[expr.prop]

Every expression belongs to exactly one of the fundamental categories in this taxonomy: lvalue, xvalue, or prvalue.

This property of an expression is called its value category.

[Note 1:

The discussion of each built-in operator in [expr.compound] indicates the category of the value it yields and the value categories of the operands it expects.

For example, the built-in assignment operators expect that the left operand is an lvalue and that the right operand is a prvalue and yield an lvalue as the result.

User-defined operators are functions, and the categories of values they expect and yield are determined by their parameter and return types.

— end note]

[Note 2:

Historically, lvalues and rvalues were so-called because they could appear on the left- and right-hand side of an assignment (although this is no longer generally true); glvalues are “generalized” lvalues, prvalues are “pure” rvalues, and xvalues are “eXpiring” lvalues.

Despite their names, these terms apply to expressions, not values.

— end note]

[Note 3:

An expression is an xvalue if it is:

(4.1)
a move-eligible id-expression ([expr.prim.id.unqual]) or splice-expression ([expr.prim.splice]),
(4.2)
the result of calling a function, whether implicitly or explicitly, whose return type is an rvalue reference to object type ([expr.call]),
(4.3)
a cast to an rvalue reference to object type ([expr.type.conv], [expr.dynamic.cast], [expr.static.cast], [expr.reinterpret.cast], [expr.const.cast], [expr.cast]),
(4.4)
a subscripting operation with an xvalue array operand ([expr.sub]),
(4.5)
a class member access expression designating a non-static data member of non-reference type in which the object expression is an xvalue ([expr.ref]), or
(4.6)
a .* pointer-to-member expression in which the first operand is an xvalue and the second operand is a pointer to data member ([expr.mptr.oper]).

In general, the effect of this rule is that named rvalue references are treated as lvalues and unnamed rvalue references to objects are treated as xvalues; rvalue references to functions are treated as lvalues whether named or not.

— end note]

[Example 1: struct A { int m; }; A&& operator+(A, A); A&& f(); A a; A&& ar = static_cast<A&&>(a);

The expressions f(), f().m, static_cast<A&&>(a), and a + a are xvalues.

The expression ar is an lvalue.

— end example]

The result of a glvalue is the entity denoted by the expression.

The result of a prvalue is the value that the expression stores into its context; a prvalue that has type cv void has no result.

A prvalue whose result is the value V is sometimes said to have or name the value V.

The result object of a prvalue is the object initialized by the prvalue; a prvalue that has type cv void has no result object.

[Note 4:

Except when the prvalue is the operand of a decltype-specifier, a prvalue of object type always has a result object.

For a discarded prvalue that has type other than cv void, a temporary object is materialized; see [expr.context].

— end note]

Whenever a glvalue appears as an operand of an operator that requires a prvalue for that operand, the lvalue-to-rvalue ([conv.lval]), array-to-pointer ([conv.array]), or function-to-pointer ([conv.func]) standard conversions are applied to convert the expression to a prvalue.

[Note 5:

An attempt to bind an rvalue reference to an lvalue is not such a context; see [dcl.init.ref].

— end note]

[Note 6:

Because cv-qualifiers are removed from the type of an expression of non-class type when the expression is converted to a prvalue, an lvalue of type const int can, for example, be used where a prvalue of type int is required.

— end note]

[Note 7:

There are no prvalue bit-fields; if a bit-field is converted to a prvalue ([conv.lval]), a prvalue of the type of the bit-field is created, which might then be promoted ([conv.prom]).

— end note]

Unless otherwise specified ([expr.reinterpret.cast], [expr.const.cast]), whenever a prvalue that is not the result of the lvalue-to-rvalue conversion ([conv.lval]) appears as an operand of an operator, the temporary materialization conversion is applied to convert the expression to an xvalue.

[Note 8:

The discussion of reference initialization in [dcl.init.ref] and of temporaries in [class.temporary] indicates the behavior of lvalues and rvalues in other significant contexts.

— end note]

Unless otherwise indicated ([dcl.type.decltype]), a prvalue shall always have complete type or the void type; if it has a class type or (possibly multidimensional) array of class type, that class shall not be an abstract class ([class.abstract]).

A glvalue shall not have type cv void.

[Note 9:

A glvalue can have complete or incomplete non-void type.

Class and array prvalues can have cv-qualified types; other prvalues always have cv-unqualified types.

See [expr.type].

— end note]

An lvalue is modifiable unless its type is const-qualified or is a function type.

[Note 10:

A program that attempts to modify an object through a nonmodifiable lvalue or through an rvalue is ill-formed ([expr.assign], [expr.post.incr], [expr.pre.incr]).

— end note]

An object of dynamic type

T {obj is type-accessible through a glvalue of type T {ref if T {ref is similar ([conv. qual]) to: (11.1) T {obj,}_{obj,} (11.2) a type that is the signed or unsigned type corresponding to T {obj, or}_{obj, or} (11.3) a char, unsigned char, or std ​::​ byte type .}_{ref is similar ([conv. qual]) to: (11.1) T {obj,}_{obj,} (11.2) a type that is the signed or unsigned type corresponding to T {obj, or}_{obj, or} (11.3) a char, unsigned char, or std ​::​ byte type .}}_{ref if T {ref is similar ([conv. qual]) to: (11.1) T {obj,}_{obj,} (11.2) a type that is the signed or unsigned type corresponding to T {obj, or}_{obj, or} (11.3) a char, unsigned char, or std ​::​ byte type .}_{ref is similar ([conv. qual]) to: (11.1) T {obj,}_{obj,} (11.2) a type that is the signed or unsigned type corresponding to T {obj, or}_{obj, or} (11.3) a char, unsigned char, or std ​::​ byte type .}}}_{obj is type-accessible through a glvalue of type T {ref if T {ref is similar ([conv. qual]) to: (11.1) T {obj,}_{obj,} (11.2) a type that is the signed or unsigned type corresponding to T {obj, or}_{obj, or} (11.3) a char, unsigned char, or std ​::​ byte type .}_{ref is similar ([conv. qual]) to: (11.1) T {obj,}_{obj,} (11.2) a type that is the signed or unsigned type corresponding to T {obj, or}_{obj, or} (11.3) a char, unsigned char, or std ​::​ byte type .}}_{ref if T {ref is similar ([conv. qual]) to: (11.1) T {obj,}_{obj,} (11.2) a type that is the signed or unsigned type corresponding to T {obj, or}_{obj, or} (11.3) a char, unsigned char, or std ​::​ byte type .}_{ref is similar ([conv. qual]) to: (11.1) T {obj,}_{obj,} (11.2) a type that is the signed or unsigned type corresponding to T {obj, or}_{obj, or} (11.3) a char, unsigned char, or std ​::​ byte type .}}}

If a program attempts to access ([defns.access]) the stored value of an object through a glvalue through which it is not type-accessible, the behavior is undefined.38

If a program invokes a defaulted copy/move constructor or copy/move assignment operator for a union of type U with a glvalue argument that does not denote an object of type cv U within its lifetime, the behavior is undefined.

[Note 11:

In C, an entire object of structure type can be accessed, e.g., using assignment.

By contrast, C++ has no notion of accessing an object of class type through an lvalue of class type.

— end note]

38)38)

The intent of this list is to specify those circumstances in which an object can or cannot be aliased.

7.2.2 Type [expr.type]

If an expression initially has the type “reference to T” ([dcl.ref], [dcl.init.ref]), the type is adjusted to T prior to any further analysis; the value category of the expression is not altered.

Let X be the object or function denoted by the reference.

If a pointer to X would be valid in the context of the evaluation of the expression ([basic.fundamental]), the result designates X; otherwise, the behavior is undefined.

[Note 1:

Before the lifetime of the reference has started or after it has ended, the behavior is undefined (see [basic.life]).

— end note]

If a prvalue initially has the type “cv T”, where T is a cv-unqualified non-class, non-array type, the type of the expression is adjusted to T prior to any further analysis.

The composite pointer type of two operands p1 and p2 having types T1 and T2, respectively, where at least one is a pointer or pointer-to-member type or std::nullptr_t, is:

(3.1)
if both p1 and p2 are null pointer constants, std::nullptr_t;
(3.2)
if either p1 or p2 is a null pointer constant, T2 or T1, respectively;
(3.3)
if T1 or T2 is “pointer to cv1 void” and the other type is “pointer to cv2 T”, where T is an object type or void, “pointer to cv12 void”, where cv12 is the union of cv1 and cv2;
(3.4)
if T1 or T2 is “pointer to noexcept function” and the other type is “pointer to function”, where the function types are otherwise the same, “pointer to function”;
(3.5)
if T1 is “pointer to C1” and T2 is “pointer to C2”, where C1 is reference-related to C2 or C2 is reference-related to C1 ([dcl.init.ref]), the qualification-combined type ([conv.qual]) of T1 and T2 or the qualification-combined type of T2 and T1, respectively;
(3.6)
if T1 or T2 is “pointer to member of C1 of type function”, the other type is “pointer to member of C2 of type noexcept function”, and C1 is reference-related to C2 or C2 is reference-related to C1 ([dcl.init.ref]), where the function types are otherwise the same, “pointer to member of C2 of type function” or “pointer to member of C1 of type function”, respectively;
(3.7)
if T1 is “pointer to member of C1 of type cv1 U” and T2 is “pointer to member of C2 of type cv2 U”, for some non-function type U, where C1 is reference-related to C2 or C2 is reference-related to C1 ([dcl.init.ref]), the qualification-combined type of T2 and T1 or the qualification-combined type of T1 and T2, respectively;
(3.8)
if T1 and T2 are similar types ([conv.qual]), the qualification-combined type of T1 and T2;
(3.9)
otherwise, a program that necessitates the determination of a composite pointer type is ill-formed.

[Example 1: typedef void *p; typedef const int *q; typedef int **pi; typedef const int **pci;

The composite pointer type of p and q is “pointer to const void”; the composite pointer type of pi and pci is “pointer to const pointer to const int”.

— end example]

7.2.3 Context dependence [expr.context]

In some contexts, unevaluated operands appear ([expr.prim.req.simple], [expr.prim.req.compound], [expr.typeid], [expr.sizeof], [expr.unary.noexcept], [expr.reflect], [dcl.type.decltype], [temp.pre], [temp.concept]).

An unevaluated operand is not evaluated.

[Note 1:

In an unevaluated operand, a non-static class member can be named ([expr.prim.id]) and naming of objects or functions does not, by itself, require that a definition be provided ([basic.def.odr]).

An unevaluated operand is considered a full-expression .

— end note]

In some contexts, an expression only appears for its side effects.

Such an expression is called a discarded-value expression.

The array-to-pointer and function-to-pointer standard conversions are not applied.

The lvalue-to-rvalue conversion is applied if and only if the expression is a glvalue of volatile-qualified type and it is one of the following:

(2.1)
( expression ), where expression is one of these expressions,
(2.2)
id-expression ([expr.prim.id]),
(2.3)
splice-expression ([expr.prim.splice]),
(2.4)
subscripting,
(2.5)
class member access,
(2.6)
indirection,
(2.7)
pointer-to-member operation,
(2.8)
conditional expression where both the second and the third operands are one of these expressions, or
(2.9)
comma expression where the right operand is one of these expressions.

[Note 2:

Using an overloaded operator causes a function call; the above covers only operators with built-in meaning.

— end note]

The temporary materialization conversion ([conv.rval]) is applied if the (possibly converted) expression is a prvalue of object type.

[Note 3:

If the original expression is an lvalue of class type, it must have a volatile copy constructor to initialize the temporary object that is the result object of the temporary materialization conversion.

— end note]

The expression is evaluated and its result (if any) is discarded.