# Implicit conversion

Back in The payload, we mentioned that there was no default implicit conversion of `file_io_error` (`status_code<_file_io_error_domain>`) to `error`, as `error` is too small to hold `_file_io_error_domain::value_type`.

We can tell the framework about available implicit conversions by defining an ADL discovered free function `make_status_code()` which takes our custom status code as input, and returns an `error`:

    // Now tell `error` how it can implicitly construct from `file_io_error`.
    // This is done by us defining a free function called `make_status_code()`
    // which is discovered using ADL. `error` is an alias to the refinement
    // `status_code<erased<intptr_t>>` which is a status code whose value type
    // has been erased into an `intptr_t`. `status_code<erased<intptr_t>>`
    // (i.e. `error`) are move bitcopying (P1029) i.e. they are move-only
    // types whose move operation is defined to leave the source in the same
    // representation as a default constructed instance, and for whose
    // non-trivial destructor when called upon a default constructed instance
    // is guaranteed to do nothing.
    inline outcome_e::system_code make_status_code(file_io_error v)
    {
      // `make_nested_status_code()` dynamically allocates memory to store an
      // instance of `file_io_error`, then returns a status code whose domain
      // specifies that its value type is a pointer to `file_io_error`. The
      // domain is a templated instance which indirects all observers of the
      // status code to the pointed-to status code.
      //
      // Note that the status code returned's value type is a pointer, which
      // by definition fits into `intptr_t` and is trivially copyable.
      // Therefore `system_code` (which is also a type alias to
      // `status_code<erased<intptr_t>>`) is happy to implicitly construct
      // from the status code returned by `make_nested_status_code()`.
      return make_nested_status_code(std::move(v));
    }

View this code on Github

We are now ready to use Experimental Outcome!

Last revised: July 16, 2024 at 21:33:35 +0100