Issue 161118.1: DW_TAG for C++ static data members

Author: Jason Merrill
Champion: Jason Merrill
Date submitted: 2016-11-18
Date revised:
Date closed:
Type: Improvement
Status: Accepted
DWARF Version: 5
Section 4.1, pg 98
DWARF 3 changed the TAG for in-class declarations of C++ static data members 
to be DW_TAG_member; previously the TAG was unspecified.  I think this was a 
mistake, since outside of C++ terminology they are better referred to as 
member variables, and so DW_TAG_variable is more appropriate.  The 
specification of DW_TAG_member is all about fields in a structure, and is 
mostly inappropriate for variables.

This has mostly been an odd wart on the standard when we could assume that
there would be a separate DW_TAG_variable for the out-of-class definition
of the static data member, but with C++17 inline variables there doesn't 
need to be an out-of-class definition, so we can end up with a member 
variable for which there is no DW_TAG_variable.

Brock Wyma concurs, also pointing out that:
   * Static member variables can have a DW_AT_const_value but that isn't 
     even a valid attribute for DW_TAG_member according to Appendix A in our 
     specification.
   * Members typically have a data member location or data bit offset, but
     static member variables do not.

Before DWARF 3, GCC used DW_TAG_variable consistently for C++ static data
members.  Can we switch to specifying that, or at least allow it?

--
12/06/2016 -- Accepted.  C++ static data represented by DW_TAG_variable.