TITLE: the ".template" construct

(Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++.moderated, 2 Jun 97)a


NORTEL: beaurega_@nortel.com

> |> Is it legal for one member function of a class to be a template
> |> function without the class itself being a template?  If so, what
> |> is the syntax for this?  If not, why not?


VANDEVOORDE: David Vandevoorde <daveed@vandevoorde.com>

Yes, you can do it (for non-virtual members, that is):

        struct S {
           template<typename T> void foo();
        };

        template<typename T>
        void S::foo<T>() {
           // ...
        }

The above example is in fact particularly nasty because
you need explicit template argument specification when you
want to make use S::foo<..>:

        void g(S& s) {
           s.template foo<int>();
        }

The `.template' construct is needed to disambiguate the `<'
(template delimiter or less-than?); one of the many unfortunate
consequences of a poor choice for template argument delimiters.

I know of two compilers (HP & EDG) that can handle this sort
of code, but there might be a few more.

[snip]