I think the problem began when Macromedia chose the name "this", which really operates in two separate modes. On one hand, it's a public scope. On the other hand, it's a reference to the object created from the CFC. Worse, by choosing the name, "this", they borrow the terminology from Java while redefining its meaning. Yes, I know Java and CF are different things, but why have "this" have such ambiguous meaning (sometimes a scope, sometimes a reference) when it could always be a reference to the object (as in Java). Then, "this.firstName" would refer to an *instance* variable of the object defined by "this".
Probably water under the bridge, but I really wish they hadn't done that. Hal Helms "Java for CF Programmers" class in Las Vegas, August 18-22 www.halhelms.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nathan Dintenfass Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 5:37 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [CFCDev] "this" scope vs. unnamed OK -- but let's not confuse the matter here. Are you advocating storing things like "firstName" as public data members? If not, you might want to clarify since the people asking the questions aren't thinking about comparing CFCs to Java (which is an exercise done far too often, IMO) -- they want to know the "best practices" for their every day development of CFCs. Once someone knows the best practices and the reasons for them they can feel free, of course, to break the rules. Since CFCs (and CFML) don't have constants that's not a very good example, IMO. > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of Matt Liotta > Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 1:58 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [CFCDev] "this" scope vs. unnamed > > > There are many perfectly valid reasons for using public fields in an > object. For example, many classes in the Java hierarchy use public > fields for constants. In fact, I find it quite annoying when class > authors require bit-based states without representing those states > with constants. > > -Matt ---------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to cfcdev. To unsubscribe, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word 'unsubscribe cfcdev' in the message of the email. CFCDev is run by CFCZone (www.cfczone.org) and supported by Mindtool, Corporation (www.mindtool.com). ---------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to cfcdev. To unsubscribe, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word 'unsubscribe cfcdev' in the message of the email. CFCDev is run by CFCZone (www.cfczone.org) and supported by Mindtool, Corporation (www.mindtool.com).
