Hi,

Is there a bug in operator<<ostream, string) or have I just lost my
ability to read straight?  The standard says:

<quote>
  Effects:
    Begins by constructing a sentry object k as if k were constructed by
    typename basic_ostream<charT,traits>::sentry k(os).  If  bool(k)  is
    true,      inserts      characters      as     if     by     calling
    os.rdbuf()->sputn(str.data(), n), padding as described in stage 3 of
    _lib.facet.num.put.virtuals_,  where  n is the smaller of os.width()
    and str.size(); then calls os.width(0).  If the call to sputn fails,
    calls os.setstate(ios_base::failbit).
<end quote>

My problem is with the definition of 'n' (the number of characters to be
printed).  If n is the smaller of os.width() and str.size(), doesn't that
mean that the default width (which is 0) inhibits the printing of string
completely?!!

string a("Hi");
cout << a;   // Prints nothing!

Perhaps the intent was to say "n is the greater of os.width() and
str.size()".  Then all that verbage regarding padding would actually be
relevant.

Comments?

-Howard
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