Re: new way of overloading operators in templates??
I was suggesting looking into the reason why they were there in one conditional section, but not in the other (unless it was down to compiler silliness - which seems probable, given mention of VC5).
Mind you, I rarely use friends, and I don't think I've ever coded a template friend...
Correct is better than fast. Simple is better than complex. Clear is better than cute. Safe is better than insecure.
-- Sutter and Alexandrescu, C++ Coding Standards
Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.
-- Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman
The cheapest, fastest and most reliable components of a computer system are those that aren't there.
-- Gordon Bell