TITLE: anonymous namespaces are open to extension

(Newsgroups: comp.std.c++, 24 May 98)


PHILLIPPE: <bryan@terran.org>

>	In Stroustrup's C++ 3rd Ed., he mentions that the standards
>committee has deprecated the use of keyword 'static' to limit a
>declaration/definition to file (translation unit) scope.  Instead, he
>advises the use of anonymous namespaces.  Earlier in the text, he mentions
>that namespaces are open, in that declarations/definitions may be added at
>any point in time by "reopening" the namespace with "namespace <name>".
>These factors combined have lead me to design the following style of code:
>
>---some_file.cc---
>
>namespace {
>   void some_function();
>}
>
>int main( int, char*[] ) {
>
>	// ...
>	some_function();
>	// ...
>}
>
>namespace {
>   void some_function() { /* ... */ }
>}
>
>---end file---
>
>However, my compiler will not link this.  I was then told that each
>anonymous namespace was unique, which implies that anonymous namespaces are
>closed.  Is this true? 


CLAMAGE: stephen.clamage@sun.com (Steve Clamage)

No, your compiler is wrong. The unnamed namespace acts like it has
a unique name in each different compilation unit, but the same
unique name within one compilation unit. Reference: draft standard
section 7.3.1.1, "Unnamed namespaces".

Your code is OK as you show it.