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### 726. Missing `regex_replace()` overloads

Section: 32.10.4 [re.alg.replace] Status: NAD Submitter: Stephan T. Lavavej Opened: 2007-09-22 Last modified: 2016-01-28

Priority: Not Prioritized

View all other issues in [re.alg.replace].

View all issues with NAD status.

Discussion:

Two overloads of `regex_replace()` are currently provided:

>     template <class OutputIterator, class BidirectionalIterator,
>         class traits, class charT>
>       OutputIterator
>       regex_replace(OutputIterator out,
>                     BidirectionalIterator first, BidirectionalIterator last,
>                     const basic_regex<charT, traits>& e,
>                     const basic_string<charT>& fmt,
>                     regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
>                       regex_constants::match_default);

>     template <class traits, class charT>
>       basic_string<charT>
>       regex_replace(const basic_string<charT>& s,
>                     const basic_regex<charT, traits>& e,
>                     const basic_string<charT>& fmt,
>                     regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
>                       regex_constants::match_default);

1. Overloads taking `const charT *` are provided for `regex_match()` and `regex_search()`, but not `regex_replace()`. This is inconsistent.

2. The absence of `const charT *` overloads prevents ordinary-looking code from compiling, such as:

   >     const string s("kitten");
   >     const regex r("en");
   >     cout << regex_replace(s, r, "y") << endl;

   The compiler error message will be something like "could not deduce template argument for 'const std::basic_string<_Elem> &' from 'const char[1]'".

   Users expect that anything taking a `basic_string<charT>` can also take a `const charT *`. In their own code, when they write a function taking `std::string` (or `std::wstring`), they can pass a `const char *` (or `const wchar_t *`), thanks to `basic_string`'s implicit constructor. Because the regex algorithms are templated on `charT`, they can't rely on `basic_string`'s implicit constructor (as the compiler error message indicates, template argument deduction fails first).

   If a user figures out what the compiler error message means, workarounds are available - but they are all verbose. Explicit template arguments could be given to `regex_replace()`, allowing `basic_string`'s implicit constructor to be invoked - but `charT` is the last template argument, not the first, so this would be extremely verbose. Therefore, constructing a `basic_string` from each C string is the simplest workaround.

3. There is an efficiency consideration: constructing `basic_string`s can impose performance costs that could be avoided by a library implementation taking C strings and dealing with them directly. (Currently, for replacement sources, C strings can be converted into iterator pairs at the cost of verbosity, but for format strings, there is no way to avoid constructing a `basic_string`.)

[ Sophia Antipolis: ]

> We note that Boost already has these overloads. However, the proposed wording is provided only for 32.10.4 [re.alg.replace]; wording is needed for the synopsis as well. We also note that this has impact on `match_results::format`, which may require further overloads.

[ 2009-07 Frankfurt: ]

> Daniel to tweak for us.

[ 2009-07-25 Daniel tweaks both this issue and 727. ]

> This is solved by the proposed resolution of 727.

[ 2009-10 Santa Cruz: ]

> Leave Open. Though we believe this is solved by the proposed resolution to 727.

[ 2010-01-27 Moved to Tentatively NAD after 5 positive votes on c++std-lib. Rationale added below. ]

Rationale:

Solved by 727.

Proposed resolution:

Provide additional overloads for `regex_replace()`: one additional overload of the iterator-based form (taking `const charT* fmt`), and three additional overloads of the convenience form (one taking `const charT* str`, another taking `const charT* fmt`, and the third taking both `const charT* str` and `const charT* fmt`). 32.10.4 [re.alg.replace]:

>     template <class OutputIterator, class BidirectionalIterator,
>         class traits, class charT>
>       OutputIterator
>       regex_replace(OutputIterator out,
>                     BidirectionalIterator first, BidirectionalIterator last,
>                     const basic_regex<charT, traits>& e,
>                     const basic_string<charT>& fmt,
>                     regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
>                       regex_constants::match_default);

>     template <class OutputIterator, class BidirectionalIterator,
>         class traits, class charT>
>       OutputIterator
>       regex_replace(OutputIterator out,
>                     BidirectionalIterator first, BidirectionalIterator last,
>                     const basic_regex<charT, traits>& e,
>                     const charT* fmt,
>                     regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
>                       regex_constants::match_default);

> ...

>     template <class traits, class charT>
>       basic_string<charT>
>       regex_replace(const basic_string<charT>& s,
>                     const basic_regex<charT, traits>& e,
>                     const basic_string<charT>& fmt,
>                     regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
>                       regex_constants::match_default);

>     template <class traits, class charT>
>       basic_string<charT>
>       regex_replace(const basic_string<charT>& s,
>                     const basic_regex<charT, traits>& e,
>                     const charT* fmt,
>                     regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
>                       regex_constants::match_default);

>     template <class traits, class charT>
>       basic_string<charT>
>       regex_replace(const charT* s,
>                     const basic_regex<charT, traits>& e,
>                     const basic_string<charT>& fmt,
>                     regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
>                       regex_constants::match_default);

>     template <class traits, class charT>
>       basic_string<charT>
>       regex_replace(const charT* s,
>                     const basic_regex<charT, traits>& e,
>                     const charT* fmt,
>                     regex_constants::match_flag_type flags =
>                       regex_constants::match_default);