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  1. Language and framework-specific guidelines
  2. C++ support
  3. Support for C++20 Concepts

Support for C++20 Concepts

Last modified: 11 February 2024

Concepts are one of the major language features of the C++20 standard. They provide a way to put compile-time constraints on template arguments, helping you ensure the templates meet your expectations.

tip

For more information about Concepts, watch this talk from CppCon 2019 by Saar Raz, the author of concepts implementation in Clang: C++20 Concepts: A Day in the Life

Configure Concepts support

1. Set up the compiler

  1. The compiler you are using should support the C++20 Concepts feature.

    • Use Clang10 or later. You can check the status of a particular C++20 feature in C++ Support in Clang.

2. Set the project standard to C++20

CMake project

  • When creating a new project, select C++20 in the Language standard field of the New Project wizard.

  • For an existing project, set the CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD variable at the beginning of CMakeLists.txt: 

    set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)

Makefile project

Set the CXXFLAGS variable in the Makefile:

CXXFLAGS += -std=c++20

Meson project

Set the cpp_std compiler option:

cpp_std=c++20

tip

Concepts support in CLion works the same regardless of the project format: CMake, Makefiles, Meson, or compilation database. Make sure to set the language standard to C++20 and use an appropriate compiler.

3. Make sure Clangd completion is enabled

By default, CLion's code completion is performed by the Clangd-based engine. When working with Concepts, use the default option Only Clangd completion or switch to Clangd completion merged with builtin.

  1. Go to Settings | Languages & Frameworks | C/C++ | Clangd.

  2. In the Code completion section, set the Use code completion via clangd checkbox:

    Clangd completion options

Code insight for Concepts

Parsing and highlighting

CLion parses and highlights all the standard syntax forms for concept and requires:

Supported syntax forms for Concepts

You can tune the highlighting settings for Concepts in Settings | Editor | Color Scheme | C/C++ | Templates | Concept. By default, the scheme is inherited from C/C++ Class/struct/enum/union.

Syntax highlighting settings for Concepts

Code analysis

A set of inspections with quick-fixed is available for your code using Concepts.

Among the inspections, some checks come from the compiler:

An example of compiler check for Concepts

CLion provides two dedicated inspections for Concepts, Unused concept and Unconstrained variable type. You can configure them in Settings | Editor | Inspections | C/C++:

Inspections for Concepts

Concepts are also covered by all the relevant Unused code inspections such as Unused include directive.

The Unconstrained variable type inspection suggests constraining local variables declared as auto if the result of a constrained expression or function call is assigned to them. This inspection is disabled by default on Windows.

Unconstrained variable type

Code completion, navigation, and refactoring

Code completion for Concepts is available in the following cases:

  • Completion for template type parameters that are constrained:

    Completion for constrained types

  • Completion for types constrained by std::is_base_of<MyBase, T> and std::is_same<Other, T>.

    The list of suggestions on T in std::is_base_of<MyBase, T> and std::is_same<Other, T> includes the options from MyBase and Other, respectively:

    Completion for types constrained by std::is_base_of and std::is_same

    Note that completion for this case works only if MyBase and Other are concrete types (not template types).

Rename refactoring and navigation actions like Go to Definition and Find Usages are also supported for code with Concepts.

See also

Procedures

External Links