本文节选自The c++ Programming Language[第4版]- Bjarne Stroustrup一书，讲述了使用=delete的真正目的:

3.3.4 Suppressing Operations Using the default copy or move for a class in a hierarchy is typically a disaster: given only a pointer to a base, we simply don’t know what members the derived class has, so we can’t know how to copy them. So, the best thing to do is usually to delete the default copy and move operations, that is, to eliminate the default definitions of those two operations: class Shape { public: Shape(const Shape&) =delete; // no copy operations Shape& operator=(const Shape&) =delete; Shape(Shape&&) =delete; // no move operations Shape& operator=(Shape&&) =delete; ˜Shape(); // ... }; Now an attempt to copy a Shape will be caught by the compiler. The =delete mechanism is general, that is, it can be used to suppress any operation

本文节选自The c++ Programming Language[第4版]- Bjarne Stroustrup一书，讲述了使用=delete的真正目的:

3.3.4 Suppressing Operations Using the default copy or move for a class in a hierarchy is typically a disaster: given only a pointer to a base, we simply don’t know what members the derived class has, so we can’t know how to copy them. So, the best thing to do is usually to delete the default copy and move operations, that is, to eliminate the default definitions of those two operations: class Shape { public: Shape(const Shape&) =delete; // no copy operations Shape& operator=(const Shape&) =delete; Shape(Shape&&) =delete; // no move operations Shape& operator=(Shape&&) =delete; ˜Shape(); // ... }; Now an attempt to copy a Shape will be caught by the compiler. The =delete mechanism is general, that is, it can be used to suppress any operation

删除的函数隐式内联

(现有答案的补充)

．.． 被删除的函数应该是函数的第一个声明(除了删除函数模板的显式专门化-删除应该在专门化的第一个声明处)，这意味着您不能声明一个函数后再删除它，例如，在翻译单元的本地定义处。

引用(dcl.fct.def.delete) / 4:

删除的函数隐式内联。(注:一个定义 规则 ([basic.def.odr]) 适用于已删除的定义。- end note]删除的定义 函数的第一个声明应为函数或for 第一个是函数模板的显式特化 专门化的声明。(例子: 结构体sometype { sometype (); }; Sometype:: Sometype () = delete;/ /不规范的;非首次申报 - end示例)

删除了定义的主函数模板可以特殊化

Albeit a general rule of thumb is to avoid specializing function templates as specializations do not participate in the first step of overload resolution, there are arguable some contexts where it can be useful. E.g. when using a non-overloaded primary function template with no definition to match all types which one would not like implicitly converted to an otherwise matching-by-conversion overload; i.e., to implicitly remove a number of implicit-conversion matches by only implementing exact type matches in the explicit specialization of the non-defined, non-overloaded primary function template.

Before the deleted function concept of C++11, one could do this by simply omitting the definition of the primary function template, but this gave obscure undefined reference errors that arguably gave no semantic intent whatsoever from the author of primary function template (intentionally omitted?). If we instead explicitly delete the primary function template, the error messages in case no suitable explicit specialization is found becomes much nicer, and also shows that the omission/deletion of the primary function template's definition was intentional.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

template< typename T >
void use_only_explicit_specializations(T t);

template<>
void use_only_explicit_specializations<int>(int t) {
    std::cout << "int: " << t;
}

int main()
{
    const int num = 42;
    const std::string str = "foo";
    use_only_explicit_specializations(num);  // int: 42
    //use_only_explicit_specializations(str); // undefined reference to `void use_only_explicit_specializations< ...
}

但是，不是简单地省略上面的主函数模板的定义，在没有显式特化匹配时产生模糊的未定义引用错误，而是可以删除主模板定义:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

template< typename T >
void use_only_explicit_specializations(T t) = delete;

template<>
void use_only_explicit_specializations<int>(int t) {
    std::cout << "int: " << t;
}

int main()
{
    const int num = 42;
    const std::string str = "foo";
    use_only_explicit_specializations(num);  // int: 42
    use_only_explicit_specializations(str);
    /* error: call to deleted function 'use_only_explicit_specializations' 
       note: candidate function [with T = std::__1::basic_string<char>] has 
       been explicitly deleted
       void use_only_explicit_specializations(T t) = delete; */
}

产生可读性更强的错误消息，其中删除意图也清晰可见(未定义的引用错误可能导致开发人员认为这是一个不考虑周全的错误)。

回到为什么我们要使用这种技术?同样，显式专门化可以用于隐式地删除隐式转换。

#include <cstdint>
#include <iostream>

void warning_at_best(int8_t num) { 
    std::cout << "I better use -Werror and -pedantic... " << +num << "\n";
}

template< typename T >
void only_for_signed(T t) = delete;

template<>
void only_for_signed<int8_t>(int8_t t) {
    std::cout << "UB safe! 1 byte, " << +t << "\n";
}

template<>
void only_for_signed<int16_t>(int16_t t) {
    std::cout << "UB safe! 2 bytes, " << +t << "\n";
}

int main()
{
    const int8_t a = 42;
    const uint8_t b = 255U;
    const int16_t c = 255;
    const float d = 200.F;

    warning_at_best(a); // 42
    warning_at_best(b); // implementation-defined behaviour, no diagnostic required
    warning_at_best(c); // narrowing, -Wconstant-conversion warning
    warning_at_best(d); // undefined behaviour!

    only_for_signed(a);
    only_for_signed(c);

    //only_for_signed(b);  
    /* error: call to deleted function 'only_for_signed' 
       note: candidate function [with T = unsigned char] 
             has been explicitly deleted
       void only_for_signed(T t) = delete; */

    //only_for_signed(d);
    /* error: call to deleted function 'only_for_signed' 
       note: candidate function [with T = float] 
             has been explicitly deleted
       void only_for_signed(T t) = delete; */
}

这是c++ 0x标准中的新功能，可以删除继承的函数。

我使用过的编码标准对大多数类声明都有如下规定。

//  coding standard: disallow when not used
T(void)                  = delete; // default ctor    (1)
~T(void)                 = delete; // default dtor    (2)
T(const T&)              = delete; // copy ctor       (3)
T(const T&&)             = delete; // move ctor       (4)
T& operator= (const T&)  = delete; // copy assignment (5)
T& operator= (const T&&) = delete; // move assignment (6)

如果使用这6种方法中的任何一种，只需注释掉相应的行。

示例:类FizzBus只需要dtor，因此不使用其他5。

//  coding standard: disallow when not used
FizzBuzz(void)                         = delete; // default ctor (1)
// ~FizzBuzz(void);                              // dtor         (2)
FizzBuzz(const FizzBuzz&)              = delete; // copy ctor    (3)
FizzBuzz& operator= (const FizzBuzz&)  = delete; // copy assig   (4)
FizzBuzz(const FizzBuzz&&)             = delete; // move ctor    (5)
FizzBuzz& operator= (const FizzBuzz&&) = delete; // move assign  (6)

我们在这里只注释掉1，并在其他地方安装它的实现(可能是在编码标准建议的地方)。其他5个(6个中的5个)是不允许使用delete的。

你也可以使用'= delete'来禁止不同大小的隐式提升…例子

// disallow implicit promotions 
template <class T> operator T(void)              = delete;
template <class T> Vuint64& operator=  (const T) = delete;
template <class T> Vuint64& operator|= (const T) = delete;
template <class T> Vuint64& operator&= (const T) = delete;

新的c++ 0x标准。请参见N3242工作草案8.4.3