enums and bitfields

[James Brown]

All,

Suppose I have the following enum and structure definitions:

enum e
{
ename1, ename2, ename3, ename4
};

struct s
{
int ibitfield : 20;
enum e ebitfield : 2;
};


My question is - can I mix 'int' and 'enum e' in a bitfield in this manner?
I suspect the answer is yes but don't fully trust my compiler (VC6). I
think also that as long as I reserve enough bits for 'ebitfield' which will
hold all possible values of the enumeration (2 bits = 4, in this case) then
this is also ok?

TIA,
James

 

[John Carson]

All,

Suppose I have the following enum and structure definitions:

enum e
{
ename1, ename2, ename3, ename4
};

struct s
{
int ibitfield : 20;
enum e ebitfield : 2;
};


My question is - can I mix 'int' and 'enum e' in a bitfield in this
manner? I suspect the answer is yes but don't fully trust my compiler
(VC6). I think also that as long as I reserve enough bits for
'ebitfield' which will hold all possible values of the enumeration (2
bits = 4, in this case) then this is also ok?

Yes. This is covered in section 9.6 of the Standard.

Fields must be of integer or enumeration type. There is no rule against
mixing them. As to your second question, from 9.6/4:

<quote>
If the value of an enumerator is stored into a bit-field of the same
enumeration type and the number of bits in the bit-field is large enough to
hold all the values of that enumeration type, the original enumerator value
and the value of the bit-field shall compare equal.
[Example:
enum BOOL { f=0, t=1 };
struct A {
BOOL b:1;
};
A a;
void f() {
a.b = t;
if (a.b == t) // shall yield true
{ /* ... */ }
}
</quote>

The use of BOOL as the name of the enum is a little confusing here, but you
get the point.

Comeau compiles your code without complaint, which is always a very good
sign.

http://www.comeaucomputing.com/tryitout/

 

[James Brown]

All,

Suppose I have the following enum and structure definitions:

enum e
{
ename1, ename2, ename3, ename4
};

struct s
{
int ibitfield : 20;
enum e ebitfield : 2;
};


My question is - can I mix 'int' and 'enum e' in a bitfield in this
manner? I suspect the answer is yes but don't fully trust my compiler
(VC6). I think also that as long as I reserve enough bits for
'ebitfield' which will hold all possible values of the enumeration (2
bits = 4, in this case) then this is also ok?

Yes. This is covered in section 9.6 of the Standard.

Fields must be of integer or enumeration type. There is no rule against
mixing them. As to your second question, from 9.6/4:

<quote>
If the value of an enumerator is stored into a bit-field of the same
enumeration type and the number of bits in the bit-field is large enough
to hold all the values of that enumeration type, the original enumerator
value and the value of the bit-field shall compare equal.
[Example:
enum BOOL { f=0, t=1 };
struct A {
BOOL b:1;
};
A a;
void f() {
a.b = t;
if (a.b == t) // shall yield true
{ /* ... */ }
}
</quote>

The use of BOOL as the name of the enum is a little confusing here, but
you get the point.

Comeau compiles your code without complaint, which is always a very good
sign.

http://www.comeaucomputing.com/tryitout/

Thanks!

James