Performs compile-time assertion checking.
[edit] Syntax
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static_assert( bool-constexpr , unevaluated-string )
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(1)
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static_assert( bool-constexpr )
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(2)
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(since C++17)
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static_assert( bool-constexpr , constant-expression )
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(3)
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(since C++26)
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Declares a static assertion. If the assertion fails, the program is ill-formed, and a diagnostic error message may be generated.
1) A static assertion with fixed error message.
2) A static assertion without error message.
3) A static assertion with user-generated error message.
This syntax can only be matched if syntax
(1) does not match.
[edit] Explanation
| bool-constexpr
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-
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| unevaluated-string
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-
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an unevaluated string literal that will appear as the error message
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| constant-expression
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-
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a constant expression msg satisfying all following conditions:
- msg.size() is implicitly convertible to std::size_t.
- msg.data() is implicitly convertible to const char*.
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A static_assert declaration may appear at namespace and block scope (as a block declaration) and inside a class body (as a member declaration).
If bool-constexpr is well-formed and evaluates to true, or is evaluated in the context of a template definition and the template is uninstantiated, this declaration has no effect. Otherwise a compile-time error is issued, and the user-provided message, if any, is included in the diagnostic message.
The text of the user-provided message is determined as follows:
- If the message matches the syntactic requirements of unevaluated-string, the text of the message is the text of the unevaluated-string.
The standard does not require a compiler to print the verbatim text of error message, though compilers generally do so as much as possible.
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Since the error message has to be a string literal, it cannot contain dynamic information or even a constant expression that is not a string literal itself. In particular, it cannot contain the name of the template type argument.
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(until C++26) |
| Feature-test macro
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Value
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Std
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Feature
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__cpp_static_assert |
200410L |
(C++11) |
static_assert (syntax (1))
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201411L |
(C++17) |
Single-argument static_assert (syntax (2))
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202306L |
(C++26) |
User-generated error messages (syntax (3))
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[edit] Keywords
static_assert
[edit] Example
#include <format>
#include <type_traits>
static_assert(03301 == 1729); // since C++17 the message string is optional
template<class T>
void swap(T& a, T& b) noexcept
{
static_assert(std::is_copy_constructible_v<T>,
"Swap requires copying");
static_assert(std::is_nothrow_copy_constructible_v<T> &&
std::is_nothrow_copy_assignable_v<T>,
"Swap requires nothrow copy/assign");
auto c = b;
b = a;
a = c;
}
template<class T>
struct data_structure
{
static_assert(std::is_default_constructible_v<T>,
"Data structure requires default-constructible elements");
};
template<class>
constexpr bool dependent_false = false; // workaround before CWG2518/P2593R1
template<class T>
struct bad_type
{
static_assert(dependent_false<T>, "error on instantiation, workaround");
static_assert(false, "error on instantiation"); // OK because of CWG2518/P2593R1
};
struct no_copy
{
no_copy(const no_copy&) = delete;
no_copy() = default;
};
struct no_default
{
no_default() = delete;
};
#if __cpp_static_assert >= 202306L
// Not real C++ yet (std::format should be constexpr to work):
static_assert(sizeof(int) == 4, std::format("Expected 4, got {}", sizeof(int)));
#endif
int main()
{
int a, b;
swap(a, b);
no_copy nc_a, nc_b;
swap(nc_a, nc_b); // 1
[[maybe_unused]] data_structure<int> ds_ok;
[[maybe_unused]] data_structure<no_default> ds_error; // 2
}
Possible output:
1: error: static assertion failed: Swap requires copying
2: error: static assertion failed: Data structure requires default-constructible elements
3: error: static assertion failed: Expected 4, got 2
[edit] Defect reports
The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.
| DR
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Applied to
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Behavior as published
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Correct behavior
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| CWG 2039
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C++11
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only the expression before conversion is required to be constant
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the conversion must also be valid in a constant expression
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CWG 2518 (P2593R1)
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C++11
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uninstantiated static_assert(false, ""); was ill-formed
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made well-formed
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[edit] References
- C++23 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2024):
- 9.1 Preamble [dcl.pre] (p: 10)
- C++20 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2020):
- 9.1 Preamble [dcl.pre] (p: 6)
- C++17 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2017):
- 10 Declarations [dcl.dcl] (p: 6)
- C++14 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2014):
- 7 Declarations [dcl.dcl] (p: 4)
- C++11 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2011):
- 7 Declarations [dcl.dcl] (p: 4)
[edit] See also
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shows the given error message and renders the program ill-formed (preprocessing directive)[edit]
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aborts the program if the user-specified condition is not true. May be disabled for release builds. (function macro) [edit]
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contract_assert statement (C++26)
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verifies an internal condition during execution[edit]
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conditionally removes a function overload or template specialization from overload resolution (class template) [edit]
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| Type traits (C++11)
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define compile-time template-based interfaces to query the properties of types
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