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    CWG Issue 2249</TITLE>
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<P><EM>This is an unofficial snapshot of the ISO/IEC JTC1 SC22 WG21
  Core Issues List revision 118b.
  See http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/ for the official
  list.</EM></P>
<P>2025-09-28</P>
<HR>
<A NAME="2249"></A><H4>2249.
  
<I>identifier</I>s and <I>id-expression</I>s
</H4>
<B>Section: </B>7.5.5.2&#160; [<A href="https://wg21.link/expr.prim.id.unqual">expr.prim.id.unqual</A>]
 &#160;&#160;&#160;

 <B>Status: </B>CD5
 &#160;&#160;&#160;

 <B>Submitter: </B>Robert Haberlach
 &#160;&#160;&#160;

 <B>Date: </B>2016-03-17<BR>


<P>[Accepted as a DR at the June, 2018 (Rapperswil) meeting.]</P>

<P>According to 7.5.5.2 [<A href="https://wg21.link/expr.prim.id.unqual#1">expr.prim.id.unqual</A>] paragraph 1,</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

An <I>identifier</I> is an <I>id-expression</I> provided it has been
suitably declared (Clause 9 [<A href="https://wg21.link/dcl">dcl</A>]).

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>Not only is an <I>identifier</I> an <I>id-expression</I> by
(grammatical) definition, <I>declarator-id</I> is defined in terms of
<I>id-expression</I>, which makes this circular. If the intention was
to disallow use of undeclared identifiers as primary expressions, this
should be altered accordingly.
</P>

<P><B>Proposed resolution, February, 2018:</B></P>

<P>Change 7.5.5.2 [<A href="https://wg21.link/expr.prim.id.unqual#1">expr.prim.id.unqual</A>] paragraph 1 as follows:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

An <I>identifier</I> is <INS>only</INS> an <I>id-expression</I>
<DEL>provided</DEL> <INS>if</INS> it has been suitably declared (
Clause 9 [<A href="https://wg21.link/dcl">dcl</A>]) <INS>or if it appears as part of a
<I>declarator-id</I> (9.3 [<A href="https://wg21.link/dcl.decl">dcl.decl</A>])</INS>. [<I>Note:</I>
For <I>operator-function-id</I>s, see...

</BLOCKQUOTE>

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