Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Monday, 7 May 2012 at 19:23:03 UTC, Walter Bright wrote: On 5/7/2012 12:07 PM, Steven Schveighoffer wrote: However, I think these examples are misleading and do not prove the point. It shows IMO more that you are better off declaring the type on the left if your code depends on it always staying the same. i.e. this does not have that problem: real r = 1L; I tend to agree. If you're declaring things with 'auto', then you should not be relying on a specific type being inferred from the initializer - that would be poor style. Use of auto implies your code is more generic and adaptable to whatever type the initializer turns out to be. If your usage of r requires it to be a specific type, it should be declared as having that type. Alright, I admit 'auto' is somewhat of a contrived example, my main concern is with 'function overloading'/'template type inference'/when creating 'compound/complex types'. I think we have a general issue with concise definitions of literals... 1. ambiguous suffixes 2. manu's __vector() 3. dynamic vs static array literals: auto[$] ? any other similar issues? What is the main reason we don't allow... something like: sqrt(real(3)); ... does it result in any parsing ambiguities? I'm hoping for a consistent solution to all of the above issues... be it... suffix or function style initializer... or ... as long as it solves all the above 'literal issues' in a consistent way... Thanks for listening :) Arne
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On 5/7/2012 12:07 PM, Steven Schveighoffer wrote: However, I think these examples are misleading and do not prove the point. It shows IMO more that you are better off declaring the type on the left if your code depends on it always staying the same. i.e. this does not have that problem: real r = 1L; I tend to agree. If you're declaring things with 'auto', then you should not be relying on a specific type being inferred from the initializer - that would be poor style. Use of auto implies your code is more generic and adaptable to whatever type the initializer turns out to be. If your usage of r requires it to be a specific type, it should be declared as having that type.
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Mon, 07 May 2012 14:11:34 -0400, Arne wrote: On Monday, 7 May 2012 at 12:34:26 UTC, Steven Schveighoffer wrote: On Sun, 06 May 2012 21:02:28 -0400, bearophile wrote: Or maybe you initially have written: auto r = 1.1L; And later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it like this: auto r = 1L; Now you have a little bug. Or maybe you have initially written: auto d = 1.1; and later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it like this: auto d = 1; Now you have a little bug. To me the problem of floating pt. vs. integral is orthogonal to the size of the integral/floating point. -Steve Since you use the suffix to disambiguate / explicitly specify the type... it is extremely unintuitive if the type suddenly changes while *keeping* the same suffix... I concede that is a concern, but really, ".[0-9]" is the suffix that determines it's a floating point, not "L". I almost think 1f should be an error, it should have to be 1.0f. Ohhh, I thought of another example: auto x = 0x1f; Remove the 0x prefix, and you have: auto x = 1f; // now a floating point 1 vs. integer 31 However, I think these examples are misleading and do not prove the point. It shows IMO more that you are better off declaring the type on the left if your code depends on it always staying the same. i.e. this does not have that problem: real r = 1L; -Steve
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Monday, 7 May 2012 at 12:34:26 UTC, Steven Schveighoffer wrote: On Sun, 06 May 2012 21:02:28 -0400, bearophile wrote: Or maybe you initially have written: auto r = 1.1L; And later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it like this: auto r = 1L; Now you have a little bug. Or maybe you have initially written: auto d = 1.1; and later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it like this: auto d = 1; Now you have a little bug. To me the problem of floating pt. vs. integral is orthogonal to the size of the integral/floating point. -Steve Since you use the suffix to disambiguate / explicitly specify the type... it is extremely unintuitive if the type suddenly changes while *keeping* the same suffix...
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Sun, 06 May 2012 21:02:28 -0400, bearophile wrote: Or maybe you initially have written: auto r = 1.1L; And later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it like this: auto r = 1L; Now you have a little bug. Or maybe you have initially written: auto d = 1.1; and later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it like this: auto d = 1; Now you have a little bug. To me the problem of floating pt. vs. integral is orthogonal to the size of the integral/floating point. -Steve
Re: "R" suffix for reals
Walter Bright wrote: > never encountered a problem with it Please recall the famous `fori=' vs. `for i=' mistake: one unintentional changed or added character might change the meening of the code but compile undetected: | auto x = +1L; | auto y = -1L; | auto z = .1L; Whereas | auto z = .1R; would need two changes to the intention. Because of `auto' and `real', which both still aren't in C, D might need to be more picky. -manfred
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Monday, 7 May 2012 at 03:42:18 UTC, Walter Bright wrote: On 5/6/2012 7:33 PM, Era Scarecrow wrote: Was mostly commenting when I see L, I think 'long' right away, not 'long or possibly float/double'. The L comes from C and meant of "long double". Interesting; But still for me (and likely newbies) if it isn't innately obvious or easy to remember it is something I would forget and never use. Actually I have rarely used floating point to any degree (and when I did it was fairly simple).
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On 5/6/2012 7:33 PM, Era Scarecrow wrote: Was mostly commenting when I see L, I think 'long' right away, not 'long or possibly float/double'. The L comes from C and meant of "long double".
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Monday, 7 May 2012 at 02:19:19 UTC, Walter Bright wrote: I agree. It's as old as C, and I've never encountered a problem with it. And as Era Scarecrow posted, this leads to suffixes for every type. Only if you had to be specific to clarify certain confusion. 95% or more of the time the default would be enough unless you needed it. Course with auto, unless you want it to default to likely a double or int (or string), then you'd need to specify or cast it. More likely it could do more specific valid range testing if given that information. Was mostly commenting when I see L, I think 'long' right away, not 'long or possibly float/double'.
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On 5/6/2012 6:46 PM, Jonathan M Davis wrote: I'm sorry, but I think that you're making an issue out of nothing. 1L is clearly a long, not a real, and you're going to get compilation errors very quickly if you really meant to have a real. Yes, there _are_ cases where you could have a silent, logic error, but I really don't think that it's often enough to merit changing the language. I do not believe that I have _every_ seen this problem in real code. And by introducing R, you would create one more thing that D programmers would have to learn and know. I don't think that the suggested change comes even close to justifying itself. I agree. It's as old as C, and I've never encountered a problem with it. And as Era Scarecrow posted, this leads to suffixes for every type.
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Monday, 7 May 2012 at 01:02:29 UTC, bearophile wrote: Jonathan M Davis: And what is so onerous about having to do 1.0L instead of 1R? It's not onerous, the purpose of "R" is not to save typing ".0". If you write "auto x = 1L;" thinking about defining a real, as you define a float with "auto x = 1F;" you are introducing a small bug. Or maybe you initially have written: auto r = 1.1L; And later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it like this: auto r = 1L; Now you have a little bug. The "R" is more symmetric with "f", it works as "f" for real. This makes learning D a bit simpler. Perhaps it means nothing, but I'll comment anyways. To me if I were to add suffixes, it would be the first letter of what made sense, goes with a default type we know. With the exception of using a-f being hex codes already known. So... b - binary s - short - likely unneeded l - long f - float r - real o - octal h - hexidecimal (or prefix 0x since it's so common and stands out) prepend u to any to make unsigned, so ul is unsigned long, ie 10ul. (makes binary safe as ub, but that's kinda ugly) ? - byte ? - int/decimal d - double (df for double float?)
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Monday, May 07, 2012 03:02:28 bearophile wrote:
> Jonathan M Davis:
> > And what is so onerous about having to do 1.0L instead of 1R?
>
> It's not onerous, the purpose of "R" is not to save typing ".0".
>
> > (it would have to be either double or real, and
> > apparently it's real).
>
> 1.0L is always a real in D.
>
> > We _could_ add R, but I don't really see what it buys us.
>
> Octal literals are deprecated in D because programmers sometimes
> forget about them, or make mistakes adding a leading zero,
> thinking it does nothing as in math, and defining a number
> different from the desired one.
>
> If you write "auto x = 1L;" thinking about defining a real, as
> you define a float with "auto x = 1F;" you are introducing a
> small bug.
>
> Or maybe you initially have written:
> auto r = 1.1L;
> And later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it
> like this:
> auto r = 1L;
> Now you have a little bug.
>
> The "R" is more symmetric with "f", it works as "f" for real.
> This makes learning D a bit simpler.
>
> Very often it's better to have literals as much specific as
> possible, otherwise you get situations like the following one,
> what's the problem here (Issue 4703)?
>
> import std.stdio: writeln;
> void main() {
> int[] associative_array = [1:2, 3:4, 5:6];
> writeln(associative_array);
> }
I'm sorry, but I think that you're making an issue out of nothing. 1L is
clearly a long, not a real, and you're going to get compilation errors very
quickly if you really meant to have a real. Yes, there _are_ cases where you
could have a silent, logic error, but I really don't think that it's often
enough to merit changing the language. I do not believe that I have _every_
seen this problem in real code. And by introducing R, you would create one
more thing that D programmers would have to learn and know. I don't think that
the suggested change comes even close to justifying itself.
- Jonathan M Davis
Re: "R" suffix for reals
That's why you shouldn't http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3p5mcu/
On Monday, 7 May 2012 at 01:02:29 UTC, bearophile wrote:
Jonathan M Davis:
And what is so onerous about having to do 1.0L instead of 1R?
It's not onerous, the purpose of "R" is not to save typing ".0".
(it would have to be either double or real, and
apparently it's real).
1.0L is always a real in D.
We _could_ add R, but I don't really see what it buys us.
Octal literals are deprecated in D because programmers
sometimes forget about them, or make mistakes adding a leading
zero, thinking it does nothing as in math, and defining a
number different from the desired one.
If you write "auto x = 1L;" thinking about defining a real, as
you define a float with "auto x = 1F;" you are introducing a
small bug.
Or maybe you initially have written:
auto r = 1.1L;
And later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it
like this:
auto r = 1L;
Now you have a little bug.
The "R" is more symmetric with "f", it works as "f" for real.
This makes learning D a bit simpler.
Very often it's better to have literals as much specific as
possible, otherwise you get situations like the following one,
what's the problem here (Issue 4703)?
import std.stdio: writeln;
void main() {
int[] associative_array = [1:2, 3:4, 5:6];
writeln(associative_array);
}
Bye,
bearophile
Re: "R" suffix for reals
Jonathan M Davis:
And what is so onerous about having to do 1.0L instead of 1R?
It's not onerous, the purpose of "R" is not to save typing ".0".
(it would have to be either double or real, and
apparently it's real).
1.0L is always a real in D.
We _could_ add R, but I don't really see what it buys us.
Octal literals are deprecated in D because programmers sometimes
forget about them, or make mistakes adding a leading zero,
thinking it does nothing as in math, and defining a number
different from the desired one.
If you write "auto x = 1L;" thinking about defining a real, as
you define a float with "auto x = 1F;" you are introducing a
small bug.
Or maybe you initially have written:
auto r = 1.1L;
And later you want to change the number to 1.0 and you fix it
like this:
auto r = 1L;
Now you have a little bug.
The "R" is more symmetric with "f", it works as "f" for real.
This makes learning D a bit simpler.
Very often it's better to have literals as much specific as
possible, otherwise you get situations like the following one,
what's the problem here (Issue 4703)?
import std.stdio: writeln;
void main() {
int[] associative_array = [1:2, 3:4, 5:6];
writeln(associative_array);
}
Bye,
bearophile
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Monday, May 07, 2012 00:49:11 bearophile wrote:
> "R" suffix for reals
>
> This is small enhancement suggestion :-) (Issue 8049).
>
> The "f" suffix turns a number literal without "." into a float,
> while "L" requires a "." in the number literal, otherwise you
> have defined a literal of type long:
>
>
> void main() {
> auto x1 = 1f;
> static assert(is(typeof(x1) == float));
> auto x2 = 1L;
> static assert(is(typeof(x2) == long));
> auto x3 = 1.0L;
> static assert(is(typeof(x3) == real));
> }
>
> D has "auto" for local inferencing, so this suffix is able to
> cause some problems.
>
> So what do you think about introducing a more specific and less
> bug-prone suffix like "R" (eventually using "L" to denote
> longs only):
>
> void main() {
> auto x = 1R;
> static assert(is(typeof(x) == real));
> }
And what is so onerous about having to do 1.0L instead of 1R? 1L is clearly a
long, whereas 1.0L is clearly a floating point value (it would have to be
either double or real, and apparently it's real). We _could_ add R, but I
don't really see what it buys us.
- Jonathan M Davis
Re: "R" suffix for reals
I didn't know about the decimal-point + L notation for reals. It does seem... surprising. I don't see a reason why ‘R’ wouldn't be a good choice. I also don't see why someone would write ‘1.0L’ and expect a long.
Re: "R" suffix for reals
On Sunday, 6 May 2012 at 22:49:13 UTC, bearophile wrote:
"R" suffix for reals
This is small enhancement suggestion :-) (Issue 8049).
The "f" suffix turns a number literal without "." into a float,
while "L" requires a "." in the number literal, otherwise you
have defined a literal of type long:
void main() {
auto x1 = 1f;
static assert(is(typeof(x1) == float));
auto x2 = 1L;
static assert(is(typeof(x2) == long));
auto x3 = 1.0L;
static assert(is(typeof(x3) == real));
}
D has "auto" for local inferencing, so this suffix is able to
cause some problems.
So what do you think about introducing a more specific and less
bug-prone suffix like "R" (eventually using "L" to denote
longs only):
void main() {
auto x = 1R;
static assert(is(typeof(x) == real));
}
Bye,
bearophile
I agree with this proposal, phasing out 'L' for reals seems like
a good idea, I didn't even know that it was possible until now,
so I imagine it can't be stepping on many people's toes.
--
James Miller
"R" suffix for reals
"R" suffix for reals
This is small enhancement suggestion :-) (Issue 8049).
The "f" suffix turns a number literal without "." into a float,
while "L" requires a "." in the number literal, otherwise you
have defined a literal of type long:
void main() {
auto x1 = 1f;
static assert(is(typeof(x1) == float));
auto x2 = 1L;
static assert(is(typeof(x2) == long));
auto x3 = 1.0L;
static assert(is(typeof(x3) == real));
}
D has "auto" for local inferencing, so this suffix is able to
cause some problems.
So what do you think about introducing a more specific and less
bug-prone suffix like "R" (eventually using "L" to denote
longs only):
void main() {
auto x = 1R;
static assert(is(typeof(x) == real));
}
Bye,
bearophile
