Injected-class-names of class templates

Question

Inspired by the code in this answer. Consider:

template<class>
class A { };

int main()
{
    A<float> a(A<float>::A<int>());
    return 0;
}

Is this code

1. ill-formed, because A<float>::A names the constructor (per §3.4.3.1 [class.qual]/p2) and cannot be used in this context (plus the <int> would complete fail to parse anyway), or
2. well-formed, with A<float>::A being the injected-class-name, used as a template-name (§14.6.1 [temp.local]), such that A<float>::A<int> means exactly the same as A<int>, and a being declared as a function (due to the most vexing parse)?

g++ says 1. clang says 2, and so does ICC 13. Which compiler is correct?

Answer 1

gcc is correct; your snippet is ill-formed!

// reduced testcase
template<class T>
class A { };

int main () {
  A<float>::A<int> x; // ill-formed, bug in `clang` and `icc`
}

In the above reduced testcase we have a nested-name-specifier, A<float>::, followed by an unqualified-id A, which is then followed by some gibberish (<int>).

This is because the context in which the nested-name-specifier appears mandates that, during a look-up, function names are included (meaning that the constructor is found first, and the expression is ill-formed).

Relevant Bug Reports:

• llvm.org/bugs/ - #8263; Incorrect constructor name resolution

---

How to circumvent the "problem"?

There are contexts in which member names that are looked up through a nested-name-specifier (that nominates a class) shall not include functions (hence, contexts where the constructor is not found), below are a few examples:

template<class T>
struct A {
  typedef T value_type;
};

  struct A<float>::A<int>  x;     // ok, context: elaborate-type-specifier
typename A<float>::A<int> ();     // ok, context: [expr.type.conv]p1
  A<float>::A::value_type  x;     // ok, context: nested-name-specifier


struct X : A<float>::A<int> { };  // ok, context: base-specifier

---

What does the Standard say?

3.4.3.1p2 Class members [class.qual]

In a lookup in which function names are not ignored⁸⁸ and the nested-name-specifier nominates a class C:

• if the name specified after the nested-name-specifier, when looked up in C, is the injected-class-name of C (Clause 9), or
• in a using-declaration (7.3.3) that is a member-declaration, if the name specified after the nested-name-specifier is the same as the identifier or the simple-template-id's template-name in the last component of the *nested-name-specicifier,

the name is instead considered to name the constructor of class C.

[ Note: ... ]

Such a constructor name shall be used only in the declarator-id of a declaration that names a constructor or in a using-declaration.

---

^{88. Lookups in which function names are ignored include names appearing in a nested-name-specifier, an elaborated-type-specifier, or a base-specifier.}

14.6.1p2 Locally declared names [temp.local]

Like normal (non-template) classes, class templates have an injected-class-name (Clause 9). The injected-class-name can be used as a template-name or a type-name.

When it is used with a template-argument-list, as a template-argument for a template template-parameter, or as the final identifier in the elaborated-type-specifier of a friend class template declaration, it refers to the class template itself.

Otherwise, it is equivalent to the template-name followed by the template-parameters of the class template enclosed in <>.