PRB: C2059 When Declaring Friend Template Functions in a Class

• The C/C++ Compiler (CL.EXE), included with:
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 32-bit Edition, version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

Attempting to declare a friend template function in a class definition may result in the following errors:

error C2059: syntax error: 'template'

error C2238: unexpected token(s) preceding ';'

CAUSE

This is a relatively new language feature that is currently not supported by the Visual C++ 4.0 compiler. For example, the following code will generate the errors noted above.

Sample Code

/* Compile options needed: none
*/ 
class A;
template <class T> void f(T, A *a)  { a->x; }

class A
{
private:
   int x;
   template <class T> friend void f(T, A*);
};

int main(void)
{
   A a;
   f(5, &a);
   f(1.5, &a);
   return 0;
} 

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

Additional query words: 4.00

Keywords : kbCompiler
Version : winnt:
Platform : winnt
Issue type :