Yes it means both. It is just a hint how to read / write it: Don't make up some type syntax, but use the variable usage syntax and what's left is primitive type

Yes it means both. It is just a hint how to read / write it: Don't make up some type syntax, but use the variable usage syntax and what's left is primitive types. See http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/chist.html http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/chist.html for history. Sadly, C++ destroys that arguably strange consistency by its reference type declarations.