[basic.pre] Clarify definition of variable #8186
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jensmaurer
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Aug 22, 2025
source/basic.tex
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| a reference other than a non-static data member or of | ||
| an object. | ||
| an object or of | ||
| a reference other than a non-static data member. |
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That feels ambiguous whether "an object other than a non-static data member" is supposed to be a valid reading. (Note that "other than a non-static data member" might be considered to attach to "declaration".)
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If you really want to disambiguate, just add a bulleted list with two bullets and keep the order the same.
Reorder the positive and negative terms to avoid confusion with the binding of "other than". While grammatically the current wording is precise and correct, I have run into several folks misreading this and wondering why references to objects are not variables.
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jensmaurer
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Co-authored-by: Jens Maurer <[email protected]>
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Reorder the positive and negative terms to avoid confusion with the binding of "other than". While grammatically the current wording is precise and correct, I have run into several folks misreading this and wondering why references to objects are not variables.