Aggregate initialization

Initializes an aggregate from braced-init-list.

Syntax

Explanation

Aggregate initialization initializes aggregates. It is a form of list-initialization (since C++11) or direct initialization (since C++20).

An aggregate is one of the following types:

• array type
• class type (typically, struct or union), that has
• no private or protected direct (since C++17)non-static data members

• no virtual, private, or protected (since C++17) base classes
• no virtual member functions

The effects of aggregate initialization are:

• Each direct public base, (since C++17) array element, or non-static class member, in order of array subscript/appearance in the class definition, is copy-initialized from the corresponding clause of the initializer list.
• If the initializer clause is an expression, implicit conversions are allowed as per copy-initialization, except that, for list-initialization form, narrowing conversions are prohibited (since C++11).
• If the initializer clause is a nested braced-init-list (which is not an expression), the corresponding array element/class member/public base (since C++17) is list-initialized from that clause: aggregate initialization is recursive.
• If the object is an array of unknown size, and the supplied brace-enclosed initializer list has n clauses, the size of the array is n. (Note that the object in this case cannot be a non-static data member: a member must have complete type.)
• Static data members and unnamed bit-fields are skipped during aggregate initialization.
• If the number of initializer clauses exceeds the number of members and bases (since C++17) to initialize, the program is ill-formed.

• When a union is initialized by aggregate initialization, only its first non-static data member is initialized.

The braces around the nested initializer lists may be elided (omitted), in which case as many initializer clauses as necessary are used to initialize every member or element of the corresponding subaggregate, and the subsequent initializer clauses are used to initialize the following members of the object. However, if the object has a sub-aggregate without any members (an empty struct, or a struct holding only static members), brace elision is not allowed, and an empty nested list {} must be used.

struct A { int x; int y; int z; };
 
A a{.y = 2, .x = 1}; // error; designator order does not match declaration order
A b{.x = 1, .z = 2}; // ok, b.y initialized to 0

union u { int a; const char* b; };
 
u f = {.b = "asdf"};         // OK, active member of the union is b
u g = {.a = 1, .b = "asdf"}; // Error, only one initializer may be provided

struct A
{
    string str;
    int n = 42;
    int m = -1;
};
 
A{.m = 21} // Initializes str with {}, which calls the default constructor
           // then initializes n with = 42
           // then initializes m with = 21

struct A { int x, y; };
struct B { struct A a; };
 
struct A a = {.y = 1, .x = 2}; // valid C, invalid C++ (out of order)
int arr[3] = {[1] = 5};        // valid C, invalid C++ (array)
struct B b = {.a.x = 0};       // valid C, invalid C++ (nested)
struct A a = {.x = 1, 2};      // valid C, invalid C++ (mixed)

Character arrays

Arrays of ordinary character types (char, signed char, unsigned char), char8_t (since C++20), char16_t, char32_t (since C++11), or wchar_t can be initialized from ordinary string literals, UTF-8 string literals (since C++20), UTF-16 string literals, UTF-32 string literals (since C++11), or wide string literals, respectively, optionally enclosed in braces. Successive characters of the string literal (which includes the implicit terminating null character) initialize the elements of the array. If the size of the array is specified and it is larger than the number of characters in the string literal, the remaining characters are zero-initialized.

char a[] = "abc";
// equivalent to char a[4] = {'a', 'b', 'c', '\0'};
 
//  unsigned char b[3] = "abc"; // Error: initializer string too long
unsigned char b[5]{"abc"};
// equivalent to unsigned char b[5] = {'a', 'b', 'c', '\0', '\0'};
 
wchar_t c[] = {L"кошка"}; // optional braces
// equivalent to wchar_t c[6] = {L'к', L'о', L'ш', L'к', L'а', L'\0'};

Notes

An aggregate class or array may include non-aggregate public bases (since C++17), members, or elements, which are initialized as described above (e.g. copy-initialization from the corresponding initializer clause).

Until C++11, narrowing conversions were permitted in aggregate initialization, but they are no longer allowed, except that, as of C++20, narrowing conversions are allowed when aggregate initialization uses parentheses rather than braces.

Until C++11, aggregate initialization could only be used in variable definition, and could not be used in a constructor initializer list, a new-expression, or temporary object creation due to syntax restrictions.

In C, character array of size one less than the size of the string literal may be initialized from a string literal; the resulting array is not null-terminated. This is not allowed in C++.

Example

#include <string>
#include <array>
#include <cstdio>
 
struct S
{
    int x;
 
    struct Foo
    {
        int i;
        int j;
        int a[3];
    } b;
};
 
int main()
{
    S s1 = {1, {2, 3, {4, 5, 6}}};
    S s2 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6};  // same, but with brace elision
    S s3{1, {2, 3, {4, 5, 6}}}; // same, using direct-list-initialization syntax
    S s4{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}; // error until CWG 1270:
                            // brace elision only allowed with equals sign
 
    int ar[] = {1, 2, 3}; // ar is int[3]
    int ab[] (1, 2, 3);   // (C++20) ab is int[3]
//  char cr[3] = {'a', 'b', 'c', 'd'}; // too many initializer clauses
    char cr[3] = {'a'}; // array initialized as {'a', '\0', '\0'}
 
    int ar2d1[2][2] = {{1, 2}, {3, 4}}; // fully-braced 2D array: {1, 2}
                                        //                        {3, 4}
    int ar2d2[2][2] = {1, 2, 3, 4}; // brace elision: {1, 2}
                                    //                {3, 4}
    int ar2d3[2][2] = {{1}, {2}};   // only first column: {1, 0}
                                    //                    {2, 0}
 
    std::array<int, 3> std_ar2{{1, 2, 3}};  // std::array is an aggregate
    std::array<int, 3> std_ar1 = {1, 2, 3}; // brace-elision okay
 
//  int ai[] = {1, 2.0}; // narrowing conversion from double to int:
                         // error in C++11, okay in C++03
 
    std::string ars[] = {std::string("one"), // copy-initialization
                         "two",              // conversion, then copy-initialization
                         {'t', 'h', 'r', 'e', 'e'}}; // list-initialization
    union U
    {
        int a;
        const char* b;
    };
    U u1 = {1};         // OK, first member of the union
//  U u2 = {0, "asdf"}; // error: too many initializers for union
//  U u3 = {"asdf"};    // error: invalid conversion to int
 
    [](auto...) { std::puts("Garbage unused variables... Done."); }
    (
        s1, s2, s3, s4, ar, ab, cr, ar2d1, ar2d2, ar2d3, std_ar2, std_ar1, u1
    );
}
 
// aggregate
struct base1 { int b1, b2 = 42; };
 
// non-aggregate
struct base2
{
    base2() : b3(42) {}
 
    int b3;
};
 
// aggregate in C++17
struct derived : base1, base2 { int d; };
 
derived d1{{1, 2}, {}, 4}; // d1.b1 = 1, d1.b2 = 2,  d1.b3 = 42, d1.d = 4
derived d2{{}, {}, 4};     // d2.b1 = 0, d2.b2 = 42, d2.b3 = 42, d2.d = 4

Garbage unused variables... Done.

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

See also

• copy elision
• initialization
  • constant initialization
  • list initialization
  • reference initialization
  • value initialization
  • zero initialization