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.

I think MinGW doesn't provide wide characters streams if that's what you are using. You may need to install another standard library implementation (STLPort) then it should work.

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.