Why aren't variable-length arrays part of the C++ standard?

Question

I haven't used C very much in the last few years. When I read this question today I came across some C syntax which I wasn't familiar with.

Apparently in C99 the following syntax is valid:

void foo(int n) {
    int values[n]; //Declare a variable length array
}

This seems like a pretty useful feature. Was there ever a discussion about adding it to the C++ standard, and if so, why it was omitted?

Some potential reasons:

• Hairy for compiler vendors to implement
• Incompatible with some other part of the standard
• Functionality can be emulated with other C++ constructs

The C++ standard states that array size must be a constant expression (8.3.4.1).

Yes, of course I realize that in the toy example one could use std::vector<int> values(m);, but this allocates memory from the heap and not the stack. And if I want a multidimensional array like:

void foo(int x, int y, int z) {
    int values[x][y][z]; // Declare a variable length array
}

the vector version becomes pretty clumsy:

void foo(int x, int y, int z) {
    vector< vector< vector<int> > > values( /* Really painful expression here. */);
}

The slices, rows and columns will also potentially be spread all over memory.

Looking at the discussion at comp.std.c++ it's clear that this question is pretty controversial with some very heavyweight names on both sides of the argument. It's certainly not obvious that a std::vector is always a better solution.

Answer 1

There recently was a discussion about this kicked off in usenet: Why no VLAs in C++0x.

I agree with those people that seem to agree that having to create a potential large array on the stack, which usually has only little space available, isn't good. The argument is, if you know the size beforehand, you can use a static array. And if you don't know the size beforehand, you will write unsafe code.

C99 VLAs could provide a small benefit of being able to create small arrays without wasting space or calling constructors for unused elements, but they will introduce rather large changes to the type system (you need to be able to specify types depending on runtime values - this does not yet exist in current C++, except for new operator type-specifiers, but they are treated specially, so that the runtime-ness doesn't escape the scope of the new operator).

You can use std::vector, but it is not quite the same, as it uses dynamic memory, and making it use one's own stack-allocator isn't exactly easy (alignment is an issue, too). It also doesn't solve the same problem, because a vector is a resizable container, whereas VLAs are fixed-size. The C++ Dynamic Array proposal is intended to introduce a library based solution, as alternative to a language based VLA. However, it's not going to be part of C++0x, as far as I know.