Why couldn't push_back be overloaded to do the job of emplace_back?

Question

Firstly, I'm aware of this question, but I don't believe I'm asking the same thing.

I know what std::vector<T>::emplace_back does - and I understand why I would use it over push_back(). It uses variadic templates allowing me to forward multiple arguments to the constructor of a new element.

But what I don't understand is why the C++ standard committee decided there was a need for a new member function. Why couldn't they simply extend the functionality of push_back(). As far as I can see, push_back could be overloaded in C++11 to be:

template <class... Args> void push_back(Args&&... args); 

This would not break backwards compatibility, while allowing you to pass N arguments, including arguments that would invoke a normal rvalue or copy constructor. In fact, the GCC C++11 implementation of push_back() simply calls emplace_back anyway:

  void push_back(value_type&& __x)   {      emplace_back(std::move(__x));    } 

So, the way I see it, there is no need for emplace_back(). All they needed to add was an overload for push_back() which accepts variadic arguments, and forwards the arguments to the element constructor.

Am I wrong here? Is there some reason that an entirely new function was needed here?

Answer 1

If T has an explicit conversion constructor, there is different behavior between emplace_back and push_back.

struct X {     int val;     X() :val() {}     explicit X(int v) :val(v) {} };  int main() {     std::vector<X> v;     v.push_back(123);    // this fails     v.emplace_back(123); // this is okay } 

Making the change you suggest would mean that push_back would be legal in that instance, and I suppose that was not desired behavior. I don't know if this is the reason, but it's the only thing I can come up with.