V1078. An empty container is iterated. The loop will not be executed.

The analyzer has detected an attempt to iterate an empty container. As a result, not a single iteration of the loop will occur. This may indicate an error.

Let's look at the example that may be the result of unsuccessful refactoring:

#include <vector>
#include <string_view>

std::vector<std::string_view> GetSystemPaths()
{
  std::vector<std::string_view> paths;

#ifdef _WIN32
  paths.emplace_back("C:/Program files (x86)/Windows Kits");
  paths.emplace_back("C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio");
#elif defined(__APPLE__)
  paths.emplace_back("/Applications");
  paths.emplace_back("/Library");
  paths.emplace_back("/usr/local/Cellar");
#elif defined(__linux__)
  // TODO: Don't forget to add some specific paths
#endif

  return paths;
}

bool IsSystemPath(std::string_view path)
{
  static const auto system_paths = GetSystemPaths();

  for (std::string_view system_path : system_paths)
  {
    if (system_path == path)
    {
      return true;
    }
  }

  return false;
}

The content of the 'system_paths' container depends on the operating system for which the application is compiled. For Linux and all other systems except Windows and macOS, an empty container is obtained as a result of the preprocessor directives expansion.

In the context of this example, this is an undesirable behavior of the 'GetSystemPaths' function. In the case of Linux, to fix the warning, a developer needs to add the necessary paths. When compiling to a new operating system (for example, FreeBSD) a developer may need to handle an error with static_assert. Here is the example of safe code:

#include <vector>
#include <string_view>

std::vector<std::string_view> GetSystemPaths()
{
  std::vector<std::string_view> paths;

#ifdef _WIN32
  ....
#elif defined(__APPLE__)
  ....
#elif defined(__linux__)
  paths.emplace_back("/usr/include/");
  paths.emplace_back("/usr/local/include");
#else
  static_assert(false, "Unsupported OS.");
#endif

  return paths;
}

In general, if an empty container iteration was the programmer's intent, then the warning can be suppressed.