c++templatestemplate-specializationc++98visual-c++-6

Partial Template Specialization in C++ 98?


Does C++ 98 support partial template specification?

The following code compiles fine under C++ 11, but doesn't compile in Visual C++ 6.0.
So I am wondering if the syntax needs to be slightly different or if it's just not supported:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

template <typename A, typename B> class Foo
{
public:
    static void bar(A a, B b)
    {
        std::cout << "A";
    };
};

template <typename A> class Foo<A, std::string>
{
public:
    static void bar(A a, std::string b)
    {
        std::cout << "B";
    };
};

template <typename B> class Foo<std::string, B>
{
public:
    static void bar(std::string a, B b)
    {
        std::cout << "C";
    };
};

template <> class Foo<std::string, std::string>
{
public:
    static void bar(std::string a, std::string b)
    {
        std::cout << "D";
    };
};

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    Foo<int, int>::bar(12, 42);
    Foo<int, std::string>::bar(12, "");
    Foo<std::string, int>::bar("", 42);
    Foo<std::string, std::string>::bar("", "");

    return 0;
}

Error Message:

Compiling...
Test.cpp
C:\test\test.cpp(20) : error C2989: 'Foo<A,class std::basic_string<char,struct std::char_traits<char>,class std::allocator<char> > >' : template class has already been defined as a non-template class
C:\test\test.cpp(20) : error C2988: unrecognizable template declaration/definition
C:\test\test.cpp(29) : error C2989: 'Foo<class std::basic_string<char,struct std::char_traits<char>,class std::allocator<char> >,A>' : template class has already been defined as a non-template class
C:\test\test.cpp(29) : error C2988: unrecognizable template declaration/definition
Error executing cl.exe.
 
Test.obj - 4 error(s), 0 warning(s)

Solution

  • Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 does not support partial template specialisation. It is a known bug.

    For more known standard compliance issues of VC++6.0, see here.


    Archive links, since these KB articles seem to be removed from Microsoft databases