CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++undefined-behavior
user4385532
user4385532

Reputation:

Is it undefined behavior to redeclare a variable within enclosed scope?

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    int i = 0;
    if(true) {
        int i = 5;
        cout << i << '\n';
    }
    return 0;
}

Tried running the above code on Ideone to see if its legal. The results perplex me:

As you can see from my links this same code behaves radically differently each time it is compiled on Ideone! This smells like undefined behavior (UB).

OK C++ is known for its unintuitive behaviors BUT! - I admit its just my intuition but I wouldn't expect even C++ to make redeclaring a variable in an inner scope UB! Id expect either shadowing or mandatory compilation error.

Is my code really UB according to the C++ standard, or is it just a peculiarity of Ideone and/or gcc? If its UB, is it UB because I redeclared i or for some other reason I'm failing to notice now?

Upvotes: 4

Views: 286

Answers (2)

Shafik Yaghmour
Shafik Yaghmour

Reputation: 158529

There is no undefined behavior, the standard allows name hiding, it is covered in [basic.scope.hiding]:

A declaration of a name in a nested declarative region hides a declaration of the same name in an enclosing declarative region; see [basic.scope.declarative] and [basic.lookup.unqual].

and [basic.scope.declarative] says:

Every name is introduced in some portion of program text called a declarative region, which is the largest part of the program in which that name is valid, that is, in which that name may be used as an unqualified name to refer to the same entity. In general, each particular name is valid only within some possibly discontiguous portion of program text called its scope. To determine the scope of a declaration, it is sometimes convenient to refer to the potential scope of a declaration. The scope of a declaration is the same as its potential scope unless the potential scope contains another declaration of the same name. In that case, the potential scope of the declaration in the inner (contained) declarative region is excluded from the scope of the declaration in the outer (containing) declarative region.

and gives the following example:

[ Example: In

int j = 24;
int main() {
  int i = j, j;
  j = 42;
}

the identifier j is declared twice as a name (and used twice). The declarative region of the first j includes the entire example. The potential scope of the first j begins immediately after that j and extends to the end of the program, but its (actual) scope excludes the text between the , and the }. The declarative region of the second declaration of j (the j immediately before the semicolon) includes all the text between { and }, but its potential scope excludes the declaration of i. The scope of the second declaration of j is the same as its potential scope. — end example  ]

Why you see such variable results from IDEone, I don't know. It does not provide a lot of knobs for figuring out what is going on. Wandbox is one of several alternatives that provide a lot of knobs and does not exhibit the same variability for this case.

Upvotes: 1

R Sahu
R Sahu

Reputation: 206667

Is it UB to redeclare a variable within enclosed scope?

No, it is not.

The compiler error you are seeing is most likely caused by the fact that the outer i is declared but not used.

Otherwise, your code is just fine.

It works fine for me at https://ideone.com/AwVJqZ as well as my desktop.

Upvotes: 6

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