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From: comeau@ditka.Chicago.COM (Greg Comeau)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: Inline Isn't
Message-ID: <40515@ditka.Chicago.COM>
Date: 6 Jun 91 13:00:00 GMT
References: <1666@msa3b.UUCP>
Sender: comeau@ditka.Chicago.COM (Greg Comeau)
Reply-To: comeau@csanta.attmail.com (Greg Comeau)
Organization: Comeau Computing
Lines: 28

In article <1666@msa3b.UUCP> kevin@msa3b.UUCP (Kevin P. Kleinfelter) writes:
>When one declares a class in a .h file, and specifies the body of
>a member function as inline in the .cpp file, do most compilers fail
>to inline it?
>/**** foo.h ******/
>class foo { private: int x; public: int bar (); };
>/***** foo.cpp ****/
>inline int bar () { return x; }
>/***** other.cpp *****/
>#include "foo.h"
>void demo (void) { int i; foo f; i = f.bar(); }

First, recognize that inline is only a hint to the compiler (like register
is) and not a mandate.

Second, for something that's inline to have significance it must be
visible to the translation unit that wants it inline'd.

In a case like you've illustrated, one would typically put the definition
for bar right into the class definition, that way the function isn't just
a linker issue and is known to the compiler as an inline.

- Greg
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