Enum variable default value?
The program has Undefined Behavior. The value of enummy is indeterminate. Conceptually there is no difference between your code and the following code:
int main() {
int i; //indeterminate value
std::cout << i; //undefined behavior
};
If you had defined your variable at namespace scope, it would be value initialized to 0.
enum SomeEnum {
EValue1 = 1,
EValue2 = 4,
};
SomeEnum e; // e is 0
int i; // i is 0
int main()
{
cout << e << " " << i; //prints 0 0
}
Don't be surprised that e
can have values different from any of SomeEnum
's enumerator values. Each enumeration type has an underlying integral type(such as int
, short
, or long
) and the set of possible values of an object of that enumeration type is the set of values that the underlying integral type has. Enum is just a way to conveniently name some of the values and create a new type, but you don't restrict the values of your enumeration by the set of the enumerators' values.
Update: Some quotes backing me:
To zero-initialize an object of type T means:
— if T is a scalar type (3.9), the object is set to the value of 0 (zero) converted to T;
Note that enumerations are scalar types.
To value-initialize an object of type T means:
— if T is a class type blah blah
— if T is a non-union class type blah blah
— if T is an array type, then blah blah — otherwise, the object is zero-initialized
So, we get into otherwise part. And namespace-scope objects are value-initialized