I'm looking at http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=3313 and
that got me looking at std.string.join, which currently has the sig:
string join(in string[] words, string sep);
A narrow fix:
Char[] join(Char)(in Char[][] words, in Char[] sep)
if (isSomeChar!Char);
I think it's reasonable to assume that people would want to join things
that aren't necessarily arrays of characters, so T could be pretty much
any type. An obvious step towards generalization is:
T[] join(T)(in T[][] items, T[] sep);
But join doesn't really need random access for words - really, an input
range should suffice. So a generally useful join, almost worth putting
in std.algorithm, would be:
ElementType!R1[] join(R1, R2)(R1 items, R2 sep)
if (isInputRange!R1 && isForwardRange!R2
&& is(ElementType!R2 : ElementType!R1);
Notice how the separator must be a forward range because it gets spanned
multiple times, whereas the items need only be an input range as they
are spanned once. This is at the same time a very general and very
precise interface.
One thing is still bothering me: the array output type. Why would the
"default" output range be an array? What can be done to make join() at
the same time a general function and also one that works for strings the
way the old join did? For example, if I want to join things into an
already-existing buffer, or if I want to write them straight to a file,
there's no way to do so without having an array allocation in the loop.
I have a couple of ideas but I wouldn't want to bias yours.
I also have a question from people who dislike Phobos. Was there a point
in the changes of signature above where you threw your hands thinking,
"do the darn string version already and cut all that crap!"?
Thanks,
Andrei
