Logo Questions Linux Laravel Mysql Ubuntu Git Menu
 

Initializer-list-constructing a vector of noncopyable (but movable) objects

Tags:

One can push_back rvalues of a noncopyable-but-movable type into a vector of that type:

#include <vector>  struct S {     S(int);     S(S&&); };  int main() {     std::vector<S> v;     v.push_back(S(1));     v.push_back(S(2));     v.push_back(S(3)); } 

However, when I try to initializer-list-construct the vector with the same rvalues, I get errors about a copy constructor being required:

#include <vector>  struct S {     S(int);     S(S&&); };  int main() {     std::vector<S> v = {S(1), S(2), S(3)}; } 

I get the following errors with GCC 4.7:

In file included from include/c++/4.7.0/vector:63:0,                  from test.cpp:1: include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_construct.h: In instantiation of 'void std::_Construct(_T1*, _Args&& ...) [with _T1 = S, _Args = {const S&}]': include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_uninitialized.h:77:3:   required from 'static _ForwardIterator std::__uninitialized_copy<_TrivialValueTypes>::__uninit_copy(_InputIterator, _InputIterator, _ForwardIterator) [with _InputIterator = const S*, _ForwardIterator = S*, bool _TrivialValueTypes = false]' include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_uninitialized.h:119:41:   required from '_ForwardIterator std::uninitialized_copy(_InputIterator, _InputIterator, _ForwardIterator) [with _InputIterator = const S*, _ForwardIterator = S*]' include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_uninitialized.h:260:63:   required from '_ForwardIterator std::__uninitialized_copy_a(_InputIterator, _InputIterator, _ForwardIterator, std::allocator<_Tp>&) [with _InputIterator = const S*, _ForwardIterator = S*, _Tp = S]' include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_vector.h:1185:4:   required from 'void std::vector<_Tp, _Alloc>::_M_range_initialize(_ForwardIterator, _ForwardIterator, std::forward_iterator_tag) [with _ForwardIterator = const S*, _Tp = S, _Alloc = std::allocator<S>]' include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_vector.h:362:2:   required from 'std::vector<_Tp, _Alloc>::vector(std::initializer_list<_Tp>, const allocator_type&) [with _Tp = S, _Alloc = std::allocator<S>, std::vector<_Tp, _Alloc>::allocator_type = std::allocator<S>]' test.cpp:11:41:   required from here include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_construct.h:77:7: error: no matching function for call to 'S::S(const S&)' include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_construct.h:77:7: note: candidates are: test.cpp:6:5: note: S::S(S&&) test.cpp:6:5: note:   no known conversion for argument 1 from 'const S' to 'S&&' test.cpp:5:5: note: S::S(int) test.cpp:5:5: note:   no known conversion for argument 1 from 'const S' to 'int' 

Should this be allowed? I see no technical obstacles to it being allowed, but I don't have the Standard handy at the moment...

like image 584
HighCommander4 Avatar asked Aug 29 '11 14:08

HighCommander4


People also ask

Can you initialize a vector with initializer list?

Initializer lists are not limited to just normal Vectors, and can be used to initialize multi-dimensional vectors as well. All you have to do is nest initializer lists within each other as shown below.

How do you initialize a vector of an object?

How to Initialize a Vector in C++ Using the push_back() Method. push_back() is one out of the many methods you can use to interact with vectors in C++. It takes in the new item to be passed in as a parameter. This allows us to push new items to the last index of a vector .

Can you initialize a vector?

Initializing a Vector in C++ Unlike static containers like an array, a vector does not need a size to be initialized with. You can initialize a vector without defining the size of the container since it can increase as well as decrease its size dynamically.


2 Answers

Maybe this clause from 8.5.4.5 explains it (my emphasis):

An object of type std::initializer_list is constructed from an initializer list as if the implementation allocated an array of N elements of type E, where N is the number of elements in the initializer list. Each element of that array is copy-initialized with the corresponding element of the initializer list, and the std::initializer_list object is constructed to refer to that array.

So you can only initialize from lists if the objects are copyable.


Update: As Johannes points out, copy-initialization can be realized by both copy and move constructors, so that alone isn't enough to answer the question. Here is, however, an excerpt of the specification of the initializer_list class as described in 18.9:

  template<class _E>     class initializer_list     {     public:       typedef _E            value_type;       typedef const _E&     reference;       typedef const _E&     const_reference;       typedef size_t        size_type;       typedef const _E*     iterator;       typedef const _E*     const_iterator; 

Note how there are no non-constant typedefs!

I just tried making an IL constructor which would traverse the initializer list via std::make_move_iterator, which failed because const T & cannot be converted to T&&.

So the answer is: You cannot move from the IL, because the standard says so.

like image 196
Kerrek SB Avatar answered Sep 21 '22 14:09

Kerrek SB


It appears it might be a compiler issue. This works in g++ 4.5.1 (click for IdeOne online demo)

Conclusion: It was, in the sense that older g++ implementations did not correctly flag an error; initializer lists do not support moving their elements (elements are implicitely copied in the process). Thank to Kerrek SB for quoting the helpful phrase from the standard.


Old proceedings (for the sake of understanding the comments:)

Edit Found out that at least g++ 4.6.1+ seem to have your complaint about this code.

Edit Upon reading the source to std::initializer_list<T> I'm starting to get the impression that this is not supported by the library (it looks intentional). Whether the standard actually allows for an initializer list to forward the xvalue-ness of it's elements... I wouldn't be surprised if they stopped there (perfect forwarding is still not easily supported in C++0x I think, and not all initializer parameters would need to have the same (deductable) type.

Anyone with more standardese under his belt care to help out? http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2008/n2640.pdf

#include <vector>  struct S {     S(int) {};     S(S&&) {}; };  int main() {     std::vector<S> v = {S(1), S(2), S(3)};     std::vector<S> w = {std::move(S(1)), std::move(S(2)), std::move(S(3))};      std::vector<S> or_even_just = {1, 2, 3}; } 

like image 30
sehe Avatar answered Sep 18 '22 14:09

sehe