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| Synchronized Output | ||||
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| Types | ||||
| Error category interface | ||||
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Defined in header <iostream> | ||
externstd::ostream cerr; | (1) | |
externstd::wostream wcerr; | (2) | |
The global objectsstd::cerr andstd::wcerr control output to a stream buffer of implementation-defined type (derived fromstd::streambuf andstd::wstreambuf, respectively), associated with the standard C error output streamstderr.
These objects are guaranteed to be initialized during or before the first time an object of typestd::ios_base::Init is constructed and are available for use in the constructors and destructors of static objects withordered initialization (as long as<iostream> is included before the object is defined).
Unlessstd::ios_base::sync_with_stdio(false) has been issued, it is safe to concurrently access these objects from multiple threads for both formatted and unformatted output.
Once initialized,(std::cerr.flags()& unitbuf)!=0 (same forstd::wcerr) meaning that any output sent to these stream objects is immediately flushed to the OS (viastd::basic_ostream::sentry's destructor).
In addition,std::cerr.tie() returns&std::cout (same forstd::wcerr andstd::wcout), meaning that any output operation onstd::cerr first executesstd::cout.flush() (viastd::basic_ostream::sentry's constructor).
Contents |
The 'c' in the name refers to "character" (stroustrup.com FAQ);cerr means "character error (stream)" andwcerr means "wide character error (stream)".
Output tostderr viastd::cerr flushes out the pending output onstd::cout, while output tostderr viastd::clog does not.
#include <chrono>#include <iostream>#include <thread>usingnamespace std::chrono_literals; void f(){std::cout<<"Output from thread...";std::this_thread::sleep_for(2s);std::cout<<"...thread calls flush()"<<std::endl;} int main(){std::jthread t1{f};std::this_thread::sleep_for(1000ms);std::clog<<"This output from main is not tie()'d to cout\n"; std::cerr<<"This output is tie()'d to cout\n";}
Possible output:
This output from main is not tie()'d to coutOutput from thread...This output is tie()'d to cout...thread calls flush()
The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.
| DR | Applied to | Behavior as published | Correct behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| LWG 455 | C++98 | std::cerr.tie() and std::wcerr.tie() returned null pointers | they return&std::cout and &std::wcout respectively |
| initializes standard stream objects (public member class of std::ios_base)[edit] | |
| writes to the standard C error streamstderr (global object)[edit] | |
| writes to the standard C output streamstdout (global object)[edit] | |
| expression of typeFILE* associated with the input stream expression of typeFILE* associated with the output stream expression of typeFILE* associated with the error output stream (macro constant)[edit] |