Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!world!wmm
From: wmm@world.std.com (William M Miller)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: Templates...?
Message-ID: <1991Feb23.152805.27273@world.std.com>
Date: 23 Feb 91 15:28:05 GMT
References: <10815@jarthur.Claremont.EDU> <603@taumet.com> <70829@microsoft.UUCP>
Distribution: usa
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Lines: 29

There have been several partially-incorrect responses to questions about the
actual status of templates in the ANSI standard draft, so I'd like to set
the record straight.

First, templates were accepted by the X3J16 committee at the July meeting;
chapter 14 of E&S, minus the annotations and commentary, was inserted
verbatim into the working draft.  That means that they are as much an
"official" part of the language as inheritance or references -- that is,
unless the committee takes explicit action to change or remove them, they
will stand as described.

At the November meeting, some objections were raised regarding the syntax of
templates, particularly with regard to the use of < and > as the delimiters
of the parameter list because of the ambiguities introduced.  Two proposals
were advanced to fix the problems; one was a rather complete rewrite of the
syntax, the other simply replaced < and > with (< and >).  No decision was
reached on any revision; the issue will be discussed again at the March
meeting.

Regarding the implementation status of templates, it is public knowledge
that AT&T has acquired the implementation of templates done by Object Design
for inclusion in a future version of cfront.  That implementation was, of
course, done using the description of templates reflected in E&S.  Other
compiler vendors are adding templates to their products, as well.  I don't
know shipping time frames, however.

-- William M. Miller, Glockenspiel, Ltd.
   Vice chair, X3J16
   wmm@world.std.com