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356. Meaning of ctype_base::mask enumerators

Section: 30.4.2 [category.ctype] Status: NAD Submitter: Matt Austern Opened: 2002-01-23 Last modified: 2016-01-28

Priority: Not Prioritized

View all other issues in [category.ctype].

View all issues with NAD status.

Discussion:

What should the following program print?

  #include <locale>
  #include <iostream>

  class my_ctype : public std::ctype<char>
  {
    typedef std::ctype<char> base;
  public:
    my_ctype(std::size_t refs = 0) : base(my_table, false, refs)
    {
      std::copy(base::classic_table(), base::classic_table() + base::table_size,
                my_table);
      my_table[(unsigned char) '_'] = (base::mask) (base::print | base::space);
    }
  private:
    mask my_table[base::table_size];
  };

  int main()
  {
    my_ctype ct;
    std::cout << "isspace: " << ct.is(std::ctype_base::space, '_') << "    "
              << "isalpha: " << ct.is(std::ctype_base::alpha, '_') << std::endl;
  }

The goal is to create a facet where '_' is treated as whitespace.

On gcc 3.0, this program prints "isspace: 1 isalpha: 0". On Microsoft C++ it prints "isspace: 1 isalpha: 1".

I believe that both implementations are legal, and the standard does not give enough guidance for users to be able to use std::ctype's protected interface portably.

The above program assumes that ctype_base::mask enumerators like space and print are disjoint, and that the way to say that a character is both a space and a printing character is to or those two enumerators together. This is suggested by the "exposition only" values in 30.4.2 [category.ctype], but it is nowhere specified in normative text. An alternative interpretation is that the more specific categories subsume the less specific. The above program gives the results it does on the Microsoft compiler because, on that compiler, print has all the bits set for each specific printing character class.

From the point of view of std::ctype's public interface, there's no important difference between these two techniques. From the point of view of the protected interface, there is. If I'm defining a facet that inherits from std::ctype<char>, I'm the one who defines the value that table()['a'] returns. I need to know what combination of mask values I should use. This isn't so very esoteric: it's exactly why std::ctype has a protected interface. If we care about users being able to write their own ctype facets, we have to give them a portable way to do it.

Related reflector messages: lib-9224, lib-9226, lib-9229, lib-9270, lib-9272, lib-9273, lib-9274, lib-9277, lib-9279.

Issue 339 is related, but not identical. The proposed resolution if issue 339 says that ctype_base::mask must be a bitmask type. It does not say that the ctype_base::mask elements are bitmask elements, so it doesn't directly affect this issue.

More comments from Benjamin Kosnik, who believes that that C99 compatibility essentially requires what we're calling option 1 below.

I think the C99 standard is clear, that isspace -> !isalpha.
--------

#include <locale>
#include <iostream>

class my_ctype : public std::ctype<char>
{
private:
  typedef std::ctype<char> base;
  mask my_table[base::table_size];

public:
  my_ctype(std::size_t refs = 0) : base(my_table, false, refs)
  {
    std::copy(base::classic_table(), base::classic_table() + base::table_size,
              my_table);
    mask both = base::print | base::space;
    my_table[static_cast<mask>('_')] = both;
  }
};

int main()
{
  using namespace std;
  my_ctype ct;
  cout << "isspace: " << ct.is(ctype_base::space, '_') << endl;
  cout << "isprint: " << ct.is(ctype_base::print, '_') << endl;

  // ISO C99, isalpha iff upper | lower set, and !space.
  // 7.5, p 193
  // -> looks like g++ behavior is correct.
  // 356 -> bitmask elements are required for ctype_base
  // 339 -> bitmask type required for mask
  cout << "isalpha: " << ct.is(ctype_base::alpha, '_') << endl;
}

Proposed resolution:

Informally, we have three choices:

1. Require that the enumerators are disjoint (except for alnum and graph)
2. Require that the enumerators are not disjoint, and specify which of them subsume which others. (e.g. mandate that lower includes alpha and print)
3. Explicitly leave this unspecified, which the result that the above program is not portable.

Either of the first two options is just as good from the standpoint of portability. Either one will require some implementations to change.

Rationale:

The LWG agrees that this is a real ambiguity, and that both interpretations are conforming under the existing standard. However, there's no evidence that it's causing problems for real users. Users who want to define ctype facets portably can test the ctype_base masks to see which interpretation is being used.