Qualified name lookup

A qualified name is a name that appears on the right hand side of the scope resolution operator :: (see also qualified identifiers). A qualified name may refer to a.

class member (including static and non-static functions, types, templates, etc)
namespace member (including another namespace)
enumerator

If there is nothing on the left hand side of the ::, the lookup considers only declarations made in the global namespace scope (or introduced into the global namespace by a using declaration). This makes it possible to refer to such names even if they were hidden by a local declaration:

#include <iostream>
int main()
{
  struct std{};
  std::cout << "fail\n"; // Error: unqualified lookup for 'std' finds the struct
  ::std::cout << "ok\n"; // OK: ::std finds the namespace std
}

Before name lookup can be performed for the name on the right hand side of ::, lookup must be completed for the name on its left hand side (unless a decltype expression is used, or there is nothing on the left). This lookup, which may be qualified or unqualified, depending on whether there's another :: to the left of that name, considers only namespaces, class types, enumerations, and templates whose specializations are types:

struct A {
  static int n;
};
int main() {
  int A;
  A::n = 42;    // OK: unqualified lookup of A to the left of :: ignores the variable
  A b;          // error: unqualified lookup of A finds the variable A
}

When a qualified name is used as a declarator, then lookup of all names used in the same declarator that follow that qualified name, but not the names that precede it, is performed as if qualified the same way:

class X { };
constexpr int number = 100;
class C {
  class X { };
  static const int number = 50;
  static X arr[number];
};
X C::arr[number], brr[number];   // Error
  // Every name in the declarator "C::arr[number]" after "C::arr"
  // is looked up within C::, but the names before C::arr are unaffected,
  // The names in the second declarator ("brr[number]") are also unaffected
  // equivalent to:
  // "::X C::arr[C::number], brr[::number]"
C::X C::arr[number], brr[number]; // Compiles, size of arr is 50, size of brr is 100

If the name on the right hand side of :: is a destructor or pseudo-destructor (that is, the character ~ followed by an identifier), that identifier is looked up in the same scope as the name on the left hand side of ::

struct C { typedef int I; };
typedef int I1, I2;
extern int *p, *q;
struct A { ~A(); };
typedef A AB;
int main() {
  p->C::I::~I(); // the name I after ~ is looked up in the same scope as I before ::
                 // (that is, within the scope of C, so it finds C::I)
  q->I1::~I2();  // The name I2 is looked up in the same scope as I1
                 // that is, from the current scope, so it finds ::I2
  AB x;
  x.AB::~AB(); // The name AB after ~ is looked up in the same scope as AB before ::
               // that is, from the current scope, so it finds ::AB
}

Enumerators

If the lookup of the left-hand side name comes up with an enumeration (either scoped or unscoped), the lookup of the right-hand side must result in an enumerator that belongs that enumeration, otherwise the program is ill-formed.

(since C++11)

Class members

If the lookup of the left hand side name comes up with a class/struct or union name, the name on the right hand side of :: is looked up in the scope of that class (and so may find a declaration of a member of that class or of its base), with the following exceptions.

destructor name is looked up as described above (in the scope of the name to the left of ::)
user-defined conversion function name is (TODO)
names used in template arguments are looked up in the current scope (not in the scope of the template name)
names in using-declarations also consider class/enum names that are hidden in current scope

If the right hand side of :: names the same class as the left hand side, the name designates the constructor of that class. Such qualified name can only be used in a declaration of a constructor and in the using-declaration for an inheriting constructor. In those lookups where function names are ignored (that is, when looking up a name on the left of ::, when looking up a name in elaborated type specifier, or base specifier), the same syntax resolves to the injected-class-name:

struct A { A(); };
struct B : A { B(); };
A::A() { } // A::A names a constructor, used in a declaration
B::B() { } // B::B names a constructor, used in a declaration
B::A ba;   // B::A names the type A (looked up in the scope of B)
A::A a;    // Error, A::A does not name a type
 
struct A::A a2; // OK: lookup in elaborated type specifier ignores functions
                // so A::A simply names the class A as seen from within the scope of A
                // (that is, the injected-class-name)

Qualified name lookup can be used to access a class member that is hidden by a nested declaration or by a derived class. A call to a qualified member function is never virtual.

struct B { virtual void foo(); };
struct D : B { void foo() override; };
int main()
{
    D x;
    B& b = x;
    b.foo(); // calls D::foo (virtual dispatch)
    b.B::foo(); // calls B::foo (static dispatch)
}

Namespace members

If the name on the left of :: refers to a namespace or if there is nothing on the left of :: (in which case it refers to the global namespace), the name that appears on the right hand side of :: is looked up in the scope of that namespace, except that.

names used in template arguments are looked up in the current scope

namespace N {
   template<typename T> struct foo {};
   struct X {};
}
N::foo<X> x; // error: X is looked up as ::X, not as N::X

Qualified lookup within the scope of a namespace N first considers all declarations that are located in N and all declarations that are located in the inline namespace members of N (and, transitively, in their inline namespace members). If there are no declarations in that set then it considers declarations in all namespaces named by using-directives found in N and in all transitive inline namespace members of N. The rules are applied recursively:

int x;
namespace Y {
  void f(float);
  void h(int);
}
namespace Z {
  void h(double);
}
namespace A {
  using namespace Y;
  void f(int);
  void g(int);
  int i;
}
namespace B {
  using namespace Z;
  void f(char);
  int i;
}
namespace AB {
  using namespace A;
  using namespace B;
  void g();
}
void h()
{
  AB::g();  // AB is searched, AB::g found by lookup and is chosen AB::g(void)
            // (A and B are not searched)
  AB::f(1); // First, AB is searched, there is no f
            // Then, A, B are searched
            // A::f, B::f found by lookup (but Y is not searched so Y::f is not considered)
            // overload resolution picks A::f(int)
  AB::x++;    // First, AB is searched, there is no x
              // Then A, B are searched. There is no x
              // Then Y and Z are searched. There is still no x: this is an error
  AB::i++;  // AB is searched, there is no i
            // Then A, B are searched. A::i and B::i found by lookup: this is an error
  AB::h(16.8);  // First, AB is searched: there is no h
                // Then A, B are searched. There is no h
                // Then Y and Z are searched.
                // lookup finds Y::h and Z::h. Overload resolution picks Z::h(double)
}

It is allowed for the same declaration to be found more than once:

namespace A { int a; }
namespace B { using namespace A; }
namespace D { using A::a; }
namespace BD {
  using namespace B;
  using namespace D;
}
void g()
{
  BD::a++; // OK: finds the same A::a through B and through D
}

Qualified name lookup

Enumerators

Class members

Namespace members

See also