Why is the Visual C++ compiler calling the wrong overload here?
I am have a subclass of ostream that I use to define a buffer for formatting. Sometimes I want to create a temporary and immediately insert a string into it with the usual << operator like this:
M2Stream() << "the string";
Unfortunately, the program calls the operator<<(ostream, void *) member overload, instead of the operator<<(ostream, const char *) nonmember one.
I wrote the sample below as a test where I define my own M2Stream class that reproduces the problem.
I think the problem is that the M2Stream() expression produces a temporary and this somehow causes the compiler to prefer the void * overload. But why? This is borne out by the fact that if I make the first argument for the nonmember overload const M2Stream &, I get an ambiguity.
Another strange thing is that it calls the desired const char * overload if I first define a variable of type const char * and then call it, instead of a literal char string, like this:
const char *s = "char string variable";
M2Stream() << s;
It's as if the literal string has a different type than the const char * variable! Shouldn't they be the same? And why does the compiler cause a call to the void * overload when I use the temporary and the literal char string?
#include "stdafx.h"
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class M2Stream
{
public:
M2Stream &operator<<(void *vp)
{
cout << "M2Stream bad operator<<(void *) called with " << (const char *) vp << endl;
return *this;
}
};
/* If I make first arg const M2Stream &os, I get
\tests\t_stream_insertion_op\t_stream_insertion_op.cpp(39) : error C2666: 'M2Stream::operator <<' : 2 overloads have similar conversions
\tests\t_stream_insertion_op\t_stream_insertion_op.cpp(13): could be 'M2Stream &M2Stream::operator <<(void *)'
\tests\t_stream_insertion_op\t_stream_insertion_op.cpp(20): or 'const M2Stream &operator <<(const M2Stream &,const char *)'
while trying to match the argument list '(M2Stream, const char [45])'
note: qualification adjustment (const/volatile) may be causing the ambiguity
*/
const M2Stream & operator<<(M2Stream &os, const char *val)
{
cout << "M2Stream good operator<<(const char *) called with " << val << endl;
return os;
}
int main(int argc, char argv[])
{
// This line calls void * overload, outputs: M2Stream bad operator<<(void *) called with literal char string on constructed temporary
M2Stream() << "literal char string on constructed temporary";
const char *s = "char string variable";
// This line calls the const char * overload, and outputs: M2Stream good operator<<(const char *) called with char string variable
M2Stream() << s;
// This line calls the const char * overload, and outputs: M2Stream good operator<<(const char *) called with literal char string on prebuilt object
M2Stream m;
m << "literal char string on prebuilt object";
return 0;
}
Output:
M2Stream bad operator<<(void *) called with literal char string on constructed temporary
M2Stream good operator<<(const char *) called with char string variable
M2Stream good operator<<(const char *) called with literal char string on prebuilt object