This is an unofficial snapshot of the ISO/IEC JTC1 SC22 WG21 Core Issues List revision 115e. See http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/ for the official list.
2024-11-11
In deciding whether a construct is an object declaration or a function declaration, 9.3.3 [dcl.ambig.res] contains the following gem: "In that context, the choice is between a function declaration [...] and an object declaration [...] Just as for the ambiguities mentioned in 8.9 [stmt.ambig], the resolution is to consider any construct that could possibly be a declaration a declaration."
To what declaration do the last two "declarations" refer? Object, function, or (following from the syntax) possibly parameter declarations?
Notes from the 4/02 meeting:
This is not a defect. Section 9.3.3 [dcl.ambig.res] reads:
The ambiguity arising from the similarity between a function-style cast and a declaration mentioned in 8.9 [stmt.ambig] can also occur in the context of a declaration. In that context, the choice is between a function declaration with a redundant set of parentheses around a parameter name and an object declaration with a function-style cast as the initializer. Just as for the ambiguities mentioned in 8.9 [stmt.ambig], the resolution is to consider any construct that could possibly be a declaration a declaration.
The wording "any construct" in the last sentence is not limited to top-level constructs. In particular, the function declaration encloses a parameter declaration, whereas the object declaration encloses an expression. Therefore, in case of ambiguity between these two cases, the declaration is parsed as a function declaration.