Difference between "int a;" and "int(a);"?

[President]

Hello!

What's the difference between declaring a variable in these ways:

1) int a;
2) int(a);

Both compile fine on GCC 3.4.5. If they are semantically identical, perhaps there any other differences, for instance in generated code?

And one more thing, where is the C++ language specification online? Does it say anything about these two variants of variable declaration?


Thanks,

Anvar

[Elysia]

My guess is that they are identical, although I will admit I have never seen the second before.

[laserlight]

And one more thing, where is the C++ language specification online?

Draft versions are available online for free, if you know where to find them. The final version in PDF format is available for about 30 USD from the online ANSI store.

Does it say anything about these two variants of variable declaration?

Definitely, since it defines the grammar. Unfortunately, I am not certain of what it says in this case. My tracing of the grammar rules leads me to conclude that the syntax is invalid, but considering that the online Comeau compiler agrees with g++ 3.4.5, I am probably wrong.

[whiteflags]

The meaning of int(a); is context sensitive. If a hasn't been declared, a becomes an int, and the parentheses are discarded. If a is an expression, then int(a); is a cast operation whose result is discarded, and the statement will have no effect.

I prefer context free statements to context sensitive ones, if I can help it, since they are that much easier to parse.

[Elysia]

int(a); after int a; only gives a compile error with multiple definitions.
For the cast to work, it has to be assigned to something...