tags:

views:

199

answers:

3
#include <stack>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    stack<int> s;
    int i;
    for (i = 0; i <= 10; i++) {
        s.push(i);
    }
    for (i = 0; i <= 10; i++) {
        printf("%d", s.pop());
    }
}

Whats wrong with the code above?

Error:

In function int main(): aggregate value used where an integer was expected

+21  A: 

stack::pop is a void function which just discards the top element on the stack, in order to get the value you want to use stack::top.

The reason this is so is for exception safety reasons (what happens if the object returned throws an exception in its copy constructor?).

Motti
Ooh, never realized that was the reason. I always just thought it was a cleanliness of design/separation of concerns kind of thing. +1 for enlightening me. :)
jalf
Also, `pop` would have to create a copy in order to return it. If the user doesn't want that, it's probably going to end up costing performance.
Potatoswatter
According to Stroustrup (TC++PL), the actual reason was performance: if `pop` returned the value, it would have to create an unnecessary copy (since the value is consecutively destroyed in the stack). Both sound plausible though (and both are made obsolete by move semantics).
Konrad Rudolph
@Konrad, since move contructor's are [allowed to throw](http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2009/n2983.html) I don't think you can have an exception safe `pop` that returns the value. Not to mention the question of thread safety.
Motti
+1  A: 

You're treating pop() which is an operation to print to standard output. pop() just removes the topmost element from the stack. The most confusing thing however is your debug output.

I compiled your code fragment with the standard GNU C++ compiler which gave me:

main.cpp|12|error: invalid use of void expression

int main() {
    stack<int> s;
    int i;
    for (i = 0; i <= 10; i++) {
        s.push(i);
    }
    for (i = 0; i <= 10; i++) {
          printf("%i", s.top());
          s.pop();
    }
}
RobM
+2  A: 

Minor nitpick, your for loop is actually encoding 11 items and not 10 like you make think from a brief look at the loop count. Consider using < 11 if you mean 11 elements to add.

Michael Dorgan