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844. complex pow return type is ambiguous

Section: 29.4.10 [cmplx.over] Status: CD1 Submitter: Howard Hinnant Opened: 2008-06-03 Last modified: 2016-01-28

Priority: Not Prioritized

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Discussion:

The current working draft is in an inconsistent state.

29.4.8 [complex.transcendentals] says that:

pow(complex<float>(), int()) returns a complex<float>.

29.4.10 [cmplx.over] says that:

pow(complex<float>(), int()) returns a complex<double>.

[ Sophia Antipolis: ]

Since int promotes to double, and C99 doesn't have an int-based overload for pow, the C99 result is complex<double>, see also C99 7.22, see also library issue 550(i).

Special note: ask P.J. Plauger.

Looks fine.

Proposed resolution:

Strike this pow overload in 29.4.2 [complex.syn] and in 29.4.8 [complex.transcendentals]: 

template<class T> complex<T> pow(const complex<T>& x, int y);