Implicit instantiation of undefined template 'std::basic_string, std::allocator >'

Question

In the project I have been working on, we have to send Cocoa notifications from C++ sub-projects to the main project above it. To do this we construct a map to act as a key-value store for the userInfo dictionary of the notification.

In one of the projects, the following code compiles just fine:

std::map<std::string, std::string> *userInfo = new std::map<std::string, std::string>;
char buffer[255];

sprintf(buffer, "%i", intValue1);
userInfo->insert(std::pair<std::string, std::string>("intValue1", std::string(buffer)));

sprintf(buffer, "%i", intValue2);
userInfo->insert(std::pair<std::string, std::string>("intValue2", std::string(buffer)));

if(condition)
    userInfo->insert(std::pair<std::string, std::string>("conditionalValue", "true"));

PostCocoaNotification("notificationName", *userInfo);

However, when this is copied into an identical file in another sub-project, the compiler throws the following on the userInfo->insert calls:

"Implicit instantiation of undefined template 'std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >'"

..and it cannot find the function for PostCocoaNotification:

No matching function for call to 'PostCocoaNotification'

Additionally, it throws the following errors in system headers:

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS6.1.sdk/usr/include/c++/4.2.1/bits/stl_pair.h:73:11: Implicit instantiation of undefined template 'std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >'
/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS6.1.sdk/usr/include/c++/4.2.1/bits/stl_pair.h:74:11: Implicit instantiation of undefined template 'std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >'
/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS6.1.sdk/usr/include/c++/4.2.1/bits/stl_pair.h:73:11: Implicit instantiation of undefined template 'std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >'
/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS6.1.sdk/usr/include/c++/4.2.1/bits/stl_tree.h:1324:13: Cannot initialize a parameter of type '_Link_type' (aka '_Rb_tree_node<std::pair<const std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > > > *') with an rvalue of type '_Const_Link_type' (aka 'const _Rb_tree_node<std::pair<const std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> >, std::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > > > *')

I've no idea what I've done to cause such chaos, especially when the code runs perfectly fine in another sub-project (successfully sending notifications). Any insight to the problem would be very welcome.

My first guess is that you need to include something. Possibly the header for pair ( utility ) or for string. — Kindread, Oct 07 '13 at 11:22
I don't think the string header is the culprit, the line where userInfo is initialised (`std::map *telemetry = new std::map;`) does not throw any errors. — Andrew, Oct 07 '13 at 11:49

Mauro Bilotti · Accepted Answer · 2021-02-07T17:06:26.677

145

You need to include this header:

#include <string>

edited Feb 07 '21 at 17:06

answered Nov 07 '13 at 12:51

Mauro Bilotti

5,628
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11

If that doesn't work please add: `#include ` – Wilson Chen May 17 '19 at 06:07
1

#include is sufficient. – Mircea Jul 10 '20 at 13:22

score 38 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '22 at 22:33

38

I got the same error trying to use the std::stringstream class. Add this header file:

#include <sstream>

edited May 23 '22 at 22:33

xjcl

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answered Oct 08 '21 at 16:31

Kewin V

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Can you explain how the `stringstream` class is relevant to the OP's question? – Adrian Mole Oct 08 '21 at 17:15
Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Muhammedogz Oct 08 '21 at 20:22
4

@AdrianMole It's relevant to a bunch of people who get the same error message – Winter Apr 09 '22 at 03:12
3

This resolved the error `error: implicit instantiation of undefined template 'std::basic_stringstream'` – Arundale Ramanathan Jul 24 '22 at 05:30
Oh yes, just missing the header. – Sunding Wei Jul 22 '23 at 10:41

Implicit instantiation of undefined template 'std::basic_string, std::allocator >'

2 Answers2