using extern template (C++11)

Solution 1:

You should only use extern template to force the compiler to not instantiate a template when you know that it will be instantiated somewhere else. It is used to reduce compile time and object file size.

For example:

// header.h

template<typename T>
void ReallyBigFunction()
{
    // Body
}

// source1.cpp

#include "header.h"
void something1()
{
    ReallyBigFunction<int>();
}

// source2.cpp

#include "header.h"
void something2()
{
    ReallyBigFunction<int>();
}

This will result in the following object files:

source1.o
    void something1()
    void ReallyBigFunction<int>()    // Compiled first time

source2.o
    void something2()
    void ReallyBigFunction<int>()    // Compiled second time

If both files are linked together, one void ReallyBigFunction<int>() will be discarded, resulting in wasted compile time and object file size.

To not waste compile time and object file size, there is an extern keyword which makes the compiler not compile a template function. You should use this if and only if you know it is used in the same binary somewhere else.

Changing source2.cpp to:

// source2.cpp

#include "header.h"
extern template void ReallyBigFunction<int>();
void something2()
{
    ReallyBigFunction<int>();
}

Will result in the following object files:

source1.o
    void something1()
    void ReallyBigFunction<int>() // compiled just one time

source2.o
    void something2()
    // No ReallyBigFunction<int> here because of the extern

When both of these will be linked together, the second object file will just use the symbol from the first object file. No need for discard and no wasted compile time and object file size.

This should only be used within a project, like in times when you use a template like vector<int> multiple times, you should use extern in all but one source file.

This also applies to classes and function as one, and even template member functions.

Solution 2:

Wikipedia has the best description

In C++03, the compiler must instantiate a template whenever a fully specified template is encountered in a translation unit. If the template is instantiated with the same types in many translation units, this can dramatically increase compile times. There is no way to prevent this in C++03, so C++11 introduced extern template declarations, analogous to extern data declarations.

C++03 has this syntax to oblige the compiler to instantiate a template:

  template class std::vector<MyClass>;

C++11 now provides this syntax:

  extern template class std::vector<MyClass>;

which tells the compiler not to instantiate the template in this translation unit.

_{^{The warning: nonstandard extension used...}}

Microsoft VC++ used to have a non-standard version of this feature for some years already (in C++03). The compiler warns about that to prevent portability issues with code that needed to compile on different compilers as well.

Look at the sample in the linked page to see that it works roughly the same way. You can expect the message to go away with future versions of MSVC, except of course when using other non-standard compiler extensions at the same time.