Differences between 2 pointers of a template

Question

I want to know if there is any difference between 2 pointers (as data members) in a template class. For example:

template <typename E>
class Link
{
private:
    E element;
    Link* a;
    Link<E>* b;
};

Is "a" analogous to "b", I wonder?

Answer 1

Both forms are valid. When the name of a class template is used inside the class template scope without template arguments, it resolves to the name of the "current" template specialization.

a and b have the same type.

It's the same rule that makes it possible for us to write for example:

template<typename T>
Foo<T>::Foo(Foo const&) = default;

... instead of the more verbose:

template<typename T>
Foo<T>::Foo(Foo<T> const&) = default;