What is the fully qualified name of a friend function defined inside of a class?
I recently saw an example analogous to the following. What is the fully qualified name of val()
below?
#include <iostream>
namespace foo {
class A {
int x;
public:
A(int x = 0) : x(x) { }
friend int val(const A &a) { return a.x; }
};
}
int main() {
foo::A a(42);
// val() found using ADL:
std::cout << val(a) << std::endl;
// foo::val(a); // error: 'val' is not a member of 'foo'
// foo::A::val(a); // error: 'val' is not a member of 'foo::A'
return 0;
}
Is argument-dependent lookup the only way val()
can be found?
Admittedly, this does not stem from a practical problem. I am simply looking to gain a better understanding.
Is argument-dependent lookup the only way val() can be found?
Yes, it is the only way. To quote the holy standard at [namespace.memdef]/3:
If a friend declaration in a non-local class first declares a class, function, class template or function template the friend is a member of the innermost enclosing namespace. The friend declaration does not by itself make the name visible to unqualified lookup or qualified lookup.
So while val
is a member of foo
, it's not visible to lookup from the friend declaration alone. An out of class definition (which is also a declaration) is required to make it visible. For an inline definition (and no out-of-class declaration) it means ADL is the only way to call the function.
As an added bonus, C++ did once have a concept of "friend name injection". That however has been removed, and the rules for ADL adjusted as a replacement. A more detailed overview can be found in WG21 paper N0777 (pdf).