Nontyp template argument, char[] vs char*

Question

Hi
I just tried to compile this example
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
template <const char *str>
struct xyz
  const char *p;
  xyz() : p(str) { }
  void print() { cout << str << endl; }
char Comeau[] = "Comeau C++";
int main()
  xyz<Comeau> x; // Now ok
  x.print();
}(slightly modified to be standalone, from here:
http://www.comeaucomputing.com/techtalk/templates/)
It compiles and runs OK with GCC 4.0.2. With
CC: Sun Ceres C++ 5.10 SunOS_sparc 2009/03/06
I get
CC -library=stlport4 +w2 bad_template.cpp -o bad_template
"bad_template.cpp", line 17: Error: Template parameter str requires an expression of type const char*.
1 Error(s) detected.
Is there a workaround for this?
Paul

Answer 1

It's a compiler bug. Please file a bug report on the C++ compiler at [http://bugs.sun.com]
A possible workaround is to declare Comeau as extern const. (Plain const would make it static.):
extern const char Comeau[] = "Comeau C++"; You would not be able to modify the array, of course.