using swap with template argument conflicts with std::vector include - c++

Question

Today I came across a really strange behavior of the msvc2013 compiler.
After nearly an hour, I found the causing bug.
Minimal example:
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
float f1, f2;
std::swap<float>(f1, f2);
return 0;
}
When including std::vector, I get a bunch of very strange compiler errors with msvc2013! When compiling the code with mingw the code compiles fine, just as I would expect.
The errors:
main.cpp
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\xlocale(341): warning C4530: C++ exception handler used, but unwind semantics are not enabled. Specify /EHsc
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1892): error C2825: '_Alloc': must be a class or namespace when followed by '::'
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1944): note: see reference to class template instantiation 'std::_Vb_iter_base<_Alloc>' being compiled
with
[
_Alloc=float
]
main.cpp(10): note: see reference to class template instantiation 'std::_Vb_reference<float>' being compiled
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1892): error C2510: '_Alloc': left of '::' must be a class/struct/union
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1892): error C2146: syntax error: missing '>' before identifier 'difference_type'
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1898): error C2825: '_Alloc': must be a class or namespace when followed by '::'
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1898): error C2510: '_Alloc': left of '::' must be a class/struct/union
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1898): error C3646: '_Sizet': unknown override specifier
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1898): error C4430: missing type specifier - int assumed. Note: C++ does not support default-int
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1906): error C2061: syntax error: identifier '_Sizet'
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1913): error C2061: syntax error: identifier '_Sizet'
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1920): error C2061: syntax error: identifier '_Sizet'
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1937): error C3646: '_Myoff': unknown override specifier
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE\vector(1937): error C4430: missing type specifier - int assumed. Note: C++ does not support default-int
And yes - i do know this is now the msvc2015 compiler! I tested this one too, and these are the error messages from this compile
Is this a weird bug in msvc or why does and can this even happen?

Answer 1

This is a known issue in MSVC compilers. They argue that "calling swap() with explicit template arguments is not actually permitted by the Standard".