Type alias, alias template (since C++11)
Type alias is a name that refers to a previously defined type (similar to typedef).
Alias template is a name that refers to a family of types.
Syntax
Alias declarations are declarations with the following syntax:
using identifier attr (optional) = type-id ;
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(1) | ||||||||
template
<
template-parameter-list
>
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(2) | ||||||||
template
<
template-parameter-list
>
requires
constraint
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(3) | (since C++20) | |||||||
| attr | - | optional sequence of any number of attributes |
| identifier | - | the name that is introduced by this declaration, which becomes either a type name (1) or a template name (2) |
| template-parameter-list | - | template parameter list, as in template declaration |
| constraint | - | a constraint expression which restricts the template parameters accepted by this alias template |
| type-id | - | abstract declarator or any other valid type-id (which may introduce a new type, as noted in type-id). The type-id cannot directly or indirectly refer to identifier. Note that the point of declaration of the identifier is at the semicolon following type-id |
Explanation
template<class T> struct Alloc {}; template<class T> using Vec = vector<T, Alloc<T>>; // type-id is vector<T, Alloc<T>> Vec<int> v; // Vec<int> is the same as vector<int, Alloc<int>>
When the result of specializing an alias template is a dependent template-id, subsequent substitutions apply to that template-id:
template<typename...> using void_t = void; template<typename T> void_t<typename T::foo> f(); f<int>(); // error, int does not have a nested type foo
The type produced when specializing an alias template is not allowed to directly or indirectly make use of its own type:
template<class T> struct A; template<class T> using B = typename A<T>::U; // type-id is A<T>::U template<class T> struct A { typedef B<T> U; }; B<short> b; // error: B<short> uses its own type via A<short>::U
Alias templates are never deduced by template argument deduction when deducing a template template parameter.
It is not possible to partially or explicitly specializeLike any template declaration, an alias template can only be declared at class scope or namespace scope.
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The type of a lambda expression appearing in an alias template declaration is different between instantiations of that template, even when the lambda expression is not dependent. template<class T> using A = decltype([] {}); // A<int> and A<char> refer to different closure types |
(since C++20) |
Notes
| Feature-test macro | Value | Std | Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
__cpp_alias_templates |
200704L |
(C++11) | Alias templates |
Keywords
Example
#include <iostream> #include <string> #include <type_traits> #include <typeinfo> // type alias, identical to // typedef std::ios_base::fmtflags flags; using flags = std::ios_base::fmtflags; // the name 'flags' now denotes a type: flags fl = std::ios_base::dec; // type alias, identical to // typedef void (*func)(int, int); using func = void (*) (int, int); // the name 'func' now denotes a pointer to function: void example(int, int) {} func f = example; // alias template template<class T> using ptr = T*; // the name 'ptr<T>' is now an alias for pointer to T ptr<int> x; // type alias used to hide a template parameter template<class CharT> using mystring = std::basic_string<CharT, std::char_traits<CharT>>; mystring<char> str; // type alias can introduce a member typedef name template<typename T> struct Container { using value_type = T; }; // which can be used in generic programming template<typename ContainerT> void info(const ContainerT& c) { typename ContainerT::value_type T; std::cout << "ContainerT is `" << typeid(decltype(c)).name() << "`\n" "value_type is `" << typeid(T).name() << "`\n"; } // type alias used to simplify the syntax of std::enable_if template<typename T> using Invoke = typename T::type; template<typename Condition> using EnableIf = Invoke<std::enable_if<Condition::value>>; template<typename T, typename = EnableIf<std::is_polymorphic<T>>> int fpoly_only(T) { return 1; } struct S { virtual ~S() {} }; int main() { Container<int> c; info(c); // Container::value_type will be int in this function // fpoly_only(c); // error: enable_if prohibits this S s; fpoly_only(s); // okay: enable_if allows this }
Possible output:
ContainerT is `struct Container<int>` value_type is `int`
Defect reports
The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.
| DR | Applied to | Behavior as published | Correct behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| CWG 1558 | C++11 | whether unused arguments in an alias specialization participate in substitution was not specified |
substitution is performed |
See also
typedef declaration
|
creates a synonym for a type |
| namespace alias | creates an alias of an existing namespace |