8 Expressions [expr]

A literal is a primary expression. Its type depends on its form. A string literal is an lvalue; all other literals are prvalues.

The keyword this names a pointer to the object for which a non-static member function is invoked or a non-static data member's initializer ([class.mem]) is evaluated.

If a declaration declares a member function or member function template of a class X, the expression this is a prvalue of type “pointer to cv-qualifier-seq X” between the optional cv-qualifier-seq and the end of the function-definition, member-declarator, or declarator. It shall not appear before the optional cv-qualifier-seq and it shall not appear within the declaration of a static member function (although its type and value category are defined within a static member function as they are within a non-static member function). [ Note: This is because declaration matching does not occur until the complete declarator is known.  — end note ] Unlike the object expression in other contexts, *this is not required to be of complete type for purposes of class member access outside the member function body. [ Note: Only class members declared prior to the declaration are visible.  — end note ] [ Example:

struct A {
  char g();
  template<class T> auto f(T t) -> decltype(t + g())
    { return t + g(); }
};
template auto A::f(int t) -> decltype(t + g());

 — end example ]

Otherwise, if a member-declarator declares a non-static data member of a class X, the expression this is a prvalue of type “pointer to X” within the optional default member initializer. It shall not appear elsewhere in the member-declarator.

The expression this shall not appear in any other context. [ Example:

class Outer {
  int a[sizeof(*this)];               // error: not inside a member function
  unsigned int sz = sizeof(*this);    // OK: in default member initializer

  void f() {
    int b[sizeof(*this)];             // OK

    struct Inner {
      int c[sizeof(*this)];           // error: not inside a member function of Inner
    };
  }
};

 — end example ]

A parenthesized expression (E) is a primary expression whose type, value, and value category are identical to those of E. The parenthesized expression can be used in exactly the same contexts as those where E can be used, and with the same meaning, except as otherwise indicated.

An id-expression is a restricted form of a primary-expression. [ Note: An id-expression can appear after . and -> operators.  — end note ]

An id-expression that denotes a non-static data member or non-static member function of a class can only be used:

• (2.1)

  as part of a class member access in which the object expression refers to the member's class65 or a class derived from that class, or

• (2.2)

  to form a pointer to member ([expr.unary.op]), or

• (2.3)

  if that id-expression denotes a non-static data member and it appears in an unevaluated operand. [ Example:

  struct S {
    int m;
  };
  int i = sizeof(S::m);           // OK
  int j = sizeof(S::m + 42);      // OK
  

   — end example ]

Lambda expressions provide a concise way to create simple function objects. [ Example:

#include <algorithm>
#include <cmath>
void abssort(float* x, unsigned N) {
  std::sort(x, x + N, [](float a, float b) { return std::abs(a) < std::abs(b); });
}

 — end example ]

A lambda-expression is a prvalue whose result object is called the closure object. A lambda-expression shall not appear in an unevaluated operand, in a template-argument, in an alias-declaration, in a typedef declaration, or in the declaration of a function or function template outside its function body and default arguments. [ Note: The intention is to prevent lambdas from appearing in a signature.  — end note ] [ Note: A closure object behaves like a function object. — end note ]

In the decl-specifier-seq of the lambda-declarator, each decl-specifier shall either be mutable or constexpr.

If a lambda-expression does not include a lambda-declarator, it is as if the lambda-declarator were (). The lambda return type is auto, which is replaced by the type specified by the trailing-return-type if provided and/or deduced from return statements as described in [dcl.spec.auto]. [ Example:

auto x1 = [](int i){ return i; };     // OK: return type is int
auto x2 = []{ return { 1, 2 }; };     // error: deducing return type from braced-init-list
int j;
auto x3 = []()->auto&& { return j; }; // OK: return type is int&

 — end example ]

A fold expression performs a fold of a template parameter pack over a binary operator.

fold-expression:
	( cast-expression fold-operator ... )
	( ... fold-operator cast-expression )
	( cast-expression fold-operator ... fold-operator cast-expression )

fold-operator: one of
	+   -   *   /   %   ^   &   |   <<   >> 
	+=  -=  *=  /=  %=  ^=  &=  |=  <<=  >>=  =
	==  !=  <   >   <=  >=  &&  ||  ,    .*   ->*

An expression of the form (... op e) where op is a fold-operator is called a unary left fold. An expression of the form (e op ...) where op is a fold-operator is called a unary right fold. Unary left folds and unary right folds are collectively called unary folds. In a unary fold, the cast-expression shall contain an unexpanded parameter pack.

An expression of the form (e1 op1 ... op2 e2) where op1 and op2 are fold-operators is called a binary fold. In a binary fold, op1 and op2 shall be the same fold-operator, and either e1 shall contain an unexpanded parameter pack or e2 shall contain an unexpanded parameter pack, but not both. If e2 contains an unexpanded parameter pack, the expression is called a binary left fold. If e1 contains an unexpanded parameter pack, the expression is called a binary right fold. [ Example:

template<typename ...Args>
bool f(Args ...args) {
  return (true && ... && args); // OK
}

template<typename ...Args>
bool f(Args ...args) {
  return (args + ... + args);   // error: both operands contain unexpanded parameter packs
}

 — end example ]

A postfix expression followed by an expression in square brackets is a postfix expression. One of the expressions shall be a glvalue of type “array of T” or a prvalue of type “pointer to T” and the other shall be a prvalue of unscoped enumeration or integral type. The result is of type “T”. The type “T” shall be a completely-defined object type.66 The expression E1[E2] is identical (by definition) to *((E1)+(E2)) [ Note: see [expr.unary] and [expr.add] for details of * and + and [dcl.array] for details of arrays.  — end note ] , except that in the case of an array operand, the result is an lvalue if that operand is an lvalue and an xvalue otherwise. The expression E1 is sequenced before the expression E2.

A braced-init-list shall not be used with the built-in subscript operator.

A function call is a postfix expression followed by parentheses containing a possibly empty, comma-separated list of initializer-clauses which constitute the arguments to the function. The postfix expression shall have function type or function pointer type. For a call to a non-member function or to a static member function, the postfix expression shall be either an lvalue that refers to a function (in which case the function-to-pointer standard conversion is suppressed on the postfix expression), or it shall have function pointer type. Calling a function through an expression whose function type is different from the function type of the called function's definition results in undefined behavior ([dcl.link]). For a call to a non-static member function, the postfix expression shall be an implicit ([class.mfct.non-static], [class.static]) or explicit class member access whose id-expression is a function member name, or a pointer-to-member expression selecting a function member; the call is as a member of the class object referred to by the object expression. In the case of an implicit class member access, the implied object is the one pointed to by this. [ Note: A member function call of the form f() is interpreted as (*this).f() (see [class.mfct.non-static]).  — end note ] If a function or member function name is used, the name can be overloaded, in which case the appropriate function shall be selected according to the rules in [over.match]. If the selected function is non-virtual, or if the id-expression in the class member access expression is a qualified-id, that function is called. Otherwise, its final overrider in the dynamic type of the object expression is called; such a call is referred to as a virtual function call. [ Note: The dynamic type is the type of the object referred to by the current value of the object expression. [class.cdtor] describes the behavior of virtual function calls when the object expression refers to an object under construction or destruction.  — end note ]

[ Note: If a function or member function name is used, and name lookup does not find a declaration of that name, the program is ill-formed. No function is implicitly declared by such a call.  — end note ]

If the postfix-expression designates a destructor, the type of the function call expression is void; otherwise, the type of the function call expression is the return type of the statically chosen function (i.e., ignoring the virtual keyword), even if the type of the function actually called is different. This return type shall be an object type, a reference type or cv void.

When a function is called, each parameter ([dcl.fct]) shall be initialized ([dcl.init], [class.copy], [class.ctor]) with its corresponding argument. If the function is a non-static member function, the this parameter of the function shall be initialized with a pointer to the object of the call, converted as if by an explicit type conversion. [ Note: There is no access or ambiguity checking on this conversion; the access checking and disambiguation are done as part of the (possibly implicit) class member access operator. See [class.member.lookup], [class.access.base], and [expr.ref].  — end note ] When a function is called, the parameters that have object type shall have completely-defined object type. [ Note: this still allows a parameter to be a pointer or reference to an incomplete class type. However, it prevents a passed-by-value parameter to have an incomplete class type.  — end note ] It is implementation-defined whether the lifetime of a parameter ends when the function in which it is defined returns or at the end of the enclosing full-expression. The initialization and destruction of each parameter occurs within the context of the calling function. [ Example: The access of the constructor, conversion functions or destructor is checked at the point of call in the calling function. If a constructor or destructor for a function parameter throws an exception, the search for a handler starts in the scope of the calling function; in particular, if the function called has a function-try-block with a handler that could handle the exception, this handler is not considered.  — end example ]

The postfix-expression is sequenced before each expression in the expression-list and any default argument. The initialization of a parameter, including every associated value computation and side effect, is indeterminately sequenced with respect to that of any other parameter. [ Note: All side effects of argument evaluations are sequenced before the function is entered (see [intro.execution]).  — end note ] [ Example:

void f() {
  std::string s = "but I have heard it works even if you don't believe in it";
  s.replace(0, 4, "").replace(s.find("even"), 4, "only").replace(s.find(" don't"), 6, "");
  assert(s == "I have heard it works only if you believe in it"); // OK
}

 — end example ] [ Note: If an operator function is invoked using operator notation, argument evaluation is sequenced as specified for the built-in operator; see [over.match.oper].  — end note ] [ Example:

struct S {
  S(int);
};
int operator<<(S, int);
int i, j;
int x = S(i=1) << (i=2);
int y = operator<<(S(j=1), j=2);

After performing the initializations, the value of i is 2 (see [expr.shift]), but it is unspecified whether the value of j is 1 or 2.  — end example ]

The result of a function call is the result of the operand of the evaluated return statement in the called function (if any), except in a virtual function call if the return type of the final overrider is different from the return type of the statically chosen function, the value returned from the final overrider is converted to the return type of the statically chosen function.

[ Note: A function can change the values of its non-const parameters, but these changes cannot affect the values of the arguments except where a parameter is of a reference type ([dcl.ref]); if the reference is to a const-qualified type, const_­cast is required to be used to cast away the constness in order to modify the argument's value. Where a parameter is of const reference type a temporary object is introduced if needed ([dcl.type], [lex.literal], [lex.string], [dcl.array], [class.temporary]). In addition, it is possible to modify the values of non-constant objects through pointer parameters.  — end note ]

A function can be declared to accept fewer arguments (by declaring default arguments) or more arguments (by using the ellipsis, ..., or a function parameter pack ([dcl.fct])) than the number of parameters in the function definition. [ Note: This implies that, except where the ellipsis (...) or a function parameter pack is used, a parameter is available for each argument.  — end note ]

When there is no parameter for a given argument, the argument is passed in such a way that the receiving function can obtain the value of the argument by invoking va_­arg. [ Note: This paragraph does not apply to arguments passed to a function parameter pack. Function parameter packs are expanded during template instantiation ([temp.variadic]), thus each such argument has a corresponding parameter when a function template specialization is actually called.  — end note ] The lvalue-to-rvalue, array-to-pointer, and function-to-pointer standard conversions are performed on the argument expression. An argument that has type cv std​::​nullptr_­t is converted to type void*. After these conversions, if the argument does not have arithmetic, enumeration, pointer, pointer to member, or class type, the program is ill-formed. Passing a potentially-evaluated argument of class type having a non-trivial copy constructor, a non-trivial move constructor, or a non-trivial destructor, with no corresponding parameter, is conditionally-supported with implementation-defined semantics. If the argument has integral or enumeration type that is subject to the integral promotions, or a floating-point type that is subject to the floating-point promotion, the value of the argument is converted to the promoted type before the call. These promotions are referred to as the default argument promotions.

Recursive calls are permitted, except to the main function.

A function call is an lvalue if the result type is an lvalue reference type or an rvalue reference to function type, an xvalue if the result type is an rvalue reference to object type, and a prvalue otherwise.

A simple-type-specifier or typename-specifier followed by a parenthesized optional expression-list or by a braced-init-list (the initializer) constructs a value of the specified type given the initializer. If the type is a placeholder for a deduced class type, it is replaced by the return type of the function selected by overload resolution for class template deduction for the remainder of this section.

If the initializer is a parenthesized single expression, the type conversion expression is equivalent (in definedness, and if defined in meaning) to the corresponding cast expression. If the type is cv void and the initializer is (), the expression is a prvalue of the specified type that performs no initialization. Otherwise, the expression is a prvalue of the specified type whose result object is direct-initialized with the initializer. For an expression of the form T(), T shall not be an array type.

The use of a pseudo-destructor-name after a dot . or arrow -> operator represents the destructor for the non-class type denoted by type-name or decltype-specifier. The result shall only be used as the operand for the function call operator (), and the result of such a call has type void. The only effect is the evaluation of the postfix-expression before the dot or arrow.

The left-hand side of the dot operator shall be of scalar type. The left-hand side of the arrow operator shall be of pointer to scalar type. This scalar type is the object type. The cv-unqualified versions of the object type and of the type designated by the pseudo-destructor-name shall be the same type. Furthermore, the two type-names in a pseudo-destructor-name of the form

nested-name-specifier${}_{opt}$ type-name :: ~ type-name

shall designate the same scalar type (ignoring cv-qualification).

A postfix expression followed by a dot . or an arrow ->, optionally followed by the keyword template ([temp.names]), and then followed by an id-expression, is a postfix expression. The postfix expression before the dot or arrow is evaluated;67 the result of that evaluation, together with the id-expression, determines the result of the entire postfix expression.

For the first option (dot) the first expression shall be a glvalue having complete class type. For the second option (arrow) the first expression shall be a prvalue having pointer to complete class type. The expression E1->E2 is converted to the equivalent form (*(E1)).E2; the remainder of [expr.ref] will address only the first option (dot).68 In either case, the id-expression shall name a member of the class or of one of its base classes. [ Note: Because the name of a class is inserted in its class scope (Clause [class]), the name of a class is also considered a nested member of that class.  — end note ] [ Note: [basic.lookup.classref] describes how names are looked up after the . and -> operators.  — end note ]

Abbreviating postfix-expression.id-expression as E1.E2, E1 is called the object expression. If E2 is a bit-field, E1.E2 is a bit-field. The type and value category of E1.E2 are determined as follows. In the remainder of [expr.ref], cq represents either const or the absence of const and vq represents either volatile or the absence of volatile. cv represents an arbitrary set of cv-qualifiers, as defined in [basic.type.qualifier].

If E2 is declared to have type “reference to T”, then E1.E2 is an lvalue; the type of E1.E2 is T. Otherwise, one of the following rules applies.

• (4.1)

  If E2 is a static data member and the type of E2 is T, then E1.E2 is an lvalue; the expression designates the named member of the class. The type of E1.E2 is T.

• (4.2)

  If E2 is a non-static data member and the type of E1 is “cq1 vq1 X”, and the type of E2 is “cq2 vq2 T”, the expression designates the named member of the object designated by the first expression. If E1 is an lvalue, then E1.E2 is an lvalue; otherwise E1.E2 is an xvalue. Let the notation vq12 stand for the “union” of vq1 and vq2; that is, if vq1 or vq2 is volatile, then vq12 is volatile. Similarly, let the notation cq12 stand for the “union” of cq1 and cq2; that is, if cq1 or cq2 is const, then cq12 is const. If E2 is declared to be a mutable member, then the type of E1.E2 is “vq12 T”. If E2 is not declared to be a mutable member, then the type of E1.E2 is “cq12 vq12 T”.

• (4.3)

  If E2 is a (possibly overloaded) member function, function overload resolution is used to determine whether E1.E2 refers to a static or a non-static member function.

  • (4.3.1)

    If it refers to a static member function and the type of E2 is “function of parameter-type-list returning T”, then E1.E2 is an lvalue; the expression designates the static member function. The type of E1.E2 is the same type as that of E2, namely “function of parameter-type-list returning T”.

  • (4.3.2)

    Otherwise, if E1.E2 refers to a non-static member function and the type of E2 is “function of parameter-type-list cv ref-qualifier${}_{opt}$ returning T”, then E1.E2 is a prvalue. The expression designates a non-static member function. The expression can be used only as the left-hand operand of a member function call ([class.mfct]). [ Note: Any redundant set of parentheses surrounding the expression is ignored ([expr.prim]).  — end note ] The type of E1.E2 is “function of parameter-type-list cv returning T”.

• (4.4)

  If E2 is a nested type, the expression E1.E2 is ill-formed.

• (4.5)

  If E2 is a member enumerator and the type of E2 is T, the expression E1.E2 is a prvalue. The type of E1.E2 is T.

If E2 is a non-static data member or a non-static member function, the program is ill-formed if the class of which E2 is directly a member is an ambiguous base ([class.member.lookup]) of the naming class ([class.access.base]) of E2. [ Note: The program is also ill-formed if the naming class is an ambiguous base of the class type of the object expression; see [class.access.base].  — end note ]

The value of a postfix ++ expression is the value of its operand. [ Note: The value obtained is a copy of the original value  — end note ] The operand shall be a modifiable lvalue. The type of the operand shall be an arithmetic type other than cv bool, or a pointer to a complete object type. The value of the operand object is modified by adding 1 to it. The value computation of the ++ expression is sequenced before the modification of the operand object. With respect to an indeterminately-sequenced function call, the operation of postfix ++ is a single evaluation. [ Note: Therefore, a function call shall not intervene between the lvalue-to-rvalue conversion and the side effect associated with any single postfix ++ operator.  — end note ] The result is a prvalue. The type of the result is the cv-unqualified version of the type of the operand. If the operand is a bit-field that cannot represent the incremented value, the resulting value of the bit-field is implementation-defined. See also [expr.add] and [expr.ass].

The operand of postfix -- is decremented analogously to the postfix ++ operator. [ Note: For prefix increment and decrement, see [expr.pre.incr].  — end note ]

The result of the expression dynamic_­cast<T>(v) is the result of converting the expression v to type T. T shall be a pointer or reference to a complete class type, or “pointer to cv void”. The dynamic_­cast operator shall not cast away constness.

If T is a pointer type, v shall be a prvalue of a pointer to complete class type, and the result is a prvalue of type T. If T is an lvalue reference type, v shall be an lvalue of a complete class type, and the result is an lvalue of the type referred to by T. If T is an rvalue reference type, v shall be a glvalue having a complete class type, and the result is an xvalue of the type referred to by T.

If the type of v is the same as T, or it is the same as T except that the class object type in T is more cv-qualified than the class object type in v, the result is v (converted if necessary).

If the value of v is a null pointer value in the pointer case, the result is the null pointer value of type T.

If T is “pointer to cv1 B” and v has type “pointer to cv2 D” such that B is a base class of D, the result is a pointer to the unique B subobject of the D object pointed to by v. Similarly, if T is “reference to cv1 B” and v has type cv2 D such that B is a base class of D, the result is the unique B subobject of the D object referred to by v.69 In both the pointer and reference cases, the program is ill-formed if cv2 has greater cv-qualification than cv1 or if B is an inaccessible or ambiguous base class of D. [ Example:

struct B { };
struct D : B { };
void foo(D* dp) {
  B*  bp = dynamic_cast<B*>(dp);    // equivalent to B* bp = dp;
}

 — end example ]

Otherwise, v shall be a pointer to or a glvalue of a polymorphic type.

If T is “pointer to cv void”, then the result is a pointer to the most derived object pointed to by v. Otherwise, a runtime check is applied to see if the object pointed or referred to by v can be converted to the type pointed or referred to by T.

If C is the class type to which T points or refers, the runtime check logically executes as follows:

• (8.1)

  If, in the most derived object pointed (referred) to by v, v points (refers) to a public base class subobject of a C object, and if only one object of type C is derived from the subobject pointed (referred) to by v the result points (refers) to that C object.

• (8.2)

  Otherwise, if v points (refers) to a public base class subobject of the most derived object, and the type of the most derived object has a base class, of type C, that is unambiguous and public, the result points (refers) to the C subobject of the most derived object.

• (8.3)

  Otherwise, the runtime check fails.

The value of a failed cast to pointer type is the null pointer value of the required result type. A failed cast to reference type throws an exception of a type that would match a handler of type std​::​bad_­cast.

[ Example:

class A { virtual void f(); };
class B { virtual void g(); };
class D : public virtual A, private B { };
void g() {
  D   d;
  B*  bp = (B*)&d;                  // cast needed to break protection
  A*  ap = &d;                      // public derivation, no cast needed
  D&  dr = dynamic_cast<D&>(*bp);   // fails
  ap = dynamic_cast<A*>(bp);        // fails
  bp = dynamic_cast<B*>(ap);        // fails
  ap = dynamic_cast<A*>(&d);        // succeeds
  bp = dynamic_cast<B*>(&d);        // ill-formed (not a runtime check)
}

class E : public D, public B { };
class F : public E, public D { };
void h() {
  F   f;
  A*  ap  = &f;                     // succeeds: finds unique A
  D*  dp  = dynamic_cast<D*>(ap);   // fails: yields null; f has two D subobjects
  E*  ep  = (E*)ap;                 // ill-formed: cast from virtual base
  E*  ep1 = dynamic_cast<E*>(ap);   // succeeds
}

 — end example ] [ Note: [class.cdtor] describes the behavior of a dynamic_­cast applied to an object under construction or destruction.  — end note ]

The result of a typeid expression is an lvalue of static type const std​::​type_­info and dynamic type const std​::​type_­info or const name where name is an implementation-defined class publicly derived from std​::​type_­info which preserves the behavior described in [type.info].70 The lifetime of the object referred to by the lvalue extends to the end of the program. Whether or not the destructor is called for the std​::​type_­info object at the end of the program is unspecified.

When typeid is applied to a glvalue expression whose type is a polymorphic class type, the result refers to a std​::​type_­info object representing the type of the most derived object (that is, the dynamic type) to which the glvalue refers. If the glvalue expression is obtained by applying the unary * operator to a pointer71 and the pointer is a null pointer value, the typeid expression throws an exception of a type that would match a handler of type std​::​bad_­typeid exception.

When typeid is applied to an expression other than a glvalue of a polymorphic class type, the result refers to a std​::​type_­info object representing the static type of the expression. Lvalue-to-rvalue, array-to-pointer, and function-to-pointer conversions are not applied to the expression. If the expression is a prvalue, the temporary materialization conversion is applied. The expression is an unevaluated operand.

When typeid is applied to a type-id, the result refers to a std​::​type_­info object representing the type of the type-id. If the type of the type-id is a reference to a possibly cv-qualified type, the result of the typeid expression refers to a std​::​type_­info object representing the cv-unqualified referenced type. If the type of the type-id is a class type or a reference to a class type, the class shall be completely-defined.

If the type of the expression or type-id is a cv-qualified type, the result of the typeid expression refers to a std​::​type_­info object representing the cv-unqualified type. [ Example:

class D { /* ... */ };
D d1;
const D d2;

typeid(d1) == typeid(d2);       // yields true
typeid(D)  == typeid(const D);  // yields true
typeid(D)  == typeid(d2);       // yields true
typeid(D)  == typeid(const D&); // yields true

 — end example ]

If the header <typeinfo> is not included prior to a use of typeid, the program is ill-formed.

[ Note: [class.cdtor] describes the behavior of typeid applied to an object under construction or destruction.  — end note ]

The result of the expression static_­cast<T>(v) is the result of converting the expression v to type T. If T is an lvalue reference type or an rvalue reference to function type, the result is an lvalue; if T is an rvalue reference to object type, the result is an xvalue; otherwise, the result is a prvalue. The static_­cast operator shall not cast away constness.

An lvalue of type “cv1 B”, where B is a class type, can be cast to type “reference to cv2 D”, where D is a class derived from B, if cv2 is the same cv-qualification as, or greater cv-qualification than, cv1. If B is a virtual base class of D or a base class of a virtual base class of D, or if no valid standard conversion from “pointer to D” to “pointer to B” exists ([conv.ptr]), the program is ill-formed. An xvalue of type “cv1 B” can be cast to type “rvalue reference to cv2 D” with the same constraints as for an lvalue of type “cv1 B”. If the object of type “cv1 B” is actually a base class subobject of an object of type D, the result refers to the enclosing object of type D. Otherwise, the behavior is undefined. [ Example:

struct B { };
struct D : public B { };
D d;
B &br = d;

static_cast<D&>(br);            // produces lvalue to the original d object

 — end example ]

An lvalue of type “cv1 T1” can be cast to type “rvalue reference to cv2 T2” if “cv2 T2” is reference-compatible with “cv1 T1”. If the value is not a bit-field, the result refers to the object or the specified base class subobject thereof; otherwise, the lvalue-to-rvalue conversion is applied to the bit-field and the resulting prvalue is used as the expression of the static_­cast for the remainder of this section. If T2 is an inaccessible or ambiguous base class of T1, a program that necessitates such a cast is ill-formed.

An expression e can be explicitly converted to a type T if there is an implicit conversion sequence from e to T, or if overload resolution for a direct-initialization of an object or reference of type T from e would find at least one viable function ([over.match.viable]). If T is a reference type, the effect is the same as performing the declaration and initialization

 T t(e);

for some invented temporary variable t ([dcl.init]) and then using the temporary variable as the result of the conversion. Otherwise, the result object is direct-initialized from e. [ Note: The conversion is ill-formed when attempting to convert an expression of class type to an inaccessible or ambiguous base class.  — end note ]

Otherwise, the static_­cast shall perform one of the conversions listed below. No other conversion shall be performed explicitly using a static_­cast.

Any expression can be explicitly converted to type cv void, in which case it becomes a discarded-value expression. [ Note: However, if the value is in a temporary object, the destructor for that object is not executed until the usual time, and the value of the object is preserved for the purpose of executing the destructor.  — end note ]

The inverse of any standard conversion sequence not containing an lvalue-to-rvalue, array-to-pointer, function-to-pointer, null pointer, null member pointer, boolean, or function pointer conversion, can be performed explicitly using static_­cast. A program is ill-formed if it uses static_­cast to perform the inverse of an ill-formed standard conversion sequence. [ Example:

struct B { };
struct D : private B { };
void f() {
  static_cast<D*>((B*)0);               // error: B is a private base of D
  static_cast<int B::*>((int D::*)0);   // error: B is a private base of D
}

 — end example ]

The lvalue-to-rvalue, array-to-pointer, and function-to-pointer conversions are applied to the operand. Such a static_­cast is subject to the restriction that the explicit conversion does not cast away constness, and the following additional rules for specific cases:

A value of a scoped enumeration type can be explicitly converted to an integral type. When that type is cv bool, the resulting value is false if the original value is zero and true for all other values. For the remaining integral types, the value is unchanged if the original value can be represented by the specified type. Otherwise, the resulting value is unspecified. A value of a scoped enumeration type can also be explicitly converted to a floating-point type; the result is the same as that of converting from the original value to the floating-point type.

A value of integral or enumeration type can be explicitly converted to a complete enumeration type. The value is unchanged if the original value is within the range of the enumeration values ([dcl.enum]). Otherwise, the behavior is undefined. A value of floating-point type can also be explicitly converted to an enumeration type. The resulting value is the same as converting the original value to the underlying type of the enumeration ([conv.fpint]), and subsequently to the enumeration type.

A prvalue of type “pointer to cv1 B”, where B is a class type, can be converted to a prvalue of type “pointer to cv2 D”, where D is a class derived from B, if cv2 is the same cv-qualification as, or greater cv-qualification than, cv1. If B is a virtual base class of D or a base class of a virtual base class of D, or if no valid standard conversion from “pointer to D” to “pointer to B” exists ([conv.ptr]), the program is ill-formed. The null pointer value is converted to the null pointer value of the destination type. If the prvalue of type “pointer to cv1 B” points to a B that is actually a subobject of an object of type D, the resulting pointer points to the enclosing object of type D. Otherwise, the behavior is undefined.

A prvalue of type “pointer to member of D of type cv1 T” can be converted to a prvalue of type “pointer to member of B of type cv2 T”, where B is a base class of D, if cv2 is the same cv-qualification as, or greater cv-qualification than, cv1.72 If no valid standard conversion from “pointer to member of B of type T” to “pointer to member of D of type T” exists ([conv.mem]), the program is ill-formed. The null member pointer value is converted to the null member pointer value of the destination type. If class B contains the original member, or is a base or derived class of the class containing the original member, the resulting pointer to member points to the original member. Otherwise, the behavior is undefined. [ Note: Although class B need not contain the original member, the dynamic type of the object with which indirection through the pointer to member is performed must contain the original member; see [expr.mptr.oper].  — end note ]

A prvalue of type “pointer to cv1 void” can be converted to a prvalue of type “pointer to cv2 T”, where T is an object type and cv2 is the same cv-qualification as, or greater cv-qualification than, cv1. If the original pointer value represents the address A of a byte in memory and A does not satisfy the alignment requirement of T, then the resulting pointer value is unspecified. Otherwise, if the original pointer value points to an object a, and there is an object b of type T (ignoring cv-qualification) that is pointer-interconvertible with a, the result is a pointer to b. Otherwise, the pointer value is unchanged by the conversion. [ Example:

T* p1 = new T;
const T* p2 = static_cast<const T*>(static_cast<void*>(p1));
bool b = p1 == p2;  // b will have the value true.

 — end example ]

The result of the expression reinterpret_­cast<T>(v) is the result of converting the expression v to type T. If T is an lvalue reference type or an rvalue reference to function type, the result is an lvalue; if T is an rvalue reference to object type, the result is an xvalue; otherwise, the result is a prvalue and the lvalue-to-rvalue, array-to-pointer, and function-to-pointer standard conversions are performed on the expression v. Conversions that can be performed explicitly using reinterpret_­cast are listed below. No other conversion can be performed explicitly using reinterpret_­cast.

The reinterpret_­cast operator shall not cast away constness. An expression of integral, enumeration, pointer, or pointer-to-member type can be explicitly converted to its own type; such a cast yields the value of its operand.

[ Note: The mapping performed by reinterpret_­cast might, or might not, produce a representation different from the original value.  — end note ]

A pointer can be explicitly converted to any integral type large enough to hold it. The mapping function is implementation-defined. [ Note: It is intended to be unsurprising to those who know the addressing structure of the underlying machine.  — end note ] A value of type std​::​nullptr_­t can be converted to an integral type; the conversion has the same meaning and validity as a conversion of (void*)0 to the integral type. [ Note: A reinterpret_­cast cannot be used to convert a value of any type to the type std​::​nullptr_­t.  — end note ]

A value of integral type or enumeration type can be explicitly converted to a pointer. A pointer converted to an integer of sufficient size (if any such exists on the implementation) and back to the same pointer type will have its original value; mappings between pointers and integers are otherwise implementation-defined. [ Note: Except as described in [basic.stc.dynamic.safety], the result of such a conversion will not be a safely-derived pointer value.  — end note ]

A function pointer can be explicitly converted to a function pointer of a different type. [ Note: The effect of calling a function through a pointer to a function type ([dcl.fct]) that is not the same as the type used in the definition of the function is undefined.  — end note ] Except that converting a prvalue of type “pointer to T1” to the type “pointer to T2” (where T1 and T2 are function types) and back to its original type yields the original pointer value, the result of such a pointer conversion is unspecified. [ Note: See also [conv.ptr] for more details of pointer conversions.  — end note ]

An object pointer can be explicitly converted to an object pointer of a different type.73 When a prvalue v of object pointer type is converted to the object pointer type “pointer to cv T”, the result is static_­cast<cv T*>(static_­cast<cv void*>(v)). [ Note: Converting a prvalue of type “pointer to T1” to the type “pointer to T2” (where T1 and T2 are object types and where the alignment requirements of T2 are no stricter than those of T1) and back to its original type yields the original pointer value.  — end note ]

Converting a function pointer to an object pointer type or vice versa is conditionally-supported. The meaning of such a conversion is implementation-defined, except that if an implementation supports conversions in both directions, converting a prvalue of one type to the other type and back, possibly with different cv-qualification, shall yield the original pointer value.

The null pointer value is converted to the null pointer value of the destination type. [ Note: A null pointer constant of type std​::​nullptr_­t cannot be converted to a pointer type, and a null pointer constant of integral type is not necessarily converted to a null pointer value.  — end note ]

A prvalue of type “pointer to member of X of type T1” can be explicitly converted to a prvalue of a different type “pointer to member of Y of type T2” if T1 and T2 are both function types or both object types.74 The null member pointer value is converted to the null member pointer value of the destination type. The result of this conversion is unspecified, except in the following cases:

• (10.1)

  converting a prvalue of type “pointer to member function” to a different pointer to member function type and back to its original type yields the original pointer to member value.

• (10.2)

  converting a prvalue of type “pointer to data member of X of type T1” to the type “pointer to data member of Y of type T2” (where the alignment requirements of T2 are no stricter than those of T1) and back to its original type yields the original pointer to member value.

A glvalue expression of type T1 can be cast to the type “reference to T2” if an expression of type “pointer to T1” can be explicitly converted to the type “pointer to T2” using a reinterpret_­cast. The result refers to the same object as the source glvalue, but with the specified type. [ Note: That is, for lvalues, a reference cast reinterpret_­cast<T&>(x) has the same effect as the conversion *reinterpret_­cast<T*>(&x) with the built-in & and * operators (and similarly for reinterpret_­cast<T&&>(x)).  — end note ] No temporary is created, no copy is made, and constructors or conversion functions are not called.75

The result of the expression const_­cast<T>(v) is of type T. If T is an lvalue reference to object type, the result is an lvalue; if T is an rvalue reference to object type, the result is an xvalue; otherwise, the result is a prvalue and the lvalue-to-rvalue, array-to-pointer, and function-to-pointer standard conversions are performed on the expression v. Conversions that can be performed explicitly using const_­cast are listed below. No other conversion shall be performed explicitly using const_­cast.

[ Note: Subject to the restrictions in this section, an expression may be cast to its own type using a const_­cast operator.  — end note ]

For two similar types T1 and T2, a prvalue of type T1 may be explicitly converted to the type T2 using a const_­cast. The result of a const_­cast refers to the original entity. [ Example:

typedef int *A[3];               // array of 3 pointer to int
typedef const int *const CA[3];  // array of 3 const pointer to const int

CA &&r = A{}; // OK, reference binds to temporary array object after qualification conversion to type CA
A &&r1 = const_cast<A>(CA{});    // error: temporary array decayed to pointer
A &&r2 = const_cast<A&&>(CA{});  // OK

 — end example ]

For two object types T1 and T2, if a pointer to T1 can be explicitly converted to the type “pointer to T2” using a const_­cast, then the following conversions can also be made:

• (4.1)

  an lvalue of type T1 can be explicitly converted to an lvalue of type T2 using the cast const_­cast<T2&>;

• (4.2)

  a glvalue of type T1 can be explicitly converted to an xvalue of type T2 using the cast const_­cast<T2&&>; and

• (4.3)

  if T1 is a class type, a prvalue of type T1 can be explicitly converted to an xvalue of type T2 using the cast const_­cast<T2&&>.

The result of a reference const_­cast refers to the original object if the operand is a glvalue and to the result of applying the temporary materialization conversion otherwise.

A null pointer value is converted to the null pointer value of the destination type. The null member pointer value is converted to the null member pointer value of the destination type.

[ Note: Depending on the type of the object, a write operation through the pointer, lvalue or pointer to data member resulting from a const_­cast that casts away a const-qualifier76 may produce undefined behavior ([dcl.type.cv]).  — end note ]

A conversion from a type T1 to a type T2 casts away constness if T1 and T2 are different, there is a cv-decomposition of T1 yielding n such that T2 has a cv-decomposition of the form $c{v}_0^2$ $P_0^2$ $c{v}_1^2$ $P_1^2$ ⋯ $c{v}_{n-1}^2$ $P_{n-1}^2$ $c{v}_n^2$ $U_2$, and there is no qualification conversion that converts T1 to $c{v}_0^2$ $P_0^1$ $c{v}_1^2$ $P_1^1$ ⋯ $c{v}_{n-1}^2$ $P_{n-1}^1$ $c{v}_n^2$ $U_1$.

Casting from an lvalue of type T1 to an lvalue of type T2 using an lvalue reference cast or casting from an expression of type T1 to an xvalue of type T2 using an rvalue reference cast casts away constness if a cast from a prvalue of type “pointer to T1” to the type “pointer to T2” casts away constness.

[ Note: Some conversions which involve only changes in cv-qualification cannot be done using const_­cast. For instance, conversions between pointers to functions are not covered because such conversions lead to values whose use causes undefined behavior. For the same reasons, conversions between pointers to member functions, and in particular, the conversion from a pointer to a const member function to a pointer to a non-const member function, are not covered.  — end note ]

The unary * operator performs indirection: the expression to which it is applied shall be a pointer to an object type, or a pointer to a function type and the result is an lvalue referring to the object or function to which the expression points. If the type of the expression is “pointer to T”, the type of the result is “T”. [ Note: Indirection through a pointer to an incomplete type (other than cv void) is valid. The lvalue thus obtained can be used in limited ways (to initialize a reference, for example); this lvalue must not be converted to a prvalue, see [conv.lval].  — end note ]

The result of each of the following unary operators is a prvalue.

The result of the unary & operator is a pointer to its operand. The operand shall be an lvalue or a qualified-id. If the operand is a qualified-id naming a non-static or variant member m of some class C with type T, the result has type “pointer to member of class C of type T” and is a prvalue designating C​::​m. Otherwise, if the type of the expression is T, the result has type “pointer to T” and is a prvalue that is the address of the designated object ([intro.memory]) or a pointer to the designated function. [ Note: In particular, the address of an object of type “cv T” is “pointer to cv T”, with the same cv-qualification.  — end note ] For purposes of pointer arithmetic ([expr.add]) and comparison ([expr.rel], [expr.eq]), an object that is not an array element whose address is taken in this way is considered to belong to an array with one element of type T. [ Example:

struct A { int i; };
struct B : A { };
... &B::i ...       // has type int A​::​*
int a;
int* p1 = &a;
int* p2 = p1 + 1;   // defined behavior
bool b = p2 > p1;   // defined behavior, with value true

 — end example ] [ Note: A pointer to member formed from a mutable non-static data member ([dcl.stc]) does not reflect the mutable specifier associated with the non-static data member.  — end note ]

A pointer to member is only formed when an explicit & is used and its operand is a qualified-id not enclosed in parentheses. [ Note: That is, the expression &(qualified-id), where the qualified-id is enclosed in parentheses, does not form an expression of type “pointer to member”. Neither does qualified-id, because there is no implicit conversion from a qualified-id for a non-static member function to the type “pointer to member function” as there is from an lvalue of function type to the type “pointer to function” ([conv.func]). Nor is &unqualified-id a pointer to member, even within the scope of the unqualified-id's class.  — end note ]

If & is applied to an lvalue of incomplete class type and the complete type declares operator&(), it is unspecified whether the operator has the built-in meaning or the operator function is called. The operand of & shall not be a bit-field.

The address of an overloaded function can be taken only in a context that uniquely determines which version of the overloaded function is referred to (see [over.over]). [ Note: Since the context might determine whether the operand is a static or non-static member function, the context can also affect whether the expression has type “pointer to function” or “pointer to member function”.  — end note ]

The operand of the unary + operator shall have arithmetic, unscoped enumeration, or pointer type and the result is the value of the argument. Integral promotion is performed on integral or enumeration operands. The type of the result is the type of the promoted operand.

The operand of the unary - operator shall have arithmetic or unscoped enumeration type and the result is the negation of its operand. Integral promotion is performed on integral or enumeration operands. The negative of an unsigned quantity is computed by subtracting its value from $2^n$, where n is the number of bits in the promoted operand. The type of the result is the type of the promoted operand.

The operand of the logical negation operator ! is contextually converted to bool; its value is true if the converted operand is false and false otherwise. The type of the result is bool.

The operand of ~ shall have integral or unscoped enumeration type; the result is the ones' complement of its operand. Integral promotions are performed. The type of the result is the type of the promoted operand. There is an ambiguity in the grammar when ~ is followed by a class-name or decltype-specifier. The ambiguity is resolved by treating ~ as the unary complement operator rather than as the start of an unqualified-id naming a destructor. [ Note: Because the grammar does not permit an operator to follow the ., ->, or ​::​ tokens, a ~ followed by a class-name or decltype-specifier in a member access expression or qualified-id is unambiguously parsed as a destructor name.  — end note ]

The operand of prefix ++ is modified by adding 1. The operand shall be a modifiable lvalue. The type of the operand shall be an arithmetic type other than cv bool, or a pointer to a completely-defined object type. The result is the updated operand; it is an lvalue, and it is a bit-field if the operand is a bit-field. The expression ++x is equivalent to x+=1. [ Note: See the discussions of addition and assignment operators for information on conversions.  — end note ]

The operand of prefix -- is modified by subtracting 1. The requirements on the operand of prefix -- and the properties of its result are otherwise the same as those of prefix ++. [ Note: For postfix increment and decrement, see [expr.post.incr].  — end note ]

The sizeof operator yields the number of bytes in the object representation of its operand. The operand is either an expression, which is an unevaluated operand, or a parenthesized type-id. The sizeof operator shall not be applied to an expression that has function or incomplete type, to the parenthesized name of such types, or to a glvalue that designates a bit-field. sizeof(char), sizeof(signed char) and sizeof(unsigned char) are 1. The result of sizeof applied to any other fundamental type is implementation-defined. [ Note: In particular, sizeof(bool), sizeof(char16_­t), sizeof(char32_­t), and sizeof(wchar_­t) are implementation-defined.77  — end note ] [ Note: See [intro.memory] for the definition of byte and [basic.types] for the definition of object representation.  — end note ]

When applied to a reference or a reference type, the result is the size of the referenced type. When applied to a class, the result is the number of bytes in an object of that class including any padding required for placing objects of that type in an array. The size of a most derived class shall be greater than zero. The result of applying sizeof to a base class subobject is the size of the base class type.78 When applied to an array, the result is the total number of bytes in the array. This implies that the size of an array of n elements is n times the size of an element.

The sizeof operator can be applied to a pointer to a function, but shall not be applied directly to a function.

The lvalue-to-rvalue, array-to-pointer, and function-to-pointer standard conversions are not applied to the operand of sizeof. If the operand is a prvalue, the temporary materialization conversion is applied.

The identifier in a sizeof... expression shall name a parameter pack. The sizeof... operator yields the number of arguments provided for the parameter pack identifier. A sizeof... expression is a pack expansion. [ Example:

template<class... Types>
struct count {
  static const std::size_t value = sizeof...(Types);
};

 — end example ]

The result of sizeof and sizeof... is a constant of type std​::​size_­t. [ Note: std​::​size_­t is defined in the standard header <cstddef> ([cstddef.syn], [support.types.layout]).  — end note ]

The new-expression attempts to create an object of the type-id or new-type-id to which it is applied. The type of that object is the allocated type. This type shall be a complete object type, but not an abstract class type or array thereof ([intro.object], [basic.types], [class.abstract]). [ Note: Because references are not objects, references cannot be created by new-expressions.  — end note ] [ Note: The type-id may be a cv-qualified type, in which case the object created by the new-expression has a cv-qualified type.  — end note ]

new-expression:
	::${}_{opt}$ new new-placement${}_{opt}$ new-type-id new-initializer${}_{opt}$ 
	::${}_{opt}$ new new-placement${}_{opt}$ ( type-id ) new-initializer${}_{opt}$

new-placement:
	( expression-list )

new-type-id:
	type-specifier-seq new-declarator${}_{opt}$

new-declarator:
	ptr-operator new-declarator${}_{opt}$ 
	noptr-new-declarator

noptr-new-declarator:
	[ expression ] attribute-specifier-seq${}_{opt}$
	noptr-new-declarator [ constant-expression ] attribute-specifier-seq${}_{opt}$

new-initializer:
	( expression-list${}_{opt}$ )
	braced-init-list

Entities created by a new-expression have dynamic storage duration. [ Note: The lifetime of such an entity is not necessarily restricted to the scope in which it is created.  — end note ] If the entity is a non-array object, the new-expression returns a pointer to the object created. If it is an array, the new-expression returns a pointer to the initial element of the array.

If a placeholder type appears in the type-specifier-seq of a new-type-id or type-id of a new-expression, the allocated type is deduced as follows: Let init be the new-initializer, if any, and T be the new-type-id or type-id of the new-expression, then the allocated type is the type deduced for the variable x in the invented declaration ([dcl.spec.auto]):

T x init ;

[ Example:

new auto(1);                    // allocated type is int
auto x = new auto('a');         // allocated type is char, x is of type char*

template<class T> struct A { A(T, T); };
auto y = new A{1, 2};           // allocated type is A<int>

 — end example ]

The new-type-id in a new-expression is the longest possible sequence of new-declarators. [ Note: This prevents ambiguities between the declarator operators &, &&, *, and [] and their expression counterparts.  — end note ] [ Example:

new int * i;                    // syntax error: parsed as (new int*) i, not as (new int)*i

The * is the pointer declarator and not the multiplication operator.  — end example ]

[ Note: Parentheses in a new-type-id of a new-expression can have surprising effects. [ Example:

new int(*[10])();               // error

is ill-formed because the binding is

(new int) (*[10])();            // error

Instead, the explicitly parenthesized version of the new operator can be used to create objects of compound types:

new (int (*[10])());

allocates an array of 10 pointers to functions (taking no argument and returning int).  — end example ]  — end note ]

When the allocated object is an array (that is, the noptr-new-declarator syntax is used or the new-type-id or type-id denotes an array type), the new-expression yields a pointer to the initial element (if any) of the array. [ Note: Both new int and new int[10] have type int* and the type of new int[i][10] is int (*)[10]  — end note ] The attribute-specifier-seq in a noptr-new-declarator appertains to the associated array type.

Every constant-expression in a noptr-new-declarator shall be a converted constant expression of type std​::​size_­t and shall evaluate to a strictly positive value. The expression in a noptr-new-declarator is implicitly converted to std​::​size_­t. [ Example: Given the definition int n = 42, new float[n][5] is well-formed (because n is the expression of a noptr-new-declarator), but new float[5][n] is ill-formed (because n is not a constant expression).  — end example ]

The expression in a noptr-new-declarator is erroneous if:

• (7.1)

  the expression is of non-class type and its value before converting to std​::​size_­t is less than zero;

• (7.2)

  the expression is of class type and its value before application of the second standard conversion ([over.ics.user])79 is less than zero;

• (7.3)

  its value is such that the size of the allocated object would exceed the implementation-defined limit; or

• (7.4)

  the new-initializer is a braced-init-list and the number of array elements for which initializers are provided (including the terminating '\0' in a string literal) exceeds the number of elements to initialize.

If the expression is erroneous after converting to std​::​size_­t:

• (7.5)

  if the expression is a core constant expression, the program is ill-formed;

• (7.6)

  otherwise, an allocation function is not called; instead

  • (7.6.1)

    if the allocation function that would have been called has a non-throwing exception specification ([except.spec]), the value of the new-expression is the null pointer value of the required result type;

  • (7.6.2)

    otherwise, the new-expression terminates by throwing an exception of a type that would match a handler ([except.handle]) of type std​::​bad_­array_­new_­length.

When the value of the expression is zero, the allocation function is called to allocate an array with no elements.

A new-expression may obtain storage for the object by calling an allocation function ([basic.stc.dynamic.allocation]). If the new-expression terminates by throwing an exception, it may release storage by calling a deallocation function. If the allocated type is a non-array type, the allocation function's name is operator new and the deallocation function's name is operator delete. If the allocated type is an array type, the allocation function's name is operator new[] and the deallocation function's name is operator delete[]. [ Note: An implementation shall provide default definitions for the global allocation functions ([basic.stc.dynamic], [new.delete.single], [new.delete.array]). A C++ program can provide alternative definitions of these functions ([replacement.functions]) and/or class-specific versions ([class.free]). The set of allocation and deallocation functions that may be called by a new-expression may include functions that do not perform allocation or deallocation; for example, see [new.delete.placement].  — end note ]

If the new-expression begins with a unary ​::​ operator, the allocation function's name is looked up in the global scope. Otherwise, if the allocated type is a class type T or array thereof, the allocation function's name is looked up in the scope of T. If this lookup fails to find the name, or if the allocated type is not a class type, the allocation function's name is looked up in the global scope.

An implementation is allowed to omit a call to a replaceable global allocation function ([new.delete.single], [new.delete.array]). When it does so, the storage is instead provided by the implementation or provided by extending the allocation of another new-expression. The implementation may extend the allocation of a new-expression e1 to provide storage for a new-expression e2 if the following would be true were the allocation not extended:

• (10.1)

  the evaluation of e1 is sequenced before the evaluation of e2, and

• (10.2)

  e2 is evaluated whenever e1 obtains storage, and

• (10.3)

  both e1 and e2 invoke the same replaceable global allocation function, and

• (10.4)

  if the allocation function invoked by e1 and e2 is throwing, any exceptions thrown in the evaluation of either e1 or e2 would be first caught in the same handler, and

• (10.5)

  the pointer values produced by e1 and e2 are operands to evaluated delete-expressions, and

• (10.6)

  the evaluation of e2 is sequenced before the evaluation of the delete-expression whose operand is the pointer value produced by e1.

[ Example:

  void mergeable(int x) {
    // These allocations are safe for merging:
    std::unique_ptr<char[]> a{new (std::nothrow) char[8]};
    std::unique_ptr<char[]> b{new (std::nothrow) char[8]};
    std::unique_ptr<char[]> c{new (std::nothrow) char[x]};

    g(a.get(), b.get(), c.get());
  }

  void unmergeable(int x) {
    std::unique_ptr<char[]> a{new char[8]};
    try {
      // Merging this allocation would change its catch handler.
      std::unique_ptr<char[]> b{new char[x]};
    } catch (const std::bad_alloc& e) {
      std::cerr << "Allocation failed: " << e.what() << std::endl;
      throw;
    }
  }

 — end example ]

When a new-expression calls an allocation function and that allocation has not been extended, the new-expression passes the amount of space requested to the allocation function as the first argument of type std​::​size_­t. That argument shall be no less than the size of the object being created; it may be greater than the size of the object being created only if the object is an array. For arrays of char, unsigned char, and std​::​byte, the difference between the result of the new-expression and the address returned by the allocation function shall be an integral multiple of the strictest fundamental alignment requirement of any object type whose size is no greater than the size of the array being created. [ Note: Because allocation functions are assumed to return pointers to storage that is appropriately aligned for objects of any type with fundamental alignment, this constraint on array allocation overhead permits the common idiom of allocating character arrays into which objects of other types will later be placed.  — end note ]

When a new-expression calls an allocation function and that allocation has been extended, the size argument to the allocation call shall be no greater than the sum of the sizes for the omitted calls as specified above, plus the size for the extended call had it not been extended, plus any padding necessary to align the allocated objects within the allocated memory.

The new-placement syntax is used to supply additional arguments to an allocation function; such an expression is called a placement new-expression.

Overload resolution is performed on a function call created by assembling an argument list. The first argument is the amount of space requested, and has type std​::​size_­t. If the type of the allocated object has new-extended alignment, the next argument is the type's alignment, and has type std​::​align_­val_­t. If the new-placement syntax is used, the initializer-clauses in its expression-list are the succeeding arguments. If no matching function is found and the allocated object type has new-extended alignment, the alignment argument is removed from the argument list, and overload resolution is performed again.

[ Example:

• (15.1)

  new T results in one of the following calls:

  operator new(sizeof(T))
  operator new(sizeof(T), std::align_val_t(alignof(T)))

• (15.2)

  new(2,f) T results in one of the following calls:

  operator new(sizeof(T), 2, f)
  operator new(sizeof(T), std::align_val_t(alignof(T)), 2, f)

• (15.3)

  new T[5] results in one of the following calls:

  operator new[](sizeof(T) * 5 + x)
  operator new[](sizeof(T) * 5 + x, std::align_val_t(alignof(T)))

• (15.4)

  new(2,f) T[5] results in one of the following calls:

  operator new[](sizeof(T) * 5 + x, 2, f)
  operator new[](sizeof(T) * 5 + x, std::align_val_t(alignof(T)), 2, f)

Here, each instance of x is a non-negative unspecified value representing array allocation overhead; the result of the new-expression will be offset by this amount from the value returned by operator new[]. This overhead may be applied in all array new-expressions, including those referencing the library function operator new[](std​::​size_­t, void*) and other placement allocation functions. The amount of overhead may vary from one invocation of new to another.  — end example ]

[ Note: Unless an allocation function has a non-throwing exception specification, it indicates failure to allocate storage by throwing a std​::​bad_­alloc exception ([basic.stc.dynamic.allocation], Clause [except], [bad.alloc]); it returns a non-null pointer otherwise. If the allocation function has a non-throwing exception specification, it returns null to indicate failure to allocate storage and a non-null pointer otherwise.  — end note ] If the allocation function is a non-allocating form ([new.delete.placement]) that returns null, the behavior is undefined. Otherwise, if the allocation function returns null, initialization shall not be done, the deallocation function shall not be called, and the value of the new-expression shall be null.

[ Note: When the allocation function returns a value other than null, it must be a pointer to a block of storage in which space for the object has been reserved. The block of storage is assumed to be appropriately aligned and of the requested size. The address of the created object will not necessarily be the same as that of the block if the object is an array.  — end note ]

A new-expression that creates an object of type T initializes that object as follows:

• (18.1)

  If the new-initializer is omitted, the object is default-initialized ([dcl.init]). [ Note: If no initialization is performed, the object has an indeterminate value.  — end note ]

• (18.2)

  Otherwise, the new-initializer is interpreted according to the initialization rules of [dcl.init] for direct-initialization.

The invocation of the allocation function is sequenced before the evaluations of expressions in the new-initializer. Initialization of the allocated object is sequenced before the value computation of the new-expression.

If the new-expression creates an object or an array of objects of class type, access and ambiguity control are done for the allocation function, the deallocation function, and the constructor. If the new-expression creates an array of objects of class type, the destructor is potentially invoked.

If any part of the object initialization described above80 terminates by throwing an exception and a suitable deallocation function can be found, the deallocation function is called to free the memory in which the object was being constructed, after which the exception continues to propagate in the context of the new-expression. If no unambiguous matching deallocation function can be found, propagating the exception does not cause the object's memory to be freed. [ Note: This is appropriate when the called allocation function does not allocate memory; otherwise, it is likely to result in a memory leak.  — end note ]

If the new-expression begins with a unary ​::​ operator, the deallocation function's name is looked up in the global scope. Otherwise, if the allocated type is a class type T or an array thereof, the deallocation function's name is looked up in the scope of T. If this lookup fails to find the name, or if the allocated type is not a class type or array thereof, the deallocation function's name is looked up in the global scope.

A declaration of a placement deallocation function matches the declaration of a placement allocation function if it has the same number of parameters and, after parameter transformations ([dcl.fct]), all parameter types except the first are identical. If the lookup finds a single matching deallocation function, that function will be called; otherwise, no deallocation function will be called. If the lookup finds a usual deallocation function with a parameter of type std​::​size_­t and that function, considered as a placement deallocation function, would have been selected as a match for the allocation function, the program is ill-formed. For a non-placement allocation function, the normal deallocation function lookup is used to find the matching deallocation function ([expr.delete]) [ Example:

struct S {
  // Placement allocation function:
  static void* operator new(std::size_t, std::size_t);

  // Usual (non-placement) deallocation function:
  static void operator delete(void*, std::size_t);
};

S* p = new (0) S;   // ill-formed: non-placement deallocation function matches
                    // placement allocation function

 — end example ]

If a new-expression calls a deallocation function, it passes the value returned from the allocation function call as the first argument of type void*. If a placement deallocation function is called, it is passed the same additional arguments as were passed to the placement allocation function, that is, the same arguments as those specified with the new-placement syntax. If the implementation is allowed to make a copy of any argument as part of the call to the allocation function, it is allowed to make a copy (of the same original value) as part of the call to the deallocation function or to reuse the copy made as part of the call to the allocation function. If the copy is elided in one place, it need not be elided in the other.

The delete-expression operator destroys a most derived object or array created by a new-expression.

delete-expression:
	::${}_{opt}$ delete cast-expression
	::${}_{opt}$ delete [ ] cast-expression

The first alternative is for non-array objects, and the second is for arrays. Whenever the delete keyword is immediately followed by empty square brackets, it shall be interpreted as the second alternative.81 The operand shall be of pointer to object type or of class type. If of class type, the operand is contextually implicitly converted to a pointer to object type.82 The delete-expression's result has type void.

If the operand has a class type, the operand is converted to a pointer type by calling the above-mentioned conversion function, and the converted operand is used in place of the original operand for the remainder of this section. In the first alternative (delete object), the value of the operand of delete may be a null pointer value, a pointer to a non-array object created by a previous new-expression, or a pointer to a subobject representing a base class of such an object. If not, the behavior is undefined. In the second alternative (delete array), the value of the operand of delete may be a null pointer value or a pointer value that resulted from a previous array new-expression.83 If not, the behavior is undefined. [ Note: This means that the syntax of the delete-expression must match the type of the object allocated by new, not the syntax of the new-expression.  — end note ] [ Note: A pointer to a const type can be the operand of a delete-expression; it is not necessary to cast away the constness of the pointer expression before it is used as the operand of the delete-expression.  — end note ]

In the first alternative (delete object), if the static type of the object to be deleted is different from its dynamic type, the static type shall be a base class of the dynamic type of the object to be deleted and the static type shall have a virtual destructor or the behavior is undefined. In the second alternative (delete array) if the dynamic type of the object to be deleted differs from its static type, the behavior is undefined.

The cast-expression in a delete-expression shall be evaluated exactly once.

If the object being deleted has incomplete class type at the point of deletion and the complete class has a non-trivial destructor or a deallocation function, the behavior is undefined.

If the value of the operand of the delete-expression is not a null pointer value, the delete-expression will invoke the destructor (if any) for the object or the elements of the array being deleted. In the case of an array, the elements will be destroyed in order of decreasing address (that is, in reverse order of the completion of their constructor; see [class.base.init]).

If the value of the operand of the delete-expression is not a null pointer value, then:

• (7.1)

  If the allocation call for the new-expression for the object to be deleted was not omitted and the allocation was not extended ([expr.new]), the delete-expression shall call a deallocation function. The value returned from the allocation call of the new-expression shall be passed as the first argument to the deallocation function.

• (7.2)

  Otherwise, if the allocation was extended or was provided by extending the allocation of another new-expression, and the delete-expression for every other pointer value produced by a new-expression that had storage provided by the extended new-expression has been evaluated, the delete-expression shall call a deallocation function. The value returned from the allocation call of the extended new-expression shall be passed as the first argument to the deallocation function.

• (7.3)

  Otherwise, the delete-expression will not call a deallocation function.

[ Note: The deallocation function is called regardless of whether the destructor for the object or some element of the array throws an exception.  — end note ] If the value of the operand of the delete-expression is a null pointer value, it is unspecified whether a deallocation function will be called as described above.

[ Note: An implementation provides default definitions of the global deallocation functions operator delete for non-arrays ([new.delete.single]) and operator delete[] for arrays ([new.delete.array]). A C++ program can provide alternative definitions of these functions ([replacement.functions]), and/or class-specific versions ([class.free]).  — end note ]

When the keyword delete in a delete-expression is preceded by the unary ​::​ operator, the deallocation function's name is looked up in global scope. Otherwise, the lookup considers class-specific deallocation functions ([class.free]). If no class-specific deallocation function is found, the deallocation function's name is looked up in global scope.

If deallocation function lookup finds more than one usual deallocation function, the function to be called is selected as follows:

• (10.1)

  If the type has new-extended alignment, a function with a parameter of type std​::​align_­val_­t is preferred; otherwise a function without such a parameter is preferred. If exactly one preferred function is found, that function is selected and the selection process terminates. If more than one preferred function is found, all non-preferred functions are eliminated from further consideration.

• (10.2)

  If the deallocation functions have class scope, the one without a parameter of type std​::​size_­t is selected.

• (10.3)

  If the type is complete and if, for the second alternative (delete array) only, the operand is a pointer to a class type with a non-trivial destructor or a (possibly multi-dimensional) array thereof, the function with a parameter of type std​::​size_­t is selected.

• (10.4)

  Otherwise, it is unspecified whether a deallocation function with a parameter of type std​::​size_­t is selected.

When a delete-expression is executed, the selected deallocation function shall be called with the address of the most-derived object in the delete object case, or the address of the object suitably adjusted for the array allocation overhead ([expr.new]) in the delete array case, as its first argument. If a deallocation function with a parameter of type std​::​align_­val_­t is used, the alignment of the type of the object to be deleted is passed as the corresponding argument. If a deallocation function with a parameter of type std​::​size_­t is used, the size of the most-derived type, or of the array plus allocation overhead, respectively, is passed as the corresponding argument.84 [ Note: If this results in a call to a usual deallocation function, and either the first argument was not the result of a prior call to a usual allocation function or the second argument was not the corresponding argument in said call, the behavior is undefined ([new.delete.single], [new.delete.array]).  — end note ]

Access and ambiguity control are done for both the deallocation function and the destructor ([class.dtor], [class.free]).

An alignof expression yields the alignment requirement of its operand type. The operand shall be a type-id representing a complete object type, or an array thereof, or a reference to one of those types.

The result is an integral constant of type std​::​size_­t.

When alignof is applied to a reference type, the result is the alignment of the referenced type. When alignof is applied to an array type, the result is the alignment of the element type.

The noexcept operator determines whether the evaluation of its operand, which is an unevaluated operand, can throw an exception.

noexcept-expression:
	noexcept ( expression )

The result of the noexcept operator is a constant of type bool and is a prvalue.

The result of the noexcept operator is true unless the expression is potentially-throwing.