http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=43453
--- Comment #4 from Johannes Schaub <schaub.johannes at googlemail dot com> 2011-05-14 16:18:58 UTC --- (In reply to comment #3) > (In reply to comment #2) > > (In reply to comment #1) > > > (In reply to comment #0) > > > > Fails to compile, but should work: > > > > > > > > struct A { > > > > char x[4]; > > > > A():x("bug") { } > > > > }; > > > > > > > > Error i get is: > > > > > > > > "main.cpp:3: error: array used as initializer" > > > > > > > > > > Why do you think it should work? > > > For example, the following equivalent code is invalid as well: > > > > > > char x [4] ("bug"); > > > > > > > This code is equivalent and is valid. At least, I don't see the Standard > > forbidding it. GCC is the only compiler I tested (comeau/edg, clang) that > > rejects it. > > I'm not actually sure anymore about the validity of this code. One can make a > point about the initializer not being a mere string literal. > > At least the draft n3126 makes a difference of this, in that an initializer > like "({a, b, c})" is not regarded as a braced-init-list, but rather as a > parenthesized expression-list where the initializer list is handed as one > argument. So I'm unsure whether an initializer like `("foo")` should be > regarded as a string literal or not. > > I think I will send an issue report about this. Subsequent discussion with Jason showed that this is covered by 8.5p13: The form of initialization (using parentheses or =) is generally insignificant, but does matter when the initializer or the entity being initialized has a class type; As this is an array, the text in the Standard in general has to be interpreted that a "=" or a "(..)" initializer are equivalent, unless otherwise stated. So this is indeed a GCC bug (both that it rejects the member initialization and the parenthesized non-member initialization).