[cfe-dev] On the NNS representation for name qualifiers.

[Enea Zaffanella]

Hello.

We have a question regarding the intended design of AST nodes 
representing name qualifiers (i.e., those containing a 
NestedNameSpecifier pointer).

Consider the following program fragment:
================
namespace N {
   struct S {
     struct T {};
  };
}
N::S::T t;
================
where we have the name qualifier N::S:: for the type T.
In principle, this qualifier can be represented in two ways:

a) as a namespace specifier N:: followed by an (unqualified) type 
specifier S::

or

b) as a single (qualified) type specifier N::S::, i.e., a single pointer 
to a QualifiedNameType (which of course contains another NNS*).

Are both possibilities above actually possible in clang, or is it the 
case that clang will systematically choose once and for all between 
option a) and option b) ?

Thanks in advance for any clarification you can provide us.

Cheers,
Enea Zaffanella