C++

Explicit type conversions

Introduction#

An expression can be explicitly converted or cast to type T using dynamic_cast<T>, static_cast<T>, reinterpret_cast<T>, or const_cast<T>, depending on what type of cast is intended.

C++ also supports function-style cast notation, T(expr), and C-style cast notation, (T)expr.

Syntax#

  • simple-type-specifier ( )
  • simple-type-specifier ( expression-list )
  • simple-type-specifier braced-init-list
  • typename-specifier ( )
  • typename-specifier ( expression-list )
  • typename-specifier braced-init-list
  • dynamic_cast < type-id > ( expression )
  • static_cast < type-id > ( expression )
  • reinterpret_cast < type-id > ( expression )
  • const_cast < type-id > ( expression )
  • ( type-id ) cast-expression

Remarks#

All six cast notations have one thing in common:

  • Casting to an lvalue reference type, as in dynamic_cast<Derived&>(base), yields an lvalue. Therefore, when you want to do something with the same object but treat it as a different type, you would cast to an lvalue reference type.
  • Casting to an rvalue reference type, as in static_cast<string&&>(s), yields an rvalue.
  • Casting to a non-reference type, as in (int)x, yields a prvalue, which may be thought of as a copy of the value being cast, but with a different type from the original.

The reinterpret_cast keyword is responsible for performing two different kinds of “unsafe” conversions:

The static_cast keyword can perform a variety of different conversions:

  • Base to derived conversions

  • Any conversion that can be done by a direct initialization, including both implicit conversions and conversions that call an explicit constructor or conversion function. See here and here for more details.

  • To void, which discards the value of the expression.

    // on some compilers, suppresses warning about x being unused
static_cast<void>(x);

  • Between arithmetic and enumeration types, and between different enumeration types. See enum conversions

  • From pointer to member of derived class, to pointer to member of base class. The types pointed to must match. See derived to base conversion for pointers to members

  • void* to T*.

Base to derived conversion

A pointer to base class can be converted to a pointer to derived class using static_cast. static_cast does not do any run-time checking and can lead to undefined behaviour when the pointer does not actually point to the desired type.

struct Base {};
struct Derived : Base {};
Derived d;
Base* p1 = &d;
Derived* p2 = p1;                        // error; cast required
Derived* p3 = static_cast<Derived*>(p1); // OK; p2 now points to Derived object
Base b;
Base* p4 = &b;
Derived* p5 = static_cast<Derived*>(p4); // undefined behaviour since p4 does not
                                         // point to a Derived object

Likewise, a reference to base class can be converted to a reference to derived class using static_cast.

struct Base {};
struct Derived : Base {};
Derived d;
Base& r1 = d;
Derived& r2 = r1;                        // error; cast required
Derived& r3 = static_cast<Derived&>(r1); // OK; r3 now refers to Derived object

If the source type is polymorphic, dynamic_cast can be used to perform a base to derived conversion. It performs a run-time check and failure is recoverable instead of producing undefined behaviour. In the pointer case, a null pointer is returned upon failure. In the reference case, an exception is thrown upon failure of type std::bad_cast (or a class derived from std::bad_cast).

struct Base { virtual ~Base(); }; // Base is polymorphic
struct Derived : Base {};
Base* b1 = new Derived;
Derived* d1 = dynamic_cast<Derived*>(b1); // OK; d1 points to Derived object
Base* b2 = new Base;
Derived* d2 = dynamic_cast<Derived*>(b2); // d2 is a null pointer

Casting away constness

A pointer to a const object can be converted to a pointer to non-const object using the const_cast keyword. Here we use const_cast to call a function that is not const-correct. It only accepts a non-const char* argument even though it never writes through the pointer:

void bad_strlen(char*);
const char* s = "hello, world!";
bad_strlen(s);                    // compile error
bad_strlen(const_cast<char*>(s)); // OK, but it's better to make bad_strlen accept const char*

const_cast to reference type can be used to convert a const-qualified lvalue into a non-const-qualified value.

const_cast is dangerous because it makes it impossible for the C++ type system to prevent you from trying to modify a const object. Doing so results in undefined behavior.

const int x = 123;
int& mutable_x = const_cast<int&>(x);
mutable_x = 456; // may compile, but produces *undefined behavior*

Type punning conversion

A pointer (resp. reference) to an object type can be converted to a pointer (resp. reference) to any other object type using reinterpret_cast. This does not call any constructors or conversion functions.

int x = 42;
char* p = static_cast<char*>(&x);      // error: static_cast cannot perform this conversion
char* p = reinterpret_cast<char*>(&x); // OK
*p = 'z';                              // maybe this modifies x (see below)

The result of reinterpret_cast represents the same address as the operand, provided that the address is appropriately aligned for the destination type. Otherwise, the result is unspecified.

int x = 42;
char& r = reinterpret_cast<char&>(x);
const void* px = &x;
const void* pr = &r;
assert(px == pr); // should never fire

The result of reinterpret_cast is unspecified, except that a pointer (resp. reference) will survive a round trip from the source type to the destination type and back, as long as the destination type’s alignment requirement is not stricter than that of the source type.

int x = 123;
unsigned int& r1 = reinterpret_cast<unsigned int&>(x);
int& r2 = reinterpret_cast<int&>(r1);
r2 = 456; // sets x to 456

On most implementations, reinterpret_cast does not change the address, but this requirement was not standardized until C++11.

reinterpret_cast can also be used to convert from one pointer-to-data-member type to another, or one pointer-to-member-function type to another.

Use of reinterpret_cast is considered dangerous because reading or writing through a pointer or reference obtained using reinterpret_cast may trigger undefined behaviour when the source and destination types are unrelated.

Conversion between pointer and integer

An object pointer (including void*) or function pointer can be converted to an integer type using reinterpret_cast. This will only compile if the destination type is long enough. The result is implementation-defined and typically yields the numeric address of the byte in memory that the pointer pointers to.

Typically, long or unsigned long is long enough to hold any pointer value, but this is not guaranteed by the standard.

If the types std::intptr_t and std::uintptr_t exist, they are guaranteed to be long enough to hold a void* (and hence any pointer to object type). However, they are not guaranteed to be long enough to hold a function pointer.

Similarly, reinterpret_cast can be used to convert an integer type into a pointer type. Again the result is implementation-defined, but a pointer value is guaranteed to be unchanged by a round trip through an integer type. The standard does not guarantee that the value zero is converted to a null pointer.

void register_callback(void (*fp)(void*), void* arg); // probably a C API
void my_callback(void* x) {
    std::cout << "the value is: " << reinterpret_cast<long>(x); // will probably compile
}
long x;
std::cin >> x;
register_callback(my_callback,
                  reinterpret_cast<void*>(x)); // hopefully this doesn't lose information...

Conversion by explicit constructor or explicit conversion function

A conversion that involves calling an explicit constructor or conversion function can’t be done implicitly. We can request that the conversion be done explicitly using static_cast. The meaning is the same as that of a direct initialization, except that the result is a temporary.

class C {
    std::unique_ptr<int> p;
  public:
    explicit C(int* p) : p(p) {}
};
void f(C c);
void g(int* p) {
    f(p);                 // error: C::C(int*) is explicit
    f(static_cast<C>(p)); // ok
    f(C(p));              // equivalent to previous line
    C c(p); f(c);         // error: C is not copyable
}

Implicit conversion

static_cast can perform any implicit conversion. This use of static_cast can occasionally be useful, such as in the following examples:

  • When passing arguments to an ellipsis, the “expected” argument type is not statically known, so no implicit conversion will occur.

    const double x = 3.14;
printf("%d\n", static_cast<int>(x)); // prints 3
// printf("%d\n", x); // undefined behaviour; printf is expecting an int here
// alternative:
// const int y = x; printf("%d\n", y);

    Without the explicit type conversion, a double object would be passed to the ellipsis, and undefined behaviour would occur.

  • A derived class assignment operator can call a base class assignment operator like so:

    struct Base { /* ... */ };
struct Derived : Base {
    Derived& operator=(const Derived& other) {
        static_cast<Base&>(*this) = other;
        // alternative:
        // Base& this_base_ref = *this; this_base_ref = other;
    }
};

Enum conversions

static_cast can convert from an integer or floating point type to an enumeration type (whether scoped or unscoped), and vice versa. It can also convert between enumeration types.

  • The conversion from an unscoped enumeration type to an arithmetic type is an implicit conversion; it is possible, but not necessary, to use static_cast.

  • When a scoped enumeration type is converted to an arithmetic type:

    • If the enum’s value can be represented exactly in the destination type, the result is that value.
    • Otherwise, if the destination type is an integer type, the result is unspecified.
    • Otherwise, if the destination type is a floating point type, the result is the same as that of converting to the underlying type and then to the floating point type.

    Example:

    enum class Format {
    TEXT = 0,
    PDF = 1000,
    OTHER = 2000,
};
Format f = Format::PDF;
int a = f;                         // error
int b = static_cast<int>(f);       // ok; b is 1000
char c = static_cast<char>(f);     // unspecified, if 1000 doesn't fit into char
double d = static_cast<double>(f); // d is 1000.0... probably

  • When an integer or enumeration type is converted to an enumeration type:

    • If the original value is within the destination enum’s range, the result is that value. Note that this value might be unequal to all enumerators.
    • Otherwise, the result is unspecified (<= C++14) or undefined (>= C++17).

    Example:

    enum Scale {
    SINGLE = 1,
    DOUBLE = 2,
    QUAD = 4
};
Scale s1 = 1;                     // error
Scale s2 = static_cast<Scale>(2); // s2 is DOUBLE
Scale s3 = static_cast<Scale>(3); // s3 has value 3, and is not equal to any enumerator
Scale s9 = static_cast<Scale>(9); // unspecified value in C++14; UB in C++17

  • When a floating point type is converted to an enumeration type, the result is the same as converting to the enum’s underlying type and then to the enum type.

    enum Direction {
    UP = 0,
    LEFT = 1,
    DOWN = 2,
    RIGHT = 3,
};
Direction d = static_cast<Direction>(3.14); // d is RIGHT

Derived to base conversion for pointers to members

A pointer to member of derived class can be converted to a pointer to member of base class using static_cast. The types pointed to must match.

If the operand is a null pointer to member value, the result is also a null pointer to member value.

Otherwise, the conversion is only valid if the member pointed to by the operand actually exists in the destination class, or if the destination class is a base or derived class of the class containing the member pointed to by the operand. static_cast does not check for validity. If the conversion is not valid, the behaviour is undefined.

struct A {};
struct B { int x; };
struct C : A, B { int y; double z; };
int B::*p1 = &B::x;
int C::*p2 = p1;                              // ok; implicit conversion
int B::*p3 = p2;                              // error
int B::*p4 = static_cast<int B::*>(p2);       // ok; p4 is equal to p1
int A::*p5 = static_cast<int A::*>(p2);       // undefined; p2 points to x, which is a member
                                              // of the unrelated class B
double C::*p6 = &C::z;
double A::*p7 = static_cast<double A::*>(p6); // ok, even though A doesn't contain z
int A::*p8 = static_cast<int A::*>(p6);       // error: types don't match

void* to T*

In C++, void* cannot be implicitly converted to T* where T is an object type. Instead, static_cast should be used to perform the conversion explicitly. If the operand actually points to a T object, the result points to that object. Otherwise, the result is unspecified.

Even if the operand does not point to a T object, as long as the operand points to a byte whose address is properly aligned for the type T, the result of the conversion points to the same byte.

// allocating an array of 100 ints, the hard way
int* a = malloc(100*sizeof(*a));                    // error; malloc returns void*
int* a = static_cast<int*>(malloc(100*sizeof(*a))); // ok
// int* a = new int[100];                           // no cast needed
// std::vector<int> a(100);                         // better

const char c = '!';
const void* p1 = &c;
const char* p2 = p1;                           // error
const char* p3 = static_cast<const char*>(p1); // ok; p3 points to c
const int* p4 = static_cast<const int*>(p1);   // unspecified in C++03;
                                               // possibly unspecified in C++11 if
                                               // alignof(int) > alignof(char)
char* p5 = static_cast<char*>(p1);             // error: casting away constness

C-style casting

C-Style casting can be considered ‘Best effort’ casting and is named so as it is the only cast which could be used in C. The syntax for this cast is (NewType)variable.

Whenever this cast is used, it uses one of the following c++ casts (in order):

  • const_cast<NewType>(variable)
  • static_cast<NewType>(variable)
  • const_cast<NewType>(static_cast<const NewType>(variable))
  • reinterpret_cast<const NewType>(variable)
  • const_cast<NewType>(reinterpret_cast<const NewType>(variable))

Functional casting is very similar, though as a few restrictions as the result of its syntax: NewType(expression). As a result, only types without spaces can be cast to.

It’s better to use new c++ cast, because s more readable and can be spotted easily anywhere inside a C++ source code and errors will be detected in compile-time, instead in run-time.

As this cast can result in unintended reinterpret_cast, it is often considered dangerous.

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