C++ casting idiom

Question

What's the standard idiom for general casting in C++ these days?

The C idiom is:

(int)t.

I've been using:

static_cast<int>(t).

But I'm most comfortable with:

int(t).

What do the gurus do?

You *should* use `static_cast` in C++ for the example you've shown. But I often see people get lazy and C-style case for basic types such as `int`. — Cory Kramer, Nov 13 '14 at 14:16
Also http://stackoverflow.com/questions/103512/in-c-why-use-static-castintx-instead-of-intx — Cory Kramer, Nov 13 '14 at 14:16
@Cyber: Nope, you shouldn't. Depending on what `t` is. Just because there is more to read doesn't mean it's more readable. — Deduplicator, Nov 13 '14 at 14:17
Not sure this is a duplicate. I know the difference between static_cast and C-style casting. I'm after the idiom here and what's considered good/bad and why. — Robinson, Nov 13 '14 at 14:17

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 13 '14 at 14:17

3

C++ style cast is always preferable. I could cite three good reasons for preferring C++ casts over C-style cast:-

1) They helps in readability. Anyone with one glance at your code get to know that cast is used whereas it's not the case with C-style casts.

2) There are 4 different casts in C++ which clearly express the intent of the programmer.

3) C++ style cast are checked by compiler to make sure whether casting is used in the proper context OR not.

answered Nov 13 '14 at 14:17

ravi

So is int(t) a C-style cast? – Robinson Nov 13 '14 at 14:18
There being more to read does not make it more readable. It can sometimes clarify what exact cast you want/expect. – Deduplicator Nov 13 '14 at 14:18
@Robinson It's on the same line as C-style cast... not keeping above points while casting – ravi Nov 13 '14 at 14:20

1 Answers1