Containers should correctly handle unusual `size_type`/`difference_type`
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- C++
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Description
Describe the bug
Currently, the following program doesn't compile with MSVC STL.
#include <memory>
#include <string>
template <class T>
struct small_ator {
using value_type = T;
using size_type = unsigned short; // !!!
using difference_type = short; // !!!
small_ator() = default;
template <class U>
constexpr small_ator(const small_ator<U>&) noexcept {}
T* allocate(size_type n) {
return std::allocator<T>{}.allocate(n);
}
void deallocate(T* p, size_type n) {
return std::allocator<T>{}.deallocate(p, n);
}
friend bool operator==(const small_ator&, const small_ator&) = default;
template <class U>
friend constexpr bool operator==(const small_ator&, const small_ator<U>&) {
return true;
}
};
int main() {
std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, small_ator<char>> s = "hello world";
}
In this case, the size_type is changed in integral promotion, so std::max doesn't work.
Command-line test case
https://godbolt.org/z/xdcqab8xj
Expected behavior
This program compiles, with no C4244 warning (or its friend).
STL version
Effectively, all existing versions since open-sourcing.
Additional context
We should also audit cases where
- the
size_typeordifference_typeis narrower thanint, or - on 32-bit platforms, the
size_typeordifference_typeare 64-bit.
And keeps that there're no compile errors or warnings on narrowing, for all containers and container adaptors that can have unusual size_type and difference_type types.
Tasks
Containers:
-
basic_string -
deque -
forward_list -
hive -
list -
vector -
map -
multimap -
set -
multiset -
unordered_map -
unordered_multimap -
unordered_set -
unordered_multiset
(array and inplace_vector are unrelated, as their size_type and difference_type must be size_t and ptrdiff_t respectively.)
Container adaptors (need to verify adaption of standard sequence containers):
-
priority_queue -
queue -
stack -
flat_map -
flat_multimap -
flat_set -
flat_multiset
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the linked Godbolt reproduction and trace the basic_string implementation, then inspect the listed container and adaptor entry points for unusual size_type and difference_type handling. Done means the listed cases compile without narrowing warnings or errors, including the provided small_ator example and the requested 32-bit variations.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- cpp
- Domain
- compilers, tooling
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 38/100