Thread: basic_iostream parameters

Hello,

I am learning about streams, and there are a few things that aren't clear to me.

First, the definition of basic_ostream:

Code:

template<class charT, class traits = char_traits<charT> >
class basic_ostream 
:virtual public basic_ios<charT, traits>{/* ...*/};

What does the parameter charT actually mean? What value can it take other than char and, perhaps, wchar_t?

Are charT and traits implementation-dependent (or device-dependent?) and fixed for a given system, or can they be changed? I tried outputting to wcout (which I thought was declared in <iostream>), just to see what would happen. My compiler didn't recognise it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It is what I'm using. But I don't actually need to use wide stream characters - I was just fiddling around trying to see what a stream character is and what it would mean to change its type.