On Monday, 4 February 2019 at 19:14:38 UTC, Emil wrote:
Can std.array.staticArray build static arrays with size known
only at run time ? Now that I am not overcome with enthousiasm
it looks like it too needs to know the size.
A static array's size must be known (or computed) at compile
time, by definition... There can be no exception; staticArray()
gets or infers the size from its template/compile-time arguments.
For one, the trivial example on dlang.org/phobos
auto a = [0, 1].staticArray;
static assert(is(typeof(a) == int[2]));
is equivalent to
int[2] a = [0, 1];
static assert(is(typeof(a) == int[2]));
Is it better? Depends on.....? No it really isn't...
However one of the possibilities of D is the ability to generate
and execute quite some code at compile time by means of
meta-programming; and I guess here's where staticArray() may end
up being useful enough to have merited introduction into the std
library; not for trivial uses where a straightforward T[n]
declaration is preferable, being possible...
If there is something you want to solve in a program of yours,
there may be another way, as H.S. Teoh suggests. If you're just
trying out stuff it's also fine, :) there's still more.
