On Tuesday, 29 January 2013 at 23:09:55 UTC, Jonathan M Davis
wrote:
[..]
If we go any route other than explicit properties, we're giving
up on the
possibility of being able to swap variables and property
functions without
breaking code.
- Jonathan M Davis
Given how D currently works, I don't see how we can realistically
implement a function as a drop in replacement for a variable and
expect code to continue working as if nothing had changed.
One of the bigger problems is that the getter returns by value,
not ref, so everything that expects a ref return will fail.
I expect to make precise variable emulation through properties
will require a lot of compiler magic, and there will be
inevitable bugs and conflicts that follow. I really don't see
that there's enough value with the property concept to justify
the costs of precise variable emulation.
You know a lot more about implementing compiler magic than I do,
so I'll ask you if you think the effort is doable enough to
justify having property functions that can act like a drop in
replacement for existing variables?
--rt
