P0929R1: Checking for abstract class types

Introduction

An abstract class shall not be used as a parameter type, as a function return type, or as the type of an explicit conversion. Pointers and references to an abstract class can be declared.

In practice, this introduces spooky "backward-in-time" errors:

struct S;
S f();   // #1, ok

// lots of code

struct S { virtual void f() = 0; };  // makes #1 retroactively ill-formed

Changes

• Treat arrays of abstract class type similarly.
• Update wording.

Discussion

Beyond the ability to declare functions with incomplete return and parameter types, the standard also allows for the return type to be inspected using decltype(f()) even if it is incomplete. This ability might be used in template metaprogramming, and it should not break if one of the involved types happens to be abstract.

There are two approaches to solving this issue:

• State that a return type or a parameter type is ill-formed if it is complete and an abstract class type at the point of declaration of the function type.
• Never check declarations involving function types whether they involve a return type or parameter of abstract class type. Instead, postpone the check to the definition and the call, where actual objects need to be created, and where the existing text already requires completeness of the types involved.

    struct S;
    S f();      // ok, abstract-ness not checked here
    struct S { virtual void f() = 0; };
    S f();      // error: S is abstract
  

It is recommended to treat this as a Defect Report against earlier versions of C++.

The suggested feature test macro is __cpp_abstract_class_checking.

Wording changes

A program is ill-formed if In the definition of any an object gives the, the type of that object shall not be an incomplete type (6.7 [basic.types]),, an abstract class type (13.4 [class.abstract]), or a (possibly multi-dimensional) array thereof.

Unless otherwise indicated (8.5.1.2 [expr.call] 10.1.7.2 [dcl.type.simple]), a prvalue shall always have complete type or the void type; if it has a class type or (possibly multi-dimensional) array of class type, that class shall not be an abstract class (13.4 [class.abstract]).

... When a function is called, the parameters that have object type shall have completely-defined object type the type of any parameter shall not be an incomplete or abstract class type. [ Note: this still allows a parameter to be a pointer or reference to an incomplete class type. However, it prevents a passed-by-value parameter to have an incomplete class type. -- end note ] ...

... T is called the array element type; this type shall not be a reference type, cv void, or a function type or an abstract class type. ...

Types shall not be defined in return or parameter types. The type of a parameter or the return type for a function definition shall not be an incomplete or abstract (possibly cv-qualified) class type in the context of the function definition unless the function is deleted (11.4.3).

Change in 12.2 [class.mem] paragraph 14:

Non-staticThe type of a non-static data membersmember shall not havebe an incomplete typestype (6.7 [basic.types]), an abstract class type (13.4 [class.abstract]), or a (possibly multi-dimensional) array thereof. [ Note: In particular, a class C shall notcannot contain a non-static member of class C, but it can contain a pointer or reference to an object of class C.-- end note ]

An abstract class is a class that can be used only as a base class of some other class; no objects of an abstract class can be created except as subobjects of a class derived from it. A class is abstract if it has at least one pure virtual function. [ Note: Such a function might be inherited: see below. -- end note ] A virtual function is specified as a pure virtual function by using a pure-specifier (12.2) in the function declaration in the class definition. [ Note: Such a function might be inherited: see below. -- end note ] A class is an abstract class if it has at least one pure virtual function. [ Note: An abstract class can be used only as a base class of some other class; no objects of an abstract class can be created except as subobjects of a class derived from it (6.1 [basic.def], 12.2 [class.mem]). -- end note ] A pure virtual function need be defined only if called with, or as if with (15.4), the qualified-id syntax (8.4).

An abstract class shall not be used as a parameter type, as a function return type, or as the type of an explicit conversion. Pointers and references to an abstract class can be declared. [ Example:

    shape x;                            // error: object of abstract class
    shape* p;                           // OK
    shape f();                          // error
    void g(shape);                      // error
    shape& h(shape&);                   // OK

-- end example ]

• ...
• Attempting to create a function type in which a parameter type or the return type is an abstract class type (13.4 [class.abstract]).