Initializer-list-constructing a vector of noncopyable (but movable) objects

Question

One can push_back rvalues of a noncopyable-but-movable type into a vector of that type:

#include <vector>

struct S
{
    S(int);
    S(S&&);
};

int main()
{
    std::vector<S> v;
    v.push_back(S(1));
    v.push_back(S(2));
    v.push_back(S(3));
}

However, when I try to initializer-list-construct the vector with the same rvalues, I get errors about a copy constructor being required:

#include <vector>

struct S
{
    S(int);
    S(S&&);
};

int main()
{
    std::vector<S> v = {S(1), S(2), S(3)};
}

I get the following errors with GCC 4.7:

In file included from include/c++/4.7.0/vector:63:0,
                 from test.cpp:1:
include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_construct.h: In instantiation of 'void std::_Construct(_T1*, _Args&& ...) [with _T1 = S, _Args = {const S&}]':
include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_uninitialized.h:77:3:   required from 'static _ForwardIterator std::__uninitialized_copy<_TrivialValueTypes>::__uninit_copy(_InputIterator, _InputIterator, _ForwardIterator) [with _InputIterator = const S*, _ForwardIterator = S*, bool _TrivialValueTypes = false]'
include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_uninitialized.h:119:41:   required from '_ForwardIterator std::uninitialized_copy(_InputIterator, _InputIterator, _ForwardIterator) [with _InputIterator = const S*, _ForwardIterator = S*]'
include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_uninitialized.h:260:63:   required from '_ForwardIterator std::__uninitialized_copy_a(_InputIterator, _InputIterator, _ForwardIterator, std::allocator<_Tp>&) [with _InputIterator = const S*, _ForwardIterator = S*, _Tp = S]'
include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_vector.h:1185:4:   required from 'void std::vector<_Tp, _Alloc>::_M_range_initialize(_ForwardIterator, _ForwardIterator, std::forward_iterator_tag) [with _ForwardIterator = const S*, _Tp = S, _Alloc = std::allocator<S>]'
include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_vector.h:362:2:   required from 'std::vector<_Tp, _Alloc>::vector(std::initializer_list<_Tp>, const allocator_type&) [with _Tp = S, _Alloc = std::allocator<S>, std::vector<_Tp, _Alloc>::allocator_type = std::allocator<S>]'
test.cpp:11:41:   required from here
include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_construct.h:77:7: error: no matching function for call to 'S::S(const S&)'
include/c++/4.7.0/bits/stl_construct.h:77:7: note: candidates are:
test.cpp:6:5: note: S::S(S&&)
test.cpp:6:5: note:   no known conversion for argument 1 from 'const S' to 'S&&'
test.cpp:5:5: note: S::S(int)
test.cpp:5:5: note:   no known conversion for argument 1 from 'const S' to 'int'

Should this be allowed? I see no technical obstacles to it being allowed, but I don't have the Standard handy at the moment...

Answer 1

Maybe this clause from 8.5.4.5 explains it (my emphasis):

An object of type std::initializer_list is constructed from an initializer list as if the implementation allocated an array of N elements of type E, where N is the number of elements in the initializer list. Each element of that array is copy-initialized with the corresponding element of the initializer list, and the std::initializer_list object is constructed to refer to that array.

So you can only initialize from lists if the objects are copyable.

---

Update: As Johannes points out, copy-initialization can be realized by both copy and move constructors, so that alone isn't enough to answer the question. Here is, however, an excerpt of the specification of the initializer_list class as described in 18.9:

  template<class _E>
    class initializer_list
    {
    public:
      typedef _E            value_type;
      typedef const _E&     reference;
      typedef const _E&     const_reference;
      typedef size_t        size_type;
      typedef const _E*     iterator;
      typedef const _E*     const_iterator;

Note how there are no non-constant typedefs!

I just tried making an IL constructor which would traverse the initializer list via std::make_move_iterator, which failed because const T & cannot be converted to T&&.

So the answer is: You cannot move from the IL, because the standard says so.

Answer 2

It appears it might be a compiler issue. This works in g++ 4.5.1 (click for IdeOne online demo)

Conclusion: It was, in the sense that older g++ implementations did not correctly flag an error; initializer lists do not support moving their elements (elements are implicitely copied in the process). Thank to Kerrek SB for quoting the helpful phrase from the standard.

---

Old proceedings (for the sake of understanding the comments:)

_{Edit Found out that at least g++ 4.6.1+ seem to have your complaint about this code.}

Edit Upon reading the source to std::initializer_list<T> I'm starting to get the impression that this is not supported by the library (it looks intentional). Whether the standard actually allows for an initializer list to forward the xvalue-ness of it's elements... I wouldn't be surprised if they stopped there (perfect forwarding is still not easily supported in C++0x I think, and not all initializer parameters would need to have the same (deductable) type.

Anyone with more standardese under his belt care to help out? http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2008/n2640.pdf

#include <vector>

struct S
{
    S(int) {};
    S(S&&) {};
};

int main()
{
    std::vector<S> v = {S(1), S(2), S(3)};
    std::vector<S> w = {std::move(S(1)), std::move(S(2)), std::move(S(3))};

    std::vector<S> or_even_just = {1, 2, 3};
}

Answer 3

The initializer_list only provides const references and const iterators. There is no way for the vector to move from that.

template<class E> 
class initializer_list {
public:
    typedef E value_type;

    typedef const E& reference;
    typedef const E& const_reference;

    typedef size_t size_type;

    typedef const E* iterator;
    typedef const E* const_iterator;

Answer 4

It seems the answer is No per Kerrek SB's answer. But you can achieve something similar by small helper functions using variadic templates:

#include <vector>
#include <utility>

template <typename T>
void add_to_vector(std::vector<T>* vec) {}

template <typename T, typename... Args>
void add_to_vector(std::vector<T>* vec, T&& car, Args&&... cdr) {
  vec->push_back(std::forward<T>(car));
  add_to_vector(vec, std::forward<Args>(cdr)...);
}

template <typename T, typename... Args>
std::vector<T> make_vector(Args&&... args) {
  std::vector<T> result;
  add_to_vector(&result, std::forward<Args>(args)...);
  return result;
}

struct S {
  S(int) {}
  S(S&&) {}
};

int main() {
  std::vector<S> v = make_vector<S>(S(1), S(2), S(3));
  return 0;
}