>
    void print(const Array& a)
    {
    using namespace std;
    typedef typename Array::value_type T;
    copy(&a[0], &a[0] + a.size(),
    ostream_iterator<T>(std::cout, " "));
    }
    template<typename T, unsigned N>
    unsigned size(T(&)[N]) { return N; }
    int main()
    {
    double array[] = { 0.89, 9.3, 7, 6.23 };
    std::vector<double> v(array, array + size(array));
    std::valarray<double> w(array, size(array));
    print(v); // #1
    std::cout << std::endl;
    print(w); // #2
    std::cout << std::endl;
    }

While the call numbered #1 succeeds, the call numbered #2 fails because the const version of the member function valarray<T>::operator[](size_t) returns a value instead of a const-reference. That seems to be so for no apparent reason, no benefit. Not only does that defeats users' expectation but it also does hinder existing software (written either in C or Fortran) integration within programs written in C++. There is no reason why subscripting an expression of type valarray<T> that is const-qualified should not return a const T&.

Proposed resolution:

In the class synopsis in 26.5.2 [template.valarray], and in 26.5.2.3 [valarray.access] just above paragraph 1, change

  T operator[](size_t const);

to

  const T& operator[](size_t const);

[Kona: fixed a minor typo: put semicolon at the end of the line wehre it belongs.]

Rationale:

Return by value seems to serve no purpose. Valaray was explicitly designed to have a specified layout so that it could easily be integrated with libraries in other languages, and return by value defeats that purpose. It is believed that this change will have no impact on allowable optimizations.


391. non-member functions specified as const

Section: 22.1.3.2 [conversions] Status: WP Submitter: James Kanze Date: 2002-12-10

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Discussion:

The specifications of toupper and tolower both specify the functions as const, althought they are not member functions, and are not specified as const in the header file synopsis in section 22.1 [locales].

Proposed resolution:

In 22.1.3.2 [conversions], remove const from the function declarations of std::toupper and std::tolower

Rationale:

Fixes an obvious typo


395. inconsistencies in the definitions of rand() and random_shuffle()

Section: 26.7 [c.math] Status: WP Submitter: James Kanze Date: 2003-01-03

View other active issues in [c.math].

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Discussion:

In 26.7 [c.math], the C++ standard refers to the C standard for the definition of rand(); in the C standard, it is written that "The implementation shall behave as if no library function calls the rand function."

In 25.2.12 [alg.random.shuffle], there is no specification as to how the two parameter version of the function generates its random value. I believe that all current implementations in fact call rand() (in contradiction with the requirement avove); if an implementation does not call rand(), there is the question of how whatever random generator it does use is seeded. Something is missing.

Proposed resolution:

In [lib.c.math], add a paragraph specifying that the C definition of rand shal be modified to say that "Unless otherwise specified, the implementation shall behave as if no library function calls the rand function."

In [lib.alg.random.shuffle], add a sentence to the effect that "In the two argument form of the function, the underlying source of random numbers is implementation defined. [Note: in particular, an implementation is permitted to use rand.]

Rationale:

The original proposed resolution proposed requiring the two-argument from of random_shuffle to use rand. We don't want to do that, because some existing implementations already use something else: gcc uses lrand48, for example. Using rand presents a problem if the number of elements in the sequence is greater than RAND_MAX.


400. redundant type cast in lib.allocator.members

Section: 20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] Status: WP Submitter: Markus Mauhart Date: 2003-02-27

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Discussion:

20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] allocator members, contains the following 3 lines:

  12 Returns: new((void *) p) T( val)
     void destroy(pointer p);
  13 Returns: ((T*) p)->~T()

The type cast "(T*) p" in the last line is redundant cause we know that std::allocator<T>::pointer is a typedef for T*.

Proposed resolution:

Replace "((T*) p)" with "p".

Rationale:

Just a typo, this is really editorial.


401. incorrect type casts in table 32 in lib.allocator.requirements

Section: 20.1.2 [allocator.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Markus Mauhart Date: 2003-02-27

View other active issues in [allocator.requirements].

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Discussion:

I think that in par2 of [default.con.req] the last two lines of table 32 contain two incorrect type casts. The lines are ...

  a.construct(p,t)   Effect: new((void*)p) T(t)
  a.destroy(p)       Effect: ((T*)p)?->~T()

.... with the prerequisits coming from the preceding two paragraphs, especially from table 31:

  alloc<T>             a     ;// an allocator for T
  alloc<T>::pointer    p     ;// random access iterator
                              // (may be different from T*)
  alloc<T>::reference  r = *p;// T&
  T const&             t     ;

For that two type casts ("(void*)p" and "(T*)p") to be well-formed this would require then conversions to T* and void* for all alloc<T>::pointer, so it would implicitely introduce extra requirements for alloc<T>::pointer, additionally to the only current requirement (being a random access iterator).

Proposed resolution:

Accept proposed wording from N2436 part 1.

Note: Actually I would prefer to replace "((T*)p)?->dtor_name" with "p?->dtor_name", but AFAICS this is not possible cause of an omission in 13.5.6 [over.ref] (for which I have filed another DR on 29.11.2002).

[Kona: The LWG thinks this is somewhere on the border between Open and NAD. The intend is clear: construct constructs an object at the location p. It's reading too much into the description to think that literally calling new is required. Tweaking this description is low priority until we can do a thorough review of allocators, and, in particular, allocators with non-default pointer types.]

[ Batavia: Proposed resolution changed to less code and more description. ]

[ post Oxford: This would be rendered NAD Editorial by acceptance of N2257. ]

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2387 for this issue which was subsequently split out into a separate paper N2436 for the purposes of voting. The resolution in N2436 addresses this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


402. wrong new expression in [some_]allocator::construct

Section: 20.1.2 [allocator.requirements], 20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] Status: WP Submitter: Markus Mauhart Date: 2003-02-27

View other active issues in [allocator.requirements].

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Discussion:

This applies to the new expression that is contained in both par12 of 20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] and in par2 (table 32) of [default.con.req]. I think this new expression is wrong, involving unintended side effects.

20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] contains the following 3 lines:

  11 Returns: the largest value N for which the call allocate(N,0) might succeed.
     void construct(pointer p, const_reference val);
  12 Returns: new((void *) p) T( val)

[default.con.req] in table 32 has the following line:

  a.construct(p,t)   Effect: new((void*)p) T(t)

.... with the prerequisits coming from the preceding two paragraphs, especially from table 31:

  alloc<T>             a     ;// an allocator for T
  alloc<T>::pointer    p     ;// random access iterator
                              // (may be different from T*)
  alloc<T>::reference  r = *p;// T&
  T const&             t     ;

Cause of using "new" but not "::new", any existing "T::operator new" function will hide the global placement new function. When there is no "T::operator new" with adequate signature, every_alloc<T>::construct(..) is ill-formed, and most std::container<T,every_alloc<T>> use it; a workaround would be adding placement new and delete functions with adequate signature and semantic to class T, but class T might come from another party. Maybe even worse is the case when T has placement new and delete functions with adequate signature but with "unknown" semantic: I dont like to speculate about it, but whoever implements any_container<T,any_alloc> and wants to use construct(..) probably must think about it.

Proposed resolution:

Replace "new" with "::new" in both cases.


403. basic_string::swap should not throw exceptions

Section: 21.3.6.8 [string::swap] Status: WP Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 2003-03-25

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Discussion:

std::basic_string, 21.3 [basic.string] paragraph 2 says that basic_string "conforms to the requirements of a Sequence, as specified in (23.1.1)." The sequence requirements specified in (23.1.1) to not include any prohibition on swap members throwing exceptions.

Section 23.1 [container.requirements] paragraph 10 does limit conditions under which exceptions may be thrown, but applies only to "all container types defined in this clause" and so excludes basic_string::swap because it is defined elsewhere.

Eric Niebler points out that 21.3 [basic.string] paragraph 5 explicitly permits basic_string::swap to invalidates iterators, which is disallowed by 23.1 [container.requirements] paragraph 10. Thus the standard would be contradictory if it were read or extended to read as having basic_string meet 23.1 [container.requirements] paragraph 10 requirements.

Yet several LWG members have expressed the belief that the original intent was that basic_string::swap should not throw exceptions as specified by 23.1 [container.requirements] paragraph 10, and that the standard is unclear on this issue. The complexity of basic_string::swap is specified as "constant time", indicating the intent was to avoid copying (which could cause a bad_alloc or other exception). An important use of swap is to ensure that exceptions are not thrown in exception-safe code.

Note: There remains long standing concern over whether or not it is possible to reasonably meet the 23.1 [container.requirements] paragraph 10 swap requirements when allocators are unequal. The specification of basic_string::swap exception requirements is in no way intended to address, prejudice, or otherwise impact that concern.

Proposed resolution:

In 21.3.6.8 [string::swap], add a throws clause:

Throws: Shall not throw exceptions.


404. May a replacement allocation function be declared inline?

Section: 17.4.3.5 [replacement.functions], 18.5.1 [new.delete] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2003-04-24

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Discussion:

The eight basic dynamic memory allocation functions (single-object and array versions of ::operator new and ::operator delete, in the ordinary and nothrow forms) are replaceable. A C++ program may provide an alternative definition for any of them, which will be used in preference to the implementation's definition.

Three different parts of the standard mention requirements on replacement functions: 17.4.3.5 [replacement.functions], 18.5.1.1 [new.delete.single] and 18.5.1.2 [new.delete.array], and 3.7.2 [basic.stc.auto].

None of these three places say whether a replacement function may be declared inline. 18.5.1.1 [new.delete.single] paragraph 2 specifies a signature for the replacement function, but that's not enough: the inline specifier is not part of a function's signature. One might also reason from 7.1.2 [dcl.fct.spec] paragraph 2, which requires that "an inline function shall be defined in every translation unit in which it is used," but this may not be quite specific enough either. We should either explicitly allow or explicitly forbid inline replacement memory allocation functions.

Proposed resolution:

Add a new sentence to the end of 17.4.3.5 [replacement.functions] paragraph 3: "The program's definitions shall not be specified as inline. No diagnostic is required."

[Kona: added "no diagnostic is required"]

Rationale:

The fact that inline isn't mentioned appears to have been nothing more than an oversight. Existing implementations do not permit inline functions as replacement memory allocation functions. Providing this functionality would be difficult in some cases, and is believed to be of limited value.


405. qsort and POD

Section: 25.4 [alg.c.library] Status: WP Submitter: Ray Lischner Date: 2003-04-08

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Discussion:

Section 25.4 [alg.c.library] describes bsearch and qsort, from the C standard library. Paragraph 4 does not list any restrictions on qsort, but it should limit the base parameter to point to POD. Presumably, qsort sorts the array by copying bytes, which requires POD.

Proposed resolution:

In 25.4 [alg.c.library] paragraph 4, just after the declarations and before the nonnormative note, add these words: "both of which have the same behavior as the original declaration. The behavior is undefined unless the objects in the array pointed to by base are of POD type."

[Something along these lines is clearly necessary. Matt provided wording.]


406. vector::insert(s) exception safety

Section: 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers] Status: DR Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2003-04-27

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Discussion:

There is a possible defect in the standard: the standard text was never intended to prevent arbitrary ForwardIterators, whose operations may throw exceptions, from being passed, and it also wasn't intended to require a temporary buffer in the case where ForwardIterators were passed (and I think most implementations don't use one). As is, the standard appears to impose requirements that aren't met by any existing implementation.

Proposed resolution:

Replace 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers] paragraph 1 with:

1- Notes: Causes reallocation if the new size is greater than the old capacity. If no reallocation happens, all the iterators and references before the insertion point remain valid. If an exception is thrown other than by the copy constructor or assignment operator of T or by any InputIterator operation there are no effects.

[We probably need to say something similar for deque.]


407. Can singular iterators be destroyed?

Section: 24.1 [iterator.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 2003-06-03

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Discussion:

Clause 24.1 [iterator.requirements], paragraph 5, says that the only expression that is defined for a singular iterator is "an assignment of a non-singular value to an iterator that holds a singular value". This means that destroying a singular iterator (e.g. letting an automatic variable go out of scope) is technically undefined behavior. This seems overly strict, and probably unintentional.

Proposed resolution:

Change the sentence in question to "... the only exceptions are destroying an iterator that holds a singular value, or the assignment of a non-singular value to an iterator that holds a singular value."


409. Closing an fstream should clear error state

Section: 27.8.1.9 [ifstream.members], 27.8.1.13 [ofstream.members] Status: DR Submitter: Nathan Myers Date: 2003-06-03

View all other issues in [ifstream.members].

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Discussion:

A strict reading of 27.8.1 [fstreams] shows that opening or closing a basic_[io]fstream does not affect the error bits. This means, for example, that if you read through a file up to EOF, and then close the stream and reopen it at the beginning of the file, the EOF bit in the stream's error state is still set. This is counterintuitive.

The LWG considered this issue once before, as issue 22, and put in a footnote to clarify that the strict reading was indeed correct. We did that because we believed the standard was unambiguous and consistent, and that we should not make architectural changes in a TC. Now that we're working on a new revision of the language, those considerations no longer apply.

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.8.1.9 [ifstream.members], para. 3 from:

Calls rdbuf()->open(s,mode|in). If that function returns a null pointer, calls setstate(failbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure [Footnote: (lib.iostate.flags)].

to:

Calls rdbuf()->open(s,mode|in). If that function returns a null pointer, calls setstate(failbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure [Footnote: (lib.iostate.flags)), else calls clear().

Change 27.8.1.13 [ofstream.members], para. 3 from:

Calls rdbuf()->open(s,mode|out). If that function returns a null pointer, calls setstate(failbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure [Footnote: (lib.iostate.flags)).

to:

Calls rdbuf()->open(s,mode|out). If that function returns a null pointer, calls setstate(failbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure [Footnote: (lib.iostate.flags)), else calls clear().

Change 27.8.1.17 [fstream.members], para. 3 from:

Calls rdbuf()->open(s,mode), If that function returns a null pointer, calls setstate(failbit), (which may throw ios_base::failure). (lib.iostate.flags) )

to:

Calls rdbuf()->open(s,mode), If that function returns a null pointer, calls setstate(failbit), (which may throw ios_base::failure). (lib.iostate.flags) ), else calls clear().

[Kona: the LWG agrees this is a good idea. Post-Kona: Bill provided wording. He suggests having open, not close, clear the error flags.]

[Post-Sydney: Howard provided a new proposed resolution. The old one didn't make sense because it proposed to fix this at the level of basic_filebuf, which doesn't have access to the stream's error state. Howard's proposed resolution fixes this at the level of the three fstream class template instead.]


410. Missing semantics for stack and queue comparison operators

Section: 23.2.4.1 [list.cons], 23.2.4.3 [list.modifiers] Status: WP Submitter: Hans Bos Date: 2003-06-07

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Discussion:

Sections 23.2.4.1 [list.cons] and 23.2.4.3 [list.modifiers] list comparison operators (==, !=, <, <=, >, =>) for queue and stack. Only the semantics for queue::operator== (23.2.4.1 [list.cons] par2) and queue::operator< (23.2.4.1 [list.cons] par3) are defined.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following new paragraphs after 23.2.4.1 [list.cons] paragraph 3:

  operator!=

Returns: x.c != y.c

  operator>

Returns: x.c > y.c

  operator<=

Returns: x.c <= y.c

  operator>=

Returns: x.c >= y.c

Add the following paragraphs at the end of 23.2.4.3 [list.modifiers]:

  operator==

Returns: x.c == y.c

  operator<

Returns: x.c < y.c

  operator!=

Returns: x.c != y.c

  operator>

Returns: x.c > y.c

  operator<=

Returns: x.c <= y.c

  operator>=

Returns: x.c >= y.c

[Kona: Matt provided wording.]

Rationale:

There isn't any real doubt about what these operators are supposed to do, but we ought to spell it out.


411. Wrong names of set member functions

Section: 25.3.5 [alg.set.operations] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Frey Date: 2003-07-09

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Discussion:

25.3.5 [alg.set.operations] paragraph 1 reads: "The semantics of the set operations are generalized to multisets in a standard way by defining union() to contain the maximum number of occurrences of every element, intersection() to contain the minimum, and so on."

This is wrong. The name of the functions are set_union() and set_intersection(), not union() and intersection().

Proposed resolution:

Change that sentence to use the correct names.


412. Typo in 27.4.4.3

Section: 27.4.4.3 [iostate.flags] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-07-10

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Duplicate of: 429

Discussion:

The Effects clause in 27.4.4.3 [iostate.flags] paragraph 5 says that the function only throws if the respective bits are already set prior to the function call. That's obviously not the intent. The typo ought to be corrected and the text reworded as: "If (state & exceptions()) == 0, returns. ..."

Proposed resolution:

In 27.4.4.3 [iostate.flags] paragraph 5, replace "If (rdstate() & exceptions()) == 0" with "If ((state | (rdbuf() ? goodbit : badbit)) & exceptions()) == 0".

[Kona: the original proposed resolution wasn't quite right. We really do mean rdstate(); the ambiguity is that the wording in the standard doesn't make it clear whether we mean rdstate() before setting the new state, or rdsate() after setting it. We intend the latter, of course. Post-Kona: Martin provided wording.]


413. Proposed resolution to LDR#64 still wrong

Section: 27.6.1.2.3 [istream::extractors] Status: DR Submitter: Bo Persson Date: 2003-07-13

View all other issues in [istream::extractors].

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Discussion:

The second sentence of the proposed resolution says:

"If it inserted no characters because it caught an exception thrown while extracting characters from sb and ..."

However, we are not extracting from sb, but extracting from the basic_istream (*this) and inserting into sb. I can't really tell if "extracting" or "sb" is a typo.

[ Sydney: Definitely a real issue. We are, indeed, extracting characters from an istream and not from sb. The problem was there in the FDIS and wasn't fixed by issue 64. Probably what was intended was to have *this instead of sb. We're talking about the exception flag state of a basic_istream object, and there's only one basic_istream object in this discussion, so that would be a consistent interpretation. (But we need to be careful: the exception policy of this member function must be consistent with that of other extractors.) PJP will provide wording. ]

Proposed resolution:

Change the sentence from:

If it inserted no characters because it caught an exception thrown while extracting characters from sb and failbit is on in exceptions(), then the caught exception is rethrown.

to:

If it inserted no characters because it caught an exception thrown while extracting characters from *this and failbit is on in exceptions(), then the caught exception is rethrown.


414. Which iterators are invalidated by v.erase()?

Section: 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2003-08-19

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Discussion:

Consider the following code fragment:

int A[8] = { 1,3,5,7,9,8,4,2 };
std::vector<int> v(A, A+8);

std::vector<int>::iterator i1 = v.begin() + 3;
std::vector<int>::iterator i2 = v.begin() + 4;
v.erase(i1);

Which iterators are invalidated by v.erase(i1): i1, i2, both, or neither?

On all existing implementations that I know of, the status of i1 and i2 is the same: both of them will be iterators that point to some elements of the vector (albeit not the same elements they did before). You won't get a crash if you use them. Depending on exactly what you mean by "invalidate", you might say that neither one has been invalidated because they still point to something, or you might say that both have been invalidated because in both cases the elements they point to have been changed out from under the iterator.

The standard doesn't say either of those things. It says that erase invalidates all iterators and references "after the point of the erase". This doesn't include i1, since it's at the point of the erase instead of after it. I can't think of any sensible definition of invalidation by which one can say that i2 is invalidated but i1 isn't.

(This issue is important if you try to reason about iterator validity based only on the guarantees in the standard, rather than reasoning from typical implementation techniques. Strict debugging modes, which some programmers find useful, do not use typical implementation techniques.)

Proposed resolution:

In 23.2.6.4 [vector.modifiers] paragraph 3, change "Invalidates all the iterators and references after the point of the erase" to "Invalidates iterators and references at or after the point of the erase".

Rationale:

I believe this was essentially a typographical error, and that it was taken for granted that erasing an element invalidates iterators that point to it. The effects clause in question treats iterators and references in parallel, and it would seem counterintuitive to say that a reference to an erased value remains valid.


415. behavior of std::ws

Section: 27.6.1.4 [istream.manip] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-09-18

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Discussion:

According to 27.6.1.4, the ws() manipulator is not required to construct the sentry object. The manipulator is also not a member function so the text in 27.6.1, p1 through 4 that describes the exception policy for istream member functions does not apply. That seems inconsistent with the rest of extractors and all the other input functions (i.e., ws will not cause a tied stream to be flushed before extraction, it doesn't check the stream's exceptions or catch exceptions thrown during input, and it doesn't affect the stream's gcount).

Proposed resolution:

Add to 27.6.1.4 [istream.manip], immediately before the first sentence of paragraph 1, the following text:

Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.3, paragraph 1), except that it does not count the number of characters extracted and does not affect the value returned by subsequent calls to is.gcount(). After constructing a sentry object...

[Post-Kona: Martin provided wording]


416. definitions of XXX_MIN and XXX_MAX macros in climits

Section: 18.2.2 [c.limits] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-09-18

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Discussion:

Given two overloads of the function foo(), one taking an argument of type int and the other taking a long, which one will the call foo(LONG_MAX) resolve to? The expected answer should be foo(long), but whether that is true depends on the #defintion of the LONG_MAX macro, specifically its type. This issue is about the fact that the type of these macros is not actually required to be the same as the the type each respective limit.
Section 18.2.2 of the C++ Standard does not specify the exact types of the XXX_MIN and XXX_MAX macros #defined in the <climits> and <limits.h> headers such as INT_MAX and LONG_MAX and instead defers to the C standard.
Section 5.2.4.2.1, p1 of the C standard specifies that "The values [of these constants] shall be replaced by constant expressions suitable for use in #if preprocessing directives. Moreover, except for CHAR_BIT and MB_LEN_MAX, the following shall be replaced by expressions that have the same type as would an expression that is an object of the corresponding type converted according to the integer promotions."
The "corresponding type converted according to the integer promotions" for LONG_MAX is, according to 6.4.4.1, p5 of the C standard, the type of long converted to the first of the following set of types that can represent it: int, long int, long long int. So on an implementation where (sizeof(long) == sizeof(int)) this type is actually int, while on an implementation where (sizeof(long) > sizeof(int)) holds this type will be long.
This is not an issue in C since the type of the macro cannot be detected by any conforming C program, but it presents a portability problem in C++ where the actual type is easily detectable by overload resolution.

[Kona: the LWG does not believe this is a defect. The C macro definitions are what they are; we've got a better mechanism, std::numeric_limits, that is specified more precisely than the C limit macros. At most we should add a nonnormative note recommending that users who care about the exact types of limit quantities should use <limits> instead of <climits>.]

Proposed resolution:

Change 18.2.2 [c.limits], paragraph 2:

-2- The contents are the same as the Standard C library header <limits.h>. [Note: The types of the macros in <climits> are not guaranteed to match the type to which they refer.--end note]


420. is std::FILE a complete type?

Section: 27.8.1 [fstreams] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-09-18

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Discussion:

7.19.1, p2, of C99 requires that the FILE type only be declared in <stdio.h>. None of the (implementation-defined) members of the struct is mentioned anywhere for obvious reasons.

C++ says in 27.8.1, p2 that FILE is a type that's defined in <cstdio>. Is it really the intent that FILE be a complete type or is an implementation allowed to just declare it without providing a full definition?

Proposed resolution:

In the first sentence of 27.8.1 [fstreams] paragraph 2, change "defined" to "declared".

Rationale:

We don't want to impose any restrictions beyond what the C standard already says. We don't want to make anything implementation defined, because that imposes new requirements in implementations.


422. explicit specializations of member functions of class templates

Section: 17.4.3.2 [reserved.names] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-09-18

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Discussion:

It has been suggested that 17.4.3.1, p1 may or may not allow programs to explicitly specialize members of standard templates on user-defined types. The answer to the question might have an impact where library requirements are given using the "as if" rule. I.e., if programs are allowed to specialize member functions they will be able to detect an implementation's strict conformance to Effects clauses that describe the behavior of the function in terms of the other member function (the one explicitly specialized by the program) by relying on the "as if" rule.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following sentence to 17.4.3.2 [reserved.names], p1:

It is undefined for a C++ program to add declarations or definitions to namespace std or namespaces within namespace std unless otherwise specified. A program may add template specializations for any standard library template to namespace std. Such a specialization (complete or partial) of a standard library template results in undefined behavior unless the declaration depends on a user-defined type of external linkage and unless the specialization meets the standard library requirements for the original template.168) A program has undefined behavior if it declares

A program may explicitly instantiate any templates in the standard library only if the declaration depends on the name of a user-defined type of external linkage and the instantiation meets the standard library requirements for the original template.

[Kona: straw poll was 6-1 that user programs should not be allowed to specialize individual member functions of standard library class templates, and that doing so invokes undefined behavior. Post-Kona: Martin provided wording.]

[Sydney: The LWG agrees that the standard shouldn't permit users to specialize individual member functions unless they specialize the whole class, but we're not sure these words say what we want them to; they could be read as prohibiting the specialization of any standard library class templates. We need to consult with CWG to make sure we use the right wording.]


425. return value of std::get_temporary_buffer

Section: 20.6.8 [temporary.buffer] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-09-18

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Discussion:

The standard is not clear about the requirements on the value returned from a call to get_temporary_buffer(0). In particular, it fails to specify whether the call should return a distinct pointer each time it is called (like operator new), or whether the value is unspecified (as if returned by malloc). The standard also fails to mention what the required behavior is when the argument is less than 0.

Proposed resolution:

Change 20.4.3 [meta.help] paragraph 2 from "...or a pair of 0 values if no storage can be obtained" to "...or a pair of 0 values if no storage can be obtained or if n <= 0."

[Kona: Matt provided wording]


426. search_n(), fill_n(), and generate_n() with negative n

Section: 25.1.9 [alg.search], 25.2.6 [alg.fill], 25.2.7 [alg.generate] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-09-18

View all other issues in [alg.search].

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Discussion:

The complexity requirements for these function templates are incorrect (or don't even make sense) for negative n:

25.1.9, p7 (search_n):
Complexity: At most (last1 - first1) * count applications of the corresponding predicate.

25.2.5, p3 (fill_n):
Complexity: Exactly last - first (or n) assignments.

25.2.6, p3 (generate_n):
Complexity: Exactly last - first (or n) assignments.

In addition, the Requirements or the Effects clauses for the latter two templates don't say anything about the behavior when n is negative.

Proposed resolution:

Change 25.1.9, p7 to

Complexity: At most (last1 - first1) * count applications of the corresponding predicate if count is positive, or 0 otherwise.

Change 25.2.5, p2 to

Effects: Assigns value through all the iterators in the range [first, last), or [first, first + n) if n is positive, none otherwise.

Change 25.2.5, p3 to:

Complexity: Exactly last - first (or n if n is positive, or 0 otherwise) assignments.

Change 25.2.6, p1 to (notice the correction for the misspelled "through"):

Effects: Invokes the function object genand assigns the return value of gen through all the iterators in the range [first, last), or [first, first + n) if n is positive, or [first, first) otherwise.

Change 25.2.6, p3 to:

Complexity: Exactly last - first (or n if n is positive, or 0 otherwise) assignments.

Rationale:

Informally, we want to say that whenever we see a negative number we treat it the same as if it were zero. We believe the above changes do that (although they may not be the minimal way of saying so). The LWG considered and rejected the alternative of saying that negative numbers are undefined behavior.


428. string::erase(iterator) validity

Section: 21.3.6.5 [string::erase] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-09-18

View all other issues in [string::erase].

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Discussion:

23.1.1, p3 along with Table 67 specify as a prerequisite for a.erase(q) that q must be a valid dereferenceable iterator into the sequence a.

However, 21.3.5.5, p5 describing string::erase(p) only requires that p be a valid iterator.

This may be interepreted as a relaxation of the general requirement, which is most likely not the intent.

Proposed resolution:

Remove 21.3.6.5 [string::erase] paragraph 5.

Rationale:

The LWG considered two options: changing the string requirements to match the general container requirements, or just removing the erroneous string requirements altogether. The LWG chose the latter option, on the grounds that duplicating text always risks the possibility that it might be duplicated incorrectly.


432. stringbuf::overflow() makes only one write position available

Section: 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Christian W Brock Date: 2003-09-24

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Discussion:

27.7.1.3 par 8 says:

Notes: The function can make a write position available only if ( mode & ios_base::out) != 0. To make a write position available, the function reallocates (or initially allocates) an array object with a sufficient number of elements to hold the current array object (if any), plus one additional write position. If ( mode & ios_base::in) != 0, the function alters the read end pointer egptr() to point just past the new write position (as does the write end pointer epptr()).

The sentences "plus one additional write position." and especially "(as does the write end pointer epptr())" COULD by interpreted (and is interpreted by at least my library vendor) as:

post-condition: epptr() == pptr()+1

This WOULD force sputc() to call the virtual overflow() each time.

The proposed change also affects Defect Report 169.

Proposed resolution:

27.7.1.1/2 Change:

2- Notes: The function allocates no array object.

to:

2- Postcondition: str() == "".

27.7.1.1/3 Change:

-3- Effects: Constructs an object of class basic_stringbuf, initializing the base class with basic_streambuf() (lib.streambuf.cons), and initializing mode with which . Then copies the content of str into the basic_stringbuf underlying character sequence and initializes the input and output sequences according to which. If which & ios_base::out is true, initializes the output sequence with the underlying sequence. If which & ios_base::in is true, initializes the input sequence with the underlying sequence.

to:

-3- Effects: Constructs an object of class basic_stringbuf, initializing the base class with basic_streambuf() (lib.streambuf.cons), and initializing mode with which. Then copies the content of str into the basic_stringbuf underlying character sequence. If which & ios_base::out is true, initializes the output sequence such that pbase() points to the first underlying character, epptr() points one past the last underlying character, and if (which & ios_base::ate) is true, pptr() is set equal to epptr() else pptr() is set equal to pbase(). If which & ios_base::in is true, initializes the input sequence such that eback() and gptr() point to the first underlying character and egptr() points one past the last underlying character.

27.7.1.2/1 Change:

-1- Returns: A basic_string object whose content is equal to the basic_stringbuf underlying character sequence. If the buffer is only created in input mode, the underlying character sequence is equal to the input sequence; otherwise, it is equal to the output sequence. In case of an empty underlying character sequence, the function returns basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>().

to:

-1- Returns: A basic_string object whose content is equal to the basic_stringbuf underlying character sequence. If the basic_stringbuf was created only in input mode, the resultant basic_string contains the character sequence in the range [eback(), egptr()). If the basic_stringbuf was created with (which & ios_base::out) being true then the resultant basic_string contains the character sequence in the range [pbase(), high_mark) where high_mark represents the position one past the highest initialized character in the buffer. Characters can be initialized either through writing to the stream, or by constructing the basic_stringbuf with a basic_string, or by calling the str(basic_string) member function. In the case of calling the str(basic_string) member function, all characters initialized prior to the call are now considered uninitialized (except for those characters re-initialized by the new basic_string). Otherwise the basic_stringbuf has been created in neither input nor output mode and a zero length basic_string is returned.

27.7.1.2/2 Change:

-2- Effects: If the basic_stringbuf's underlying character sequence is not empty, deallocates it. Then copies the content of s into the basic_stringbuf underlying character sequence and initializes the input and output sequences according to the mode stored when creating the basic_stringbuf object. If (mode&ios_base::out) is true, then initializes the output sequence with the underlying sequence. If (mode&ios_base::in) is true, then initializes the input sequence with the underlying sequence.

to:

-2- Effects: Copies the content of s into the basic_stringbuf underlying character sequence. If mode & ios_base::out is true, initializes the output sequence such that pbase() points to the first underlying character, epptr() points one past the last underlying character, and if (mode & ios_base::ate) is true, pptr() is set equal to epptr() else pptr() is set equal to pbase(). If mode & ios_base::in is true, initializes the input sequence such that eback() and gptr() point to the first underlying character and egptr() points one past the last underlying character.

Remove 27.2.1.2/3. (Same rationale as issue 238: incorrect and unnecessary.)

27.7.1.3/1 Change:

1- Returns: If the input sequence has a read position available, returns traits::to_int_type(*gptr()). Otherwise, returns traits::eof().

to:

1- Returns: If the input sequence has a read position available, returns traits::to_int_type(*gptr()). Otherwise, returns traits::eof(). Any character in the underlying buffer which has been initialized is considered to be part of the input sequence.

27.7.1.3/9 Change:

-9- Notes: The function can make a write position available only if ( mode & ios_base::out) != 0. To make a write position available, the function reallocates (or initially allocates) an array object with a sufficient number of elements to hold the current array object (if any), plus one additional write position. If ( mode & ios_base::in) != 0, the function alters the read end pointer egptr() to point just past the new write position (as does the write end pointer epptr()).

to:

-9- The function can make a write position available only if ( mode & ios_base::out) != 0. To make a write position available, the function reallocates (or initially allocates) an array object with a sufficient number of elements to hold the current array object (if any), plus one additional write position. If ( mode & ios_base::in) != 0, the function alters the read end pointer egptr() to point just past the new write position.

27.7.1.3/12 Change:

-12- _ If (newoff + off) < 0, or (xend - xbeg) < (newoff + off), the positioning operation fails. Otherwise, the function assigns xbeg + newoff + off to the next pointer xnext .

to:

-12- _ If (newoff + off) < 0, or if (newoff + off) refers to an uninitialized character (as defined in 27.7.1.3 [stringbuf.members] paragraph 1), the positioning operation fails. Otherwise, the function assigns xbeg + newoff + off to the next pointer xnext .

[post-Kona: Howard provided wording. At Kona the LWG agreed that something along these lines was a good idea, but the original proposed resolution didn't say enough about the effect of various member functions on the underlying character sequences.]

Rationale:

The current basic_stringbuf description is over-constrained in such a way as to prohibit vendors from making this the high-performance in-memory stream it was meant to be. The fundamental problem is that the pointers: eback(), gptr(), egptr(), pbase(), pptr(), epptr() are observable from a derived client, and the current description restricts the range [pbase(), epptr()) from being grown geometrically. This change allows, but does not require, geometric growth of this range.

Backwards compatibility issues: These changes will break code that derives from basic_stringbuf, observes epptr(), and depends upon [pbase(), epptr()) growing by one character on each call to overflow() (i.e. test suites). Otherwise there are no backwards compatibility issues.

27.7.1.1/2: The non-normative note is non-binding, and if it were binding, would be over specification. The recommended change focuses on the important observable fact.

27.7.1.1/3: This change does two things: 1. It describes exactly what must happen in terms of the sequences. The terms "input sequence" and "output sequence" are not well defined. 2. It introduces a common extension: open with app or ate mode. I concur with issue 238 that paragraph 4 is both wrong and unnecessary.

27.7.1.2/1: This change is the crux of the efficiency issue. The resultant basic_string is not dependent upon epptr(), and thus implementors are free to grow the underlying buffer geometrically during overflow() *and* place epptr() at the end of that buffer.

27.7.1.2/2: Made consistent with the proposed 27.7.1.1/3.

27.7.1.3/1: Clarifies that characters written to the stream beyond the initially specified string are available for reading in an i/o basic_streambuf.

27.7.1.3/9: Made normative by removing "Notes:", and removed the trailing parenthetical comment concerning epptr().

27.7.1.3/12: Restricting the positioning to [xbeg, xend) is no longer allowable since [pbase(), epptr()) may now contain uninitialized characters. Positioning is only allowable over the initialized range.


434. bitset::to_string() hard to use

Section: 23.3.5.2 [bitset.members] Status: DR Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-10-15

View all other issues in [bitset.members].

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Discussion:

It has been pointed out a number of times that the bitset to_string() member function template is tedious to use since callers must explicitly specify the entire template argument list (3 arguments). At least two implementations provide a number of overloads of this template to make it easier to use.

Proposed resolution:

In order to allow callers to specify no template arguments at all, just the first one (charT), or the first 2 (charT and traits), in addition to all three template arguments, add the following three overloads to both the interface (declarations only) of the class template bitset as well as to section 23.3.5.2, immediately after p34, the Returns clause of the existing to_string() member function template:

    template <class charT, class traits>
    basic_string<charT, traits, allocator<charT> >
    to_string () const;

    -34.1- Returns: to_string<charT, traits, allocator<charT> >().

    template <class charT>
    basic_string<charT, char_traits<charT>, allocator<charT> >
    to_string () const;

    -34.2- Returns: to_string<charT, char_traits<charT>, allocator<charT> >().

    basic_string<char, char_traits<char>, allocator<char> >
    to_string () const;

    -34.3- Returns: to_string<char, char_traits<char>, allocator<char> >().

[Kona: the LWG agrees that this is an improvement over the status quo. Dietmar thought about an alternative using a proxy object but now believes that the proposed resolution above is the right choice. ]


435. bug in DR 25

Section: 21.3.8.9 [string.io] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-10-15

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Discussion:

It has been pointed out that the proposed resolution in DR 25 may not be quite up to snuff:
http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/libstdc++/2003-09/msg00147.html http://anubis.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/lwg-defects.html#25

It looks like Petur is right. The complete corrected text is copied below. I think we may have have been confused by the reference to 22.2.2.2.2 and the subsequent description of `n' which actually talks about the second argument to sputn(), not about the number of fill characters to pad with.

So the question is: was the original text correct? If the intent was to follow classic iostreams then it most likely wasn't, since setting width() to less than the length of the string doesn't truncate it on output. This is also the behavior of most implementations (except for SGI's standard iostreams where the operator does truncate).

Proposed resolution:

Change the text in 21.3.7.9, p4 from

If bool(k) is true, inserts characters as if by calling os.rdbuf()->sputn(str.data(), n), padding as described in stage 3 of lib.facet.num.put.virtuals, where n is the larger of os.width() and str.size();

to

If bool(k) is true, determines padding as described in lib.facet.num.put.virtuals, and then inserts the resulting sequence of characters seq as if by calling os.rdbuf()->sputn(seq, n), where n is the larger of os.width() and str.size();

[Kona: it appears that neither the original wording, DR25, nor the proposed resolution, is quite what we want. We want to say that the string will be output, padded to os.width() if necessary. We don't want to duplicate the padding rules in clause 22, because they're complicated, but we need to be careful because they weren't quite written with quite this case in mind. We need to say what the character sequence is, and then defer to clause 22. Post-Kona: Benjamin provided wording.]


436. are cv-qualified facet types valid facets?

Section: 22.1.1.1.2 [locale.facet] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2003-10-15

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Is "const std::ctype<char>" a valid template argument to has_facet, use_facet, and the locale template ctor? And if so, does it designate the same Facet as the non-const "std::ctype<char>?" What about "volatile std::ctype<char>?" Different implementations behave differently: some fail to compile, others accept such types but behave inconsistently.

Proposed resolution:

Change 22.1.1.1.2, p1 to read:

Template parameters in this clause which are required to be facets are those named Facet in declarations. A program that passes a type that is not a facet, or a type that refers to volatile-qualified facet, as an (explicit or deduced) template parameter to a locale function expecting a facet, is ill-formed. A const-qualified facet is a valid template argument to any locale function that expects a Facet template parameter.

[Kona: changed the last sentence from a footnote to normative text.]


438. Ambiguity in the "do the right thing" clause

Section: 23.1.1 [sequence.reqmts] Status: DR Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2003-10-20

View all other issues in [sequence.reqmts].

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Discussion:

Section 23.1.1 [sequence.reqmts], paragraphs 9-11, fixed up the problem noticed with statements like:

vector<int> v(10, 1);

The intent of the above statement was to construct with:

vector(size_type, const value_type&);

but early implementations failed to compile as they bound to:

template <class InputIterator>
vector(InputIterator f, InputIterator l);

instead.

Paragraphs 9-11 say that if InputIterator is an integral type, then the member template constructor will have the same effect as:

vector<static_cast<size_type>(f), static_cast<value_type>(l));

(and similarly for the other member template functions of sequences).

There is also a note that describes one implementation technique:

One way that sequence implementors can satisfy this requirement is to specialize the member template for every integral type.

This might look something like:

template <class T>
struct vector
{
     typedef unsigned size_type;

     explicit vector(size_type) {}
     vector(size_type, const T&) {}

     template <class I>
     vector(I, I);

     // ...
};

template <class T>
template <class I>
vector<T>::vector(I, I) { ... }

template <>
template <>
vector<int>::vector(int, int) { ... }

template <>
template <>
vector<int>::vector(unsigned, unsigned) { ... }

//  ...

Label this solution 'A'.

The standard also says:

Less cumbersome implementation techniques also exist.

A popular technique is to not specialize as above, but instead catch every call with the member template, detect the type of InputIterator, and then redirect to the correct logic. Something like:

template <class T>
template <class I>
vector<T>::vector(I f, I l)
{
     choose_init(f, l, int2type<is_integral<I>::value>());
}

template <class T>
template <class I>
vector<T>::choose_init(I f, I l, int2type<false>)
{
    // construct with iterators
}

template <class T>
template <class I>
vector<T>::choose_init(I f, I l, int2type<true>)
{
    size_type sz = static_cast<size_type>(f);
    value_type v = static_cast<value_type>(l);
    // construct with sz,v
}

Label this solution 'B'.

Both of these solutions solve the case the standard specifically mentions:

vector<int> v(10, 1);  // ok, vector size 10, initialized to 1

However, (and here is the problem), the two solutions have different behavior in some cases where the value_type of the sequence is not an integral type. For example consider:

     pair<char, char>                     p('a', 'b');
     vector<vector<pair<char, char> > >   d('a', 'b');

The second line of this snippet is likely an error. Solution A catches the error and refuses to compile. The reason is that there is no specialization of the member template constructor that looks like:

template <>
template <>
vector<vector<pair<char, char> > >::vector(char, char) { ... }

So the expression binds to the unspecialized member template constructor, and then fails (compile time) because char is not an InputIterator.

Solution B compiles the above example though. 'a' is casted to an unsigned integral type and used to size the outer vector. 'b' is static casted to the inner vector using it's explicit constructor:

explicit vector(size_type n);

and so you end up with a static_cast<size_type>('a') by static_cast<size_type>('b') matrix.

It is certainly possible that this is what the coder intended. But the explicit qualifier on the inner vector has been thwarted at any rate.

The standard is not clear whether the expression:

     vector<vector<pair<char, char> > >   d('a', 'b');

(and similar expressions) are:

  1. undefined behavior.
  2. illegal and must be rejected.
  3. legal and must be accepted.

My preference is listed in the order presented.

There are still other techniques for implementing the requirements of paragraphs 9-11, namely the "restricted template technique" (e.g. enable_if). This technique is the most compact and easy way of coding the requirements, and has the behavior of #2 (rejects the above expression).

Choosing 1 would allow all implementation techniques I'm aware of. Choosing 2 would allow only solution 'A' and the enable_if technique. Choosing 3 would allow only solution 'B'.

Possible wording for a future standard if we wanted to actively reject the expression above would be to change "static_cast" in paragraphs 9-11 to "implicit_cast" where that is defined by:

template <class T, class U>
inline
T implicit_cast(const U& u)
{
     return u;
}

Proposed resolution:

Replace 23.1.1 [sequence.reqmts] paragraphs 9 - 11 with:

For every sequence defined in this clause and in clause lib.strings:

In the previous paragraph the alternative binding will fail if f is not implicitly convertible to X::size_type or if l is not implicitly convertible to X::value_type.

The extent to which an implementation determines that a type cannot be an input iterator is unspecified, except that as a minimum integral types shall not qualify as input iterators.

[ Kona: agreed that the current standard requires v('a', 'b') to be accepted, and also agreed that this is surprising behavior. The LWG considered several options, including something like implicit_cast, which doesn't appear to be quite what we want. We considered Howards three options: allow acceptance or rejection, require rejection as a compile time error, and require acceptance. By straw poll (1-6-1), we chose to require a compile time error. Post-Kona: Howard provided wording. ]

[ Sydney: The LWG agreed with this general direction, but there was some discomfort with the wording in the original proposed resolution. Howard submitted new wording, and we will review this again in Redmond. ]

[Redmond: one very small change in wording: the first argument is cast to size_t. This fixes the problem of something like vector<vector<int> >(5, 5), where int is not implicitly convertible to the value type.]

Rationale:

The proposed resolution fixes:

  vector<int> v(10, 1);

since as integral types 10 and 1 must be disqualified as input iterators and therefore the (size,value) constructor is called (as if).

The proposed resolution breaks:

  vector<vector<T> > v(10, 1);

because the integral type 1 is not *implicitly* convertible to vector<T>. The wording above requires a diagnostic.

The proposed resolution leaves the behavior of the following code unspecified.

  struct A
  {
    operator int () const {return 10;}
  };

  struct B
  {
    B(A) {}
  };

  vector<B> v(A(), A());

The implementation may or may not detect that A is not an input iterator and employee the (size,value) constructor. Note though that in the above example if the B(A) constructor is qualified explicit, then the implementation must reject the constructor as A is no longer implicitly convertible to B.


441. Is fpos::state const?

Section: 27.4.3 [fpos] Status: WP Submitter: Vincent Leloup Date: 2003-11-17

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Discussion:

In section 27.4.3.1 [fpos.members] fpos<stateT>::state() is declared non const, but in section 27.4.3 [fpos] it is declared const.

Proposed resolution:

In section 27.4.3.1 [fpos.members], change the declaration of fpos<stateT>::state() to const.


442. sentry::operator bool() inconsistent signature

Section: 27.6.2.4 [ostream::sentry] Status: WP Submitter: Vincent Leloup Date: 2003-11-18

View other active issues in [ostream::sentry].

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Discussion:

In section 27.6.2.4 [ostream::sentry] paragraph 4, in description part basic_ostream<charT, traits>::sentry::operator bool() is declared as non const, but in section 27.6.2.3, in synopsis it is declared const.

Proposed resolution:

In section 27.6.2.4 [ostream::sentry] paragraph 4, change the declaration of sentry::operator bool() to const.


443. filebuf::close() inconsistent use of EOF

Section: 27.8.1.4 [filebuf.members] Status: WP Submitter: Vincent Leloup Date: 2003-11-20

View other active issues in [filebuf.members].

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Discussion:

In section 27.8.1.4 [filebuf.members] par6, in effects description of basic_filebuf<charT, traits>::close(), overflow(EOF) is used twice; should be overflow(traits::eof()).

Proposed resolution:

Change overflow(EOF) to overflow(traits::eof()).


444. Bad use of casts in fstream

Section: 27.8.1 [fstreams] Status: DR Submitter: Vincent Leloup Date: 2003-11-20

View all other issues in [fstreams].

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Discussion:

27.8.1.9 [ifstream.members] p1, 27.8.1.13 [ofstream.members] p1, 27.8.1.17 [fstream.members] p1 seems have same problem as exposed in LWG issue 252.

Proposed resolution:

[Sydney: Genuine defect. 27.8.1.13 needs a cast to cast away constness. The other two places are stylistic: we could change the C-style casts to const_cast. Post-Sydney: Howard provided wording. ]

Change 27.8.1.7/1 from:

Returns: (basic_filebuf<charT,traits>*)&sb.

to:

Returns: const_cast<basic_filebuf<charT,traits>*>(&sb).

Change 27.8.1.10/1 from:

Returns: (basic_filebuf<charT,traits>*)&sb.

to:

Returns: const_cast<basic_filebuf<charT,traits>*>(&sb).

Change 27.8.1.13/1 from:

Returns: &sb.

to:

Returns: const_cast<basic_filebuf<charT,traits>*>(&sb).


445. iterator_traits::reference unspecified for some iterator categories

Section: 24.3.1 [iterator.traits] Status: DR Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2003-12-09

View all issues with DR status.

Discussion:

The standard places no restrictions at all on the reference type of input, output, or forward iterators (for forward iterators it only specifies that *x must be value_type& and doesn't mention the reference type). Bidirectional iterators' reference type is restricted only by implication, since the base iterator's reference type is used as the return type of reverse_iterator's operator*, which must be T& in order to be a conforming forward iterator.

Here's what I think we ought to be able to expect from an input or forward iterator's reference type R, where a is an iterator and V is its value_type

A mutable forward iterator ought to satisfy, for x of type V:

      { R r = *a; r = x; } is equivalent to *a = x;
  

I think these requirements capture existing container iterators (including vector<bool>'s), but render istream_iterator invalid; its reference type would have to be changed to a constant reference.

(Jeremy Siek) During the discussion in Sydney, it was felt that a simpler long term solution for this was needed. The solution proposed was to require reference to be the same type as *a and pointer to be the same type as a->. Most iterators in the Standard Library already meet this requirement. Some iterators are output iterators, and do not need to meet the requirement, and others are only specified through the general iterator requirements (which will change with this resolution). The sole case where there is an explicit definition of the reference type that will need to change is istreambuf_iterator which returns charT from operator* but has a reference type of charT&. We propose changing the reference type of istreambuf_iterator to charT.

The other option for resolving the issue with pointer, mentioned in the note below, is to remove pointer altogether. I prefer placing requirements on pointer to removing it for two reasons. First, pointer will become useful for implementing iterator adaptors and in particular, reverse_iterator will become more well defined. Second, removing pointer is a rather drastic and publicly-visible action to take.

The proposed resolution technically enlarges the requirements for iterators, which means there are existing iterators (such as istreambuf_iterator, and potentially some programmer-defined iterators) that will no longer meet the requirements. Will this break existing code? The scenario in which it would is if an algorithm implementation (say in the Standard Library) is changed to rely on iterator_traits::reference, and then is used with one of the iterators that do not have an appropriately defined iterator_traits::reference.

The proposed resolution makes one other subtle change. Previously, it was required that output iterators have a difference_type and value_type of void, which means that a forward iterator could not be an output iterator. This is clearly a mistake, so I've changed the wording to say that those types may be void.

Proposed resolution:

In 24.3.1 [iterator.traits], after:

be defined as the iterator's difference type, value type and iterator category, respectively.

add

In addition, the types

iterator_traits<Iterator>::reference
iterator_traits<Iterator>::pointer

must be defined as the iterator's reference and pointer types, that is, the same type as the type of *a and a->, respectively.

In 24.3.1 [iterator.traits], change:

In the case of an output iterator, the types

iterator_traits<Iterator>::difference_type
iterator_traits<Iterator>::value_type

are both defined as void.

to:

In the case of an output iterator, the types

iterator_traits<Iterator>::difference_type
iterator_traits<Iterator>::value_type
iterator_traits<Iterator>::reference
iterator_traits<Iterator>::pointer

may be defined as void.

In 24.5.3 [istreambuf.iterator], change:

typename traits::off_type, charT*, charT&>

to:

typename traits::off_type, charT*, charT>

[ Redmond: there was concern in Sydney that this might not be the only place where things were underspecified and needed to be changed. Jeremy reviewed iterators in the standard and confirmed that nothing else needed to be changed. ]


448. Random Access Iterators over abstract classes

Section: 24.1.5 [random.access.iterators] Status: WP Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2004-01-07

View all other issues in [random.access.iterators].

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Discussion:

Table 76, the random access iterator requirement table, says that the return type of a[n] must be "convertible to T". When an iterator's value_type T is an abstract class, nothing is convertible to T. Surely this isn't an intended restriction?

Proposed resolution:

Change the return type to "convertible to T const&".


449. Library Issue 306 Goes Too Far

Section: 18.1 [support.types] Status: WP Submitter: Pete Becker Date: 2004-01-15

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Discussion:

Original text:

The macro offsetof accepts a restricted set of type arguments in this International Standard. type shall be a POD structure or a POD union (clause 9). The result of applying the offsetof macro to a field that is a static data member or a function member is undefined."

Revised text:

"If type is not a POD structure or a POD union the results are undefined."

Looks to me like the revised text should have replaced only the second sentence. It doesn't make sense standing alone.

Proposed resolution:

Change 18.1, paragraph 5, to:

The macro offsetof accepts a restricted set of type arguments in this International Standard. If type is not a POD structure or a POD union the results are undefined. The result of applying the offsetof macro to a field that is a static data member or a function member is undefined."


453. basic_stringbuf::seekoff need not always fail for an empty stream

Section: 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Bill Plauger Date: 2004-01-30

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Discussion:

  pos_type basic_stringbuf::seekoff(off_type, ios_base::seekdir,
                                    ios_base::openmode);

is obliged to fail if nothing has been inserted into the stream. This is unnecessary and undesirable. It should be permissible to seek to an effective offset of zero.

[ Sydney: Agreed that this is an annoying problem: seeking to zero should be legal. Bill will provide wording. ]

Proposed resolution:

Change the sentence from:

For a sequence to be positioned, if its next pointer (either gptr() or pptr()) is a null pointer, the positioning operation fails.

to:

For a sequence to be positioned, if its next pointer (either gptr() or pptr()) is a null pointer and the new offset newoff is nonzero, the positioning operation fails.


455. cerr::tie() and wcerr::tie() are overspecified

Section: 27.3 [iostream.objects] Status: DR Submitter: Bill Plauger Date: 2004-01-30

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Discussion:

Both cerr::tie() and wcerr::tie() are obliged to be null at program startup. This is overspecification and overkill. It is both traditional and useful to tie cerr to cout, to ensure that standard output is drained whenever an error message is written. This behavior should at least be permitted if not required. Same for wcerr::tie().

Proposed resolution:

Add to the description of cerr:

After the object cerr is initialized, cerr.tie() returns &cout. Its state is otherwise the same as required for basic_ios<char>::init (lib.basic.ios.cons).

Add to the description of wcerr:

After the object wcerr is initialized, wcerr.tie() returns &wcout. Its state is otherwise the same as required for basic_ios<wchar_t>::init (lib.basic.ios.cons).

[Sydney: straw poll (3-1): we should require, not just permit, cout and cerr to be tied on startup. Pre-Redmond: Bill will provide wording.]


456. Traditional C header files are overspecified

Section: 17.4.1.2 [headers] Status: WP Submitter: Bill Plauger Date: 2004-01-30

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Discussion:

The C++ Standard effectively requires that the traditional C headers (of the form <xxx.h>) be defined in terms of the newer C++ headers (of the form <cxxx>). Clauses 17.4.1.2/4 and D.5 combine to require that:

The rules were left in this form despited repeated and heated objections from several compiler vendors. The C headers are often beyond the direct control of C++ implementors. In some organizations, it's all they can do to get a few #ifdef __cplusplus tests added. Third-party library vendors can perhaps wrap the C headers. But neither of these approaches supports the drastic restructuring required by the C++ Standard. As a result, it is still widespread practice to ignore this conformance requirement, nearly seven years after the committee last debated this topic. Instead, what is often implemented is:

The practical benefit for implementors with the second approach is that they can use existing C library headers, as they are pretty much obliged to do. The practical cost for programmers facing a mix of implementations is that they have to assume weaker rules:

There also exists the possibility of subtle differences due to Koenig lookup, but there are so few non-builtin types defined in the C headers that I've yet to see an example of any real problems in this area.

It is worth observing that the rate at which programmers fall afoul of these differences has remained small, at least as measured by newsgroup postings and our own bug reports. (By an overwhelming margin, the commonest problem is still that programmers include <string> and can't understand why the typename string isn't defined -- this a decade after the committee invented namespace std, nominally for the benefit of all programmers.)

We should accept the fact that we made a serious mistake and rectify it, however belatedly, by explicitly allowing either of the two schemes for declaring C names in headers.

[Sydney: This issue has been debated many times, and will certainly have to be discussed in full committee before any action can be taken. However, the preliminary sentiment of the LWG was in favor of the change. (6 yes, 0 no, 2 abstain) Robert Klarer suggests that we might also want to undeprecate the C-style .h headers.]

Proposed resolution:

Add to 17.4.1.2 [headers], para. 4:

Except as noted in clauses 18 through 27 and Annex D, the contents of each header cname shall be the same as that of the corresponding header name.h, as specified in ISO/IEC 9899:1990 Programming Languages C (Clause 7), or ISO/IEC:1990 Programming Languages-C AMENDMENT 1: C Integrity, (Clause 7), as appropriate, as if by inclusion. In the C++ Standard Library, however, the declarations and definitions (except for names which are defined as macros in C) are within namespace scope (3.3.5) of the namespace std. It is unspecified whether these names are first declared within the global namespace scope and are then injected into namespace std by explicit using-declarations (7.3.3 [namespace.udecl]).

Change D.5 [depr.c.headers], para. 2-3:

-2- Every C header, each of which has a name of the form name.h, behaves as if each name placed in the Standard library namespace by the corresponding cname header is also placed within the global namespace scope. of the namespace std and is followed by an explicit using-declaration (7.3.3 [namespace.udecl]). It is unspecified whether these names are first declared or defined within namespace scope (3.3.5 [basic.scope.namespace]) of the namespace std and are then injected into the global namespace scope by explicit using-declarations (7.3.3 [namespace.udecl]).

-3- [Example: The header <cstdlib> assuredly provides its declarations and definitions within the namespace std. It may also provide these names within the global namespace. The header <stdlib.h> makes these available also in assuredly provides the same declarations and definitions within the global namespace, much as in the C Standard. It may also provide these names within the namespace std. -- end example]


457. bitset constructor: incorrect number of initialized bits

Section: 23.3.5.1 [bitset.cons] Status: DR Submitter: Dag Henriksson Date: 2004-01-30

View other active issues in [bitset.cons].

View all other issues in [bitset.cons].

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Discussion:

The constructor from unsigned long says it initializes "the first M bit positions to the corresponding bit values in val. M is the smaller of N and the value CHAR_BIT * sizeof(unsigned long)."

Object-representation vs. value-representation strikes again. CHAR_BIT * sizeof (unsigned long) does not give us the number of bits an unsigned long uses to hold the value. Thus, the first M bit position above is not guaranteed to have any corresponding bit values in val.

Proposed resolution:

In 23.3.5.1 [bitset.cons] paragraph 2, change "M is the smaller of N and the value CHAR_BIT * sizeof (unsigned long). (249)" to "M is the smaller of N and the number of bits in the value representation (section 3.9 [basic.types]) of unsigned long."


460. Default modes missing from basic_fstream member specifications

Section: 27.8.1 [fstreams] Status: DR Submitter: Ben Hutchings Date: 2004-04-01

View all other issues in [fstreams].

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Discussion:

The second parameters of the non-default constructor and of the open member function for basic_fstream, named "mode", are optional according to the class declaration in 27.8.1.11 [lib.fstream]. The specifications of these members in 27.8.1.12 [lib.fstream.cons] and 27.8.1.13 lib.fstream.members] disagree with this, though the constructor declaration has the "explicit" function-specifier implying that it is intended to be callable with one argument.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.8.1.15 [fstream.cons], change

  explicit basic_fstream(const char* s, ios_base::openmode mode); 

to

  explicit basic_fstream(const char* s,
                         ios_base::openmode mode = ios_base::in|ios_base::out);

In 27.8.1.17 [fstream.members], change

  void open(const char*s, ios_base::openmode mode); 

to

  void open(const char*s,
            ios_base::openmode mode = ios_base::in|ios_base::out);

461. time_get hard or impossible to implement

Section: 22.2.5.1.2 [locale.time.get.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Bill Plauger Date: 2004-03-23

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Template time_get currently contains difficult, if not impossible, requirements for do_date_order, do_get_time, and do_get_date. All require the implementation to scan a field generated by the %x or %X conversion specifier in strftime. Yes, do_date_order can always return no_order, but that doesn't help the other functions. The problem is that %x can be nearly anything, and it can vary widely with locales. It's horribly onerous to have to parse "third sunday after Michaelmas in the year of our Lord two thousand and three," but that's what we currently ask of do_get_date. More practically, it leads some people to think that if %x produces 10.2.04, we should know to look for dots as separators. Still not easy.

Note that this is the opposite effect from the intent stated in the footnote earlier in this subclause:

"In other words, user confirmation is required for reliable parsing of user-entered dates and times, but machine-generated formats can be parsed reliably. This allows parsers to be aggressive about interpreting user variations on standard formats."

We should give both implementers and users an easier and more reliable alternative: provide a (short) list of alternative delimiters and say what the default date order is for no_order. For backward compatibility, and maximum latitude, we can permit an implementation to parse whatever %x or %X generates, but we shouldn't require it.

Proposed resolution:

In the description:

iter_type do_get_time(iter_type s, iter_type end, ios_base& str,
        ios_base::iostate& err, tm* t) const;

2 Effects: Reads characters starting at suntil it has extracted those struct tm members, and remaining format characters, used by time_put<>::put to produce the format specified by 'X', or until it encounters an error or end of sequence.

change: 'X'

to: "%H:%M:%S"

Change

iter_type do_get_date(iter_type s, iter_type end, ios_base& str,
        ios_base::iostate& err, tm* t) const;

4 Effects: Reads characters starting at s until it has extracted those
struct tm members, and remaining format characters, used by
time_put<>::put to produce the format specified by 'x', or until it
encounters an error.

to

iter_type do_get_date(iter_type s, iter_type end, ios_base& str,
        ios_base::iostate& err, tm* t) const;

4 Effects: Reads characters starting at s until it has extracted those struct tm members, and remaining format characters, used by time_put<>::put to produce one of the following formats, or until it encounters an error. The format depends on the value returned by date_order() as follows:

        date_order()  format

        no_order      "%m/%d/%y"
        dmy           "%d/%m/%y"
        mdy           "%m/%d/%y"
        ymd           "%y/%m/%d"
        ydm           "%y/%d/%m"

An implementation may also accept additional implementation-defined formats.

[Redmond: agreed that this is a real problem. The solution is probably to match C99's parsing rules. Bill provided wording. ]


464. Suggestion for new member functions in standard containers

Section: 23.2.6 [vector], 23.3.1 [map] Status: WP Submitter: Thorsten Ottosen Date: 2004-05-12

View all other issues in [vector].

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Discussion:

To add slightly more convenience to vector<T> and map<Key,T> we should consider to add

  1. add vector<T>::data() member (const and non-const version) semantics: if( empty() ) return 0; else return buffer_;
  2. add map<Key,T>::at( const Key& k ) member (const and non-const version) semantics: iterator i = find( k ); if( i != end() ) return *i; else throw range_error();

Rationale:

Proposed resolution:

In 23.2.6 [vector], add the following to the vector synopsis after "element access" and before "modifiers":

  // [lib.vector.data] data access
  pointer       data();
  const_pointer data() const;

Add a new subsection of 23.2.6 [vector]:

23.2.4.x vector data access

   pointer       data();
   const_pointer data() const;

Returns: A pointer such that [data(), data() + size()) is a valid range. For a non-empty vector, data() == &front().

Complexity: Constant time.

Throws: Nothing.

In 23.3.1 [map], add the following to the map synopsis immediately after the line for operator[]:

  T&       at(const key_type& x);
  const T& at(const key_type& x) const;

Add the following to 23.3.1.2 [map.access]:

  T&       at(const key_type& x);
  const T& at(const key_type& x) const;

Returns: A reference to the element whose key is equivalent to x, if such an element is present in the map.

Throws: out_of_range if no such element is present.

Rationale:

Neither of these additions provides any new functionality but the LWG agreed that they are convenient, especially for novices. The exception type chosen for at, std::out_of_range, was chosen to match vector::at.


465. Contents of <ciso646>

Section: 17.4.1.2 [headers] Status: WP Submitter: Steve Clamage Date: 2004-06-03

View all other issues in [headers].

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Discussion:

C header <iso646.h> defines macros for some operators, such as not_eq for !=.

Section 17.4.1.2 [headers] "Headers" says that except as noted in clauses 18 through 27, the <cname> C++ header contents are the same as the C header <name.h>. In particular, table 12 lists <ciso646> as a C++ header.

I don't find any other mention of <ciso646>, or any mention of <iso646.h>, in clauses 17 thorough 27. That implies that the contents of <ciso646> are the same as C header <iso646.h>.

Annex C (informative, not normative) in [diff.header.iso646.h] C.2.2.2 "Header <iso646.h>" says that the alternative tokens are not defined as macros in <ciso646>, but does not mention the contents of <iso646.h>.

I don't find any normative text to support C.2.2.2.

Proposed resolution:

Add to section 17.4.1.2 Headers [lib.headers] a new paragraph after paragraph 6 (the one about functions must be functions):

Identifiers that are keywords or operators in C++ shall not be defined as macros in C++ standard library headers. [Footnote:In particular, including the standard header <iso646.h> or <ciso646> has no effect.

[post-Redmond: Steve provided wording.]


467. char_traits::lt(), compare(), and memcmp()

Section: 21.1.3.1 [char.traits.specializations.char] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2004-06-28

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Table 37 describes the requirements on Traits::compare() in terms of those on Traits::lt(). 21.1.3.1, p6 requires char_traits<char>::lt() to yield the same result as operator<(char, char).

Most, if not all, implementations of char_traits<char>::compare() call memcmp() for efficiency. However, the C standard requires both memcmp() and strcmp() to interpret characters under comparison as unsigned, regardless of the signedness of char. As a result, all these char_traits implementations fail to meet the requirement imposed by Table 37 on compare() when char is signed.

Read email thread starting with c++std-lib-13499 for more.

Proposed resolution:

Change 21.1.3.1, p6 from

The two-argument members assign, eq, and lt are defined identically to the built-in operators =, ==, and < respectively.

to

The two-argument member assign is defined identically to the built-in operator =. The two argument members eq and lt are defined identically to the built-in operators == and < for type unsigned char.

[Redmond: The LWG agreed with this general direction, but we also need to change eq to be consistent with this change. Post-Redmond: Martin provided wording.]


468. unexpected consequences of ios_base::operator void*()

Section: 27.4.4.3 [iostate.flags] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2004-06-28

View all other issues in [iostate.flags].

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Discussion:

The program below is required to compile but when run it typically produces unexpected results due to the user-defined conversion from std::cout or any object derived from basic_ios to void*.

    #include <cassert>
    #include <iostream>

    int main ()
    {
        assert (std::cin.tie () == std::cout);
        // calls std::cout.ios::operator void*()
    }

Proposed resolution:

Replace std::basic_ios<charT, traits>::operator void*() with another conversion operator to some unspecified type that is guaranteed not to be convertible to any other type except for bool (a pointer-to-member might be one such suitable type). In addition, make it clear that the pointer type need not be a pointer to a complete type and when non-null, the value need not be valid.

Specifically, change in [lib.ios] the signature of

    operator void*() const;

to

    operator unspecified-bool-type() const;

and change [lib.iostate.flags], p1 from

    operator void*() const;

to

operator unspecified-bool-type() const;

     -1- Returns: if fail() then a value that will evaluate false in a
      boolean context; otherwise a value that will evaluate true in a
      boolean context. The value type returned shall not be
      convertible to int.

     -2- [Note: This conversion can be used in contexts where a bool
      is expected (e.g., an if condition); however, implicit
      conversions (e.g., to int) that can occur with bool are not
      allowed, eliminating some sources of user error. One possible
      implementation choice for this type is pointer-to-member.  - end
      note]

[Redmond: 5-4 straw poll in favor of doing this.]

[Lillehammer: Doug provided revised wording for "unspecified-bool-type".]


469. vector<bool> ill-formed relational operators

Section: 23.2.6 [vector] Status: DR Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2004-06-28

View all other issues in [vector].

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Discussion:

The overloads of relational operators for vector<bool> specified in [lib.vector.bool] are redundant (they are semantically identical to those provided for the vector primary template) and may even be diagnosed as ill-formed (refer to Daveed Vandevoorde's explanation in c++std-lib-13647).

Proposed resolution:

Remove all overloads of overloads of relational operators for vector<bool> from [lib.vector.bool].


474. confusing Footnote 297

Section: 27.6.2.6.4 [ostream.inserters.character] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2004-07-01

View all other issues in [ostream.inserters.character].

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Discussion:

I think Footnote 297 is confused. The paragraph it applies to seems quite clear in that widen() is only called if the object is not a char stream (i.e., not basic_ostream<char>), so it's irrelevant what the value of widen(c) is otherwise.

Proposed resolution:

I propose to strike the Footnote.


475. May the function object passed to for_each modify the elements of the iterated sequence?

Section: 25.1.1 [alg.foreach] Status: WP Submitter: Stephan T. Lavavej, Jaakko Jarvi Date: 2004-07-09

View all other issues in [alg.foreach].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

It is not clear whether the function object passed to for_each is allowed to modify the elements of the sequence being iterated over.

for_each is classified without explanation in [lib.alg.nonmodifying], "25.1 Non-modifying sequence operations". 'Non-modifying sequence operation' is never defined.

25(5) says: "If an algorithm's Effects section says that a value pointed to by any iterator passed as an argument is modified, then that algorithm has an additional type requirement: The type of that argument shall satisfy the requirements of a mutable iterator (24.1)."

for_each's Effects section does not mention whether arguments can be modified:

"Effects: Applies f to the result of dereferencing every iterator in the range [first, last), starting from first and proceeding to last - 1."

Every other algorithm in [lib.alg.nonmodifying] is "really" non-modifying in the sense that neither the algorithms themselves nor the function objects passed to the algorithms may modify the sequences or elements in any way. This DR affects only for_each.

We suspect that for_each's classification in "non-modifying sequence operations" means that the algorithm itself does not inherently modify the sequence or the elements in the sequence, but that the function object passed to it may modify the elements it operates on.

The original STL document by Stepanov and Lee explicitly prohibited the function object from modifying its argument. The "obvious" implementation of for_each found in several standard library implementations, however, does not impose this restriction. As a result, we suspect that the use of for_each with function objects that modify their arguments is wide-spread. If the restriction was reinstated, all such code would become non-conforming. Further, none of the other algorithms in the Standard could serve the purpose of for_each (transform does not guarantee the order in which its function object is called).

We suggest that the standard be clarified to explicitly allow the function object passed to for_each modify its argument.

Proposed resolution:

Add a nonnormative note to the Effects in 25.1.1 [alg.foreach]: If the type of 'first' satisfies the requirements of a mutable iterator, 'f' may apply nonconstant functions through the dereferenced iterators passed to it.

Rationale:

The LWG believes that nothing in the standard prohibits function objects that modify the sequence elements. The problem is that for_each is in a secion entitled "nonmutating algorithms", and the title may be confusing. A nonnormative note should clarify that.


478. Should forward iterator requirements table have a line for r->m?

Section: 24.1.3 [forward.iterators] Status: WP Submitter: Dave Abrahams Date: 2004-07-11

View all other issues in [forward.iterators].

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Duplicate of: 477

Discussion:

The Forward Iterator requirements table contains the following:

 expression  return type         operational  precondition
                                  semantics
  ==========  ==================  ===========  ==========================
  a->m        U& if X is mutable, (*a).m       pre: (*a).m is well-defined.
              otherwise const U&

  r->m        U&                  (*r).m       pre: (*r).m is well-defined.

The second line may be unnecessary. Paragraph 11 of [lib.iterator.requirements] says:

In the following sections, a and b denote values of type const X, n denotes a value of the difference type Distance, u, tmp, and m denote identifiers, r denotes a value of X&, t denotes a value of value type T, o denotes a value of some type that is writable to the output iterator.

Because operators can be overloaded on an iterator's const-ness, the current requirements allow iterators to make many of the operations specified using the identifiers a and b invalid for non-const iterators.

Related issue: 477

Proposed resolution:

Remove the "r->m" line from the Forward Iterator requirements table. Change

"const X"

to

"X or const X"

in paragraph 11 of [lib.iterator.requirements].

Rationale:

This is a defect because it constrains an lvalue to returning a modifiable lvalue.


488. rotate throws away useful information

Section: 25.2.11 [alg.rotate] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2004-11-22

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

rotate takes 3 iterators: first, middle and last which point into a sequence, and rearranges the sequence such that the subrange [middle, last) is now at the beginning of the sequence and the subrange [first, middle) follows. The return type is void.

In many use cases of rotate, the client needs to know where the subrange [first, middle) starts after the rotate is performed. This might look like:

  rotate(first, middle, last);
  Iterator i = advance(first, distance(middle, last));

Unless the iterators are random access, the computation to find the start of the subrange [first, middle) has linear complexity. However, it is not difficult for rotate to return this information with negligible additional computation expense. So the client could code:

  Iterator i = rotate(first, middle, last);

and the resulting program becomes significantly more efficient.

While the backwards compatibility hit with this change is not zero, it is very small (similar to that of lwg 130), and there is a significant benefit to the change.

Proposed resolution:

In 25 [algorithms] p2, change:

  template<class ForwardIterator>
    void ForwardIterator rotate(ForwardIterator first, ForwardIterator middle,
                ForwardIterator last);

In 25.2.11 [alg.rotate], change:

  template<class ForwardIterator>
    void ForwardIterator rotate(ForwardIterator first, ForwardIterator middle,
                ForwardIterator last);

In 25.2.11 [alg.rotate] insert a new paragraph after p1:

Returns: first + (last - middle).

[ The LWG agrees with this idea, but has one quibble: we want to make sure not to give the impression that the function "advance" is actually called, just that the nth iterator is returned. (Calling advance is observable behavior, since users can specialize it for their own iterators.) Howard will provide wording. ]

[Howard provided wording for mid-meeting-mailing Jun. 2005.]

[ Toronto: moved to Ready. ]


495. Clause 22 template parameter requirements

Section: 22 [localization] Status: WP Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 2005-01-10

View all other issues in [localization].

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Discussion:

It appears that there are no requirements specified for many of the template parameters in clause 22. It looks like this issue has never come up, except perhaps for Facet.

Clause 22 isn't even listed in 17.3.2.1 [lib.type.descriptions], either, which is the wording that allows requirements on template parameters to be identified by name.

So one issue is that 17.3.2.1 [lib.type.descriptions] Should be changed to cover clause 22. A better change, which will cover us in the future, would be to say that it applies to all the library clauses. Then if a template gets added to any library clause we are covered.

charT, InputIterator, and other names with requirements defined elsewhere are fine, assuming the 17.3.2.1 [lib.type.descriptions] fix. But there are a few template arguments names which I don't think have requirements given elsewhere:

Proposed resolution:

Change 17.3.2.1 [type.descriptions], paragraph 1, from:

The Requirements subclauses may describe names that are used to specify constraints on template arguments.153) These names are used in clauses 20, 23, 25, and 26 to describe the types that may be supplied as arguments by a C++ program when instantiating template components from the library.

to:

The Requirements subclauses may describe names that are used to specify constraints on template arguments.153) These names are used in library clauses to describe the types that may be supplied as arguments by a C++ program when instantiating template components from the library.

In the front matter of class 22, locales, add:

Template parameter types internT and externT shall meet the requirements of charT (described in 21 [strings]).

Rationale:

Again, a blanket clause isn't blanket enough. Also, we've got a couple of names that we don't have blanket requirement statements for. The only issue is what to do about stateT. This wording is thin, but probably adequate.


496. Illegal use of "T" in vector<bool>

Section: 23.2.6 [vector] Status: WP Submitter: richard@ex-parrot.com Date: 2005-02-10

View all other issues in [vector].

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Discussion:

In the synopsis of the std::vector<bool> specialisation in 23.2.6 [vector], the non-template assign() function has the signature

  void assign( size_type n, const T& t );

The type, T, is not defined in this context.

Proposed resolution:

Replace "T" with "value_type".


497. meaning of numeric_limits::traps for floating point types

Section: 18.2.1.2 [numeric.limits.members] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2005-03-02

View all other issues in [numeric.limits.members].

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Discussion:

18.2.1.2, p59 says this much about the traps member of numeric_limits:

static const bool traps;
-59- true if trapping is implemented for the type.204)
Footnote 204: Required by LIA-1.

It's not clear what is meant by "is implemented" here.

In the context of floating point numbers it seems reasonable to expect to be able to use traps to determine whether a program can "safely" use infinity(), quiet_NaN(), etc., in arithmetic expressions, that is without causing a trap (i.e., on UNIX without having to worry about getting a signal). When traps is true, I would expect any of the operations in section 7 of IEEE 754 to cause a trap (and my program to get a SIGFPE). So, for example, on Alpha, I would expect traps to be true by default (unless I compiled my program with the -ieee option), false by default on most other popular architectures, including IA64, MIPS, PA-RISC, PPC, SPARC, and x86 which require traps to be explicitly enabled by the program.

Another possible interpretation of p59 is that traps should be true on any implementation that supports traps regardless of whether they are enabled by default or not. I don't think such an interpretation makes the traps member very useful, even though that is how traps is implemented on several platforms. It is also the only way to implement traps on platforms that allow programs to enable and disable trapping at runtime.

Proposed resolution:

Change p59 to read:

True if, at program startup, there exists a value of the type that would cause an arithmetic operation using that value to trap.

Rationale:

Real issue, since trapping can be turned on and off. Unclear what a static query can say about a dynamic issue. The real advice we should give users is to use cfenv for these sorts of queries. But this new proposed resolution is at least consistent and slightly better than nothing.


505. Result_type in random distribution requirements

Section: 26.4.1 [rand.req], TR1 5.1.1 [tr.rand.req] Status: WP Submitter: Walter Brown Date: 2005-07-03

View all other issues in [rand.req].

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Discussion:

Table 17: Random distribution requirements

Row 1 requires that each random distribution provide a nested type "input_type"; this type denotes the type of the values that the distribution consumes.

Inspection of all distributions in [tr.rand.dist] reveals that each distribution provides a second typedef ("result_type") that denotes the type of the values the distribution produces when called.

Proposed resolution:

It seems to me that this is also a requirement for all distributions and should therefore be indicated as such via a new second row to this table 17:

X::result_typeT---compile-time

[ Berlin: Voted to WP. N1932 adopts the proposed resolution: see Table 5 row 1. ]


507. Missing requirement for variate_generator::operator()

Section: 26.4 [rand], TR1 5.1.3 [tr.rand.var] Status: WP Submitter: Walter Brown Date: 2005-07-03

View all other issues in [rand].

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Discussion:

Paragraph 11 of [tr.rand.var] equires that the member template

template<class T> result_type operator() (T value);

return

distribution()(e, value)

However, not all distributions have an operator() with a corresponding signature.

[ Berlin: As a working group we voted in favor of N1932 which makes this moot: variate_generator has been eliminated. Then in full committee we voted to give this issue WP status (mistakenly). ]

Proposed resolution:

We therefore recommend that we insert the following precondition before paragraph 11:

Precondition: distribution().operator()(e,value) is well-formed.


508. Bad parameters for ranlux64_base_01

Section: 26.4.5 [rand.predef], TR1 5.1.5 [tr.rand.predef] Status: WP Submitter: Walter Brown Date: 2005-07-03

View all other issues in [rand.predef].

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Discussion:

The fifth of these engines with predefined parameters, ranlux64_base_01, appears to have an unintentional error for which there is a simple correction. The two pre-defined subtract_with_carry_01 engines are given as:

typedef subtract_with_carry_01<float,  24, 10, 24> ranlux_base_01;
typedef subtract_with_carry_01<double, 48, 10, 24> ranlux64_base_01;

We demonstrate below that ranlux64_base_01 fails to meet the intent of the random number generation proposal, but that the simple correction to

typedef subtract_with_carry_01<double, 48,  5, 12> ranlux64_base_01;

does meet the intent of defining well-known good parameterizations.

The ranlux64_base_01 engine as presented fails to meet the intent for predefined engines, stated in proposal N1398 (section E):

In order to make good random numbers available to a large number of library users, this proposal not only defines generic random-number engines, but also provides a number of predefined well-known good parameterizations for those.

The predefined ranlux_base_01 engine has been proven [1,2,3] to have a very long period and so meets this criterion. This property makes it suitable for use in the excellent discard_block engines defined subsequently. The proof of long period relies on the fact (proven in [1]) that 2**(w*r) - 2**(w*s) + 1 is prime (w, r, and s are template parameters to subtract_with_carry_01, as defined in [tr.rand.eng.sub1]).

The ranlux64_base_01 engine as presented in [tr.rand.predef] uses w=48, r=24, s=10. For these numbers, the combination 2**(w*r)-2**(w*s)+1 is non-prime (though explicit factorization would be a challenge). In consequence, while it is certainly possible for some seeding states that this engine would have a very long period, it is not at all "well-known" that this is the case. The intent in the N1398 proposal involved the base of the ranlux64 engine, which finds heavy use in the physics community. This is isomorphic to the predefined ranlux_base_01, but exploits the ability of double variables to hold (at least) 48 bits of mantissa, to deliver 48 random bits at a time rather than 24.

Proposed resolution:

To achieve this intended behavior, the correct template parameteriztion would be:

typedef subtract_with_carry_01<double, 48, 5, 12> ranlux64_base_01;

The sequence of mantissa bits delivered by this is isomorphic (treating each double as having the bits of two floats) to that delivered by ranlux_base_01.

References:

  1. F. James, Comput. Phys. Commun. 60(1990) 329
  2. G. Marsaglia and A. Zaman, Ann. Appl. Prob 1(1991) 462
  3. M. Luscher, Comput. Phys. Commun. 79(1994) 100-110

[ Berlin: Voted to WP. N1932 adopts the proposed resolution in 26.3.5, just above paragraph 5. ]


519. Data() undocumented

Section: 23.2.1 [array], TR1 6.2.2 [tr.array.array] Status: WP Submitter: Pete Becker Date: 2005-07-03

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Discussion:

array<>::data() is present in the class synopsis, but not documented.

Proposed resolution:

Add a new section, after 6.2.2.3:

T*       data()
const T* data() const;

Returns: elems.

Change 6.2.2.4/2 to:

In the case where N == 0, begin() == end(). The return value of data() is unspecified.


520. Result_of and pointers to data members

Section: 20.5.11.1 [func.bind], TR1 3.6 [tr.func.bind] Status: WP Submitter: Pete Becker Date: 2005-07-03

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Discussion:

In the original proposal for binders, the return type of bind() when called with a pointer to member data as it's callable object was defined to be mem_fn(ptr); when Peter Dimov and I unified the descriptions of the TR1 function objects we hoisted the descriptions of return types into the INVOKE pseudo-function and into result_of. Unfortunately, we left pointer to member data out of result_of, so bind doesn't have any specified behavior when called with a pointer to member data.

Proposed resolution:

[ Pete and Peter will provide wording. ]

In 20.5.4 [lib.func.ret] ([tr.func.ret]) p3 add the following bullet after bullet 2:

  1. If F is a member data pointer type R T::*, type shall be cv R& when T1 is cv U1&, R otherwise.

[ Peter provided wording. ]


521. Garbled requirements for argument_type in reference_wrapper

Section: 20.5.5 [refwrap], TR1 2.1.2 [tr.util.refwrp.refwrp] Status: WP Submitter: Pete Becker Date: 2005-07-03

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Discussion:

2.1.2/3, second bullet item currently says that reference_wrapper<T> is derived from unary_function<T, R> if T is:

a pointer to member function type with cv-qualifier cv and no arguments; the type T1 is cv T* and R is the return type of the pointer to member function;

The type of T1 can't be cv T*, 'cause that's a pointer to a pointer to member function. It should be a pointer to the class that T is a pointer to member of. Like this:

a pointer to a member function R T0::f() cv (where cv represents the member function's cv-qualifiers); the type T1 is cv T0*

Similarly, bullet item 2 in 2.1.2/4 should be:

a pointer to a member function R T0::f(T2) cv (where cv represents the member function's cv-qualifiers); the type T1 is cv T0*

Proposed resolution:

Change bullet item 2 in 2.1.2/3:

Change bullet item 2 in 2.1.2/4:


524. regex named character classes and case-insensitivity don't mix

Section: 28 [re] Status: WP Submitter: Eric Niebler Date: 2005-07-01

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Discussion:

This defect is also being discussed on the Boost developers list. The full discussion can be found here: http://lists.boost.org/boost/2005/07/29546.php

-- Begin original message --

Also, I may have found another issue, closely related to the one under discussion. It regards case-insensitive matching of named character classes. The regex_traits<> provides two functions for working with named char classes: lookup_classname and isctype. To match a char class such as [[:alpha:]], you pass "alpha" to lookup_classname and get a bitmask. Later, you pass a char and the bitmask to isctype and get a bool yes/no answer.

But how does case-insensitivity work in this scenario? Suppose we're doing a case-insensitive match on [[:lower:]]. It should behave as if it were [[:lower:][:upper:]], right? But there doesn't seem to be enough smarts in the regex_traits interface to do this.

Imagine I write a traits class which recognizes [[:fubar:]], and the "fubar" char class happens to be case-sensitive. How is the regex engine to know that? And how should it do a case-insensitive match of a character against the [[:fubar:]] char class? John, can you confirm this is a legitimate problem?

I see two options:

1) Add a bool icase parameter to lookup_classname. Then, lookup_classname( "upper", true ) will know to return lower|upper instead of just upper.

2) Add a isctype_nocase function

I prefer (1) because the extra computation happens at the time the pattern is compiled rather than when it is executed.

-- End original message --

For what it's worth, John has also expressed his preference for option (1) above.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2409.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2409 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


527. tr1::bind has lost its Throws clause

Section: 20.5.11.1.3 [func.bind.bind], TR1 3.6.3 [tr.func.bind.bind] Status: WP Submitter: Peter Dimov Date: 2005-10-01

View other active issues in [func.bind.bind].

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Discussion:

The original bind proposal gives the guarantee that tr1::bind(f, t1, ..., tN) does not throw when the copy constructors of f, t1, ..., tN don't.

This guarantee is not present in the final version of TR1.

I'm pretty certain that we never removed it on purpose. Editorial omission? :-)

[ Berlin: not quite editorial, needs proposed wording. ]

[ Batavia: Doug to translate wording to variadic templates. ]

[ Toronto: We agree but aren't quite happy with the wording. The "t"'s no longer refer to anything. Alan to provide improved wording. ]

[ Pre-Bellevue: Alisdair provided wording. ]

TR1 proposed resolution:

In TR1 3.6.3 [tr.func.bind.bind], add a new paragraph after p2:

Throws: Nothing unless one of the copy constructors of f, t1, t2, ..., tN throws an exception.

Add a new paragraph after p4:

Throws: nothing unless one of the copy constructors of f, t1, t2, ..., tN throws an exception.

Proposed resolution:

In 20.5.11.1.3 [func.bind.bind], add a new paragraph after p2:

Throws: Nothing unless the copy constructor of F or of one of the types in the BoundArgs... pack expansion throws an exception.

In 20.5.11.1.3 [func.bind.bind], add a new paragraph after p4:

Throws: Nothing unless the copy constructor of F or of one of the types in the BoundArgs... pack expansion throws an exception.

530. Must elements of a string be contiguous?

Section: 21.3 [basic.string] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2005-11-15

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Discussion:

Issue 69, which was incorporated into C++03, mandated that the elements of a vector must be stored in contiguous memory. Should the same also apply to basic_string?

We almost require contiguity already. Clause 23.3.4 [multiset] defines operator[] as data()[pos]. What's missing is a similar guarantee if we access the string's elements via the iterator interface.

Given the existence of data(), and the definition of operator[] and at in terms of data, I don't believe it's possible to write a useful and standard- conforming basic_string that isn't contiguous. I'm not aware of any non-contiguous implementation. We should just require it.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following text to the end of 21.3 [basic.string], paragraph 2.

The characters in a string are stored contiguously, meaning that if s is a basic_string<charT, Allocator>, then it obeys the identity &*(s.begin() + n) == &*s.begin() + n for all 0 <= n < s.size().

Rationale:

Not standardizing this existing practice does not give implementors more freedom. We thought it might a decade ago. But the vendors have spoken both with their implementations, and with their voice at the LWG meetings. The implementations are going to be contiguous no matter what the standard says. So the standard might as well give string clients more design choices.


531. array forms of unformatted input functions

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2005-11-23

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Discussion:

The array forms of unformatted input functions don't seem to have well-defined semantics for zero-element arrays in a couple of cases. The affected ones (istream::get() and istream::getline()) are supposed to terminate when (n - 1) characters are stored, which obviously can never be true when (n == 0) holds to start with. See c++std-lib-16071.

Proposed resolution:

I suggest changing 27.6.1.3, p7 (istream::get()), bullet 1 to read:

Change 27.6.1.3, p9:

If the function stores no characters, it calls setstate(failbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure (27.4.4.3)). In any case, if (n > 0) is true it then stores a null character into the next successive location of the array.

and similarly p17 (istream::getline()), bullet 3 to:

In addition, to clarify that istream::getline() must not store the terminating NUL character unless the the array has non-zero size, Robert Klarer suggests in c++std-lib-16082 to change 27.6.1.3, p20 to read:

In any case, provided (n > 0) is true, it then stores a null character (using charT()) into the next successive location of the array.

[ post-Redmond: Pete noticed that the current resolution for get requires writing to out of bounds memory when n == 0. Martin provided fix. ]


533. typo in 2.2.3.10/1

Section: 20.6.12.2.11 [util.smartptr.getdeleter], TR1 2.2.3.10 [tr.util.smartptr.getdeleter] Status: DR Submitter: Paolo Carlini Date: 2005-11-09

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Discussion:

I'm seeing something that looks like a typo. The Return of get_deleter says:

If *this owns a deleter d...

but get_deleter is a free function!

Proposed resolution:

Therefore, I think should be:

If *this p owns a deleter d...


534. Missing basic_string members

Section: 21.3 [basic.string] Status: WP Submitter: Alisdair Meredith Date: 2005-11-16

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Discussion:

OK, we all know std::basic_string is bloated and already has way too many members. However, I propose it is missing 3 useful members that are often expected by users believing it is a close approximation of the container concept. All 3 are listed in table 71 as 'optional'

i/ pop_back.

This is the one I feel most strongly about, as I only just discovered it was missing as we are switching to a more conforming standard library <g>

I find it particularly inconsistent to support push_back, but not pop_back.

ii/ back.

There are certainly cases where I want to examine the last character of a string before deciding to append, or to trim trailing path separators from directory names etc. *rbegin() somehow feels inelegant.

iii/ front

This one I don't feel strongly about, but if I can get the first two, this one feels that it should be added as a 'me too' for consistency.

I believe this would be similarly useful to the data() member recently added to vector, or at() member added to the maps.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following members to definition of class template basic_string, 21.3p7

void pop_back ()

const charT & front() const
charT & front()

const charT & back() const
charT & back()

Add the following paragraphs to basic_string description

21.3.4p5

const charT & front() const
charT & front()

Precondition: !empty()

Effects: Equivalent to operator[](0).

21.3.4p6

const charT & back() const
charT & back()

Precondition: !empty()

Effects: Equivalent to operator[]( size() - 1).

21.3.5.5p10

void pop_back ()

Precondition: !empty()

Effects: Equivalent to erase( size() - 1, 1 ).

Update Table 71: (optional sequence operations) Add basic_string to the list of containers for the following operations.

a.front()
a.back()
a.push_back()
a.pop_back()
a[n]

[ Berlin: Has support. Alisdair provided wording. ]


535. std::string::swap specification poorly worded

Section: 21.3.6.8 [string::swap] Status: WP Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 2005-12-14

View all other issues in [string::swap].

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Discussion:

std::string::swap currently says for effects and postcondition:

Effects: Swaps the contents of the two strings.

Postcondition: *this contains the characters that were in s, s contains the characters that were in *this.

Specifying both Effects and Postcondition seems redundant, and the postcondition needs to be made stronger. Users would be unhappy if the characters were not in the same order after the swap.

Proposed resolution:

Effects: Swaps the contents of the two strings.

Postcondition: *this contains the same sequence of characters that were was in s, s contains the same sequence of characters that were was in *this.


537. Typos in the signatures in 27.6.1.3/42-43 and 27.6.2.4

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: WP Submitter: Paolo Carlini Date: 2006-02-12

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Discussion:

In the most recent working draft, I'm still seeing:

seekg(off_type& off, ios_base::seekdir dir)

and

seekp(pos_type& pos)

seekp(off_type& off, ios_base::seekdir dir)

that is, by reference off and pos arguments.

Proposed resolution:

After 27.6.1.3p42 change:

basic_istream<charT,traits>& seekg(off_type& off, ios_base::seekdir dir);

After 27.6.2.4p1 change:

basic_ostream<charT,traits>& seekp(pos_type& pos);

After 27.6.2.4p3 change:

basic_ostream<charT,traits>& seekp(off_type& off, ios_base::seekdir dir);

538. 241 again: Does unique_copy() require CopyConstructible and Assignable?

Section: 25.2.9 [alg.unique] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2006-02-09

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Discussion:

I believe I botched the resolution of 241 "Does unique_copy() require CopyConstructible and Assignable?" which now has WP status.

This talks about unique_copy requirements and currently reads:

-5- Requires: The ranges [first, last) and [result, result+(last-first)) shall not overlap. The expression *result = *first shall be valid. If neither InputIterator nor OutputIterator meets the requirements of forward iterator then the value type of InputIterator must be CopyConstructible (20.1.3). Otherwise CopyConstructible is not required.

The problem (which Paolo discovered) is that when the iterators are at their most restrictive (InputIterator, OutputIterator), then we want InputIterator::value_type to be both CopyConstructible and CopyAssignable (for the most efficient implementation). However this proposed resolution only makes it clear that it is CopyConstructible, and that one can assign from *first to *result. This latter requirement does not necessarily imply that you can:

*first = *first;

Proposed resolution:

-5- Requires: The ranges [first, last) and [result, result+(last-first)) shall not overlap. The expression *result = *first shall be valid. If neither InputIterator nor OutputIterator meets the requirements of forward iterator then the value type value_type of InputIterator must be CopyConstructible (20.1.3) and Assignable. Otherwise CopyConstructible is not required.


540. shared_ptr<void>::operator*()

Section: 20.6.12.2.5 [util.smartptr.shared.obs], TR1 2.2.3.5 [tr.util.smartptr.shared.obs] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2005-10-15

View all other issues in [util.smartptr.shared.obs].

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Discussion:

I'm trying to reconcile the note in tr.util.smartptr.shared.obs, p6 that talks about the operator*() member function of shared_ptr:

Notes: When T is void, attempting to instantiate this member function renders the program ill-formed. [Note: Instantiating shared_ptr<void> does not necessarily result in instantiating this member function. --end note]

with the requirement in temp.inst, p1:

The implicit instantiation of a class template specialization causes the implicit instantiation of the declarations, but not of the definitions...

I assume that what the note is really trying to say is that "instantiating shared_ptr<void> *must not* result in instantiating this member function." That is, that this function must not be declared a member of shared_ptr<void>. Is my interpretation correct?

Proposed resolution:

Change 2.2.3.5p6

-6- Notes: When T is void, attempting to instantiate this member function renders the program ill-formed. [Note: Instantiating shared_ptr<void> does not necessarily result in instantiating this member function. --end note] it is unspecified whether this member function is declared or not, and if so, what its return type is, except that the declaration (although not necessarily the definition) of the function shall be well-formed.


541. shared_ptr template assignment and void

Section: 20.6.12.2 [util.smartptr.shared], TR1 2.2.3 [tr.util.smartptr.shared] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2005-10-16

View other active issues in [util.smartptr.shared].

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Discussion:

Is the void specialization of the template assignment operator taking a shared_ptr<void> as an argument supposed be well-formed?

I.e., is this snippet well-formed:

shared_ptr<void> p;
p.operator=<void>(p);

Gcc complains about auto_ptr<void>::operator*() returning a reference to void. I suspect it's because shared_ptr has two template assignment operators, one of which takes auto_ptr, and the auto_ptr template gets implicitly instantiated in the process of overload resolution.

The only way I see around it is to do the same trick with auto_ptr<void> operator*() as with the same operator in shared_ptr<void>.

PS Strangely enough, the EDG front end doesn't mind the code, even though in a small test case (below) I can reproduce the error with it as well.

template <class T>
struct A { T& operator*() { return *(T*)0; } };

template <class T>
struct B {
    void operator= (const B&) { }
    template <class U>
    void operator= (const B<U>&) { }
    template <class U>
    void operator= (const A<U>&) { }
};

int main ()
{
    B<void> b;
    b.operator=<void>(b);
}

Proposed resolution:

In [lib.memory] change:

template<class X> class auto_ptr;
template<> class auto_ptr<void>;

In [lib.auto.ptr]/2 add the following before the last closing brace:

template<> class auto_ptr<void>
{
public:
    typedef void element_type;
};

542. shared_ptr observers

Section: 20.6.12.2.5 [util.smartptr.shared.obs], TR1 2.2.3.5 [tr.util.smartptr.shared.obs] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2005-10-18

View all other issues in [util.smartptr.shared.obs].

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Discussion:

Peter Dimov wrote: To: C++ libraries mailing list Message c++std-lib-15614 [...] The intent is for both use_count() and unique() to work in a threaded environment. They are intrinsically prone to race conditions, but they never return garbage.

This is a crucial piece of information that I really wish were captured in the text. Having this in a non-normative note would have made everything crystal clear to me and probably stopped me from ever starting this discussion :) Instead, the sentence in p12 "use only for debugging and testing purposes, not for production code" very strongly suggests that implementations can and even are encouraged to return garbage (when threads are involved) for performance reasons.

How about adding an informative note along these lines:

Note: Implementations are encouraged to provide well-defined behavior for use_count() and unique() even in the presence of multiple threads.

I don't necessarily insist on the exact wording, just that we capture the intent.

Proposed resolution:

Change 20.6.12.2.5 [util.smartptr.shared.obs] p12:

[Note: use_count() is not necessarily efficient. Use only for debugging and testing purposes, not for production code. --end note]

Change 20.6.12.3.5 [util.smartptr.weak.obs] p3:

[Note: use_count() is not necessarily efficient. Use only for debugging and testing purposes, not for production code. --end note]


543. valarray slice default constructor

Section: 26.5.4 [class.slice] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2005-11-03

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Discussion:

If one explicitly constructs a slice or glice with the default constructor, does the standard require this slice to have any usable state? It says "creates a slice which specifies no elements", which could be interpreted two ways:

  1. There are no elements to which the slice refers (i.e. undefined).
  2. The slice specifies an array with no elements in it (i.e. defined).

Here is a bit of code to illustrate:

#include <iostream>
#include <valarray>

int main()
{
    std::valarray<int> v(10);
    std::valarray<int> v2 = v[std::slice()];
    std::cout << "v[slice()].size() = " << v2.size() << '\n';
}

Is the behavior undefined? Or should the output be:

v[slice()].size() = 0

There is a similar question and wording for gslice at 26.3.6.1p1.

Proposed resolution:

[Martin suggests removing the second sentence in 26.5.4.1 [cons.slice] as well.]

Change 26.5.4.1 [cons.slice]:

1 - The default constructor for slice creates a slice which specifies no elements. The default constructor is equivalent to slice(0, 0, 0). A default constructor is provided only to permit the declaration of arrays of slices. The constructor with arguments for a slice takes a start, length, and stride parameter.

Change 26.5.6.1 [gslice.cons]:

1 - The default constructor creates a gslice which specifies no elements. The default constructor is equivalent to gslice(0, valarray<size_t>(), valarray<size_t>()). The constructor with arguments builds a gslice based on a specification of start, lengths, and strides, as explained in the previous section.


545. When is a deleter deleted?

Section: 20.6.12.2.11 [util.smartptr.getdeleter], TR1 2.2.3.2 [tr.util.smartptr.shared.dest] Status: WP Submitter: Matt Austern Date: 2006-01-10

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Discussion:

The description of ~shared_ptr doesn't say when the shared_ptr's deleter, if any, is destroyed. In principle there are two possibilities: it is destroyed unconditionally whenever ~shared_ptr is executed (which, from an implementation standpoint, means that the deleter is copied whenever the shared_ptr is copied), or it is destroyed immediately after the owned pointer is destroyed (which, from an implementation standpoint, means that the deleter object is shared between instances). We should say which it is.

Proposed resolution:

Add after the first sentence of 20.6.12.2.11 [util.smartptr.getdeleter]/1:

The returned pointer remains valid as long as there exists a shared_ptr instance that owns d.

[Note: it is unspecified whether the pointer remains valid longer than that. This can happen if the implementation doesn't destroy the deleter until all weak_ptr instances in the ownership group are destroyed. -- end note]


551. <ccomplex>

Section: 26.3.11 [cmplxh], TR1 8.3 [tr.c99.cmplxh] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2006-01-23

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Discussion:

Previously xxx.h was parsable by C++. But in the case of C99's <complex.h> it isn't. Otherwise we could model it just like <string.h>, <cstring>, <string>:

In the case of C's complex, the C API won't compile in C++. So we have:

The ? can't refer to the C API. TR1 currently says:

Proposed resolution:

Change 26.3.11 [cmplxh]:

The header behaves as if it includes the header <ccomplex>., and provides sufficient using declarations to declare in the global namespace all function and type names declared or defined in the neader <complex>. [Note: <complex.h> does not promote any interface into the global namespace as there is no C interface to promote. --end note]


552. random_shuffle and its generator

Section: 25.2.12 [alg.random.shuffle] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-01-25

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Discussion:

...is specified to shuffle its range by calling swap but not how (or even that) it's supposed to use the RandomNumberGenerator argument passed to it.

Shouldn't we require that the generator object actually be used by the algorithm to obtain a series of random numbers and specify how many times its operator() should be invoked by the algorithm?

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


559. numeric_limits<const T>

Section: 18.2.1 [limits] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-02-19

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Discussion:

18.2.1 [limits], p2 requires implementations to provide specializations of the numeric_limits template for each scalar type. While this could be interepreted to include cv-qualified forms of such types such an interepretation is not reflected in the synopsis of the <limits> header.

The absence of specializations of the template on cv-qualified forms of fundamental types makes numeric_limits difficult to use in generic code where the constness (or volatility) of a type is not always immediately apparent. In such contexts, the primary template ends up being instantiated instead of the provided specialization, typically yielding unexpected behavior.

Require that specializations of numeric_limits on cv-qualified fundamental types have the same semantics as those on the unqualifed forms of the same types.

Proposed resolution:

Add to the synopsis of the <limits> header, immediately below the declaration of the primary template, the following:


template <class T> class numeric_limits<const T>;
template <class T> class numeric_limits<volatile T>;
template <class T> class numeric_limits<const volatile T>;

Add a new paragraph to the end of 18.2.1.1 [numeric.limits], with the following text:

-new-para- The value of each member of a numeric_limits specialization on a cv-qualified T is equal to the value of the same member of numeric_limits<T>.

[ Portland: Martin will clarify that user-defined types get cv-specializations automatically. ]


561. inserter overly generic

Section: 24.4.2.6.5 [inserter] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2006-02-21

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Discussion:

The declaration of std::inserter is:

template <class Container, class Iterator>
insert_iterator<Container>
inserter(Container& x, Iterator i);

The template parameter Iterator in this function is completely unrelated to the template parameter Container when it doesn't need to be. This causes the code to be overly generic. That is, any type at all can be deduced as Iterator, whether or not it makes sense. Now the same is true of Container. However, for every free (unconstrained) template parameter one has in a signature, the opportunity for a mistaken binding grows geometrically.

It would be much better if inserter had the following signature instead:

template <class Container>
insert_iterator<Container>
inserter(Container& x, typename Container::iterator i);

Now there is only one free template parameter. And the second argument to inserter must be implicitly convertible to the container's iterator, else the call will not be a viable overload (allowing other functions in the overload set to take precedence). Furthermore, the first parameter must have a nested type named iterator, or again the binding to std::inserter is not viable. Contrast this with the current situation where any type can bind to Container or Iterator and those types need not be anything closely related to containers or iterators.

This can adversely impact well written code. Consider:

#include <iterator>
#include <string>

namespace my
{

template <class String>
struct my_type {};

struct my_container
{
template <class String>
void push_back(const my_type<String>&);
};

template <class String>
void inserter(const my_type<String>& m, my_container& c) {c.push_back(m);}

}  // my

int main()
{
    my::my_container c;
    my::my_type<std::string> m;
    inserter(m, c);
}

Today this code fails because the call to inserter binds to std::inserter instead of to my::inserter. However with the proposed change std::inserter will no longer be a viable function which leaves only my::inserter in the overload resolution set. Everything works as the client intends.

To make matters a little more insidious, the above example works today if you simply change the first argument to an rvalue:

    inserter(my::my_type(), c);

It will also work if instantiated with some string type other than std::string (or any other std type). It will also work if <iterator> happens to not get included.

And it will fail again for such inocuous reaons as my_type or my_container privately deriving from any std type.

It seems unfortunate that such simple changes in the client's code can result in such radically differing behavior.

Proposed resolution:

Change 24.2:

24.2 Header <iterator> synopsis

...
template <class Container, class Iterator>
   insert_iterator<Container> inserter(Container& x, Iterator typename Container::iterator i);
...

Change 24.4.2.5:

24.4.2.5 Class template insert_iterator

...
template <class Container, class Iterator>
   insert_iterator<Container> inserter(Container& x, Iterator typename Container::iterator i);
...

Change 24.4.2.6.5:

24.4.2.6.5 inserter

template <class Container, class Inserter>
   insert_iterator<Container> inserter(Container& x, Inserter typename Container::iterator i);

-1- Returns: insert_iterator<Container>(x,typename Container::iterator(i)).

[ Kona (2007): This issue will probably be addressed as a part of the concepts overhaul of the library anyway, but the proposed resolution is correct in the absence of concepts. Proposed Disposition: Ready ]


562. stringbuf ctor inefficient

Section: 27.7 [string.streams] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-02-23

View all other issues in [string.streams].

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Discussion:

For better efficiency, the requirement on the stringbuf ctor that takes a string argument should be loosened up to let it set epptr() beyond just one past the last initialized character just like overflow() has been changed to be allowed to do (see issue 432). That way the first call to sputc() on an object won't necessarily cause a call to overflow. The corresponding change should be made to the string overload of the str() member function.

Proposed resolution:

Change 27.7.1.1, p3 of the Working Draft, N1804, as follows:

explicit basic_stringbuf(const basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>& str,
               ios_base::openmode which = ios_base::in | ios_base::out);

-3- Effects: Constructs an object of class basic_stringbuf, initializing the base class with basic_streambuf() (27.5.2.1), and initializing mode with which. Then calls str(s). copies the content of str into the basic_stringbuf underlying character sequence. If which & ios_base::out is true, initializes the output sequence such that pbase() points to the first underlying character, epptr() points one past the last underlying character, and pptr() is equal to epptr() if which & ios_base::ate is true, otherwise pptr() is equal to pbase(). If which & ios_base::in is true, initializes the input sequence such that eback() and gptr() point to the first underlying character and egptr() points one past the last underlying character.

Change the Effects clause of the str() in 27.7.1.2, p2 to read:

-2- Effects: Copies the contents of s into the basic_stringbuf underlying character sequence and initializes the input and output sequences according to mode. If mode & ios_base::out is true, initializes the output sequence such that pbase() points to the first underlying character, epptr() points one past the last underlying character, and pptr() is equal to epptr() if mode & ios_base::in is true, otherwise pptr() is equal to pbase(). If mode & ios_base::in is true, initializes the input sequence such that eback() and gptr() point to the first underlying character and egptr() points one past the last underlying character.

-3- Postconditions: If mode & ios_base::out is true, pbase() points to the first underlying character and (epptr() >= pbase() + s.size()) holds; in addition, if mode & ios_base::in is true, (pptr() == pbase() + s.data()) holds, otherwise (pptr() == pbase()) is true. If mode & ios_base::in is true, eback() points to the first underlying character, and (gptr() == eback()) and (egptr() == eback() + s.size()) hold.

[ Kona (2007) Moved to Ready. ]


563. stringbuf seeking from end

Section: 27.7.1.4 [stringbuf.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-02-23

View all other issues in [stringbuf.virtuals].

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Discussion:

According to Table 92 (unchanged by issue 432), when (way == end) the newoff value in out mode is computed as the difference between epptr() and pbase().

This value isn't meaningful unless the value of epptr() can be precisely controlled by a program. That used to be possible until we accepted the resolution of issue 432, but since then the requirements on overflow() have been relaxed to allow it to make more than 1 write position available (i.e., by setting epptr() to some unspecified value past pptr()). So after the first call to overflow() positioning the output sequence relative to end will have unspecified results.

In addition, in in|out mode, since (egptr() == epptr()) need not hold, there are two different possible values for newoff: epptr() - pbase() and egptr() - eback().

Proposed resolution:

Change the newoff column in the last row of Table 94 to read:

the end high mark pointer minus the beginning pointer (xend high_mark - xbeg).

[ Kona (2007) Moved to Ready. ]


566. array forms of unformatted input function undefined for zero-element arrays

Section: 27.6.1.3 [istream.unformatted] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-02-23

View all other issues in [istream.unformatted].

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Discussion:

The array forms of unformatted input functions don't have well-defined semantics for zero-element arrays in a couple of cases. The affected ones (istream::get() and getline()) are supposed to terminate when (n - 1) characters are stored, which obviously can never be true when (n == 0) to start with.

Proposed resolution:

I propose the following changes (references are relative to the Working Draft (document N1804).

Change 27.6.1.3, p8 (istream::get()), bullet 1 as follows:

if (n < 1) is true or (n - 1) characters are stored;

Similarly, change 27.6.1.3, p18 (istream::getline()), bullet 3 as follows:

(n < 1) is true or (n - 1) characters are stored (in which case the function calls setstate(failbit)).

Finally, change p21 as follows:

In any case, provided (n > 0) is true, it then stores a null character (using charT()) into the next successive location of the array.


567. streambuf inserter and extractor should be unformatted

Section: 27.6 [iostream.format] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-02-25

View all other issues in [iostream.format].

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Discussion:

Issue 60 explicitly made the extractor and inserter operators that take a basic_streambuf* argument formatted input and output functions, respectively. I believe that's wrong, certainly in the case of the extractor, since formatted functions begin by extracting and discarding whitespace. The extractor should not discard any characters.

Proposed resolution:

I propose to change each operator to behave as unformatted input and output function, respectively. The changes below are relative to the working draft document number N1804.

Specifically, change 27.6.1.2.3, p14 as follows:

Effects: Behaves as an unformatted input function (as described in 27.6.1.2.127.6.1.3, paragraph 1).

And change 27.6.2.5.3, p7 as follows:

Effects: Behaves as an unformatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.5.127.6.2.6, paragraph 1).

[ Kona (2007): Proposed Disposition: Ready ]


575. the specification of ~shared_ptr is MT-unfriendly, makes implementation assumptions

Section: 20.6.12.2.2 [util.smartptr.shared.dest], TR1 2.2.3.2 [tr.util.smartptr.shared.dest] Status: WP Submitter: Peter Dimov Date: 2006-04-23

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

[tr.util.smartptr.shared.dest] says in its second bullet:

"If *this shares ownership with another shared_ptr instance (use_count() > 1), decrements that instance's use count."

The problem with this formulation is that it presupposes the existence of an "use count" variable that can be decremented and that is part of the state of a shared_ptr instance (because of the "that instance's use count".)

This is contrary to the spirit of the rest of the specification that carefully avoids to require an use count variable. Instead, use_count() is specified to return a value, a number of instances.

In multithreaded code, the usual implicit assumption is that a shared variable should not be accessed by more than one thread without explicit synchronization, and by introducing the concept of an "use count" variable, the current wording implies that two shared_ptr instances that share ownership cannot be destroyed simultaneously.

In addition, if we allow the interpretation that an use count variable is part of shared_ptr's state, this would lead to other undesirable consequences WRT multiple threads. For example,

p1 = p2;

would now visibly modify the state of p2, a "write" operation, requiring a lock.

Proposed resolution:

Change the first two bullets of [lib.util.smartptr.shared.dest]/1 to:

Add the following paragraph after [lib.util.smartptr.shared.dest]/1:

[Note: since the destruction of *this decreases the number of instances in *this's ownership group by one, all shared_ptr instances that share ownership with *this will report an use_count() that is one lower than its previous value after *this is destroyed. --end note]


576. find_first_of is overconstrained

Section: 25.1.4 [alg.find.first.of] Status: WP Submitter: Doug Gregor Date: 2006-04-25

View all other issues in [alg.find.first.of].

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Discussion:

In 25.1.4 Find First [lib.alg.find.first], the two iterator type parameters to find_first_of are specified to require Forward Iterators, as follows:

template<class ForwardIterator1, class ForwardIterator2>
  ForwardIterator1
  find_first_of(ForwardIterator1 first1, ForwardIterator1 last1,
                        ForwardIterator2 first2, ForwardIterator2 last2);
template<class ForwardIterator1, class ForwardIterator2,
                  class BinaryPredicate>
ForwardIterator1
  find_first_of(ForwardIterator1 first1, ForwardIterator1 last1,
                         ForwardIterator2 first2, ForwardIterator2 last2,
                        BinaryPredicate pred);

However, ForwardIterator1 need not actually be a Forward Iterator; an Input Iterator suffices, because we do not need the multi-pass property of the Forward Iterator or a true reference.

Proposed resolution:

Change the declarations of find_first_of to:

template<class ForwardIterator1InputIterator1, class ForwardIterator2>
  ForwardIterator1InputIterator1
  find_first_of(ForwardIterator1InputIterator1 first1, ForwardIterator1InputIterator1 last1,
                        ForwardIterator2 first2, ForwardIterator2 last2);
template<class ForwardIterator1InputIterator1, class ForwardIterator2,
                  class BinaryPredicate>
ForwardIterator1InputIterator1
  find_first_of(ForwardIterator1InputIterator1 first1, ForwardIterator1InputIterator1 last1,
                         ForwardIterator2 first2, ForwardIterator2 last2,
                        BinaryPredicate pred);

577. upper_bound(first, last, ...) cannot return last

Section: 25.3.3.2 [upper.bound] Status: WP Submitter: Seungbeom Kim Date: 2006-05-03

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

ISO/IEC 14882:2003 says:

25.3.3.2 upper_bound

Returns: The furthermost iterator i in the range [first, last) such that for any iterator j in the range [first, i) the following corresponding conditions hold: !(value < *j) or comp(value, *j) == false.

From the description above, upper_bound cannot return last, since it's not in the interval [first, last). This seems to be a typo, because if value is greater than or equal to any other values in the range, or if the range is empty, returning last seems to be the intended behaviour. The corresponding interval for lower_bound is also [first, last].

Proposed resolution:

Change [lib.upper.bound]:

Returns: The furthermost iterator i in the range [first, last)] such that for any iterator j in the range [first, i) the following corresponding conditions hold: !(value < *j) or comp(value, *j) == false.


578. purpose of hint to allocator::allocate()

Section: 20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-05-17

View all other issues in [allocator.members].

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Discussion:

The description of the allocator member function allocate() requires that the hint argument be either 0 or a value previously returned from allocate(). Footnote 227 further suggests that containers may pass the address of an adjacent element as this argument.

I believe that either the footnote is wrong or the normative requirement that the argument be a value previously returned from a call to allocate() is wrong. The latter is supported by the resolution to issue 20-004 proposed in c++std-lib-3736 by Nathan Myers. In addition, the hint is an ordinary void* and not the pointer type returned by allocate(), with the two types potentially being incompatible and the requirement impossible to satisfy.

See also c++std-lib-14323 for some more context on where this came up (again).

Proposed resolution:

Remove the requirement in 20.6.1.1, p4 that the hint be a value previously returned from allocate(). Specifically, change the paragraph as follows:

Requires: hint either 0 or previously obtained from member allocate and not yet passed to member deallocate. The value hint may be used by an implementation to help improve performance 223). [Note: The value hint may be used by an implementation to help improve performance. -- end note]

[Footnote: 223)In a container member function, the address of an adjacent element is often a good choice to pass for this argument.


581. flush() not unformatted function

Section: 27.6.2.7 [ostream.unformatted] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-06-14

View all other issues in [ostream.unformatted].

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Discussion:

The resolution of issue 60 changed basic_ostream::flush() so as not to require it to behave as an unformatted output function. That has at least two in my opinion problematic consequences:

First, flush() now calls rdbuf()->pubsync() unconditionally, without regard to the state of the stream. I can't think of any reason why flush() should behave differently from the vast majority of stream functions in this respect.

Second, flush() is not required to catch exceptions from pubsync() or set badbit in response to such events. That doesn't seem right either, as most other stream functions do so.

Proposed resolution:

I propose to revert the resolution of issue 60 with respect to flush(). Specifically, I propose to change 27.6.2.6, p7 as follows:

Effects: Behaves as an unformatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.6, paragraph 1). If rdbuf() is not a null pointer, constructs a sentry object. If this object returns true when converted to a value of type bool the function calls rdbuf()->pubsync(). If that function returns -1 calls setstate(badbit) (which may throw ios_base::failure (27.4.4.3)). Otherwise, if the sentry object returns false, does nothing.Does not behave as an unformatted output function (as described in 27.6.2.6, paragraph 1).

[ Kona (2007): Proposed Disposition: Ready ]


586. string inserter not a formatted function

Section: 21.3.8.9 [string.io] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-06-22

View all other issues in [string.io].

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Discussion:

Section and paragraph numbers in this paper are relative to the working draft document number N2009 from 4/21/2006.

The basic_string extractor in 21.3.7.9, p1 is clearly required to behave as a formatted input function, as is the std::getline() overload for string described in p7.

However, the basic_string inserter described in p5 of the same section has no such requirement. This has implications on how the operator responds to exceptions thrown from xsputn() (formatted output functions are required to set badbit and swallow the exception unless badbit is also set in exceptions(); the string inserter doesn't have any such requirement).

I don't see anything in the spec for the string inserter that would justify requiring it to treat exceptions differently from all other similar operators. (If it did, I think it should be made this explicit by saying that the operator "does not behave as a formatted output function" as has been made customary by the adoption of the resolution of issue 60).

Proposed resolution:

I propose to change the Effects clause in 21.3.7.9, p5, as follows:

Effects: Begins by constructing a sentry object k as if k were constructed by typename basic_ostream<charT, traits>::sentry k (os). If bool(k) is true, Behaves as a formatted output function (27.6.2.5.1). After constructing a sentry object, if this object returns true when converted to a value of type bool, determines padding as described in 22.2.2.2.2, then inserts the resulting sequence of characters seq as if by calling os.rdbuf()->sputn(seq , n), where n is the larger of os.width() and str.size(); then calls os.width(0). If the call to sputn fails, calls os.setstate(ios_base::failbit).

This proposed resilution assumes the resolution of issue 394 (i.e., that all formatted output functions are required to set ios_base::badbit in response to any kind of streambuf failure), and implicitly assumes that a return value of sputn(seq, n) other than n indicates a failure.


589. Requirements on iterators of member template functions of containers

Section: 23.1 [container.requirements] Status: WP Submitter: Peter Dimov Date: 2006-08-02

View other active issues in [container.requirements].

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Duplicate of: 536

Discussion:

There appears to be no requirements on the InputIterators used in sequences in 23.1.1 in terms of their value_type, and the requirements in 23.1.2 appear to be overly strict (requires InputIterator::value_type be the same type as the container's value_type).

Proposed resolution:

Change 23.1.1 p3:

In Tables 82 and 83, X denotes a sequence class, a denotes a value of X, i and j denote iterators satisfying input iterator requirements and refer to elements implicitly convertible to value_type, [i, j) denotes a valid range, n denotes a value of X::size_type, p denotes a valid iterator to a, q denotes a valid dereferenceable iterator to a, [q1, q2) denotes a valid range in a, and t denotes a value of X::value_type.

Change 23.1.2 p7:

In Table 84, X is an associative container class, a is a value of X, a_uniq is a value of X when X supports unique keys, and a_eq is a value of X when X supports multiple keys, i and j satisfy input iterator requirements and refer to elements of implicitly convertible to value_type, [i, j) is a valid range, p is a valid iterator to a, q is a valid dereferenceable iterator to a, [q1, q2) is a valid range in a, t is a value of X::value_type, k is a value of X::key_type and c is a value of type X::key_compare.

Rationale:

Concepts will probably come in and rewrite this section anyway. But just in case it is easy to fix this up as a safety net and as a clear statement of intent.


593. __STDC_CONSTANT_MACROS

Section: 18.3 [cstdint], TR1 8.22 [tr.c99.cstdint] Status: WP Submitter: Walter Brown Date: 2006-08-28

View all other issues in [cstdint].

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Discussion:

Clause 18.3 of the current Working Paper (N2009) deals with the new C++ headers <cstdint> and <stdint.h>. These are of course based on the C99 header <stdint.h>, and were part of TR1.

Per 18.3.1/1, these headers define a number of macros and function macros. While the WP does not mention __STDC_CONSTANT_MACROS in this context, C99 footnotes do mention __STDC_CONSTANT_MACROS. Further, 18.3.1/2 states that "The header defines all ... macros the same as C99 subclause 7.18."

Therefore, if I wish to have the above-referenced macros and function macros defined, must I #define __STDC_CONSTANT_MACROS before I #include <cstdint>, or does the C++ header define these macros/function macros unconditionally?

Proposed resolution:

To put this issue to rest for C++0X, I propose the following addition to 18.3.1/2 of the Working Paper N2009:

[Note: The macros defined by <cstdint> are provided unconditionally: in particular, the symbols __STDC_LIMIT_MACROS and __STDC_CONSTANT_MACROS (mentioned in C99 footnotes 219, 220, and 222) play no role in C++. --end note]


598. Decimal: Conversion to integral should truncate, not round.

Section: TRDecimal 3.2 [trdec.types.types] Status: TRDec Submitter: Daniel Krugler Date: 2006-05-28

View other active issues in [trdec.types.types].

View all other issues in [trdec.types.types].

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Discussion:

In a private email, Daniel writes:

I would like to ask, what where the reason for the decision to define the semantics of the integral conversion of the decimal types, namely

"operator long long() const;

     Returns: Returns the result of the 
conversion of *this to the type long long, as if 
performed by the expression llrounddXX(*this)."

where XX stands for either 32, 64, or 128, corresponding to the proper decimal type. The exact meaning of llrounddXX is not given in that paper, so I compared it to the corresponding definition given in C99, 2nd edition (ISO 9899), which says in 7.12.9.7 p. 2:

"The lround and llround functions round their argument to the nearest integer value, rounding halfway cases away from zero, regardless of the current rounding direction. [..]"

Now considering the fact that integral conversion of the usual floating-point types ("4.9 Floating-integral conversions") has truncation semantic I wonder why this conversion behaviour has not been transferred for the decimal types.

Robert comments:

Also, there is a further error in the Returns: clause for converting decimal::decimal128 to long long. It currently calls llroundd64, not llroundd128.

Proposed resolution:

Change the Returns: clause in 3.2.2.4 to:

Returns: Returns the result of the conversion of *this to the type long long, as if performed by the expression llroundd32(*this) while the decimal rounding direction mode [3.5.2] FE_DEC_TOWARD_ZERO is in effect.

Change the Returns: clause in 3.2.3.4 to:

Returns: Returns the result of the conversion of *this to the type long long, as if performed by the expression llroundd64(*this) while the decimal rounding direction mode [3.5.2] FE_DEC_TOWARD_ZERO is in effect.

Change the Returns: clause in 3.2.4.4 to:

Returns: Returns the result of the conversion of *this to the type long long, as if performed by the expression llroundd64(*this) llroundd128(*this) while the decimal rounding direction mode [3.5.2] FE_DEC_TOWARD_ZERO is in effect.


599. Decimal: Say "octets" instead of "bytes."

Section: TRDecimal 3.1 [trdec.types.encodings] Status: TRDec Submitter: Daniel Krugler Date: 2006-05-28

View all issues with TRDec status.

Discussion:

Daniel writes in a private email:

- 3.1 'Decimal type encodings' says in its note:

"this implies that 
sizeof(std::decimal::decimal32) == 4, 
sizeof(std::decimal::decimal64) == 8, and 
sizeof(std::decimal::decimal128) == 16."

This is a wrong assertion, because the definition of 'byte' in 1.7 'The C+ + memory model' of ISO 14882 (2nd edition) does not specify that a byte must be necessarily 8 bits large, which would be necessary to compare with the specified bit sizes of the types decimal32, decimal64, and decimal128.

Proposed resolution:

Change 3.1 as follows:

The three decimal encoding formats defined in IEEE-754R correspond to the three decimal floating types as follows:

[Note: this implies that sizeof(std::decimal::decimal32) == 4, sizeof(std::decimal::decimal64) == 8, and sizeof(std::decimal::decimal128) == 16. --end note]


600. Decimal: Wrong parameters for wcstod* functions

Section: TRDecimal 3.9 [trdec.types.cwchar] Status: TRDec Submitter: Daniel Krugler Date: 2006-05-28

View all issues with TRDec status.

Discussion:

Daniel writes:

- 3.9.1 'Additions to <cwchar>' provides wrong signatures to the wcstod32, wcstod64, and wcstod128 functions ([the parameters have type pointer-to-] char instead of wchar_t).

Proposed resolution:

Change "3.9.1 Additions to <cwchar> synopsis" to:

       namespace std {
       namespace decimal {
         // 3.9.2 wcstod functions:
         decimal32  wcstod32  (const char wchar_t * nptr, char wchar_t ** endptr);
         decimal64  wcstod64  (const char wchar_t * nptr, char wchar_t ** endptr);
         decimal128 wcstod128 (const char wchar_t * nptr, char wchar_t ** endptr);
       }
       }

601. Decimal: numeric_limits typos

Section: TRDecimal 3.3 [trdec.types.limits] Status: TRDec Submitter: Daniel Krugler Date: 2006-05-28

View all issues with TRDec status.

Discussion:

Daniel writes in a private email:

- 3.3 'Additions to header <limits>' contains two errors in the specialisation of numeric_limits<decimal::decimal128>:

  1. The static member max() returns DEC128_MIN, this should be DEC128_MAX.
  2. The static member digits is assigned to 384, this should be 34 (Probably mixed up with the max. exponent for decimal::decimal64).

Proposed resolution:

In "3.3 Additions to header <limits>" change numeric_limits<decimal::decimal128> as follows:

        template<> class numeric_limits<decimal::decimal128> {
          public:
            static const bool is_specialized = true;

            static decimal::decimal128 min() throw() { return DEC128_MIN; }
            static decimal::decimal128 max() throw() { return DEC128_MIN; DEC128_MAX; }

            static const int digits       = 384 34;
            /* ... */

602. Decimal: "generic floating type" not defined.

Section: TRDecimal 3 [trdec.types] Status: TRDec Submitter: Daniel Krugler Date: 2006-05-28

View all other issues in [trdec.types].

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Discussion:

The document uses the term "generic floating types," but defines it nowhere.

Proposed resolution:

Change the first paragraph of "3 Decimal floating-point types" as follows:

This Technical Report introduces three decimal floating-point types, named decimal32, decimal64, and decimal128. The set of values of type decimal32 is a subset of the set of values of type decimal64; the set of values of the type decimal64 is a subset of the set of values of the type decimal128. Support for decimal128 is optional. These types supplement the Standard C++ types float, double, and long double, which are collectively described as the basic floating types.


603. Decimal: Trivially simplifying decimal classes.

Section: TRDecimal 3 [trdec.types] Status: TRDec Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-05-28

View all other issues in [trdec.types].

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Discussion:

In c++std-lib-17198, Martin writes:

Each of the three classes proposed in the paper (decimal32, decimal64, and decimal128) explicitly declares and specifies the semantics of its copy constructor, copy assignment operator, and destructor. Since the semantics of all three functions are identical to the trivial versions implicitly generated by the compiler in the absence of any declarations it is safe to drop them from the spec. This change would make the proposed classes consistent with other similar classes already in the standard (e.g., std::complex).

Proposed resolution:

Change "3.2.2 Class decimal32" as follows:

      namespace std {
      namespace decimal {
        class decimal32 {
          public:
            // 3.2.2.1 construct/copy/destroy:
            decimal32();
            decimal32(const decimal32 & d32);
            decimal32 & operator=(const decimal32 & d32);
            ~decimal32();
            /* ... */

Change "3.2.2.1 construct/copy/destroy" as follows:

        decimal32();

    Effects: Constructs an object of type decimal32 with the value 0;

        decimal32(const decimal32 & d32);
        decimal32 & operator=(const decimal32 & d32);

    Effects: Copies an object of type decimal32.

        ~decimal32();

    Effects: Destroys an object of type decimal32.

Change "3.2.3 Class decimal64" as follows:

      namespace std {
      namespace decimal {
        class decimal64 {
          public:
            // 3.2.3.1 construct/copy/destroy:
            decimal64();
            decimal64(const decimal64 & d64);
            decimal64 & operator=(const decimal64 & d64);
            ~decimal64();
            /* ... */

Change "3.2.3.1 construct/copy/destroy" as follows:

        decimal64();

    Effects: Constructs an object of type decimal64 with the value 0;

        decimal64(const decimal64 & d64);
        decimal64 & operator=(const decimal64 & d64);

    Effects: Copies an object of type decimal64.

        ~decimal64();

    Effects: Destroys an object of type decimal64.

Change "3.2.4 Class decimal128" as follows:

      namespace std {
      namespace decimal {
        class decimal128 {
          public:
            // 3.2.4.1 construct/copy/destroy:
            decimal128();
            decimal128(const decimal128 & d128);
            decimal128 & operator=(const decimal128 & d128);
            ~decimal128();
            /* ... */

Change "3.2.4.1 construct/copy/destroy" as follows:

        decimal128();

    Effects: Constructs an object of type decimal128 with the value 0;

        decimal128(const decimal128 & d128);
        decimal128 & operator=(const decimal128 & d128);

    Effects: Copies an object of type decimal128.

        ~decimal128();

    Effects: Destroys an object of type decimal128.


604. Decimal: Storing a reference to a facet unsafe.

Section: TRDecimal 3 [trdec.types] Status: TRDec Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2006-05-28

View all other issues in [trdec.types].

View all issues with TRDec status.

Discussion:

In c++std-lib-17197, Martin writes:

The extended_num_get and extended_num_put facets are designed to store a reference to a num_get or num_put facet which the extended facets delegate the parsing and formatting of types other than decimal. One form of the extended facet's ctor (the default ctor and the size_t overload) obtains the reference from the global C++ locale while the other form takes this reference as an argument.

The problem with storing a reference to a facet in another object (as opposed to storing the locale object in which the facet is installed) is that doing so bypasses the reference counting mechanism designed to prevent a facet that is still being referenced (i.e., one that is still installed in some locale) from being destroyed when another locale that contains it is destroyed. Separating a facet reference from the locale it comes from van make it cumbersome (and in some cases might even make it impossible) for programs to prevent invalidating the reference. (The danger of this design is highlighted in the paper.)

This problem could be easily avoided by having the extended facets store a copy of the locale from which they would extract the base facet either at construction time or when needed. To make it possible, the forms of ctors of the extended facets that take a reference to the base facet would need to be changed to take a locale argument instead.

Proposed resolution:

1. Change the extended_num_get synopsis in 3.10.2 as follows:

            extended_num_get(const std::num_get<charT, InputIterator> std::locale & b, size_t refs = 0);

            /* ... */

            // const std::num_get<charT, InputIterator> & base;        exposition only
            // std::locale baseloc;                                    exposition only

2. Change the description of the above constructor in 3.10.2.1:

            extended_num_get(const std::num_get<charT, InputIterator> std::locale & b, size_t refs = 0);

Effects: Constructs an extended_num_get facet as if by:

       extended_num_get(const std::num_get<charT, InputIterator> std::locale & b, size_t refs = 0)
                : facet(refs), baseloc(b)
                { /* ... */ }

Notes: Care must be taken by the implementation to ensure that the lifetime of the facet referenced by base exceeds that of the resulting extended_num_get facet.

3. Change the Returns: clause for do_get(iter_type, iter_type, ios_base &, ios_base::iostate &, bool &) const, et al to

Returns: base std::use_facet<std::num_get<charT, InputIterator> >(baseloc).get(in, end, str, err, val).

4. Change the extended_num_put synopsis in 3.10.3 as follows:

            extended_num_put(const std::num_put<charT, OutputIterator> std::locale & b, size_t refs = 0);

            /* ... */

            // const std::num_put<charT, OutputIterator> & base;       exposition only
            // std::locale baseloc;                                    exposition only

5. Change the description of the above constructor in 3.10.3.1:

            extended_num_put(const std::num_put<charT, OutputIterator> std::locale & b, size_t refs = 0);

Effects: Constructs an extended_num_put facet as if by:

       extended_num_put(const std::num_put<charT, OutputIterator> std::locale & b, size_t refs = 0)
                : facet(refs), baseloc(b)
                { /* ... */ }

Notes: Care must be taken by the implementation to ensure that the lifetime of the facet referenced by base exceeds that of the resulting extended_num_put facet.

6. Change the Returns: clause for do_put(iter_type, ios_base &, char_type, bool &) const, et al to

Returns: base std::use_facet<std::num_put<charT, OutputIterator> >(baseloc).put(s, f, fill, val).

[ Redmond: We would prefer to rename "extended" to "decimal". ]


605. Decimal: <decfloat.h> doesn't live here anymore.

Section: TRDecimal 3.4 [trdec.types.cdecfloat] Status: TRDec Submitter: Robert Klarer Date: 2006-10-17

View all issues with TRDec status.

Discussion:

In Berlin, WG14 decided to drop the <decfloat.h> header. The contents of that header have been moved into <float.h>. For the sake of C compatibility, we should make corresponding changes.

Proposed resolution:

1. Change the heading of subclause 3.4, "Headers <cdecfloat> and <decfloat.h>" to "Additions to headers <cfloat> and <float.h>."

2. Change the text of subclause 3.4 as follows:

The standard C++ headers <cfloat> and <float.h> define characteristics of the floating-point types float, double, and long double. Their contents remain unchanged by this Technical Report.

Headers <cdecfloat> and <decfloat.h> define characteristics of the decimal floating-point types decimal32, decimal64, and decimal128. As well, <decfloat.h> defines the convenience typedefs _Decimal32, _Decimal64, and _Decimal128, for compatibilty with the C programming language.

The header <cfloat> is described in [tr.c99.cfloat]. The header <float.h> is described in [tr.c99.floath]. These headers are extended by this Technical Report to define characteristics of the decimal floating-point types decimal32, decimal64, and decimal128. As well, <float.h> is extended to define the convenience typedefs _Decimal32, _Decimal64, and _Decimal128 for compatibility with the C programming language.

3. Change the heading of subclause 3.4.1, "Header <cdecfloat> synopsis" to "Additions to header <cfloat> synopsis."

4. Change the heading of subclause 3.4.2, "Header <decfloat.h> synopsis" to "Additions to header <float.h> synopsis."

5. Change the contents of 3.4.2 as follows:

      #include <cdecfloat>

      // C-compatibility convenience typedefs:

      typedef std::decimal::decimal32  _Decimal32;
      typedef std::decimal::decimal64  _Decimal64;
      typedef std::decimal::decimal128 _Decimal128;

607. Concern about short seed vectors

Section: 26.4.7.1 [rand.util.seedseq] Status: WP Submitter: Charles Karney Date: 2006-10-26

View other active issues in [rand.util.seedseq].

View all other issues in [rand.util.seedseq].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Short seed vectors of 32-bit quantities all result in different states. However this is not true of seed vectors of 16-bit (or smaller) quantities. For example these two seeds

unsigned short seed = {1, 2, 3};
unsigned short seed = {1, 2, 3, 0};

both pack to

unsigned seed = {0x20001, 0x3};

yielding the same state.

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


608. Unclear seed_seq construction details

Section: 26.4.7.1 [rand.util.seedseq] Status: WP Submitter: Charles Karney Date: 2006-10-26

View other active issues in [rand.util.seedseq].

View all other issues in [rand.util.seedseq].

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Discussion:

In 26.4.7.1 [rand.util.seedseq] /6, the order of packing the inputs into b and the treatment of signed quantities is unclear. Better to spell it out.

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


609. missing static const

Section: 26.4.4.2 [rand.adapt.ibits], TR1 5.1 [tr.rand] Status: WP Submitter: Walter E. Brown Date: 2006-11-02

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

In preparing N2111, an error on my part resulted in the omission of the following line from the template synopsis in the cited section:

static const size_t word_size = w;

(This same constant is found, for example, in 26.4.3.3 [rand.eng.sub].)

Proposed resolution:

Add the above declaration as the first line after the comment in [rand.adapt.ibits] p4:

// engine characteristics
static const size_t word_size = w;

and accept my apologies for the oversight.


610. Suggested non-normative note for C++0x

Section: 20.5.15.2.1 [func.wrap.func.con], TR1 3.7.2.1 [tr.func.wrap.func.con] Status: WP Submitter: Scott Meyers Date: 2006-11-02

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

My suggestion is that implementers of both tr1::function and its official C++0x successor be explicitly encouraged (but not required) to optimize for the cases mentioned above, i.e., function pointers and small function objects. They could do this by using a small internal buffer akin to the buffer used by implementations of the small string optimization. (That would make this the small functor optimization -- SFO :-}) The form of this encouragement could be a note in the standard akin to footnote 214 of the current standard.

Dave Abrahams notes:

"shall not throw exceptions" should really be "nothing," both to be more grammatical and to be consistent with existing wording in the standard.

Doug Gregor comments: I think this is a good idea. Currently, implementations of tr1::function are required to have non-throwing constructors and assignment operators when the target function object is a function pointer or a reference_wrapper. The common case, however, is for a tr1::function to store either an empty function object or a member pointer + an object pointer.

The function implementation in the upcoming Boost 1.34.0 uses the "SFO", so that the function objects for typical bind expressions like

bind(&X::f, this, _1, _2, _3)

do not require heap allocation when stored in a boost::function. I believe Dinkumware's implementation also performs this optimization.

Proposed resolution:

Revise 20.5.14.2.1 p6 [func.wrap.func.con] to add a note as follows:

Throws: shall not throw exceptions if f's target is a function pointer or a function object passed via reference_wrapper. Otherwise, may throw bad_alloc or any exception thrown by the copy constructor of the stored function object.

Note: Implementations are encouraged to avoid the use of dynamically allocated memory for "small" function objects, e.g., where f's target is an object holding only a pointer or reference to an object and a member function pointer (a "bound member function").


611. Standard library templates and incomplete types

Section: 17.4.3.7 [res.on.functions] Status: WP Submitter: Nicola Musatti Date: 2006-11-13

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

In the latest available draft standard (N2134) § 17.4.3.6 [res.on.functions] states:

-1- In certain cases (replacement functions, handler functions, operations on types used to instantiate standard library template components), the C++ Standard Library depends on components supplied by a C++ program. If these components do not meet their requirements, the Standard places no requirements on the implementation.

-2- In particular, the effects are undefined in the following cases:

[...]

This is contradicted by § 20.6.6.2/2 [util.smartptr.shared] which states:

[...]

The template parameter T of shared_ptr may be an incomplete type.

Proposed resolution:

Modify the last bullet of § 17.4.3.6/2 [res.on.functions] to allow for exceptions:


613. max_digits10 missing from numeric_limits

Section: 18.2.1.5 [numeric.special] Status: WP Submitter: Bo Persson Date: 2006-11-20

View all other issues in [numeric.special].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Section 18.2.1.5 [numeric.special] starts out by saying that "All members shall be provided for all specializations."

Then it goes on to show specializations for float and bool, where one member is missing (max_digits10).

Maarten Kronenburg adds:

I agree, just adding the comment that the exact number of decimal digits is digits * ln(radix) / ln(10), where probably this real number is rounded downward for digits10, and rounded upward for max_digits10 (when radix=10, then digits10=max_digits10). Why not add this exact definition also to the standard, so the user knows what these numbers exactly mean.

Howard adds:

For reference, here are the correct formulas from N1822:

digits10 = floor((digits-1) * log10(2))
max_digits10 = ceil((1 + digits) * log10(2))

We are also missing a statement regarding for what specializations this member has meaning.

Proposed resolution:

Change and add after 18.2.1.2 [numeric.limits.members], p11:

static const int max_digits10;

-11- Number of base 10 digits required to ensure that values which differ by only one epsilon are always differentiated.

-12- Meaningful for all floating point types.

Change 18.2.1.5 [numeric.special], p2:

template<> class numeric_limits<float> { 
public: 
  static const bool is_specialized = true; 
  ...
  static const int digits10 = 6;
  static const int max_digits10 = 9;
  ...

Change 18.2.1.5 [numeric.special], p3:

template<> class numeric_limits<bool> { 
public: 
  static const bool is_specialized = true; 
  ...
  static const int digits10 = 0;
  static const int max_digits10 = 0;
  ...

616. missing 'typename' in ctype_byname

Section: 22.2.1.2 [locale.ctype.byname] Status: WP Submitter: Bo Persson Date: 2006-12-16

View all other issues in [locale.ctype.byname].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Section 22.2.1.2 defines the ctype_byname class template. It contains the line

typedef ctype<charT>::mask   mask;

Proposed resolution:

as this is a dependent type, it should obviously be

typedef typename ctype<charT>::mask   mask;

619. Longjmp wording problem

Section: 18.8 [support.runtime] Status: WP Submitter: Lawrence Crowl Date: 2007-01-12

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The wording for longjmp is confusing.

18.8 [support.runtime] -4- Other runtime support

The function signature longjmp(jmp_buf jbuf, int val) has more restricted behavior in this International Standard. If any automatic objects would be destroyed by a thrown exception transferring control to another (destination) point in the program, then a call to longjmp(jbuf, val) that the throw point that transfers control to the same (destination) point has undefined behavior.

Someone at Google thinks that should say "then a call to longjmp(jbuf, val) *at* the throw point that transfers control".

Bill Gibbons thinks it should say something like "If any automatic objects would be destroyed by an exception thrown at the point of the longjmp and caught only at the point of the setjmp, the behavior is undefined."

Proposed resolution:

In general, accept Bill Gibbons' recommendation, but add "call" to indicate that the undefined behavior comes from the dynamic call, not from its presence in the code. In 18.8 [support.runtime] paragraph 4, change

The function signature longjmp(jmp_buf jbuf, int val) has more restricted behavior in this International Standard. If any automatic objects would be destroyed by a thrown exception transferring control to another (destination) point in the program, then a call to longjmp(jbuf, val) that the throw point that transfers control to the same (destination) point has undefined behavior. A setjmp/longjmp call pair has undefined behavior if replacing the setjmp and longjmp by catch and throw would destroy any automatic objects.


620. valid uses of empty valarrays

Section: 26.5.2.1 [valarray.cons] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2007-01-20

View all other issues in [valarray.cons].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The Effects clause for the default valarray ctor suggests that it is possible to increase the size of an empty valarray object by calling other non-const member functions of the class besides resize(). However, such an interpretation would be contradicted by the requirement on the copy assignment operator (and apparently also that on the computed assignments) that the assigned arrays be the same size. See the reflector discussion starting with c++std-lib-17871.

In addition, Footnote 280 uses some questionable normative language.

Proposed resolution:

Reword the Effects clause and Footnote 280 as follows (26.5.2.1 [valarray.cons]):

valarray();

Effects: Constructs an object of class valarray<T>,279) which has zero length until it is passed into a library function as a modifiable lvalue or through a non-constant this pointer.280)

Postcondition: size() == 0.

Footnote 280: This default constructor is essential, since arrays of valarray are likely to prove useful. There shall also be a way to change the size of an array after initialization; this is supplied by the semantics may be useful. The length of an empty array can be increased after initialization by means of the resize() member function.


621. non-const copy assignment operators of helper arrays

Section: 26.5 [numarray] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2007-01-20

View all other issues in [numarray].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The computed and "fill" assignment operators of valarray helper array class templates (slice_array, gslice_array, mask_array, and indirect_array) are const member functions of each class template (the latter by the resolution of 123 since they have reference semantics and thus do not affect the state of the object on which they are called. However, the copy assignment operators of these class templates, which also have reference semantics, are non-const. The absence of constness opens the door to speculation about whether they really are intended to have reference semantics (existing implementations vary widely).

Pre-Kona, Martin adds:

I realized that adding the const qualifier to the functions as I suggested would break the const correctness of the classes. A few possible solutions come to mind:

  1. Add the const qualifier to the return types of these functions.
  2. Change the return type of all the functions to void to match the signatures of all the other assignment operators these classes define.
  3. Prohibit the copy assignment of these classes by declaring the copy assignment operators private (as is done and documented by some implementations).

Proposed resolution:

Declare the copy assignment operators of all four helper array class templates const.

Specifically, make the following edits:

Change the signature in 26.5.5 [template.slice.array] and 26.5.5.1 [slice.arr.assign] as follows:


const slice_array& operator= (const slice_array&) const;

        

Change the signature in 26.5.7 [template.gslice.array] and 26.5.7.1 [gslice.array.assign] as follows:


const gslice_array& operator= (const gslice_array&) const;

        

Change the signature in 26.5.8 [template.mask.array] and 26.5.8.1 [mask.array.assign] as follows:


const mask_array& operator= (const mask_array&) const;

        

Change the signature in 26.5.9 [template.indirect.array] and 26.5.9.1 [indirect.array.assign] as follows:


const indirect_array& operator= (const indirect_array&) const;

        

[ Kona (2007) Added const qualification to the return types and set to Ready. ]


622. behavior of filebuf dtor and close on error

Section: 27.8.1.17 [fstream.members] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2007-01-20

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

basic_filebuf dtor is specified to have the following straightforward effects:

Effects: Destroys an object of class basic_filebuf. Calls close().

close() does a lot of potentially complicated processing, including calling overflow() to write out the termination sequence (to bring the output sequence to its initial shift state). Since any of the functions called during the processing can throw an exception, what should the effects of an exception be on the dtor? Should the dtor catch and swallow it or should it propagate it to the caller? The text doesn't seem to provide any guidance in this regard other than the general restriction on throwing (but not propagating) exceptions from destructors of library classes in 17.4.4.8 [res.on.exception.handling].

Further, the last thing close() is specified to do is call fclose() to close the FILE pointer. The last sentence of the Effects clause reads:

... If any of the calls to overflow or std::fclose fails then close fails.

This suggests that close() might be required to call fclose() if and only if none of the calls to overflow() fails, and avoid closing the FILE otherwise. This way, if overflow() failed to flush out the data, the caller would have the opportunity to try to flush it again (perhaps after trying to deal with whatever problem may have caused the failure), rather than losing it outright.

On the other hand, the function's Postcondition specifies that is_open() == false, which suggests that it should call fclose() unconditionally. However, since Postcondition clauses are specified for many functions in the standard, including constructors where they obviously cannot apply after an exception, it's not clear whether this Postcondition clause is intended to apply even after an exception.

It might be worth noting that the traditional behavior (Classic Iostreams fstream::close() and C fclose()) is to close the FILE unconditionally, regardless of errors.

[ See 397 and 418 for related issues. ]

Proposed resolution:

After discussing this on the reflector (see the thread starting with c++std-lib-17650) we propose that close() be clarified to match the traditional behavior, that is to close the FILE unconditionally, even after errors or exceptions. In addition, we propose the dtor description be amended so as to explicitly require it to catch and swallow any exceptions thrown by close().

Specifically, we propose to make the following edits in 27.8.1.4 [filebuf.members]:


basic_filebuf<charT,traits>* close();

            

Effects: If is_open() == false, returns a null pointer. If a put area exists, calls overflow(traits::eof()) to flush characters. If the last virtual member function called on *this (between underflow, overflow, seekoff, and seekpos) was overflow then calls a_codecvt.unshift (possibly several times) to determine a termination sequence, inserts those characters and calls overflow(traits::eof()) again. Finally, regardless of whether any of the preceding calls fails or throws an exception, the function it closes the file ("as if" by calling std::fclose(file)).334) If any of the calls made by the functionto overflow or, including std::fclose, fails then close fails by returning a null pointer. If one of these calls throws an exception, the exception is caught and rethrown after closing the file.

And to make the following edits in 27.8.1.2 [filebuf.cons].


virtual ~basic_filebuf();

            

Effects: Destroys an object of class basic_filebuf<charT,traits>. Calls close(). If an exception occurs during the destruction of the object, including the call to close(), the exception is caught but not rethrown (see 17.4.4.8 [res.on.exception.handling]).


623. pubimbue forbidden to call imbue

Section: 27.1.1 [iostream.limits.imbue] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2007-01-20

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

27.1.1 [iostream.limits.imbue] specifies that "no function described in clause 27 except for ios_base::imbue causes any instance of basic_ios::imbue or basic_streambuf::imbue to be called."

That contradicts the Effects clause for basic_streambuf::pubimbue() which requires the function to do just that: call basic_streambuf::imbue().

Proposed resolution:

To fix this, rephrase the sentence above to allow pubimbue to do what it was designed to do. Specifically. change 27.1.1 [iostream.limits.imbue], p1 to read:

No function described in clause 27 except for ios_base::imbue and basic_filebuf::pubimbue causes any instance of basic_ios::imbue or basic_streambuf::imbue to be called. ...


624. valarray assignment and arrays of unequal length

Section: 26.5.2.2 [valarray.assign] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2007-01-20

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The behavior of the valarray copy assignment operator is defined only when both sides have the same number of elements and the spec is explicit about assignments of arrays of unequal lengths having undefined behavior.

However, the generalized subscripting assignment operators overloaded on slice_array et al (26.5.2.2 [valarray.assign]) don't have any such restriction, leading the reader to believe that the behavior of these overloads is well defined regardless of the lengths of the arguments.

For example, based on the reading of the spec the behavior of the snippet below can be expected to be well-defined:

    const std::slice from_0_to_3 (0, 3, 1);   // refers to elements 0, 1, 2
    const std::valarray<int> a (1, 3);        // a = { 1, 1, 1 }
    std::valarray<int>       b (2, 4);        // b = { 2, 2, 2, 2 }

    b = a [from_0_to_3];
        

In practice, b may end up being { 1, 1, 1 }, { 1, 1, 1, 2 }, or anything else, indicating that existing implementations vary.

Quoting from Section 3.4, Assignment operators, of Al Vermeulen's Proposal for Standard C++ Array Classes (see c++std-lib-704; N0308):

...if the size of the array on the right hand side of the equal sign differs from the size of the array on the left, a run time error occurs. How this error is handled is implementation dependent; for compilers which support it, throwing an exception would be reasonable.

And see more history in N0280.

It has been argued in discussions on the committee's reflector that the semantics of all valarray assignment operators should be permitted to be undefined unless the length of the arrays being assigned is the same as the length of the one being assigned from. See the thread starting at c++std-lib-17786.

In order to reflect such views, the standard must specify that the size of the array referred to by the argument of the assignment must match the size of the array under assignment, for example by adding a Requires clause to 26.5.2.2 [valarray.assign] as follows:

Requires: The length of the array to which the argument refers equals size().

Note that it's far from clear that such leeway is necessary in order to implement valarray efficiently.

Proposed resolution:

Insert new paragraph into 26.5.2.2 [valarray.assign]:

valarray<T>& operator=(const slice_array<T>&); 
valarray<T>& operator=(const gslice_array<T>&); 
valarray<T>& operator=(const mask_array<T>&); 
valarray<T>& operator=(const indirect_array<T>&);

Requires: The length of the array to which the argument refers equals size().

These operators allow the results of a generalized subscripting operation to be assigned directly to a valarray.


628. Inconsistent definition of basic_regex constructor

Section: 28.8 [re.regex] Status: WP Submitter: Bo Persson Date: 2007-01-23

View all other issues in [re.regex].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Section 28.8 [re.regex] lists a constructor

template<class InputIterator>
basic_regex(InputIterator first, InputIterator last,
                       flag_type f = regex_constants::ECMAScript);

However, in section 28.8.2 [re.regex.construct], this constructor takes a pair of ForwardIterator.

Proposed resolution:

Change 28.8.2 [re.regex.construct]:

template <class ForwardIterator InputIterator>
  basic_regex(ForwardIterator InputIterator first, ForwardIterator InputIterator last, 
              flag_type f = regex_constants::ECMAScript);

634. allocator.address() doesn't work for types overloading operator&

Section: 20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2007-02-07

View all other issues in [allocator.members].

View all issues with WP status.

Duplicate of: 350

Discussion:

20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] says:

pointer address(reference x) const;

-1- Returns: &x.

20.6.5.1 [allocator.members] defines CopyConstructible which currently not only defines the semantics of copy construction, but also restricts what an overloaded operator& may do. I believe proposals are in the works (such as concepts and rvalue reference) to decouple these two requirements. Indeed it is not evident that we should disallow overloading operator& to return something other than the address of *this.

An example of when you want to overload operator& to return something other than the object's address is proxy references such as vector<bool> (or its replacement, currently code-named bit_vector). Taking the address of such a proxy reference should logically yield a proxy pointer, which when dereferenced, yields a copy of the original proxy reference again.

On the other hand, some code truly needs the address of an object, and not a proxy (typically for determining the identity of an object compared to a reference object). boost has long recognized this dilemma and solved it with boost::addressof. It appears to me that this would be useful functionality for the default allocator. Adopting this definition for allocator::address would free the standard of requiring anything special from types which overload operator&. Issue 580 is expected to make use of allocator::address mandatory for containers.

Proposed resolution:

Change 20.6.5.1 [allocator.members]:

pointer address(reference x) const;

-1- Returns: &x. The actual address of object referenced by x, even in the presence of an overloaded operator&.

const_pointer address(address(const_reference x) const;

-2- Returns: &x. The actual address of object referenced by x, even in the presence of an overloaded operator&.

[ post Oxford: This would be rendered NAD Editorial by acceptance of N2257. ]

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2387 for this issue which was subsequently split out into a separate paper N2436 for the purposes of voting. The resolution in N2436 addresses this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


640. 27.6.2.5.2 does not handle (unsigned) long long

Section: 27.6.2.6.2 [ostream.inserters.arithmetic] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-02-17

View all other issues in [ostream.inserters.arithmetic].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The arithmetic inserters are described in 27.6.2.6.2 [ostream.inserters.arithmetic]. Although the section starts with a listing of the inserters including the new ones:

operator<<(long long val );
operator<<(unsigned long long val );

the text in paragraph 1, which describes the corresponding effects of the inserters, depending on the actual type of val, does not handle the types long long and unsigned long long.

[ Alisdair: In addition to the (unsigned) long long problem, that whole paragraph misses any reference to extended integral types supplied by the implementation - one of the additions by core a couple of working papers back. ]

Proposed resolution:

In 27.6.2.6.2 [ostream.inserters.arithmetic]/1 change the third sentence

When val is of type bool, long, unsigned long, long long, unsigned long long, double, long double, or const void*, the formatting conversion occurs as if it performed the following code fragment:

643. Impossible "as if" clauses

Section: 27.8.1.1 [filebuf], 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-02-20

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The current standard 14882:2003(E) as well as N2134 have the following defects:

27.8.1.1 [filebuf]/5 says:

In order to support file I/O and multibyte/wide character conversion, conversions are performed using members of a facet, referred to as a_codecvt in following sections, obtained "as if" by

codecvt<charT,char,typename traits::state_type> a_codecvt =
  use_facet<codecvt<charT,char,typename traits::state_type> >(getloc());

use_facet returns a const facet reference and no facet is copyconstructible, so the codecvt construction should fail to compile.

A similar issue arises in 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals]/15 for num_punct.

Proposed resolution:

In 27.8.1.1 [filebuf]/5 change the "as if" code

const codecvt<charT,char,typename traits::state_type>& a_codecvt =
  use_facet<codecvt<charT,char,typename traits::state_type> >(getloc());

In 22.2.2.2.2 [facet.num.put.virtuals]/15 (This is para 5 in N2134) change

A local variable punct is initialized via

const numpunct<charT>& punct = use_facet< numpunct<charT> >(str.getloc() );

(Please note also the additional provided trailing semicolon)


644. Possible typos in 'function' description

Section: X [func.wrap.func.undef] Status: Pending WP Submitter: Bo Persson Date: 2007-02-25

Discussion:

X [func.wrap.func.undef]

The note in paragraph 2 refers to 'undefined void operators', while the section declares a pair of operators returning bool.

Proposed resolution:

Change 20.5.15.2 [func.wrap.func]

...
private:
   // X [func.wrap.func.undef], undefined operators:
   template<class Function2> bool void operator==(const function<Function2>&);
   template<class Function2> bool void operator!=(const function<Function2>&);
};

Change X [func.wrap.func.undef]

template<class Function2> bool void operator==(const function<Function2>&);
template<class Function2> bool void operator!=(const function<Function2>&);

646. const incorrect match_result members

Section: 28.10.4 [re.results.form] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-02-26

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

28.10.4 [re.results.form] (root and para 3) in N2134 defines the two function template members format as non-const functions, although they are declared as const in 28.10 [re.results]/3.

Proposed resolution:

Add the missing const specifier to both format overloads described in section 28.10.4 [re.results.form].


650. regex_token_iterator and const correctness

Section: 28.12.2 [re.tokiter] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-03-05

View all other issues in [re.tokiter].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Both the class definition of regex_token_iterator (28.12.2 [re.tokiter]/6) and the latter member specifications (28.12.2.2 [re.tokiter.comp]/1+2) declare both comparison operators as non-const functions. Furtheron, both dereference operators are unexpectedly also declared as non-const in 28.12.2 [re.tokiter]/6 as well as in (28.12.2.3 [re.tokiter.deref]/1+2).

Proposed resolution:

1) In (28.12.2 [re.tokiter]/6) change the current declarations

bool operator==(const regex_token_iterator&) const;
bool operator!=(const regex_token_iterator&) const;
const value_type& operator*() const;
const value_type* operator->() const;

2) In 28.12.2.2 [re.tokiter.comp] change the following declarations

bool operator==(const regex_token_iterator& right) const;
bool operator!=(const regex_token_iterator& right) const;

3) In 28.12.2.3 [re.tokiter.deref] change the following declarations

const value_type& operator*() const;
const value_type* operator->() const;

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2409 for this issue (which is to adopt the proposed wording in this issue). The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


651. Missing preconditions for regex_token_iterator c'tors

Section: 28.12.2.1 [re.tokiter.cnstr] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-03-05

View all other issues in [re.tokiter.cnstr].

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Discussion:

The text provided in 28.12.2.1 [re.tokiter.cnstr]/2+3 describes the effects of the three non-default constructors of class template regex_token_iterator but is does not clarify which values are legal values for submatch/submatches. This becomes an issue, if one takes 28.12.2 [re.tokiter]/9 into account, which explains the notion of a "current match" by saying:

The current match is (*position).prefix() if subs[N] == -1, or (*position)[subs[N]] for any other value of subs[N].

It's not clear to me, whether other negative values except -1 are legal arguments or not - it seems they are not.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following precondition paragraph just before the current 28.12.2.1 [re.tokiter.cnstr]/2:

Requires: Each of the initialization values of subs must be >= -1.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2409 for this issue (which is to adopt the proposed wording in this issue). The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


652. regex_iterator and const correctness

Section: 28.12.1 [re.regiter] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-03-05

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

Both the class definition of regex_iterator (28.12.1 [re.regiter]/1) and the latter member specification (28.12.1.2 [re.regiter.comp]/1+2) declare both comparison operators as non-const functions. Furtheron, both dereference operators are unexpectedly also declared as non-const in 28.12.1 [re.regiter]/1 as well as in (28.12.1.3 [re.regiter.deref]/1+2).

Proposed resolution:

1) In (28.12.1 [re.regiter]/1) change the current declarations

bool operator==(const regex_iterator&) const;
bool operator!=(const regex_iterator&) const;
const value_type& operator*() const;
const value_type* operator->() const;

2) In 28.12.1.3 [re.regiter.deref] change the following declarations

const value_type& operator*() const;
const value_type* operator->() const;

3) In 28.12.1.2 [re.regiter.comp] change the following declarations

bool operator==(const regex_iterator& right) const;
bool operator!=(const regex_iterator& right) const;

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2409 for this issue (which is to adopt the proposed wording in this issue). The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


654. Missing IO roundtrip for random number engines

Section: 26.4.1.3 [rand.req.eng] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-03-08

View all other issues in [rand.req.eng].

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Discussion:

Table 98 and para 5 in 26.4.1.3 [rand.req.eng] specify the IO insertion and extraction semantic of random number engines. It can be shown, v.i., that the specification of the extractor cannot guarantee to fulfill the requirement from para 5:

If a textual representation written via os << x was subsequently read via is >> v, then x == v provided that there have been no intervening invocations of x or of v.

The problem is, that the extraction process described in table 98 misses to specify that it will initially set the if.fmtflags to ios_base::dec, see table 104:

dec: converts integer input or generates integer output in decimal base

Proof: The following small program demonstrates the violation of requirements (exception safety not fulfilled):

#include <cassert>
#include <ostream>
#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
#include <sstream>

class RanNumEngine {
  int state;
public:
  RanNumEngine() : state(42) {}

  bool operator==(RanNumEngine other) const {
	  return state == other.state;
  }

  template <typename Ch, typename Tr>
  friend std::basic_ostream<Ch, Tr>& operator<<(std::basic_ostream<Ch, Tr>& os, RanNumEngine engine) {
	Ch old = os.fill(os.widen(' ')); // Sets space character
	std::ios_base::fmtflags f = os.flags();
	os << std::dec << std::left << engine.state; // Adds ios_base::dec|ios_base::left
	os.fill(old); // Undo
	os.flags(f);
	return os;
  }

  template <typename Ch, typename Tr>
  friend std::basic_istream<Ch, Tr>& operator>>(std::basic_istream<Ch, Tr>& is, RanNumEngine& engine) {
       // Uncomment only for the fix.

	//std::ios_base::fmtflags f = is.flags();
	//is >> std::dec;
	is >> engine.state;
	//is.flags(f);
	return is;
  }
};

int main() {
	std::stringstream s;
	s << std::setfill('#'); // No problem
        s << std::oct; // Yikes!
        // Here starts para 5 requirements:
	RanNumEngine x;
	s << x;
	RanNumEngine v;
	s >> v;
	assert(x == v); // Fails: 42 == 34
}

A second, minor issue seems to be, that the insertion description from table 98 unnecessarily requires the addition of ios_base::fixed (which only influences floating-point numbers). Its not entirely clear to me whether the proposed standard does require that the state of random number engines is stored in integral types or not, but I have the impression that this is the indent, see e.g. p. 3

The specification of each random number engine defines the size of its state in multiples of the size of its result_type.

If other types than integrals are supported, then I wonder why no requirements are specified for the precision of the stream.

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


655. Signature of generate_canonical not useful

Section: 26.4.7.2 [rand.util.canonical] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-03-08

View all other issues in [rand.util.canonical].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

In 26.4.2 [rand.synopsis] we have the declaration

template<class RealType, class UniformRandomNumberGenerator,
  size_t bits>
result_type generate_canonical(UniformRandomNumberGenerator& g);

Besides the "result_type" issue (already recognized by Bo Persson at Sun, 11 Feb 2007 05:26:47 GMT in this group) it's clear, that the template parameter order is not reasonably choosen: Obviously one always needs to specify all three parameters, although usually only two are required, namely the result type RealType and the wanted bits, because UniformRandomNumberGenerator can usually be deduced.

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


660. Missing Bitwise Operations

Section: 20.5 [function.objects] Status: WP Submitter: Beman Dawes Date: 2007-04-02

View all other issues in [function.objects].

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Discussion:

Section 20.5 [function.objects] provides function objects for some unary and binary operations, but others are missing. In a LWG reflector discussion, beginning with c++std-lib-18078, pros and cons of adding some of the missing operations were discussed. Bjarne Stroustrup commented "Why standardize what isn't used? Yes, I see the chicken and egg problems here, but it would be nice to see a couple of genuine uses before making additions."

A number of libraries, including Rogue Wave, GNU, Adobe ASL, and Boost, have already added these functions, either publicly or for internal use. For example, Doug Gregor commented: "Boost will also add ... (|, &, ^) in 1.35.0, because we need those function objects to represent various parallel collective operations (reductions, prefix reductions, etc.) in the new Message Passing Interface (MPI) library."

Because the bitwise operators have the strongest use cases, the proposed resolution is limited to them.

Proposed resolution:

To 20.5 [function.objects], Function objects, paragraph 2, add to the header <functional> synopsis:

template <class T> struct bit_and;
template <class T> struct bit_or;
template <class T> struct bit_xor;

At a location in clause 20 to be determined by the Project Editor, add:

The library provides basic function object classes for all of the bitwise operators in the language ([expr.bit.and], [expr.or], [exp.xor]).

template <class T> struct bit_and : binary_function<T,T,T> {
  T operator()(const T& x , const T& y ) const;
};

operator() returns x & y .

template <class T> struct bit_or : binary_function<T,T,T> {
  T operator()(const T& x , const T& y ) const;
};

operator() returns x | y .

template <class T> struct bit_xor : binary_function<T,T,T> {
  T operator()(const T& x , const T& y ) const;
};

operator() returns x ^ y .


661. New 27.6.1.2.2 changes make special extractions useless

Section: 27.6.1.2.2 [istream.formatted.arithmetic] Status: WP Submitter: Daniel Krügler Date: 2007-04-01

View all other issues in [istream.formatted.arithmetic].

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Discussion:

To the more drastic changes of 27.6.1.2.2 [istream.formatted.arithmetic] in the current draft N2134 belong the explicit description of the extraction of the types short and int in terms of as-if code fragments.

  1. The corresponding as-if extractions in paragraph 2 and 3 will never result in a change of the operator>> argument val, because the contents of the local variable lval is in no case written into val. Furtheron both fragments need a currently missing parentheses in the beginning of the if-statement to be valid C++.
  2. I would like to ask whether the omission of a similar explicit extraction of unsigned short and unsigned int in terms of long - compared to their corresponding new insertions, as described in 27.6.2.6.2 [ostream.inserters.arithmetic], is a deliberate decision or an oversight.

Proposed resolution:

  1. In 27.6.1.2.2 [istream.formatted.arithmetic]/2 change the current as-if code fragment

    typedef num_get<charT,istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> > numget;
    iostate err = 0;
    long lval;
    use_facet<numget>(loc).get(*this, 0, *this, err, lval );
    if (err == 0) {
      && if (lval < numeric_limits<short>::min() || numeric_limits<short>::max() < lval))
          err = ios_base::failbit;
      else
        val = static_cast<short>(lval);
    }
    setstate(err);
    

    Similarily in 27.6.1.2.2 [istream.formatted.arithmetic]/3 change the current as-if fragment

    typedef num_get<charT,istreambuf_iterator<charT,traits> > numget;
    iostate err = 0;
    long lval;
    use_facet<numget>(loc).get(*this, 0, *this, err, lval );
    if (err == 0) {
      && if (lval < numeric_limits<int>::min() || numeric_limits<int>::max() < lval))
          err = ios_base::failbit;
      else
        val = static_cast<int>(lval);
    }
    setstate(err);
    
  2. ---

[ Kona (2007): Note to the editor: the name lval in the call to use_facet is incorrectly italicized in the code fragments corresponding to operator>>(short &) and operator >>(int &). Also, val -- which appears twice on the line with the static_cast in the proposed resolution -- should be italicized. Also, in response to part two of the issue: this is deliberate. ]


664. do_unshift for codecvt<char, char, mbstate_t>

Section: 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Thomas Plum Date: 2007-04-16

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt.virtuals].

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals], para 7 says (regarding do_unshift):

Effects: Places characters starting at to that should be appended to terminate a sequence when the current stateT is given by state.237) Stores no more than (to_limit - to) destination elements, and leaves the to_next pointer pointing one beyond the last element successfully stored. codecvt<char, char, mbstate_t> stores no characters.

The following objection has been raised:

Since the C++ Standard permits a nontrivial conversion for the required instantiations of codecvt, it is overly restrictive to say that do_unshift must store no characters and return noconv.

[Plum ref _222152Y50]

Proposed resolution:

Change 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals], p7:

Effects: Places characters starting at to that should be appended to terminate a sequence when the current stateT is given by state.237) Stores no more than (to_limit -to) destination elements, and leaves the to_next pointer pointing one beyond the last element successfully stored. codecvt<char, char, mbstate_t> stores no characters.


665. do_unshift return value

Section: 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Thomas Plum Date: 2007-04-16

View all other issues in [locale.codecvt.virtuals].

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Discussion:

22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals], para 8 says:

codecvt<char,char,mbstate_t>, returns noconv.

The following objection has been raised:

Despite what the C++ Standard says, unshift can't always return noconv for the default facets, since they can be nontrivial. At least one implementation does whatever the C functions do.

[Plum ref _222152Y62]

Proposed resolution:

Change 22.2.1.4.2 [locale.codecvt.virtuals], p8:

Returns: An enumeration value, as summarized in Table 76:

...

codecvt<char,char,mbstate_t>, returns noconv.


666. moneypunct::do_curr_symbol()

Section: 22.2.6.3.2 [locale.moneypunct.virtuals] Status: WP Submitter: Thomas Plum Date: 2007-04-16

View all other issues in [locale.moneypunct.virtuals].

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Discussion:

22.2.6.3.2 [locale.moneypunct.virtuals], para 4 footnote 257 says

257) For international specializations (second template parameter true) this is always four characters long, usually three letters and a space.

The following objection has been raised:

The international currency symbol is whatever the underlying locale says it is, not necessarily four characters long.

[Plum ref _222632Y41]

Proposed resolution:

Change footnote 253 in 22.2.6.3.2 [locale.moneypunct.virtuals]:

253) For international specializations (second template parameter true) this is always typically four characters long, usually three letters and a space.


674. shared_ptr interface changes for consistency with N1856

Section: 20.6.12.2 [util.smartptr.shared] Status: WP Submitter: Peter Dimov Date: 2007-05-05

View other active issues in [util.smartptr.shared].

View all other issues in [util.smartptr.shared].

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Discussion:

N1856 does not propose any changes to shared_ptr. It needs to be updated to use a rvalue reference where appropriate and to interoperate with unique_ptr as it does with auto_ptr.

Proposed resolution:

Change 20.6.12.2 [util.smartptr.shared] as follows:

template<class Y> explicit shared_ptr(auto_ptr<Y>&&& r);
template<class Y, class D> explicit shared_ptr(const unique_ptr<Y,D>& r) = delete;
template<class Y, class D> explicit shared_ptr(unique_ptr<Y,D>&& r);
...
template<class Y> shared_ptr& operator=(auto_ptr<Y>&&& r);
template<class Y, class D> shared_ptr& operator=(const unique_ptr<Y,D>& r) = delete;
template<class Y, class D> shared_ptr& operator=(unique_ptr<Y,D>&& r);

Change 20.6.12.2.1 [util.smartptr.shared.const] as follows:

template<class Y> shared_ptr(auto_ptr<Y>&&& r);

Add to 20.6.12.2.1 [util.smartptr.shared.const]:

template<class Y, class D> shared_ptr(unique_ptr<Y, D>&& r);

Effects: Equivalent to shared_ptr( r.release(), r.get_deleter() ) when D is not a reference type, shared_ptr( r.release(), ref( r.get_deleter() ) ) otherwise.

Exception safety: If an exception is thrown, the constructor has no effect.

Change 20.6.12.2.3 [util.smartptr.shared.assign] as follows:

template<class Y> shared_ptr& operator=(auto_ptr<Y>&&& r);

Add to 20.6.12.2.3 [util.smartptr.shared.assign]:

template<class Y, class D> shared_ptr& operator=(unique_ptr<Y,D>&& r);

-4- Effects: Equivalent to shared_ptr(std::move(r)).swap(*this).

-5- Returns: *this.

[ Kona (2007): We may need to open an issue (743) to deal with the question of whether shared_ptr needs an rvalue swap. ]


677. Weaknesses in seed_seq::randomize [rand.util.seedseq]

Section: 26.4.7.1 [rand.util.seedseq] Status: WP Submitter: Charles Karney Date: 2007-05-15

View other active issues in [rand.util.seedseq].

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Discussion:

seed_seq::randomize provides a mechanism for initializing random number engines which ideally would yield "distant" states when given "close" seeds. The algorithm for seed_seq::randomize given in the current Working Draft for C++, N2284 (2007-05-08), has 3 weaknesses

  1. Collisions in state. Because of the way the state is initialized, seeds of different lengths may result in the same state. The current version of seed_seq has the following properties:

    The proposed algorithm (below) has the considerably stronger properties:

  2. Poor mixing of v's entropy into the state. Consider v.size() == n and hold v[n/2] thru v[n-1] fixed while varying v[0] thru v[n/2-1], a total of 2^(16n) possibilities. Because of the simple recursion used in seed_seq, begin[n/2] thru begin[n-1] can take on only 2^64 possible states.

    The proposed algorithm uses a more complex recursion which results in much better mixing.

  3. seed_seq::randomize is undefined for v.size() == 0. The proposed algorithm remedies this.

The current algorithm for seed_seq::randomize is adapted by me from the initialization procedure for the Mersenne Twister by Makoto Matsumoto and Takuji Nishimura. The weakness (2) given above was communicated to me by Matsumoto last year.

The proposed replacement for seed_seq::randomize is due to Mutsuo Saito, a student of Matsumoto, and is given in the implementation of the SIMD-oriented Fast Mersenne Twister random number generator SFMT. http://www.math.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~m-mat/MT/SFMT/index.html http://www.math.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~m-mat/MT/SFMT/SFMT-src-1.2.tar.gz

See Mutsuo Saito, An Application of Finite Field: Design and Implementation of 128-bit Instruction-Based Fast Pseudorandom Number Generator, Master's Thesis, Dept. of Math., Hiroshima University (Feb. 2007) http://www.math.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~m-mat/MT/SFMT/M062821.pdf

One change has been made here, namely to treat the case of small n (setting t = (n-1)/2 for n < 7).

Since seed_seq was introduced relatively recently there is little cost in making this incompatible improvement to it.

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


678. Changes for [rand.req.eng]

Section: 26.4.1.3 [rand.req.eng] Status: WP Submitter: Charles Karney Date: 2007-05-15

View all other issues in [rand.req.eng].

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Discussion:

Section 26.4.1.3 [rand.req.eng] Random number engine requirements:

This change follows naturally from the proposed change to seed_seq::randomize in 677.

In table 104 the description of X(q) contains a special treatment of the case q.size() == 0. This is undesirable for 4 reasons:

  1. It replicates the functionality provided by X().
  2. It leads to the possibility of a collision in the state provided by some other X(q) with q.size() > 0.
  3. It is inconsistent with the description of the X(q) in paragraphs 26.4.3.1 [rand.eng.lcong] p5, 26.4.3.2 [rand.eng.mers] p8, and 26.4.3.3 [rand.eng.sub] p10 where there is no special treatment of q.size() == 0.
  4. The proposed replacement for seed_seq::randomize given above allows for the case q.size() == 0.

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


679. resize parameter by value

Section: 23.2 [sequences] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2007-06-11

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The C++98 standard specifies that one member function alone of the containers passes its parameter (T) by value instead of by const reference:

void resize(size_type sz, T c = T());

This fact has been discussed / debated repeatedly over the years, the first time being even before C++98 was ratified. The rationale for passing this parameter by value has been:

So that self referencing statements are guaranteed to work, for example:

v.resize(v.size() + 1, v[0]);

However this rationale is not convincing as the signature for push_back is:

void push_back(const T& x);

And push_back has similar semantics to resize (append). And push_back must also work in the self referencing case:

v.push_back(v[0]);  // must work

The problem with passing T by value is that it can be significantly more expensive than passing by reference. The converse is also true, however when it is true it is usually far less dramatic (e.g. for scalar types).

Even with move semantics available, passing this parameter by value can be expensive. Consider for example vector<vector<int>>:

std::vector<int> x(1000);
std::vector<std::vector<int>> v;
...
v.resize(v.size()+1, x);

In the pass-by-value case, x is copied once to the parameter of resize. And then internally, since the code can not know at compile time by how much resize is growing the vector, x is usually copied (not moved) a second time from resize's parameter into its proper place within the vector.

With pass-by-const-reference, the x in the above example need be copied only once. In this case, x has an expensive copy constructor and so any copies that can be saved represents a significant savings.

If we can be efficient for push_back, we should be efficient for resize as well. The resize taking a reference parameter has been coded and shipped in the CodeWarrior library with no reports of problems which I am aware of.

Proposed resolution:

Change 23.2.2 [deque], p2:

class deque {
   ...
   void resize(size_type sz, const T& c);

Change 23.2.2.2 [deque.capacity], p3:

void resize(size_type sz, const T& c);

Change 23.2.4 [list], p2:

class list {
   ...
   void resize(size_type sz, const T& c);

Change 23.2.4.2 [list.capacity], p3:

void resize(size_type sz, const T& c);

Change 23.2.6 [vector], p2:

class vector {
   ...
   void resize(size_type sz, const T& c);

Change 23.2.6.2 [vector.capacity], p11:

void resize(size_type sz, const T& c);

680. move_iterator operator-> return

Section: 24.4.3.1 [move.iterator] Status: WP Submitter: Howard Hinnant Date: 2007-06-11

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

move_iterator's operator-> return type pointer does not consistently match the type which is returned in the description in 24.4.3.3.5 [move.iter.op.ref].

template <class Iterator>
class move_iterator {
public:
    ...
    typedef typename iterator_traits<Iterator>::pointer pointer;
    ...
    pointer operator->() const {return current;}
    ...
private: 
    Iterator current; // exposition only
};

There are two possible fixes.

  1. pointer operator->() const {return &*current;}
  2. typedef Iterator pointer;

The first solution is the one chosen by reverse_iterator. A potential disadvantage of this is it may not work well with iterators which return a proxy on dereference and that proxy has overloaded operator&(). Proxy references often need to overloaad operator&() to return a proxy pointer. That proxy pointer may or may not be the same type as the iterator's pointer type.

By simply returning the Iterator and taking advantage of the fact that the language forwards calls to operator-> automatically until it finds a non-class type, the second solution avoids the issue of an overloaded operator&() entirely.

Proposed resolution:

Change the synopsis in 24.4.3.1 [move.iterator]:

typedef typename iterator_traits<Iterator>::pointer pointer;

681. Operator functions impossible to compare are defined in [re.submatch.op]

Section: 28.9.2 [re.submatch.op] Status: WP Submitter: Nozomu Katoo Date: 2007-05-27

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

In 28.9.2 [re.submatch.op] of N2284, operator functions numbered 31-42 seem impossible to compare.  E.g.:

template <class BiIter>
    bool operator==(typename iterator_traits<BiIter>::value_type const& lhs,
                    const sub_match<BiIter>& rhs);

-31- Returns: lhs == rhs.str().

When char* is used as BiIter, iterator_traits<BiIter>::value_type would be char, so that lhs == rhs.str() ends up comparing a char value and an object of std::basic_string<char>.  However, the behaviour of comparison between these two types is not defined in 21.3.8 [string.nonmembers] of N2284.  This applies when wchar_t* is used as BiIter.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2409.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2409 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


682. basic_regex ctor takes InputIterator or ForwardIterator?

Section: 28.8.2 [re.regex.construct] Status: WP Submitter: Eric Niebler Date: 2007-06-03

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Discussion:

Looking at N2284, 28.8 [re.regex], p3 basic_regex class template synopsis shows this constructor:

template <class InputIterator>
     basic_regex(InputIterator first, InputIterator last, 
                 flag_type f = regex_constants::ECMAScript);

In 28.8.2 [re.regex.construct], p15, the constructor appears with this signature:

template <class ForwardIterator>
     basic_regex(ForwardIterator first, ForwardIterator last, 
                 flag_type f = regex_constants::ECMAScript);

ForwardIterator is probably correct, so the synopsis is wrong.

[ John adds: ]

I think either could be implemented?  Although an input iterator would probably require an internal copy of the string being made.

I have no strong feelings either way, although I think my original intent was InputIterator.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2409.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2409 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


687. shared_ptr conversion constructor not constrained

Section: 20.6.12.2.1 [util.smartptr.shared.const], 20.6.12.3.1 [util.smartptr.weak.const] Status: WP Submitter: Peter Dimov Date: 2007-05-10

View all other issues in [util.smartptr.shared.const].

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Discussion:

Since all conversions from shared_ptr<T> to shared_ptr<U> have the same rank regardless of the relationship between T and U, reasonable user code that works with raw pointers fails with shared_ptr:

void f( shared_ptr<void> );
void f( shared_ptr<int> );

int main()
{
  f( shared_ptr<double>() ); // ambiguous
}

Now that we officially have enable_if, we can constrain the constructor and the corresponding assignment operator to only participate in the overload resolution when the pointer types are compatible.

Proposed resolution:

In 20.6.12.2.1 [util.smartptr.shared.const], change:

-14- Requires: For the second constructor The second constructor shall not participate in the overload resolution unless Y* shall be is implicitly convertible to T*.

In 20.6.12.3.1 [util.smartptr.weak.const], change:

template<class Y> weak_ptr(shared_ptr<Y> const& r);
weak_ptr(weak_ptr const& r);
template<class Y> weak_ptr(weak_ptr<Y> const& r);
weak_ptr(weak_ptr const& r);
template<class Y> weak_ptr(weak_ptr<Y> const& r);
template<class Y> weak_ptr(shared_ptr<Y> const& r);

-4- Requires: For tThe second and third constructors, shall not participate in the overload resolution unless Y* shall be is implicitly convertible to T*.


689. reference_wrapper constructor overly constrained

Section: 20.5.5.1 [refwrap.const] Status: WP Submitter: Peter Dimov Date: 2007-05-10

View all other issues in [refwrap.const].

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Discussion:

The constructor of reference_wrapper is currently explicit. The primary motivation behind this is the safety problem with respect to rvalues, which is addressed by the proposed resolution of the previous issue. Therefore we should consider relaxing the requirements on the constructor since requests for the implicit conversion keep resurfacing.

Also please see the thread starting at c++std-lib-17398 for some good discussion on this subject.

Proposed resolution:

Remove the explicit from the constructor of reference_wrapper. If the proposed resolution of the previous issue is accepted, remove the explicit from the T&& constructor as well to keep them in sync.


693. std::bitset::all() missing

Section: 23.3.5 [template.bitset] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2007-06-22

View all other issues in [template.bitset].

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Discussion:

The bitset class template provides the member function any() to determine whether an object of the type has any bits set, and the member function none() to determine whether all of an object's bits are clear. However, the template does not provide a corresponding function to discover whether a bitset object has all its bits set. While it is possible, even easy, to obtain this information by comparing the result of count() with the result of size() for equality (i.e., via b.count() == b.size()) the operation is less efficient than a member function designed specifically for that purpose could be. (count() must count all non-zero bits in a bitset a word at a time while all() could stop counting as soon as it encountered the first word with a zero bit).

Proposed resolution:

Add a declaration of the new member function all() to the defintion of the bitset template in 23.3.5 [template.bitset], p1, right above the declaration of any() as shown below:

bool operator!=(const bitset<N>& rhs) const;
bool test(size_t pos) const;
bool all() const;
bool any() const;
bool none() const;

Add a description of the new member function to the end of 23.3.5.2 [bitset.members] with the following text:

bool all() const;

Returns: count() == size().

In addition, change the description of any() and none() for consistency with all() as follows:

bool any() const;

Returns: true if any bit in *this is onecount() != 0.

bool none() const;

Returns: true if no bit in *this is onecount() == 0.


694. std::bitset and long long

Section: 23.3.5 [template.bitset] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2007-06-22

View all other issues in [template.bitset].

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Discussion:

Objects of the bitset class template specializations can be constructed from and explicitly converted to values of the widest C++ integer type, unsigned long. With the introduction of long long into the language the template should be enhanced to make it possible to interoperate with values of this type as well, or perhaps uintmax_t. See c++std-lib-18274 for a brief discussion in support of this change.

Proposed resolution:

For simplicity, instead of adding overloads for unsigned long long and dealing with possible ambiguities in the spec, replace the bitset ctor that takes an unsigned long argument with one taking unsigned long long in the definition of the template as shown below. (The standard permits implementations to add overloads on other integer types or employ template tricks to achieve the same effect provided they don't cause ambiguities or changes in behavior.)

// [bitset.cons] constructors:
bitset();
bitset(unsigned long long val);
template<class charT, class traits, class Allocator>
explicit bitset(
                const basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>& str,
                typename basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>::size_type pos = 0,
                typename basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>::size_type n =
                    basic_string<charT,traits,Allocator>::npos);

Make a corresponding change in 23.3.5.1 [bitset.cons], p2:

bitset(unsigned long long val);

Effects: Constructs an object of class bitset<N>, initializing the first M bit positions to the corresponding bit values in val. M is the smaller of N and the number of bits in the value representation (section [basic.types]) of unsigned long long. If M < N is true, the remaining bit positions are initialized to zero.

Additionally, introduce a new member function to_ullong() to make it possible to convert bitset to values of the new type. Add the following declaration to the definition of the template, immediate after the declaration of to_ulong() in 23.3.5 [template.bitset], p1, as shown below:

// element access:
bool operator[](size_t pos) const; // for b[i];
reference operator[](size_t pos); // for b[i];
unsigned long to_ulong() const;
unsigned long long to_ullong() const;
template <class charT, class traits, class Allocator>
basic_string<charT, traits, Allocator> to_string() const;

And add a description of the new member function to 23.3.5.2 [bitset.members], below the description of the existing to_ulong() (if possible), with the following text:

unsigned long long to_ullong() const;

Throws: overflow_error if the integral value x corresponding to the bits in *this cannot be represented as type unsigned long long.
Returns: x.

695. ctype<char>::classic_table() not accessible

Section: 22.2.1.3 [facet.ctype.special] Status: WP Submitter: Martin Sebor Date: 2007-06-22

View all issues with WP status.

Discussion:

The ctype<char>::classic_table() static member function returns a pointer to an array of const ctype_base::mask objects (enums) that contains ctype<char>::table_size elements. The table describes the properties of the character set in the "C" locale (i.e., whether a character at an index given by its value is alpha, digit, punct, etc.), and is typically used to initialize the ctype<char> facet in the classic "C" locale (the protected ctype<char> member function table() then returns the same value as classic_table()).

However, while ctype<char>::table_size (the size of the table) is a public static const member of the ctype<char> specialization, the classic_table() static member function is protected. That makes getting at the classic data less than convenient (i.e., one has to create a whole derived class just to get at the masks array). It makes little sense to expose the size of the table in the public interface while making the table itself protected, especially when the table is a constant object.

The same argument can be made for the non-static protected member function table().

Proposed resolution:

Make the ctype<char>::classic_table() and ctype<char>::table() member functions public by moving their declarations into the public section of the definition of specialization in 22.2.1.3 [facet.ctype.special] as shown below:

  static locale::id id;
  static const size_t table_size = IMPLEMENTATION_DEFINED;
protected:
  const mask* table() const throw();
  static const mask* classic_table() throw();
protected:

~ctype(); // virtual
virtual char do_toupper(char c) const;

699. N2111 changes min/max

Section: 26.4 [rand] Status: WP Submitter: P.J. Plauger Date: 2007-07-01

View all other issues in [rand].

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Discussion:

N2111 changes min/max in several places in random from member functions to static data members. I believe this introduces a needless backward compatibility problem between C++0X and TR1. I'd like us to find new names for the static data members, or perhaps change min/max to constexprs in C++0X.

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]


700. N1856 defines struct identity

Section: 20.2.2 [forward] Status: WP Submitter: P.J. Plauger Date: 2007-07-01

View other active issues in [forward].

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Discussion:

N1856 defines struct identity in <utility> which clashes with the traditional definition of struct identity in <functional> (not standard, but a common extension from old STL). Be nice if we could avoid this name clash for backward compatibility.

Proposed resolution:

Change 20.2.2 [forward]:

template <class T> struct identity
{
    typedef T type;
    const T& operator()(const T& x) const;
};
const T& operator()(const T& x) const;

Returns: x.


703. map::at() need a complexity specification

Section: 23.3.1.2 [map.access] Status: WP Submitter: Joe Gottman Date: 2007-07-03

View all other issues in [map.access].

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Discussion:

map::at() need a complexity specification.

Proposed resolution:

Add the following to the specification of map::at(), 23.3.1.2 [map.access]:

Complexity: logarithmic.


705. type-trait decay incompletely specified

Section: 20.4.7 [meta.trans.other] Status: WP Submitter: Thorsten Ottosen Date: 2007-07-08

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Discussion:

The current working draft has a type-trait decay in 20.4.7 [meta.trans.other].

Its use is to turn C++03 pass-by-value parameters into efficient C++0x pass-by-rvalue-reference parameters. However, the current definition introduces an incompatible change where the cv-qualification of the parameter type is retained. The deduced type should loose such cv-qualification, as pass-by-value does.

Proposed resolution:

In 20.4.7 [meta.trans.other] change the last sentence:

Otherwise the member typedef type equals remove_cv<U>::type.

In 20.3.1.3 [tuple.creation]/1 change:

where each Vi in VTypes is X& if, for the corresponding type Ti in Types, remove_cv<remove_reference<Ti>::type>::type equals reference_wrapper<X>, otherwise Vi is decay<Ti>::type. Let Ui be decay<Ti>::type for each Ti in Types. Then each Vi in VTypes is X& if Ui equals reference_wrapper<X>, otherwise Vi is Ui.


706. make_pair() should behave as make_tuple() wrt. reference_wrapper()

Section: 20.2.3 [pairs] Status: WP Submitter: Thorsten Ottosen Date: 2007-07-08

View all other issues in [pairs].

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Discussion:

The current draft has make_pair() in 20.2.3 [pairs]/16 and make_tuple() in 20.3.1.3 [tuple.creation]. make_tuple() detects the presence of reference_wrapper<X> arguments and "unwraps" the reference in such cases. make_pair() would OTOH create a reference_wrapper<X> member. I suggest that the two functions are made to behave similar in this respect to minimize confusion.

Proposed resolution:

In 20.2 [utility] change the synopsis for make_pair() to read

template <class T1, class T2>
  pair<typename decay<T1>::type V1, typename decay<T2>::type V2> make_pair(T1&&, T2&&);

In 20.2.3 [pairs]/16 change the declaration to match the above synopsis. Then change the 20.2.3 [pairs]/17 to:

Returns: pair<typename decay<T1>::type V1,typename decay<T2>::type V2>(forward<T1>(x),forward<T2>(y)) where V1 and V2 are determined as follows: Let Ui be decay<Ti>::type for each Ti. Then each Vi is X& if Ui equals reference_wrapper<X>, otherwise Vi is Ui.


712. seed_seq::size no longer useful

Section: 26.4.7.1 [rand.util.seedseq] Status: WP Submitter: Marc Paterno Date: 2007-08-25

View other active issues in [rand.util.seedseq].

View all other issues in [rand.util.seedseq].

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Discussion:

One of the motivations for incorporating seed_seq::size() was to simplify the wording in other parts of 26.4 [rand]. As a side effect of resolving related issues, all such references to seed_seq::size() will have been excised. More importantly, the present specification is contradictory, as "The number of 32-bit units the object can deliver" is not the same as "the result of v.size()."

See N2391 and N2423 for some further discussion.

Proposed resolution:

Adopt the proposed resolution in N2423.

[ Kona (2007): The LWG adopted the proposed resolution of N2423 for this issue. The LWG voted to accelerate this issue to Ready status to be voted into the WP at Kona. ]