Section: 21.3.7.9 [lib.string.io] paragraphs 1-3
Submitter: Scott Snyder <snyder@fnal.gov>
Date: Feb 4, 2000

The description of the stream extraction operator for std::string
(section 21.3.7.9 [lib.string.io]) does not contain a requirement
that failbit be set in the case that the operator fails to extract
any characters from the input stream.

This implies that the typical construction

  std::istream is;
  std::string str;
  ...
  while (is >> str) ... ;

(which tests failbit) is not required to terminate at EOF.

Furthermore, this is inconsistent with other extraction operators,
which do include this requirement.  (See sections
27.6.1.2 [lib.stream.formatted] and 27.6.1.3 [lib.stream.unformatted],
where this requirement is present, either explictly or implicitly,
for the extraction operators.  It is also present explicitly in the
description of getline (istream&, string&, charT) in
section 21.3.7.9 paragraph 8.)


Proposed Resolution:

Insert new paragraph after paragraph 2 in section 21.3.7.9:

If the function extracts no characters, it calls is.setstate(ios::failbit)
which may throw ios_base::failure (27.4.4.3).
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