Bit-field

Declares a class data member with explicit size, in bits. Adjacent bit-field members may (or may not) be packed to share and straddle the individual bytes.

A bit-field declaration is a class data member declaration which uses the following declarator:

The type of the bit-field is introduced by the decl-specifier-seq of the declaration syntax.

Explanation

The type of a bit-field can only be integral or (possibly cv-qualified) enumeration type, an unnamed bit-field cannot be declared with a cv-qualified type.

A bit-field cannot be a static data member.

There are no bit-field prvalues: lvalue-to-rvalue conversion always produces an object of the underlying type of the bit-field.

The number of bits in a bit-field sets the limit to the range of values it can hold:

#include <iostream>
 
struct S
{
    // three-bit unsigned field, allowed values are 0...7
    unsigned int b : 3;
};
 
int main()
{
    S s = {6};
 
    ++s.b; // store the value 7 in the bit-field
    std::cout << s.b << '\n';
 
    ++s.b; // the value 8 does not fit in this bit-field
    std::cout << s.b << '\n'; // formally implementation-defined, typically 0
}

7
0

Multiple adjacent bit-fields are usually packed together (although this behavior is implementation-defined):

#include <iostream>
#include <cstdint>
#include <bit>
 
struct S
{
    // will usually occupy 2 bytes:
    unsigned char b1 : 3;  // 1st 3 bits (in 1st byte) are b1
    unsigned char    : 2;  // next 2 bits (in 1st byte) are blocked out as unused
    unsigned char b2 : 6;  // 6 bits for b2 - doesn't fit into the 1st byte => starts a 2nd
    unsigned char b3 : 2;  // 2 bits for b3 - next (and final) bits in the 2nd byte
};
 
int main()
{
    std::cout << sizeof(S) << '\n'; // usually prints 2
 
    S s;
    // set distinguishable field values
    s.b1 = 0b111;
    s.b2 = 0b101111;
    s.b3 = 0b11;
 
 
    // show layout of fields in S
    auto i = std::bit_cast<std::uint16_t>(s);
    // usually prints 1110000011110111
    // breakdown is:  \_/\/\_/\____/\/
    //                 b1 u a   b2  b3
    // where "u" marks the unused :2 specified in the struct, and
    // "a" marks compiler-added padding to byte-align the next field.
    // Byte-alignment is happening because b2's type is declared unsigned char;
    // if b2 were declared uint16_t there would be no "a", b2 would abut "u".
    for (auto b=i; b; b>>=1)  // print LSB-first
        std::cout << (b & 1);
    std::cout << '\n';
}

2
1110000011110111

The special unnamed bit-field of size zero can be forced to break up padding. It specifies that the next bit-field begins at the beginning of its allocation unit:

#include <iostream>
 
struct S
{
    // will usually occupy 2 bytes:
    // 3 bits: value of b1
    // 5 bits: unused
    // 2 bits: value of b2
    // 6 bits: unused
    unsigned char b1 : 3;
    unsigned char :0; // start a new byte
    unsigned char b2 : 2;
};
 
int main()
{
    std::cout << sizeof(S) << '\n'; // usually prints 2
                                    // would usually print 1 if not for
                                    // the padding break in line 11
}

2

If the specified size of the bit-field is greater than the size of its type, the value is limited by the type: a std::uint8_t b : 1000; would still hold values between 0 and 255. the extra bits are padding bits.

Because bit-fields do not necessarily begin at the beginning of a byte, address of a bit-field cannot be taken. Pointers and non-const references to bit-fields are not possible. When initializing a const reference from a bit-field, a temporary is created (its type is the type of the bit-field), copy initialized with the value of the bit-field, and the reference is bound to that temporary.

int a;
const int b = 0;
 
struct S
{
    // simple cases
    int x1 : 8 = 42;              // OK; "= 42" is brace-or-equal-initializer
    int x2 : 8 { 42 };            // OK; "{ 42 }" is brace-or-equal-initializer
 
    // ambiguities
    int y1 : true ? 8 : a = 42;   // OK; brace-or-equal-initializer is absent
    int y2 : true ? 8 : b = 42;   // error: cannot assign to const int
    int y3 : (true ? 8 : b) = 42; // OK; "= 42" is brace-or-equal-initializer
    int z : 1 || new int { 0 };   // OK; brace-or-equal-initializer is absent
};

Notes

The following properties of bit-fields are implementation-defined:

• The value that results from assigning or initializing a signed bit-field with a value out of range, or from incrementing a signed bit-field past its range.
• Everything about the actual allocation details of bit-fields within the class object
• For example, on some platforms, bit-fields don't straddle bytes, on others they do
• Also, on some platforms, bit-fields are packed left-to-right, on others right-to-left

In the C programming language, the width of a bit-field cannot exceed the width of the underlying type, and whether int bit-fields that are not explicitly signed or unsigned are signed or unsigned is implementation-defined. For example, int b:3; may have the range of values 0..7 or -4..3 in C, but only the latter choice is allowed in C++.

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

References

• C++23 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2023):
• 11.4.10 Bit-fields [class.bit]
• C++20 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2020):
• 11.4.9 Bit-fields [class.bit]
• C++17 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2017):
• 12.2.4 Bit-fields [class.bit]
• C++14 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2014):
• 9.6 Bit-fields [class.bit]
• C++11 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2011):
• 9.6 Bit-fields [class.bit]
• C++03 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:2003):
• 9.6 Bit-fields [class.bit]
• C++98 standard (ISO/IEC 14882:1998):
• 9.6 Bit-fields [class.bit]

See also