Call to template member function failing to compile

Question

I have a problem with a piece of code of the following form:

template
class Class1 {
public:
    template TypeName1*         


        

Answer 1

You should use the template keyword when you are invoking a member function template and you have a dependent name, or method1 will be parsed as a member variable of c and < as a "less than" symbol:

c.template method1<TypeName1>();

As @DrewDormann correctly points out, the reason why the template keyword is required is that a specialization of the Class1 class template could exist for the particular type argument provided, where method1 is defined as a member variable rather than a function template. Thus, the compiler must be explicitly instructed to parse method1 as the name of a function template if this is not the case.