This is an unofficial snapshot of the ISO/IEC JTC1 SC22 WG21 Core Issues List revision 115c. See http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/ for the official list.

2024-09-25


943. Is T() a temporary?

Section: 7.6.1.4  [expr.type.conv]     Status: CD5     Submitter: Miller     Date: 14 July, 2009

[Voted into the WP at the July, 2017 meeting as document P0727R0.]

According to 7.6.1.4 [expr.type.conv] paragraphs 1 and 3 (stated directly or by reference to another section of the Standard), all the following expressions create temporaries:

    T(1)
    T(1, 2)
    T{1}
    T{}

However, paragraph 2 says,

The expression T(), where T is a simple-type-specifier or typename-specifier for a non-array complete effective object type or the (possibly cv-qualified) void type, creates an rvalue of the specified type, which is value-initialized (9.4 [dcl.init]; no initialization is done for the void() case).

This does not say that the result is a temporary, which means that the lifetime of the result is not specified by 6.7.7 [class.temporary]. Presumably this is just an oversight.

Notes from the October, 2009 meeting:

The specification in 7.6.1.4 [expr.type.conv] is in error, not because it fails to state that T() is a temporary but because it requires a temporary for the other cases with fewer than two operands. The case where T is a class type is covered by 6.7.7 [class.temporary] paragraph 1 (“a conversion that creates an rvalue”), and a temporary should not be created when T is not a class type.

Proposed resolution (March, 2017):

This issue is resolved by the resolution of issue 1299.