Why don't templated typedefs exist ?

[Yves M]

Hi,

I ran into a problem earlier today when trying to declare a templated typedef like :

template <class CmpFunc>
typedef std::set<int, CmpFunc> INTSET<CmpFunc>;

At first I thought I got the syntax wrong, but it became clear that my compiler didn't support this. So I checked around the web and found this article on MSDN. I'll just quote the passage that struck me:

Sadly for us, the C++ standard does not allow typedef templates. Class templates, yes. Function templates, yes. Typedef templates, no.

Is there any reason why the standard doesn't allow typedef templates ?