std::basic_ios<CharT,Traits>::operator bool

 

C++

Compiler support

Freestanding and hosted

Language

Standard library

Standard library headers

Named requirements

Feature test macros (C++20)

Language support library

Concepts library (C++20)

Metaprogramming library (C++11)

Diagnostics library

General utilities library

Strings library

Containers library

Iterators library

Ranges library (C++20)

Algorithms library

Numerics library

Localizations library

Input/output library

Filesystem library (C++17)

Regular expressions library (C++11)

Concurrency support library (C++11)

Execution support library (C++26)

Technical specifications

Symbols index

External libraries

 

Input/output library

I/O manipulators

Print functions (C++23)

C-style I/O

Buffers

basic_streambuf

basic_filebuf

basic_stringbuf

basic_spanbuf (C++23)

strstreambuf (C++98/26*)

basic_syncbuf (C++20)

Streams

Abstractions

ios_base

basic_ios

basic_istream

basic_ostream

basic_iostream

File I/O

basic_ifstream

basic_ofstream

basic_fstream

String I/O

basic_istringstream

basic_ostringstream

basic_stringstream

Array I/O

basic_ispanstream (C++23)

basic_ospanstream (C++23)

basic_spanstream (C++23)

istrstream (C++98/26*)

ostrstream (C++98/26*)

strstream (C++98/26*)

Synchronized Output

basic_osyncstream (C++20)

Types

streamoff

streamsize

fpos

Error category interface

iostream_category (C++11)

io_errc (C++11)

 

std::basic_ios

Member functions

basic_ios::basic_ios

basic_ios::~basic_ios

State functions

basic_ios::good

basic_ios::eof

basic_ios::fail

basic_ios::bad

basic_ios::operator!

basic_ios::operator bool

basic_ios::rdstate

basic_ios::setstate

basic_ios::clear

Formatting

basic_ios::copyfmt

basic_ios::fill

Miscellaneous

basic_ios::exceptions

basic_ios::imbue

basic_ios::rdbuf

basic_ios::tie

basic_ios::narrow

basic_ios::widen

Protected member functions

basic_ios::init

basic_ios::move (C++11)

basic_ios::swap (C++11)

basic_ios::set_rdbuf (C++11)

 

operator /* unspecified-boolean-type */() const;	(1)	(until C++11)
explicit operator bool() const;	(2)	(since C++11)

Checks whether the stream has no errors.

1) Returns a value that evaluates to false in a boolean context if fail() returns true, otherwise returns a value that evaluates to true in a boolean context.

2) Returns true if the stream has no errors and is ready for I/O operations. Specifically, returns !fail().

This operator makes it possible to use streams and functions that return references to streams as loop conditions, resulting in the idiomatic C++ input loops such as while (stream >> value) {...} or while (std::getline(stream, string)) {...}. Such loops execute the loop's body only if the input operation succeeded.

Parameters

(none)

Return value

1) A value that evaluates to true in a boolean context if the stream has no errors, a value that evaluates to false in a boolean context otherwise.

2) true if the stream has no errors, false otherwise.

Notes

This conversion can be used in contexts where a bool is expected (e.g. an if condition). However, implicit conversions (e.g. to int) that can occur with bool are not allowed.

In C++98, operator bool could not be provided directly due to the safe bool problem. The initial solution in C++98 is to provide operator void*, which returns a null pointer if fail() returns true or a non-null pointer otherwise. It is replaced by the resolution of LWG issue 468, which allows Safe Bool idiom to be applied.

Since C++11, conversion functions can be explicit. The resolution of LWG issue 1094 introduced the explicit operator bool and the boolean conversion is now safe.

Example

Run this code

#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
 
int main()
{
    std::istringstream s("1 2 3 error");
    int n;
 
    std::cout << std::boolalpha << "s is " << static_cast<bool>(s) << '\n';
    while (s >> n)
        std::cout << n << '\n';
    std::cout << "s is " << static_cast<bool>(s) << '\n';
}

Output:

s is true
1
2
3
s is false

Defect reports

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

DR	Applied to	Behavior as published	Correct behavior
LWG 468	C++98	operator void* was provided	a conversion function to an unspecified boolean type is provided instead

See also

The following table shows the value of basic_ios accessors (good(), fail(), etc.) for all possible combinations of ios_base::iostate flags:

ios_base::iostate flags			basic_ios accessors
eofbit	failbit	badbit	good()	fail()	bad()	eof()	operator bool	operator!
false	false	false	true	false	false	false	true	false
false	false	true	false	true	true	false	false	true
false	true	false	false	true	false	false	false	true
false	true	true	false	true	true	false	false	true
true	false	false	false	false	false	true	true	false
true	false	true	false	true	true	true	false	true
true	true	false	false	true	false	true	false	true
true	true	true	false	true	true	true	false	true