1 General [intro]

The constructs in a C++ program create, destroy, refer to, access, and manipulate objects. An object is a region of storage. [ Note: A function is not an object, regardless of whether or not it occupies storage in the way that objects do.  — end note ] An object is created by a definition ([basic.def]), by a new-expression ([expr.new]) or by the implementation ([class.temporary]) when needed. The properties of an object are determined when the object is created. An object can have a name (Clause [basic]). An object has a storage duration ([basic.stc]) which influences its lifetime ([basic.life]). An object has a type ([basic.types]). The term object type refers to the type with which the object is created. Some objects are polymorphic ([class.virtual]); the implementation generates information associated with each such object that makes it possible to determine that object's type during program execution. For other objects, the interpretation of the values found therein is determined by the type of the expressions (Clause [expr]) used to access them.

Objects can contain other objects, called subobjects. A subobject can be a member subobject ([class.mem]), a base class subobject (Clause [class.derived]), or an array element. An object that is not a subobject of any other object is called a complete object.

For every object x, there is some object called the complete object of x, determined as follows:

• (3.1)

  If x is a complete object, then x is the complete object of x.

• (3.2)

  Otherwise, the complete object of x is the complete object of the (unique) object that contains x.

If a complete object, a data member ([class.mem]), or an array element is of class type, its type is considered the most derived class, to distinguish it from the class type of any base class subobject; an object of a most derived class type or of a non-class type is called a most derived object.

Unless it is a bit-field ([class.bit]), a most derived object shall have a non-zero size and shall occupy one or more bytes of storage. Base class subobjects may have zero size. An object of trivially copyable or standard-layout type ([basic.types]) shall occupy contiguous bytes of storage.

Unless an object is a bit-field or a base class subobject of zero size, the address of that object is the address of the first byte it occupies. Two objects that are not bit-fields may have the same address if one is a subobject of the other, or if at least one is a base class subobject of zero size and they are of different types; otherwise, they shall have distinct addresses.4

[ Example:

static const char test1 = 'x';
static const char test2 = 'x';
const bool b = &test1 != &test2;      // always true

 — end example ]

[ Note: C++ provides a variety of fundamental types and several ways of composing new types from existing types ([basic.types]).  — end note ]