On 08/21/2015 12:29 PM, David Nadlinger wrote:
On Friday, 21 August 2015 at 15:58:22 UTC, Nick Sabalausky wrote:
It also fucks up UFCS, and I'm a huge fan of UFCS.
Are you saying that "import json : parseJSON = parse;
foo.parseJSON.bar;" does not work?
Ok, fair point, although I was referring more to fully-qualified name
lookups, as in the snippet I quoted from Jacob. Ie, this doesn't work:
someJsonCode.std.json.parse();
I do think though, generally speaking, if there is much need to do a
renamed import, the symbol in question probably didn't have the best
name in the first place.
Renamed importing is a great feature to have, but when you see it used
it raises the question "*Why* is this being renamed? Why not just use
it's real name?" For the most part, I see two main reasons:
1. "Just because. I like this bikeshed color better." But this is merely
a code smell, not a legitimate reason to even bother.
or
2. The symbol has a questionable name in the first place.
If there's reason to even bring up renamed imports as a solution, then
it's probably falling into the "questionably named" category.
Just because we CAN use D's module system and renamed imports and such
to clear up ambiguities, doesn't mean we should let ourselves take
things TOO far to the opposite extreme when avoiding C/C++'s "big long
ugly names as a substitute for modules".
Like Walter, I do very much dislike C/C++'s super-long,
super-unambiguous names. But IMO, preferring parseStream over
parseJSONStream isn't a genuine case of avoiding C/C++-style naming,
it's just being overrun by fear of C/C++-style naming and thus taking
things too far to the opposite extreme. We can strike a better balance
than choosing between "brief and unclear-at-a-glance" and "C++-level
verbosity".
Yea, we CAN do "import std.json : parseJSONStream = parseStream;", but
if there's even any motivation to do so in the first place, we may as
well just use the better name right from the start. Besides, those who
prefer ultra-brevity are free to paint their bikesheds with renamed
imports, too ;)
