noexcept specifier (since C++11)

 

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Technical Specifications

 

C++ language

 

Exceptions

throw-expression

function-try-block

try/catch block

noexcept specifier(C++11)

noexcept operator(C++11)

exception-specification(deprecated)

 

Specifies whether a function will throw exceptions or not.

Syntax

noexcept	(1)
noexcept(expression)	(2)

1) Same as noexcept ( true )

2) If expression evaluates to true, the function is declared to not throw any exceptions.

expression

-

constant expression, contextually convertible to bool

Explanation

The noexcept-specification (just like dynamic exception specification) can appear as a part of a function declarator when declaring functions, pointer to functions, references to functions, or pointers to member function type, and also when declaring a parameter or a return type of a function that happens to be a pointer or reference to function. It cannot appear in a typedef or type alias declaration.

void f() noexcept; // the function f() does not throw
void (*fp)() noexcept(false); // fp points to a function that may throw
void g(void pfa() noexcept);  // g takes a pointer to function that doesn't throw
// typedef int (*pf)() noexcept; // error

The noexcept-specification is not a part of the function type. However, if any declaration of a function has a noexcept specification that isn't noexcept(false), other declarations of the same function have to have the same noexcept-specification. Similar restrictions apply to overriders of a virtual function and to initialization and assignment of pointers to functions (target entity has to have identical or more permissive exception specification).

void f() noexcept;
void f(); // error, incompatible exception specifications
void g() noexcept(false);
void g(); // ok

If a search for a matching exception handler leaves a function marked noexcept or noexcept(true), std::terminate is called immediately.

Inheriting constructors and the implicitly-declared default constructors, copy constructors, move constructors, destructors, copy-assignment operators, move-assignment operators are all noexcept(true) by default, unless they are required to call a function that is noexcept(false), in which case these functions are noexcept(false).

Any user-defined destructor is noexcept(true) by default, unless the declaration specifies otherwise, or the destructor of any base or member is noexcept(false).

Any deallocation function is noexcept(true) by default, unless the declaration specifies otherwise.

A noexcept-specification of a function is considered to be needed in the following contexts in an expression, where the function is selected by overload resolution the function is odr-used the function would be odr-used but appears in an unevaluated operand template<class T> T f() noexcept(sizeof(T) < 4); int main() { decltype(f<void>()) *p; // f unevaluated, but noexcept-spec is needed } the specification is needed to compare to another function declaration (e.g. on an virtual function overrider or on an explicit specialization of a function template) in a function definition the specification is needed because a defaulted special member function needs to check it in order to decide its own exception specification (this takes place only when the specification of the defaulted special member function is, itself, needed). The exception specification of a function template specialization is not instantiated along with the function declaration; it is instantiated only when needed (as defined above). The exception-specification of an implicitly-declared special member function is also evaluated as needed (in particular, implicit declaration of a member function of a derived class does not require the exception-specification of a base member function to be instantiated) When the noexcept-specification of a function template specialization is needed, but hasn't yet been instantiated, the dependent names are looked up and any templates used in the expression are instantiated as if for the declaration of the specialization.

(since C++14)

Notes

One of the uses of the constant expression is (along with the noexcept operator) to define function templates that declare noexcept for some types but not others.

Note that a noexcept specification on a function is not a compile-time check; it is merely a method for a programmer to inform the compiler whether or not a function should throw exceptions. The compiler can use this information to enable certain optimizations on non-throwing functions as well as enable the noexcept operator, which can check at compile time if a particular expression is declared to throw any exceptions. For example, containers such as std::vector will move their elements if the elements' move constructor is noexcept, and copy otherwise (unless the copy constructor is not accessible, but a potentially throwing move constructor is, in which case the strong exception guarantee is waived).

Deprecates

noexcept is an improved version of throw(), which is deprecated in C++11. Unlike throw(), noexcept will not call std::unexpected and may or may not unwind the stack, which potentially allows the compiler to implement noexcept without the runtime overhead of throw().

Keywords

noexcept

Example

Run this code

// whether foo is declared noexcept depends on if the expression
// T() will throw any exceptions
template <class T>
  void foo() noexcept(noexcept(T())) {}
 
void bar() noexcept(true) {}
void baz() noexcept { throw 42; }  // noexcept is the same as noexcept(true)
 
int main() 
{
    foo<int>();  // noexcept(noexcept(int())) => noexcept(true), so this is fine
 
    bar();  // fine
    baz();  // compiles, but at runtime this calls std::terminate
}

See also

noexcept operator	determines if an expression throws any exceptions (since C++11)
exception specification	specifies what exceptions are thrown by a function (deprecated)
throw expression	signals an error and transfers control to error handler
move_if_noexcept (C++11)	obtains an rvalue reference if the move constructor does not throw (function template)