Rainer Deyke wrote:
Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
int[new] a;
....
a = [1, 2, 3];
What should that do?
This question can be rephrased as, "should 'int[new]' be a reference
type or a value type (or something else)?"
If 'int[new]' is a reference type, then it must rebind, because that's
what assignment does for reference types. If 'int[new]' is a value
type, then it must modify the array in place, because that's all it can
do. If 'int[new]' is neither a reference type nor a value type, then
we're back to (some of) the problems with slices.
To answer the rephrased question: 'int[new]' should be a value type.
Well Walter and I agreed they should be pass-by-reference. That doesn't
mean they must be references, and the fact that the simplest syntax has
the worst efficiency reminds me of iostreams.
W: Nobody complained about it with slices.
FWIW, I found arrays in D1 so completely broken that I didn't it worth
the effort to complain about every little detail. Everything about them
was wrong. I consider them a textbook example of what not to do.
My perception is that you're in a minority. Anyway, if there's something
that T[new] can help with, let us know.
Andrei
