9 Declarations [dcl.dcl]

9.2 Specifiers [dcl.spec]

9.2.6 The constexpr and consteval specifiers [dcl.constexpr]

The constexpr specifier shall be applied only to the definition of a variable or variable template, a structured binding declaration, or the declaration of a function or function template.

The consteval specifier shall be applied only to the declaration of a function or function template.

A function or static data member declared with the constexpr or consteval specifier on its first declaration is implicitly an inline function or variable ([dcl.inline]).

If any declaration of a function or function template has a constexpr or consteval specifier, then all its declarations shall contain the same specifier.

[Note 1:

An explicit specialization can differ from the template declaration with respect to the constexpr or consteval specifier.

— end note]

[Note 2:

Function parameters cannot be declared constexpr.

— end note]

[Example 1: constexpr void square(int &x); // OK, declaration constexpr int bufsz = 1024; // OK, definition constexpr struct pixel { // error: pixel is a type int x; int y; constexpr pixel(int); // OK, declaration }; constexpr pixel::pixel(int a) : x(a), y(x) // OK, definition { square(x); } constexpr pixel small(2); // error: square not defined, so small(2) // not constant ([expr.const]) so constexpr not satisfied constexpr void square(int &x) { // OK, definition x *= x; } constexpr pixel large(4); // OK, square defined int next(constexpr int x) { // error: not for parameters return x + 1; } extern constexpr int memsz; // error: not a definition — end example]

A constexpr or consteval specifier used in the declaration of a function declares that function to be a constexpr function.

[Note 3:

A function or constructor declared with the consteval specifier is an immediate function ([expr.const]).

— end note]

A destructor, an allocation function, or a deallocation function shall not be declared with the consteval specifier.

A function is constexpr-suitable if

(3.1)
it is not a coroutine ([dcl.fct.def.coroutine]), and
(3.2)
if the function is a constructor or destructor, its class does not have any virtual base classes.

Except for instantiated constexpr functions, non-templated constexpr functions shall be constexpr-suitable.

[Example 2: constexpr int square(int x) { return x * x; } // OK constexpr long long_max() { return 2147483647; } // OK constexpr int abs(int x) { if (x < 0) x = -x; return x; // OK } constexpr int constant_non_42(int n) { // OK if (n == 42) { static int value = n; return value; } return n; } constexpr int uninit() { struct { int a; } s; return s.a; // error: uninitialized read of s.a } constexpr int prev(int x) { return --x; } // OK constexpr int g(int x, int n) { // OK int r = 1; while (--n > 0) r *= x; return r; } — end example]

An invocation of a constexpr function in a given context produces the same result as an invocation of an equivalent non-constexpr function in the same context in all respects except that

(4.1)
an invocation of a constexpr function can appear in a constant expression ([expr.const]) and
(4.2)
copy elision is not performed in a constant expression ([class.copy.elision]).

[Note 4:

Declaring a function constexpr can change whether an expression is a constant expression.

This can indirectly cause calls to std::is_constant_evaluated within an invocation of the function to produce a different value.

— end note]

[Note 5:

It is possible to write a constexpr function for which no invocation satisfies the requirements of a core constant expression.

— end note]

The constexpr and consteval specifiers have no effect on the type of a constexpr function.

[Example 3: constexpr int bar(int x, int y) // OK { return x + y + x*y; } // ... int bar(int x, int y) // error: redefinition of bar { return x * 2 + 3 * y; } — end example]

A constexpr specifier used in an object declaration declares the object as const.

Such an object shall have literal type and shall be initialized.

A constexpr variable shall be constant-initializable ([expr.const]).

A constexpr variable that is an object, as well as any temporary to which a constexpr reference is bound, shall have constant destruction.

[Example 4: struct pixel { int x, y; }; constexpr pixel ur = { 1294, 1024 }; // OK constexpr pixel origin; // error: initializer missing namespace N { void f() { int x; constexpr int& ar = x; // OK static constexpr int& sr = x; // error: x is not constexpr-representable // at the point indicated below } // immediate scope here is that of N } — end example]