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### 2853. Possible inconsistency in specification of `erase` in [vector.modifiers]

Section: 22.3.11.5 [vector.modifiers] Status: C++17 Submitter: Gerard Stone Opened: 2017-01-16 Last modified: 2020-09-06

Priority: 0

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Discussion:

In Table 87 (Sequence container requirements) `erase(q)` and `erase(q1, q2)` functions have the following requirements:

> For `vector` and `deque`, `T` shall be `MoveAssignable`.

On the other hand, section [vector.modifiers] has the following specification for erase functions (emphasis mine):

> Throws: Nothing unless an exception is thrown by the copy constructor, move constructor, assignment operator, or move assignment operator of `T`.

Note that Table 87 requires `T` to be only `MoveAssignable`, it says nothing about `T` being copy- or move-constructible. It also says nothing about `T` being `CopyInsertable` and `MoveInsertable`, so why is this even there? The only reason might be so that vector could shrink, but in this case `T` should be required to be `MoveInsertable` or `CopyInsertable` into `vector`.

On the other hand, we expect that vector will neither allocate, nor deallocate any memory during this operation, because in Effects it is specified that iterators/references shall be invalidated at or after the point of the erase.

So to avoid any confusion, the proposed resolution is to remove mentions of `T`'s copy/move constructors from [vector.modifiers] paragraph 5.

[2017-01-27 Telecon]

Priority 0

Proposed resolution:

This wording is relative to N4618.

1. Edit 22.3.11.5 [vector.modifiers] p5 as indicated:

   >     iterator erase(const_iterator position);
   >     iterator erase(const_iterator first, const_iterator last);
   >     void pop_back();

   > > -3- Effects: Invalidates iterators and references at or after the point of the erase.

   > > -4- Complexity: The destructor of `T` is called the number of times equal to the number of the elements erased, but the assignment operator of `T` is called the number of times equal to the number of elements in the vector after the erased elements.

   > > -5- Throws: Nothing unless an exception is thrown by the copy constructor, move constructor, assignment operator, or move assignment operator of `T`.