Are curly braces really required around initialization?
c++, gcc-warning
Solution
I think this is already answered here.
std::array is funny. It is defined basically like this:
template struct std::array { T a[size]; };
It is a struct which contains an array. It does not have a constructor that takes an initializer list. But std::array is an aggregate by the rules of C++11, and therefore it can be created by aggregate initialization. To aggregate initialize the array inside the struct, you need a second set of curly braces:
std::array strings = {{ "a", "b" }};
Note that the standard does suggest that the extra braces can be elided in this case. So it likely is a GCC bug.
I believe it might be related to this defect, which has been linked in several questions.
Here's an answer regarding it:
However, these extra braces may only be elided "in a declaration of the form T x = { a };" (C++11 §8.5.1/11), that is, when the old style = is used . This rule allowing brace elision does not apply for direct list initialization. A footnote here reads: "Braces cannot be elided in other uses of list-initialization."
There is a defect report concerning this restriction: CWG defect #1270. If the proposed resolution is adopted, brace elision will be allowed for other forms of list initialization, ...
I noticed that the error does not appear in gcc 4.8.1, but it does on a very old version (4.4.7), and I think this is the patch (because the defect proposed solution is dated Feb 2012, and this link is dated Mar 2012):
http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc-patches/2012-03/msg00215.html
Problem
According to GCC 4.6.3 (Ubuntu/Linaro 4.6.3-1ubuntu5) I'm missing a curly brace in the array initialization in the following code: ``` #include <iostream> #include <boost/array.hpp> #include <array> int main(){ int plain[] = {1,2,3,4,5}; std::array <int, 5> std_arr = {1,2,3,4,5}; // warning, see below boost::array<int, 5> boost_arr = {1,2,3,4,5}; // warning, see below std::cout << plain[0] << std_arr[1] << boost_arr[2] << std::endl; } ``` ``` > g++ test.cc -Wall -Wextra -pedantic --std=c++0x test.cc: in function »int main()«: test.cc:7:47: warning: curly braces missing around initialization for »std::array::value_type [5] {aka int [5]}« [-Wmissing-braces] test.cc:8:47: warning: curly braces missing around initialization for »int [5]« [-Wmissing-braces] ``` Apparently (GCC missing braces around initializer) this is a bug in GCC, even in a slightly different context. The answers differ from "file a bug report" to "just disable the warning". However, in the context of `std::array` or `boost::array`, is this warning superfluous, or am I missing something important? (I will probably add the additional braces instead of disabling the warning, but I'm curious about the implications)