A trivial type in C is a type with simple and predictable behavior regarding object creation, copying, moving, and destruction. 1. It must have a trivial destructor. 2. It must have at least one trivial constructor. 3. It must support trivial copy and move operations. Examples include built-in types like int and plain old data structs. Trivial types matter due to performance benefits, memory layout compatibility, and use in standard containers. You can check triviality using std::is_trivial
In C , a trivial type refers to a type that has very simple and predictable behavior when it comes to object creation, copying, moving, and destruction. These types are usually straightforward in memory layout and don’t require complex initialization or cleanup.

What Makes a Type Trivial?
A trivial type is one where:

- The class or struct has a trivial destructor — no custom logic runs when the object is destroyed.
- It has at least one trivial constructor, like a default constructor that doesn't do anything special.
- It supports trivial copy and move operations — meaning those operations can be done by just copying bits, like with
memcpy
.
This concept matters most when you're dealing with low-level memory operations, serialization, or performance-sensitive code.
Examples of trivial types include:

- Built-in types like
int
,float
,char
- Plain old data (POD) structs with only data members and no virtual functions or base classes
Why Does Triviality Matter?
Trivial types are important for a few practical reasons:
-
Performance: Because they can be copied with
memcpy
, operations on them are often faster. - Memory layout compatibility: You can safely reinterpret their memory as a byte stream, which is useful in networking or file formats.
- Use in standard containers: Some optimizations in STL containers apply only to trivial types.
If you're working with something like std::is_trivial<t></t>
, it's likely because you're trying to enforce constraints in templates or optimize certain code paths.
How to Check If a Type Is Trivial
You can use the standard type trait std::is_trivial
from <type_traits></type_traits>
:
#include <type_traits> #include <iostream> struct MyStruct { int x; double y; }; int main() { std::cout << std::boolalpha; std::cout << "Is int trivial? " << std::is_trivial<int>::value << '\n'; std::cout << "Is MyStruct trivial? " << std::is_trivial<MyStruct>::value << '\n'; }
This prints:
Is int trivial? true Is MyStruct trivial? true
As long as your struct/class doesn’t have:
- User-defined constructors/destructors
- Virtual functions
- Base classes or virtual inheritance
…it’s likely trivial.
Common Mistakes That Break Triviality
Here are a few things that will make a type non-trivial:
- Adding a custom destructor
- Defining a constructor (even if it's empty)
- Using virtual functions
- Inheriting from another class
For example:
struct NotTrivial { NotTrivial() {} // user-defined constructor int value; };
Now std::is_trivial<nottrivial></nottrivial>
will return false.
So, basically, a trivial type is one that behaves like a plain-old-data type — simple, predictable, and efficient. Keep things minimal in your class or struct if you want to preserve triviality.
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