Why is malloc in global namespace? - c++

From what I understand, one of the reasons the C++ versions of C libraries like stdlib.h (cstdlib) were introduced was so that the global namespace is not polluted.
But it turns out that I am able to use malloc in the global namespace even though I did not #include <stdlib.h>.
So then why should I #include <cstdlib> and then use std::malloc?
(I'm using g++ version 4.8.2)

There used to be a requirement that the C headers (*.h) only put names into the global namespace and that the corresponding C++ headers only put names into std. That turned out to be impractical, and was often not followed. So the standards committee standardized existing practice, and changed the rule so that the C headers must put names into the global namespace and may put them into std, and that the C++ headers must put names into std and may put them into the global namespace.
The reason that the old rule was impractical is simply that it would require duplicating all of the C header content inside namespace std, with a corresponding burden in maintenance of having two sets of code to update. Add to that the fact that in some cases the C headers are handled by a completely separate development team. The cost of this approach is prohibitive.
To answer the final question, either use #include <stdlib.h> and malloc or use #include <cstdlib> and std::malloc.

Related

How to just import one function from C++ headers (aka avoiding namespace pollution)

I'm reading codes that designed an OCR model for chemistry. And I see some lines like this
#include <math.h> // fabs(double)
Is it possible to import just one function like what Python does (from module import function)?
I read the code of cmath. When I do #include <cmath>, the inner codes already do #include <math.h> , thus importing all the functions to the global namespace. What should I do?
With most C++ standard library headers, if you don't do using namespace std; they do not pollute the global namespace and put everything into the namespace std instead. So as long as you don't do using namespace std; there will be no pollution.
<math.h>
is a bit different in that regard. It is one of the standard library headers inherited by C++ from C and therefore it doesn't follow the namespace rules of the C++ standard library. C doesn't have namespaces at all and so including the header will put all its names in the global namespace. There is no way to avoid this. Selective inclusion from headers is not possible in C and C++.
There is an alternative form of the same header:
#include <cmath>
This header will put all the standard library functions into the std namespace as for typical C++ standard library headers.
Unfortunately, the C++ standard does allow compilers/standard library implementations to also put the names in the global namespace when <cmath> is included. So even if you use this variant, you have no guarantee that it won't pollute the global namespace and I think indeed most implementations do.
Unfortunately you have to live with C standard library functions which were inherited into C++ polluting the global namespace. I don't think there is anything that can be done about it.
What you can do is put all of your own program's declarations into a namespace, e.g.:
namespace my_stuff {
// ...
}
If there is a name conflict, then in most situations your own one will be chosen over the global one as long as you are staying in the namespace.

<cstdint> vs <stdint.h>

What is the difference between stdint.h and cstdint?
Both of them are available in MSVC (Visual Studio 2010) and gcc-4.5.1. Also both define the intX_t/uintX_t types (where X is the size in bytes of the type).
If the rationale in both headers is the same (portable types), what decisions I must take to decide on one or the other?
The stdint.h defines each type without any namespace, the cstdint types lies in the std namespace.
Is there any reason to include or to not include the defined types into the std namespace? What is different between the two headers?
cstdint has no file extension and uses the c prefix, stdint.h uses the .h extension.
What are the naming conventions for this headers? the c prefix indicates that this is a C library? there's a reason for the lack of file extension in cstdint?
The original intention in C++98 was that you should use <cstdint> in C++, to avoid polluting the global namespace (well, not <cstdint> in particular, that's only added in C++11, but the <c*> headers in general).
However, implementations persisted in putting the symbols into the global namespace anyway, and C++11 ratified this practice[*]. So, you basically have three options:
Use <cstdint> and either fully qualify each integer type you use or else bring it into scope with using std::int32_t; etc (annoying because verbose, but it's the right way to do it just like for any other symbol in the C++ standard library)
Use <stdint.h> (slightly bad because deprecated)
Use <cstdint> and assume your implementation will put the symbols in the global namespace (very bad because not guaranteed).
In practice I suspect that an annoying large amount of code uses the last option, simply because it's easy to do by accident on an implementation where <cstdint> puts the symbols in the global namespace. You should try to use the first. The second has one virtue, that it is guaranteed to put stuff in the global namespace instead of only maybe doing it. I don't think that's particularly useful, but it might save some typing if that's your priority.
There's a fourth option, #include <cstdint> followed by using namespace std; which is sometimes useful but there are places that you shouldn't put the using namespace std;. Different people will have different ideas where those places are, but "at top level in a header file" is worse than "at top level in a cpp file", which is worse than "in a limited scope". Some people never write using namespace std; at all.
[*] That means C++ standard headers are permitted to put stuff in the global namespace but not required to. So you have to avoid colliding with those symbols, but you can't actually use them because they might not be there. Basically, the global namespace in C++ is a minefield, try to avoid it. One might argue that the committee has ratified a practice by implementations that is nearly as harmful as sticking using namespace std; at top level in a header file -- the difference being that the implementations only do it for symbols in the C standard library, whereas using namespace std; does it for C++-only symbols too. There's a section in the C standard that lists names reserved for future additions to the standard. It's not a completely stupid idea to treat those names as reserved in the C++ global namespace too, but it's not essential.
Including cstdint imports the symbol names in std namespace and possibly in Global namespace.
Including stdint.h imports the symbol names in Global namespace and possibly in std namespace.
Features of C standard Library are also provided in the C++ Standard library and as a general naming convention they are pre-pended by an c to the corresponding names in C standard library.
In C++, You should be using:
#include <cstdint>
and fully qualify the symbol names you use with std::
while in C, You should use:
#include <stdint.h>
Annex D (normative) Compatibility features [depr] states:
D.6 C standard library headers
1 For compatibility with the C standard library and the C Unicode TR, the C++ standard library provides the 25 C headers, as shown in Table 151.
Which include:
<assert.h> <float.h> <math.h> <stddef.h> <tgmath.h>
<complex.h> <inttypes.h> <setjmp.h> <stdio.h> <time.h>
<ctype.h> <iso646.h> <signal.h> <stdint.h> <uchar.h>
<errno.h> <limits.h> <stdarg.h> <stdlib.h> <wchar.h>
<fenv.h> <locale.h> <stdbool.h> <string.h> <wctype.h>
And further,
2 Every C header, each of which has a name of the form name.h, behaves as if each name placed in the standard library namespace by the corresponding cname header is placed within the global namespace scope. It is unspecified whether these names are first declared or defined within namespace scope (3.3.6) of the namespace std and are then injected into the global namespace scope by explicit using-declarations (7.3.3).
3 [ Example: The header <cstdlib> assuredly provides its declarations and definitions within the namespace std. It may also provide these names within the global namespace. The header <stdlib.h> assuredly provides the same declarations and definitions within the global namespace, much as in the C Standard. It may also provide these names within the namespace std. —end example ]
cstdint is C++11 header, stdint.h is C99 header (C and C++ are different languages!)
MSVC 2008 contains neither stdint.h nor cstdint.
Implementations of cstdint are mostly simply #include <stdint.h> with some namespace/language fixes.

Is it OK to put a standard, pure C header #include directive inside a namespace? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Closed 10 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
Is it a good idea to wrap an #include in a namespace block?
I've got a project with a class log in the global namespace (::log).
So, naturally, after #include <cmath>, the compiler gives an error message each time I try to instantiate an object of my log class, because <cmath> pollutes the global namespace with lots of three-letter methods, one of them being the logarithm function log().
So there are three possible solutions, each having their unique ugly side-effects.
Move the log class to it's own namespace and always access it with it's fully qualified name. I really want to avoid this because the logger should be as convenient as possible to use.
Write a mathwrapper.cpp file which is the only file in the project that includes <cmath>, and makes all the required <cmath> functions available through wrappers in a namespace math. I don't want to use this approach because I have to write a wrapper for every single required math function, and it would add additional call penalty (cancelled out partially by the -flto compiler flag)
The solution I'm currently considering:
Replace
#include <cmath>
by
namespace math {
#include "math.h"
}
and then calculating the logarithm function via math::log().
I have tried it out and it does, indeed, compile, link and run as expected. It does, however, have multiple downsides:
It's (obviously) impossible to use <cmath>, because the <cmath> code accesses the functions by their fully qualified names, and it's deprecated to use in C++.
I've got a really, really bad feeling about it, like I'm gonna get attacked and eaten alive by raptors.
So my question is:
Is there any recommendation/convention/etc that forbid putting include directives in namespaces?
Could anything go wrong with
diferent C standard library implementations (I use glibc),
different compilers (I use g++ 4.7, -std=c++11),
linking?
Have you ever tried doing this?
Are there any alternate ways to banish the math functions from the global namespace?
I've found several similar questions on stackoverflow, but most were about including other C++ headers, which obviously is a bad idea, and those that weren't made contradictory statements about linking behaviour for C libraries. Also, would it be beneficial to additionally put the #include <math.h> inside extern "C" {}?
edit
So I decided to do what probably everyone else is doing, and put all of my code in a project namespace, and to access the logger with it's fully qualified name when including <cmath>.
No, the solution that you are considering is not allowed. In practice what it means is that you are changing the meaning of the header file. You are changing all of its declarations to declare differently named functions.
These altered declarations won't match the actual names of the standard library functions so, at link time, none of the standard library functions will resolve calls to the functions declared by the altered declarations unless they happen to have been declared extern "C" which is allowed - but not recommended - for names which come from the C standard library.
ISO/IEC 14882:2011 17.6.2.2/3 [using.headers] applies to the C standard library headers as they are part of the C++ standard library:
A translation unit shall include a header only outside of any external declaration or definition[*], and shall include the header lexically before the first reference in that translation unit to any of the entities declared in that header.
[*] which would include a namespace definition.
Why not putting a log class in it's own namespace and using typedef namespace::log logger; to avoid name clashes in a more convenient way?
Change your class's name. Not that big of a deal. ;-)
Seriously though, it's not a great idea to put names in the global namespace that collide with names from any standard header. C++03 didn't explicitly permit <cmath> to define ::log. But implementations were chronically non-conforming about that due to the practicalities of defining <cmath> on top of an existing <math.h> (and perhaps also an existing static-link library for some headers, including math). So C++11 ratifies existing practice, and allows <cmath> to dump everything into the global namespace. C++11 also reserves all those names for use with extern "C" linkage, and all function signatures for use with C++ linkage, even if you don't include the header. But more on that later.
Because in C++ any standard header is allowed to define the names from any other standard header (i.e, they're allowed to include each other), this means that any standard header at all can define ::log. So don't use it.
The answer to your question about different implementations is that even if your scheme works to begin with (which isn't guaranteed), in some other implementation there might be a header that you use (or want to use in future in the same TU as your log class), that includes <cmath>, and that you didn't give the namespace math treatment to. Off the top of my head, <random> seems to me a candidate. It provides a whole bunch of continuous random number distributions that plausibly could be implemented inline with math functions.
I suggest Log, but then I like capitalized class names. Partly because they're always distinct from standard types and functions.
Another possibility is to define your class as before and use struct log in place of log. This doesn't clash with the function, for reasons that only become clear if you spend way too much time with the C and C++ standards (you only use log as a class name, not as a function and not as a name with "C" linkage, so you don't infringe on the reserved name. Despite all appearances to the contrary, class names in C++ still inhabit a parallel universe from other names, rather like struct tags do in C).
Unfortunately struct log isn't a simple-type-identifier, so for example you can't create a temporary with struct log(VERY_VERBOSE, TO_FILE). To define a simple-type-identifier:
typedef struct log Log;
Log(VERY_VERBOSE, TO_FILE); // unused temporary object
An example of what I say in a comment below, based on a stated example usage. I think this is valid, but I'm not certain:
#include <iostream>
#include <cmath>
using std::log; // to enforce roughly what the compiler does anyway
enum Foo {
foo, bar
};
std::ostream &log(Foo f) { return std::cout; }
int main() {
log(foo) << log(10) << "\n";
}
It is ugly hack too, but I believe will not cause any linker problems. Just redefine log name from <math.h>
#define log math_log
#include <math.h>
#undef log
It could cause problems with inline functions from math using this log, but maybe you'd be lucky...
Math log() is still accessible but it's not easy. Within functions where you want to use it, just repeat its real declaration:
int somefunc() {
double log(double); // not sure if correct
return log(1.1);
}

runtime library and global namespace

Does the runtime library pollute the global namespace?
I don't think you really understand the terms you are using, but the names in the C++ Standard Library exist in the std namespace, so the answer is no. The names in the header files that originated in the C Standard Library are placed in the global namespace, if you #include them via the .h filenames, such as:
#include <stdio.h>
if you #include them like this:
#include <cstdio>
then the names exist in both global and std namespaces.
The reason for placing objects in the std namespace is not so much to avoid "namespace polution", which is hardly a value neutral term, but to avoid name clashes.
The runtime library is required to use reserved identifiers. Without namespace qualification, these must begin with two underscores: __start, etc.
You are not allowed to use reserved names. The library is not allowed to use your names. If either crosses over to the other, it is "pollution" which is illegal.
Essentially, the situation is the same for C and C++ except, as the other answers point out, in C++ most standard library names have namespace qualification.
Most of the library cleanly goes in namespace std: -- however, for backwards compatibility with C, you may choose to "pollute" the global namespace by including old headers like <math.h> (which puts lots of names in the global namespace) instead of the proper new ones like <cmath> (which uses the std: namespace properly).

Scope of C libraries in C++ - <X.h> vs <cX>

The C++ Programming Language : Special Edition states on page 431 that...
For every header < X.h > defining part of the C standard library in the global namespace and also in namespace std, there is a header < cX > defining the same names in the std namespace only.
However, when I use C headers in the < cX > style, I don't need to qualify the namespace. For example...
#include <cmath>
void f() {
double var = sqrt( 17 );
}
This would compile fine. Even though the book says that using the < cX > header defines names in the std namespace only, you are allowed to use those names without qualifying the namespace. What am I missing here?
P.S. Using the GNU.GCC compiler
Stephan T. Lavavej, a member of the MSVC team, addresses the reality of this situation (and some of the refinements to the standard) in this comment on one of his blog postings (http://blogs.msdn.com/vcblog/archive/2008/08/28/the-mallocator.aspx#8904359):
> also, <cstddef>, <cstdlib>, and std::size_t etc should be used!
I used to be very careful about that. C++98 had a splendid dream wherein <cfoo> would declare everything within namespace std, and <foo.h> would include <cfoo> and then drag everything into the global namespace with using-declarations. (This is D.5 [depr.c.headers].)
This was ignored by lots of implementers (some of which had very little control over the C Standard Library headers). So, C++0x has been changed to match reality. As of the N2723 Working Paper, http://open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2008/n2723.pdf , now <cfoo> is guaranteed to declare everything within namespace std, and may or may not declare things within the global namespace. <foo.h> is the opposite: it is guaranteed to declare everything within the global namespace, and may or may not declare things within namespace std.
In reality and in C++0x, including <cfoo> is no safeguard against everything getting declared in the global namespace anyways. That's why I'm ceasing to bother with <cfoo>.
This was Library Issue 456, http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/lwg-defects.html#456 .
(C++0x still deprecates the <foo.h> headers from the C Standard Library, which is hilarious.)
I'm in 100% agreement with Lavavej, except I never tried to be very careful about using the <cfoo> style headers even when I first started using C++ - the standard C ones were just too ingrained - and there was never any real world problem using them (and apparently there was never any real world benefit to using the <cfoo> style headers).
The rule for the C libraries differs from C++ libraries for namespaces
gcc interprets the standard in Gcc docs as
The standard specifies that if one includes the C-style header (<math.h> in this case), the symbols will be available in the global namespace and perhaps in namespace std:: (but this is no longer a firm requirement.) One the other hand, including the C++-style header (<cmath>) guarantees that the entities will be found in namespace std and perhaps in the global namespace.
In the draft C0X++ spec it says in section 17.6.2.3 Headers
It is unspecified whether these names are first declared within the global namespace scope and are then injected
into namespace std by explicit using-declarations
It's hard to fix this without implementing the C library twice. See DR 456, which basically proposes giving up on the problem.
Why do you say "This would compile fine" when it violates the Standard? Who allows you to use those names without qualifying the namespace? Have you tested this on a particular implementation and found that it works?
I strongly advise against using some particular non-standard feature because it happens to work on your compiler of choice. Such things break easily, perhaps with a later version of the same compiler.
You are probably missing using a standards-conformant compiler (or the one you use is configured to be compatible with pre-standard code).