Le 30/04/2012 04:34, H. S. Teoh a écrit :
On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 11:18:12PM +0200, deadalnix wrote:
[...]
C don't have out parameters as D have. C have pointer to do kind of
out parameters, and D have pointers too, this is a non issue.
I argue that using 'out' vs. a pointer is a good thing, because it
clarifies intent. When you see a pointer, it's far from clear whether
it's an input parameter, an output parameter, or both.
More and more, I'm leaning towards the opinion that all code should
reveal intent, preferably in a language-supported way. Unclear intent is
what leads to subtle bugs caused by people calling functions with wrong
assumptions. (You'd think this should be a non-problem with programmers,
who are presumably smart enough to figure things out without being told
in the face, but I've seen too much "enterprise" code by now to not be
cynical about it.)
T
I do agree. However, I don't think this apply in any way to our case.
out parameter is a C usage, and it is confusing in C, because, as you
mentioned, you don't know if you pass the pointer because it is an out
parameter, because you want to avoid copy, because something else . . .
The fact that better constructs (ie Tuples) exists in D make it already
clear. And if the point is to fix C, it is useless because the whole
thing is already confusing in C.
