9 Declarations [dcl.dcl]

9.3 Declarators [dcl.decl]

9.3.4 Meaning of declarators [dcl.meaning]

9.3.4.6 Functions [dcl.fct]

1
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In a declaration T D where T may be empty and D has the form
D1 ( parameter-declaration-clause ) cv-qualifier-seq
   ref-qualifier noexcept-specifier attribute-specifier-seq trailing-return-type
a derived-declarator-type-list is determined as follows:
The declared return type U of the function type is determined as follows:
The type of the declarator-id in D is “derived-declarator-type-list noexcept function of parameter-type-list cv-qualifier-seq ref-qualifier returning U”, where
Such a type is a function type.75
The optional attribute-specifier-seq appertains to the function type.
2
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The optional attribute-specifier-seq in a parameter-declaration appertains to the parameter.
3
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The parameter-declaration-clause determines the arguments that can be specified, and their processing, when the function is called.
[Note 1: 
The parameter-declaration-clause is used to convert the arguments specified on the function call; see [expr.call].
— end note]
If the parameter-declaration-clause is empty, the function takes no arguments.
A parameter list consisting of a single unnamed non-object parameter of non-dependent type void is equivalent to an empty parameter list.
Except for this special case, a parameter shall not have type cv void.
A parameter with volatile-qualified type is deprecated; see [depr.volatile.type].
If the parameter-declaration-clause terminates with an ellipsis or a function parameter pack ([temp.variadic]), the number of arguments shall be equal to or greater than the number of parameters that do not have a default argument and are not function parameter packs.
Where syntactically correct and where “...” is not part of an abstract-declarator, “...” is synonymous with “, ...”.
[Example 1: 
The declaration int printf(const char*, ...); declares a function that can be called with varying numbers and types of arguments.
printf("hello world"); printf("a=%d b=%d", a, b);
However, the first argument must be of a type that can be converted to a const char*.
— end example]
[Note 2: 
The standard header <cstdarg> contains a mechanism for accessing arguments passed using the ellipsis (see [expr.call] and [support.runtime]).
— end note]
4
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The type of a function is determined using the following rules.
The type of each parameter (including function parameter packs) is determined from its own parameter-declaration ([dcl.decl]).
After determining the type of each parameter, any parameter of type “array of T” or of function type T is adjusted to be “pointer to T”.
After producing the list of parameter types, any top-level cv-qualifiers modifying a parameter type are deleted when forming the function type.
The resulting list of transformed parameter types and the presence or absence of the ellipsis or a function parameter pack is the function's parameter-type-list.
[Note 3: 
This transformation does not affect the types of the parameters.
For example, int(*)(const int p, decltype(p)*) and int(*)(int, const int*) are identical types.
— end note]
[Example 2: void f(char*); // #1 void f(char[]) {} // defines #1 void f(const char*) {} // OK, another overload void f(char *const) {} // error: redefines #1 void g(char(*)[2]); // #2 void g(char[3][2]) {} // defines #2 void g(char[3][3]) {} // OK, another overload void h(int x(const int)); // #3 void h(int (*)(int)) {} // defines #3 — end example]
5
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An explicit-object-parameter-declaration shall appear only as the first parameter-declaration of a parameter-declaration-list of one of:
A member-declarator with an explicit-object-parameter-declaration shall not include a ref-qualifier or a cv-qualifier-seq and shall not be declared static or virtual.
[Example 3: struct C { void f(this C& self); template <typename Self> void g(this Self&& self, int); void h(this C) const; // error: const not allowed here }; void test(C c) { c.f(); // OK, calls C​::​f c.g(42); // OK, calls C​::​g<C&> std::move(c).g(42); // OK, calls C​::​g<C> } — end example]
6
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A function parameter declared with an explicit-object-parameter-declaration is an explicit object parameter.
An explicit object parameter shall not be a function parameter pack ([temp.variadic]).
An explicit object member function is a non-static member function with an explicit object parameter.
An implicit object member function is a non-static member function without an explicit object parameter.
7
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The object parameter of a non-static member function is either the explicit object parameter or the implicit object parameter ([over.match.funcs]).
8
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A non-object parameter is a function parameter that is not the explicit object parameter.
The non-object-parameter-type-list of a member function is the parameter-type-list of that function with the explicit object parameter, if any, omitted.
[Note 4: 
The non-object-parameter-type-list consists of the adjusted types of all the non-object parameters.
— end note]
9
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A function type with a cv-qualifier-seq or a ref-qualifier (including a type named by typedef-name ([dcl.typedef], [temp.param])) shall appear only as:
[Example 4: typedef int FIC(int) const; FIC f; // error: does not declare a member function struct S { FIC f; // OK }; FIC S::*pm = &S::f; // OK — end example]
10
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The effect of a cv-qualifier-seq in a function declarator is not the same as adding cv-qualification on top of the function type.
In the latter case, the cv-qualifiers are ignored.
[Note 5: 
A function type that has a cv-qualifier-seq is not a cv-qualified type; there are no cv-qualified function types.
— end note]
[Example 5: typedef void F(); struct S { const F f; // OK, equivalent to: void f(); }; — end example]
11
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The return type, the parameter-type-list, the ref-qualifier, the cv-qualifier-seq, and the exception specification, but not the default arguments ([dcl.fct.default]) or the trailing requires-clause ([dcl.decl]), are part of the function type.
[Note 6: 
Function types are checked during the assignments and initializations of pointers to functions, references to functions, and pointers to member functions.
— end note]
12
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[Example 6: 
The declaration int fseek(FILE*, long, int); declares a function taking three arguments of the specified types, and returning int ([dcl.type]).
— end example]
13
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[Note 7: 
A single name can be used for several different functions in a single scope; this is function overloading ([over]).
— end note]
14
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The return type shall be a non-array object type, a reference type, or cv void.
[Note 8: 
An array of placeholder type is considered an array type.
— end note]
15
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A volatile-qualified return type is deprecated; see [depr.volatile.type].
16
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Types shall not be defined in return or parameter types.
17
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A typedef of function type may be used to declare a function but shall not be used to define a function ([dcl.fct.def]).
[Example 7: typedef void F(); F fv; // OK, equivalent to void fv(); F fv { } // error void fv() { } // OK, definition of fv — end example]
18
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An identifier can optionally be provided as a parameter name; if present in a function definition ([dcl.fct.def]), it names a parameter.
[Note 9: 
In particular, parameter names are also optional in function definitions and names used for a parameter in different declarations and the definition of a function need not be the same.
— end note]
19
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[Example 8: 
The declaration int i, *pi, f(), *fpi(int), (*pif)(const char*, const char*), (*fpif(int))(int); declares an integer i, a pointer pi to an integer, a function f taking no arguments and returning an integer, a function fpi taking an integer argument and returning a pointer to an integer, a pointer pif to a function which takes two pointers to constant characters and returns an integer, a function fpif taking an integer argument and returning a pointer to a function that takes an integer argument and returns an integer.
It is especially useful to compare fpi and pif.
The binding of *fpi(int) is *(fpi(int)), so the declaration suggests, and the same construction in an expression requires, the calling of a function fpi, and then using indirection through the (pointer) result to yield an integer.
In the declarator (*pif)(const char*, const char*), the extra parentheses are necessary to indicate that indirection through a pointer to a function yields a function, which is then called.
— end example]
[Note 10: 
Typedefs and trailing-return-types are sometimes convenient when the return type of a function is complex.
For example, the function fpif above can be declared typedef int IFUNC(int); IFUNC* fpif(int); or auto fpif(int)->int(*)(int);
A trailing-return-type is most useful for a type that would be more complicated to specify before the declarator-id: template <class T, class U> auto add(T t, U u) -> decltype(t + u); rather than template <class T, class U> decltype((*(T*)0) + (*(U*)0)) add(T t, U u);
— end note]
20
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A non-template function is a function that is not a function template specialization.
[Note 11: 
A function template is not a function.
— end note]
21
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An abbreviated function template is a function declaration that has one or more generic parameter type placeholders ([dcl.spec.auto]).
An abbreviated function template is equivalent to a function template ([temp.fct]) whose template-parameter-list includes one invented type template-parameter for each generic parameter type placeholder of the function declaration, in order of appearance.
For a placeholder-type-specifier of the form auto, the invented parameter is an unconstrained type-parameter.
For a placeholder-type-specifier of the form type-constraint auto, the invented parameter is a type-parameter with that type-constraint.
The invented type template-parameter is a template parameter pack if the corresponding parameter-declaration declares a function parameter pack.
If the placeholder contains decltype(auto), the program is ill-formed.
The adjusted function parameters of an abbreviated function template are derived from the parameter-declaration-clause by replacing each occurrence of a placeholder with the name of the corresponding invented template-parameter.
[Example 9: template<typename T> concept C1 = /* ... */; template<typename T> concept C2 = /* ... */; template<typename... Ts> concept C3 = /* ... */; void g1(const C1 auto*, C2 auto&); void g2(C1 auto&...); void g3(C3 auto...); void g4(C3 auto);
The declarations above are functionally equivalent (but not equivalent) to their respective declarations below: template<C1 T, C2 U> void g1(const T*, U&); template<C1... Ts> void g2(Ts&...); template<C3... Ts> void g3(Ts...); template<C3 T> void g4(T);
Abbreviated function templates can be specialized like all function templates.
template<> void g1<int>(const int*, const double&); // OK, specialization of g1<int, const double> — end example]
22
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An abbreviated function template can have a template-head.
The invented template-parameters are appended to the template-parameter-list after the explicitly declared template-parameters.
[Example 10: template<typename> concept C = /* ... */; template <typename T, C U> void g(T x, U y, C auto z);
This is functionally equivalent to each of the following two declarations.
template<typename T, C U, C W> void g(T x, U y, W z); template<typename T, typename U, typename W> requires C<U> && C<W> void g(T x, U y, W z); — end example]
23
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A function declaration at block scope shall not declare an abbreviated function template.
24
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A declarator-id or abstract-declarator containing an ellipsis shall only be used in a parameter-declaration.
When it is part of a parameter-declaration-clause, the parameter-declaration declares a function parameter pack ([temp.variadic]).
Otherwise, the parameter-declaration is part of a template-parameter-list and declares a template parameter pack; see [temp.param].
A function parameter pack is a pack expansion ([temp.variadic]).
[Example 11: template<typename... T> void f(T (* ...t)(int, int)); int add(int, int); float subtract(int, int); void g() { f(add, subtract); } — end example]
25
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There is a syntactic ambiguity when an ellipsis occurs at the end of a parameter-declaration-clause without a preceding comma.
In this case, the ellipsis is parsed as part of the abstract-declarator if the type of the parameter either names a template parameter pack that has not been expanded or contains auto; otherwise, it is parsed as part of the parameter-declaration-clause.76
75)75)
As indicated by syntax, cv-qualifiers are a significant component in function return types.
76)76)
One can explicitly disambiguate the parse either by introducing a comma (so the ellipsis will be parsed as part of the parameter-declaration-clause) or by introducing a name for the parameter (so the ellipsis will be parsed as part of the declarator-id).