# User-defined conversion function

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Enables implicit conversion or explicit conversion from a class type to another type.

### Syntax

Conversion function is declared like a non-static member function or member function template with no parameters, no explicit return type, and with the name of the form:

`operator` conversion-type-id | (1) |
`explicit` `operator` conversion-type-id | (2) | (since C++11)
`explicit (` expression `)` `operator` conversion-type-id | (3) | (since C++20)

1) Declares a user-defined conversion function that participates in all implicit and explicit conversions.
2) Declares a user-defined conversion function that participates in direct-initialization and explicit conversions only.
3) Declares a user-defined conversion function that is conditionally explicit.

conversion-type-id is a type-id except that function and array operators `[]` or `()` are not allowed in its declarator (thus conversion to types such as pointer to array requires a type alias/typedef or an identity template: see below). Regardless of typedef, conversion-type-id cannot represent an array or a function type.

Although the return type is not allowed in the declaration of a user-defined conversion function, the decl-specifier-seq of the declaration grammar may be present and may include any specifier other than type-specifier or the keyword `static`, In particular, besides `explicit`, the specifiers `inline`, `virtual` , `constexpr` (since C++11), `consteval` (since C++20), and `friend` are also allowed (note that `friend` requires a qualified name: friend A::operator B();).

When such member function is declared in class X, it performs conversion from X to conversion-type-id:

    struct X
    {
        // implicit conversion
        operator int() const { return 7; }

        // explicit conversion
        explicit operator int*() const { return nullptr; }

        // Error: array operator not allowed in conversion-type-id
    //  operator int(*)[3]() const { return nullptr; }

        using arr_t = int[3];
        operator arr_t*() const { return nullptr; } // OK if done through typedef
    //  operator arr_t () const; // Error: conversion to array not allowed in any case
    };

    int main()
    {
        X x;

        int n = static_cast<int>(x);   // OK: sets n to 7
        int m = x;                     // OK: sets m to 7

        int* p = static_cast<int*>(x); // OK: sets p to null
    //  int* q = x; // Error: no implicit conversion

        int (*pa)[3] = x;  // OK
    }

### Explanation

User-defined conversion function is invoked in the second stage of the implicit conversion, which consists of zero or one converting constructor or zero or one user-defined conversion function.

If both conversion functions and converting constructors can be used to perform some user-defined conversion, the conversion functions and constructors are both considered by overload resolution in copy-initialization and reference-initialization contexts, but only the constructors are considered in direct-initialization contexts.

    struct To
    {
        To() = default;
        To(const struct From&) {} // converting constructor
    };

    struct From
    {
        operator To() const {return To();} // conversion function
    };

    int main()
    {
        From f;
        To t1(f);  // direct-initialization: calls the constructor
        // Note: if converting constructor is not available, implicit copy constructor
        // will be selected, and conversion function will be called to prepare its argument

    //  To t2 = f; // copy-initialization: ambiguous
        // Note: if conversion function is from a non-const type, e.g.
        // From::operator To();, it will be selected instead of the ctor in this case

        To t3 = static_cast<To>(f); // direct-initialization: calls the constructor
        const To& r = f;            // reference-initialization: ambiguous
    }

Conversion function to its own (possibly cv-qualified) class (or to a reference to it), to the base of its own class (or to a reference to it), and to the type void can be defined, but can not be executed as part of the conversion sequence, except, in some cases, through virtual dispatch:

    struct D;

    struct B
    {
        virtual operator D() = 0;
    };

    struct D : B
    {
        operator D() override { return D(); }
    };

    int main()
    {
        D obj;
        D obj2 = obj; // does not call D::operator D()
        B& br = obj;
        D obj3 = br;  // calls D::operator D() through virtual dispatch
    }

It can also be called using member function call syntax:

    struct B {};

    struct X : B
    {
        operator B&() { return *this; };
    };

    int main()
    {
        X x;
        B& b1 = x;                  // does not call X::operatorB&()
        B& b2 = static_cast<B&>(x); // does not call X::operatorB&
        B& b3 = x.operator B&();    // calls X::operatorB&
    }

When making an explicit call to the conversion function, conversion-type-id is greedy: it is the longest sequence of tokens that could possibly form a conversion-type-id (including attributes, if any)(since C++11):

    & x.operator int * a; // error: parsed as & (x.operator int*) a,
                          //           not as & (x.operator int) * a

    operator int [[noreturn]] (); // error: noreturn attribute applied to a type

The placeholder auto can be used in conversion-type-id, indicating a deduced return type:

    struct X
    {
        operator int(); // OK
        operator auto() -> short; // error: trailing return type not part of syntax
        operator auto() const { return 10; } // OK: deduced return type
        operator decltype(auto)() const { return 10l; } // OK: deduced return type
    };

Note: a conversion function template is not allowed to have a deduced return type.

(since C++14)

Conversion functions can be inherited and can be virtual, but cannot be static. A conversion function in the derived class does not hide a conversion function in the base class unless they are converting to the same type.

Conversion function can be a template member function, for example, `std::auto_ptr<T>::operator auto_ptr<Y>`. See member template and template argument deduction for applicable special rules.

### Keywords

`operator`

### Defect reports

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

DR | Applied to | Behavior as published | Correct behavior
--- | --- | --- | ---
CWG 296 | C++98 | conversion functions could be static | they cannot be declared static
CWG 2016 | C++98 | conversion functions could not specify return types, but the types are present in conversion-type-id | return types cannot be specified in the declaration specifiers of conversion functions
CWG 2175 | C++11 | it was unclear whether the [[noreturn]] in operator int [[noreturn]] (); is parsed as a part of noptr-declarator (of function declarator) or conversion-type-id | it is parsed as a part of conversion-type-id

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