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    CWG Issue 2641</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="2641"></A><H4>2641.
  
Redundant specification of value category of literals
</H4>
<B>Section: </B>5.13&#160; [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.literal">lex.literal</A>]
 &#160;&#160;&#160;

 <B>Status: </B>C++23
 &#160;&#160;&#160;

 <B>Submitter: </B>Andrey Erokhin
 &#160;&#160;&#160;

 <B>Date: </B>2022-11-07<BR>


<P>[Accepted as a DR at the November, 2022 meeting.]</P>



<P>Subclause 7.5.2 [<A href="https://wg21.link/expr.prim.literal#1">expr.prim.literal</A>] paragraph 1 specifies:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

... A <I>string-literal</I> is an lvalue designating a corresponding
string literal object (5.13.5 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.string">lex.string</A>]),
a <I>user-defined-literal</I> has the same value category as the
corresponding operator call expression described in
5.13.9 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.ext">lex.ext</A>], and any other literal is a prvalue.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>Yet, there is redundant specification in 5.13.2 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.icon#3">lex.icon</A>] paragraph 3:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

The type of an <I>integer-literal</I> is the first type in the list in
Table 9 corresponding to its optional <I>integer-suffix</I> in which
its value can be represented. An <I>integer-literal</I> is a prvalue.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>And in 5.13.7 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.bool#1">lex.bool</A>] paragraph 1:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

The Boolean literals are the keywords <TT>false</TT> and
<TT>true</TT>. Such literals are prvalues and have type <TT>bool</TT>.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P>And in 5.13.8 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.nullptr#1">lex.nullptr</A>] paragraph 1:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

The pointer literal is the keyword <TT>nullptr</TT>. It is a prvalue
of type <TT>std::nullptr_t</TT>.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

<P><B>Proposed resolution (approved by CWG 2022-11-10):</B></P>

<OL>

<LI>

<P>Change in 5.13.1 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.literal.kinds#1">lex.literal.kinds</A>] paragraph 1 as follows:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

There are several kinds of literals. [ Footnote: ... ]

<PRE>
<I>literal:
    integer-literal
    character-literal
    floating-point-literal
    string-literal
    boolean-literal
    pointer-literal
    user-defined-literal</I>
</PRE>

<INS>[ Note: When appearing as an <I>expression</I>, a literal has a
type and a value category (7.5.2 [<A href="https://wg21.link/expr.prim.literal">expr.prim.literal</A>]). -- end note
]</INS>

</BLOCKQUOTE>

</LI>

<LI>
<P>Change in 5.13.2 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.icon#3">lex.icon</A>] paragraph 3 as follows:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

The type of an <I>integer-literal</I> is the first type in the list in
Table 9 corresponding to its optional <I>integer-suffix</I> in which
its value can be represented. <DEL>An <I>integer-literal</I> is a
prvalue.</DEL>

</BLOCKQUOTE>

</LI>

<LI>

<P>Change in 5.13.7 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.bool#1">lex.bool</A>] paragraph 1 as follows:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

The Boolean literals are the keywords <TT>false</TT> and
<TT>true</TT>. Such literals <DEL>are prvalues and</DEL> have
type <TT>bool</TT>.

</BLOCKQUOTE>
</LI>

<LI>

<P>Change in 5.13.8 [<A href="https://wg21.link/lex.nullptr#1">lex.nullptr</A>] paragraph 1 as follows:</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

The pointer literal is the keyword <TT>nullptr</TT>. It <DEL>is a
prvalue of</DEL> <INS>has</INS> type <TT>std::nullptr_t</TT>.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

</LI>

</OL>

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