On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 10:20 AM, Steven Schveighoffer<schvei...@yahoo.com> wrote: > On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:30:00 -0400, Andrei Alexandrescu > <seewebsiteforem...@erdani.org> wrote: > >> Steven Schveighoffer wrote:
> What if the compiler allowed you to call functions as long as what you > typed was an unambiguous prefix of the function name > why don't we have a > wonderful time-saving feature like this? Because it would be a nightmare to > read. ... >> So now C# has two ways of providing a readonly field. Doesn't quite look >> like an example to follow. > > Just like D! > > Yes, that's right. readonly is analogous to const. ... >> That's what I'm saying: if it could do anything, at least don't pretend >> it's anything special. It's a function! > ... > So would you argue that C# or D with operator overloading isn't > better because operators are just functions, why call them something else? Bravo! Fine, rational arguments, Steve. >>>> Well maybe you could change TimeSpan. >>> >>> Lovely. Force the developer to rename his functions because D is too >>> weak to allow defining a correct interface. >> >> Or maybe because her use of name was too ambiguous. > > I want to use the parentheses or lack thereof as part of the human meaning > for the function/property. Making them optional means I can't do that. I think Andrei's right here. .seconds() really was too ambiguous a name to begin with. Even if we had properties I would be inclined to think that was just something you forgot to mark as a property because a property-like meaning is all that makes sense to me. The meaning of .fromSeconds() is much more obvious. The example of adjectives or nouns that are also verbs is much better --- .empty vs .empty(). Others that come to mind: clean, dirty, end, begin. (begin isn't really a noun but it's been used that way for so long in STL that C++ people think of it as a synonym for "beginning".) --bb