Structured Bindings can introduce a Pack

Document #: P1061R10 [Latest] [Status]
Date: 2024-11-22
Project: Programming Language C++
Audience: CWG
Reply-to: Barry Revzin
<>
Jonathan Wakely
<>

1 Revision History

R10 removes the ability to use packs outside of templates.

R9 has minor wording changes and updates the implementation experience section.

R8 re-adds the namespace-scope exclusion, and more wording updates. Also rebases the wording to account for [P0609R3].

R7 attempts to word the post-Varna version.

R6 has added wording changes and adds some more complicated examples to motivate how to actually word this paper.

R5 has minor wording changes.

R4 significantly improves the wording after review in Issaquah.

R3 removes the exclusion of namespace-scope per EWG guidance.

R2 adds a section about implementation complexity, implementation experience, and wording.

R1 of this paper [P1061R1] was presented to EWG in Belfast 2019 [P1061R1.Minutes] which approved the direction as presented (12-5-2-0-1).

R0 of this paper [P1061R0] was presented to EWGI in Kona 2019 [P1061R0.Minutes], who reviewed it favorably and thought this was a good investment of our time (4-3-4-1-0). The consensus in the room was that the restriction that the introduced pack need not be the trailing identifier.

2 Motivation

Function parameter packs and tuples are conceptually very similar. Both are heterogeneous sequences of objects. Some problems are easier to solve with a parameter pack, some are easier to solve with a tuple. Today, it’s trivial to convert a pack to a tuple, but it’s somewhat more involved to convert a tuple to a pack. You have to go through std::apply() [N3915]:

std::tuple<A, B, C> tup = ...;
std::apply([&](auto&&... elems){
    // now I have a pack
}, tup);

This is great for cases where we just need to call a [non-overloaded] function or function object, but rapidly becomes much more awkward as we dial up the complexity. Not to mention if I want to return from the outer scope based on what these elements have to be.

How do we compute the dot product of two tuples? It’s a choose your own adventure of awkward choices:

Nested apply() Using index_sequence
template <class P, class Q>
auto dot_product(P p, Q q) {
    return std::apply([&](auto... p_elems){
        return std::apply([&](auto... q_elems){
            return (... + (p_elems * q_elems));
        }, q)
    }, p);
}
template <size_t... Is, class P, class Q>
auto dot_product(std::index_sequence<Is...>, P p, Q, q) {
    return (... + (std::get<Is>(p) * std::get<Is>(q)));
}

template <class P, class Q>
auto dot_product(P p, Q q) {
    return dot_product(
        std::make_index_sequence<std::tuple_size<P>::value>{},
        p, q);
}

Regardless of which option you dislike the least, both are limited to only std::tuples. We don’t have the ability to do this at all for any of the other kinds of types that can be used in a structured binding declaration [P0144R2] - because we need to explicit list the correct number of identifiers, and we might not know how many there are.

3 Proposal

We propose to extend the structured bindings syntax to allow the user to introduce a pack as (at most) one of the identifiers:

std::tuple<X, Y, Z> f();

auto [x,y,z] = f();          // OK today
auto [...xs] = f();          // proposed: xs is a pack of length three containing an X, Y, and a Z
auto [x, ...rest] = f();     // proposed: x is an X, rest is a pack of length two (Y and Z)
auto [x,y,z, ...rest] = f(); // proposed: rest is an empty pack
auto [x, ...rest, z] = f();  // proposed: x is an X, rest is a pack of length one
                             //   consisting of the Y, z is a Z
auto [...a, ...b] = f();     // ill-formed: multiple packs

If we additionally add the structured binding customization machinery to std::integer_sequence, this could greatly simplify generic code:

Today Proposed
Implementing std::apply()
namespace detail {
    template <class F, class Tuple, std::size_t... I>
    constexpr decltype(auto) apply_impl(F &&f, Tuple &&t,
        std::index_sequence<I...>)
    {
        return std::invoke(std::forward<F>(f),
            std::get<I>(std::forward<Tuple>(t))...);
    }
}

template <class F, class Tuple>
constexpr decltype(auto) apply(F &&f, Tuple &&t)
{
    return detail::apply_impl(
        std::forward<F>(f), std::forward<Tuple>(t),
        std::make_index_sequence<std::tuple_size_v<
            std::decay_t<Tuple>>>{});
}
template <class F, class Tuple>
constexpr decltype(auto) apply(F &&f, Tuple &&t)
{
    auto&& [...elems] = t;
    return std::invoke(std::forward<F>(f),
        forward_like<Tuple, decltype(elems)>(elems)...);
}
dot_product(), nested
template <class P, class Q>
auto dot_product(P p, Q q) {
    return std::apply([&](auto... p_elems){
        return std::apply([&](auto... q_elems){
            return (... + (p_elems * q_elems));
        }, q)
    }, p);
}
template <class P, class Q>
auto dot_product(P p, Q q) {
    // no indirection!
    auto&& [...p_elems] = p;
    auto&& [...q_elems] = q;
    return (... + (p_elems * q_elems));
}
dot_product(), with index_sequence
template <size_t... Is, class P, class Q>
auto dot_product(std::index_sequence<Is...>, P p, Q, q) {
    return (... + (std::get<Is>(p) * std::get<Is>(q)));
}

template <class P, class Q>
auto dot_product(P p, Q q) {
    return dot_product(
        std::make_index_sequence<std::tuple_size_v<P>>{},
        p, q);
}
template <class P, class Q>
auto dot_product(P p, Q q) {
    // no helper function necessary!
    auto [...Is] = std::make_index_sequence<
        std::tuple_size_v<P>>{};
    return (... + (std::get<Is>(p) * std::get<Is>(q)));
}

Not only are these implementations more concise, but they are also more functional. I can just as easily use apply() with user-defined types as I can with std::tuple:

struct Point {
    int x, y, z;
};

Point getPoint();
double calc(int, int, int);

double result = std::apply(calc, getPoint()); // ill-formed today, ok with proposed implementation

3.1 Other Languages

Python 2 had always allowed for a syntax similar to C++17 structured bindings, where you have to provide all the identifiers:

>>> a, b, c, d, e = range(5) # ok
>>> a, *b = range(3)
  File "<stdin>", line 1
    a, *b = range(3)
       ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

But you could not do any more than that. Python 3 went one step further by way of PEP-3132 [PEP.3132]. That proposal allowed for a single starred identifier to be used, which would bind to all the elements as necessary:

>>> a, *b, c = range(5)
>>> a
0
>>> c
4
>>> b
[1, 2, 3]

The Python 3 behavior is synonymous with what is being proposed here. Notably, from that PEP:

Possible changes discussed were:

  • Only allow a starred expression as the last item in the exprlist. This would simplify the unpacking code a bit and allow for the starred expression to be assigned an iterator. This behavior was rejected because it would be too surprising.

R0 of this proposal only allowed a pack to be introduced as the last item, which was changed in R1.

3.2 Implementation Burden

Unfortunately, this proposal has some implementation complexity. The issue is not so much this aspect:

template <typeanme Tuple>
auto sum_template(Tuple tuple) {
    auto [...elems] = tuple;
    return (... + elems);
}

This part is more or less straightforward - we have a dependent type and we introduce a pack from it, but we’re already in a template context where dealing with packs is just a normal thing.

The problem is this aspect:

auto sum_non_template(SomeConreteType tuple) {
    auto [...elems] = tuple;
    return (... + elems);
}

We have not yet in the history of C++ had this notion of packs outside of dependent contexts. This is completely novel, and imposes a burden on implementations to have to track packs outside of templates where they previously had not.

However, in our estimation, this functionality is going to come to C++ in one form or other fairly soon. Reflection, in the latest form of [P1240R2], has many examples of introducing packs in non-template contexts as well - through the notion of a reflection range. That paper introduces several reifiers that can manipilate a newly-introduced pack, such as:

std::meta::info t_args[] = { ^int, ^42 };
template<typename T, T> struct X {};
X<...[:t_args:]...> x; // Same as "X<int, 42> x;".
template<typename, typename> struct Y {};
Y<...[:t_args:]...> y; // Error: same as "Y<int, 42> y;".

As with the structured bindings example in this paper - we have a non-dependent object outside of a template that we’re using to introduce a pack.

Furthermore, unlike some of the reflection examples, and some of the more generic pack facilities proposed in [P1858R2], this paper offers a nice benefit: all packs must still be declared before use. Even in the sum_non_template example which, as the name suggests, is not a template in any way, the pack elems needs an initial declaration. So any machinery that implementations need to track packs doesn’t need to be enabled everywhere - only when a pack declaration has been seen.

3.3 Removing Packs outside of Templates

The [P1061R9] design relied upon introducing an implicit template region when a structured binding pack was declared, which implicitly turns the rest of your function into a function template. That complexity, coupled with persistent opposition due to implementation complexity, led to Evolution rejecting [P1061R9] at the Wrocław meeting.

Since R10, this paper removes support for packs outside of templates, which removes the implementor objection and the design complexity. All of the complex examples from the original approach have been removed from this paper for brevity.

3.4 Implementation Experience

Jason Rice has implemented the [P1061R9] design in a clang. As far as we’ve been able to ascertain, it works great. It was initially done early in the process, before the concept of “implicit template region” was introduced in the wording — when he was updating the implementation to account for the new rules and to make sure that all the examples in the paper compiled, he noted that “Honestly, the implicit template region vastly simplified things, and much code was deleted.”

It is also available on Compiler Explorer, including the most complex example in the the original paper.

4 Wording

Add a drive-by fix to 7.5.7 [expr.prim.fold] after paragraph 3:

π A fold expression is a pack expansion.

Add a new grammar option for simple-declaration to 9.1 [dcl.pre] (note that this accounts for [P0609R3] by renaming the grammar productions prefixed with attributed to sb):

- attributed-identifier:
-     identifier attribute-specifier-seqopt
+ sb-identifier:
+     ...opt identifier attribute-specifier-seqopt
+
- attributed-identifier-list:
-     attributed-identifier
-     attributed-identifier-list, attributed-identifier
+ sb-identifier-list:
+     sb-identifier
+     sb-identifier-list, sb-identifier

  structured-binding-declaration:
-    attribute-specifier-seqopt decl-specifier-seq ref-qualifieropt [ attributed-identifier-list ]
+    attribute-specifier-seqopt decl-specifier-seq ref-qualifieropt [ sb-identifier-list ]

Change 9.1 [dcl.pre]/6:

6 A simple-declaration with a structured-binding-declaration is called a structured binding declaration ([dcl.struct.bind]). Each decl-specifier in the decl-specifier-seq shall be static, thread_local, auto ([dcl.spec.auto]), or a cv-qualifier. The declaration shall contain at most one sb-identifier whose identifier is preceded by an ellipsis. If the declaration contains any such sb-identifier, it shall declare a templated entity ([temp.pre]).

Change 9.6 [dcl.struct.bind] paragraph 1:

1 A structured binding declaration introduces the identifiers v0, v1, v2, …, vN-1 of the attribute-identifier-list-list sb-identifier-list as names ([basic.scope.declarative]) of structured bindings. An sb-identifier that contains an ellipsis introduces a structured binding pack ([temp.variadic]). A structured binding is either an sb-identifier that does not contain an ellipsis or an element of a structured binding pack. The optional attribute-specifier-seq of an attributed-identifier sb-identifier appertains to the associated structured bindings so introduced. Let cv denote the cv-qualifiers in the decl-specifier-seq.

Introduce new paragraphs after 9.6 [dcl.struct.bind] paragraph 1, introducing the terms “structured binding size” and SBi:

1+1 The structured binding size of E, as defined below, is the number of structured bindings that need to be introduced by the structured binding declaration. If there is no structured binding pack, then the number of elements in the sb-identifier-list shall be equal to the structured binding size of E. Otherwise, the number of non-pack elements shall be no more than the structured binding size of E; the number of elements of the structured binding pack is the structured binding size of E less the number of non-pack elements in the sb-identifier-list.

1+2 Let SBi denote the ith structured binding in the structured binding declaration after expanding the structured binding pack, if any. [ Note: If there is no structured binding pack, then SBi denotes vi. - end note ]

Example 1:
struct C { int x, y, z; };

template <class T>
void now_i_know_my() {
  auto [a, b, c] = C(); // OK, SB0 is a, SB1 is b, and SB2 is c
  auto [d, ...e] = C(); // OK, SB0 is d, the pack e (v1) contains two structured bindings: SB1 and SB2
  auto [...f, g] = C(); // OK, the pack f (v0) contains two structured bindings: SB0 and SB1, and SB2 is g
  auto [h, i, j, ...k] = C(); // OK, the pack k is empty
  auto [l, m, n, o, ...p] = C(); // error: structured binding size is too small
}
— end example ]

Change 9.6 [dcl.struct.bind] paragraph 3 to define a structured binding size and extend the example:

3 If E is an array type with element type T, the number of elements in the attributed-identifier-list shall be the structured binding size of E is equal to the number of elements of E. Each vi SBi is the name of an lvalue that refers to the element i of the array and whose type is T; the referenced type is T. [Note: The top-level cv-qualifiers of T are cv. — end note]

Example 2:
  auto f() -> int(&)[2];
  auto [ x, y ] = f();            // x and y refer to elements in a copy of the array return value
  auto& [ xr, yr ] = f();         // xr and yr refer to elements in the array referred to by f's return value

+ auto g() -> int(&)[4];

+ template <size_t N>
+ void h(int (&arr)[N]) {
+   auto [a, ...b, c] = arr;   // a names the first element of the array, b is a pack referring to the second and
+                              // third elements, and c names the fourth element
+   auto& [...e] = arr;        // e is a pack referring to the four elements of the array
+ }
+
+ void call_h() {
+   h(g());
+ }
— end example ]

Change 9.6 [dcl.struct.bind] paragraph 4 to define a structured binding size:

4 Otherwise, if the qualified-id std::tuple_size<E> names a complete type, the expression std::tuple_size<E>::value shall be a well-formed integral constant expression and the number of elements in the attributed-identifier-list shall be structured binding size of E is equal to the value of that expression. […] Each vi SBi is the name of an lvalue of type Ti that refers to the object bound to ri; the referenced type is Ti.

Change 9.6 [dcl.struct.bind] paragraph 5 to define a structured binding size:

5 Otherwise, all of E’s non-static data members shall be direct members of E or of the same base class of E, well-formed when named as e.name in the context of the structured binding, E shall not have an anonymous union member, and the number of elements in the attributed-identifier-list shall be structured binding size of E is equal to the number of non-static data members of E. Designating the non-static data members of E as m0, m1, m2, . . . (in declaration order), each vi SBi is the name of an lvalue that refers to the member mi of E and whose type is cv Ti, where Ti is the declared type of that member; the referenced type is cv Ti. The lvalue is a bit-field if that member is a bit-field.

Add a new clause to 13.7.4 [temp.variadic], after paragraph 3:

3+ A structured binding pack is an sb-identifier that introduces zero or more structured bindings ([dcl.struct.bind]).

Example 3:
auto foo() -> int(&)[2];

template <class T>
void g() {
  auto [...a] = foo();          // a is a structured binding pack containing 2 elements
  auto [b, c, ...d] = foo();    // d is a structured binding pack containing 0 elements
}
— end example ]

In 13.7.4 [temp.variadic], change paragraph 4:

4 A pack is a template parameter pack, a function parameter pack, or an init-capture pack, or a structured binding pack. The number of elements of a template parameter pack or a function parameter pack is the number of arguments provided for the parameter pack. The number of elements of an init-capture pack is the number of elements in the pack expansion of its initializer.

In 13.7.4 [temp.variadic], paragraph 5 (describing pack expansions) remains unchanged.

In 13.7.4 [temp.variadic], add a bullet to paragraph 8:

8 Such an element, in the context of the instantiation, is interpreted as follows:

  • (8.1) if the pack is a template parameter pack, the element is a template parameter ([temp.param]) of the corresponding kind (type or non-type) designating the ith corresponding type or value template argument;
  • (8.2) if the pack is a function parameter pack, the element is an id-expression designating the ith function parameter that resulted from instantiation of the function parameter pack declaration; otherwise
  • (8.3) if the pack is an init-capture pack, the element is an id-expression designating the variable introduced by the ithth init-capture that resulted from instantiation of the init-capture pack. ; otherwise
  • (8.4) if the pack is a structured binding pack, the element is an id-expression designating the ith structured binding in the pack that resulted from the structured binding declaration.

Add a bullet to 13.8.3.3 [temp.dep.expr]/3:

3 An id-expression is type-dependent if it is a template-id that is not a concept-id and is dependent; or if its terminal name is

  • (3.1) associated by name lookup with one or more declarations declared with a dependent type,

  • (3.2) associated by name lookup with a non-type template-parameter declared with a type that contains a placeholder type,

  • (3.3) associated by name lookup with a variable declared with a type that contains a placeholder type ([dcl.spec.auto]) where the initializer is type-dependent,

  • (3.4) associated by name lookup with one or more declarations of member functions of a class that is the current instantiation declared with a return type that contains a placeholder type,

  • (3.5) associated by name lookup with a structured binding declaration ([dcl.struct.bind]) whose brace-or-equal-initializer is type-dependent,

  • (3.5b) associated by name lookup with a pack,

    Example 4:
    struct C { };
    
    void g(...); // #1
    
    template <typename T>
    void f() {
        C arr[1];
        auto [...e] = arr;
        g(e...); // calls #2
    }
    
    void g(C); // #2
    
    int main() {
        f<int>();
    }
    — end example ]
  • (3.6) associated by name lookup with an entity captured by copy ([expr.prim.lambda.capture]) in a lambda-expression that has an explicit object parameter whose type is dependent ([dcl.fct]),

  • (3.7) the identifier __func__ ([dcl.fct.def.general]), where any enclosing function is a template, a member of a class template, or a generic lambda,

  • (3.8) a conversion-function-id that specifies a dependent type, or

  • (3.9) dependent

Add a carve-out for in 13.8.3.4 [temp.dep.constexpr]/4:

4 Expressions of the following form are value-dependent:

sizeof ... ( identifier )
fold-expression

unless the identifier is a structured binding pack whose initializer is not dependent.

4.1 Feature-Test Macro

Bump __cpp_structured_bindings in 15.11 [cpp.predefined]:

- __cpp_­structured_­bindings 201606L
+ __cpp_­structured_­bindings 2024XXL

5 Acknowledgements

Thanks to Michael Park and Tomasz Kamiński for their helpful feedback. Thanks to Richard Smith for help with the wording. Thanks especially to Jason Rice for the implementation.

Thanks to John Spicer, Christof Meerwald, Jens Maurer, and everyone else in Core for the wording help, mind-melting examples, and getting this paper in shape.

6 References

[N3915] Peter Sommerlad. 2014-02-14. apply() call a function with arguments from a tuple (V3).
https://wg21.link/n3915
[P0144R2] Herb Sutter. 2016-03-16. Structured Bindings.
https://wg21.link/p0144r2
[P0609R3] Aaron Ballman. 2024-03-21. Attributes for Structured Bindings.
https://wg21.link/p0609r3
[P1061R0] Barry Revzin, Jonathan Wakely. 2018-05-01. Structured Bindings can introduce a Pack.
https://wg21.link/p1061r0
[P1061R0.Minutes] EWGI. 2019. Kona 2019 EWGI: P1061R0.
http://wiki.edg.com/bin/view/Wg21kona2019/P1061
[P1061R1] Barry Revzin, Jonathan Wakely. 2019-10-07. Structured Bindings can introduce a Pack.
https://wg21.link/p1061r1
[P1061R1.Minutes] EWG. 2019. Belfast 2020 EWG: P1061R1.
https://wiki.edg.com/bin/view/Wg21belfast/P1061-EWG
[P1061R9] Barry Revzin, Jonathan Wakely. 2024-08-24. Structured Bindings can introduce a Pack.
https://wg21.link/p1061r9
[P1240R2] Daveed Vandevoorde, Wyatt Childers, Andrew Sutton, Faisal Vali. 2022-01-14. Scalable Reflection.
https://wg21.link/p1240r2
[P1858R2] Barry Revzin. 2020-03-01. Generalized pack declaration and usage.
https://wg21.link/p1858r2
[PEP.3132] Georg Brandl. 2007. PEP 3132 – Extended Iterable Unpacking.
https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-3132/