Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread Ali Çehreli via Digitalmars-d-learn

On 4/18/22 09:17, Ali Çehreli wrote:

> shared static ~this():   0
> static ~this():   0
>~this():   8

Apologies for omitting 'scope' statements:

   scope(exit): 34
scope(success):  6
scope(failure):  8

Ali



Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread Ali Çehreli via Digitalmars-d-learn

On 4/17/22 17:35, Ali Çehreli wrote:

> compared to C++, the amount of constructor, destructor, copy
> constructor, etc. that I do *not* write in D is very liberating to me.
> It feels like I just write what is needed and it mostly just works.

The following is a quick and dirty grep-based stats from a largish 
successful project that implements multiple libraries and binaries. The 
figures are numbers of times each construct appears in source code:


   struct: 231
interface:   3
class:  12
union:   0

  this(/* ... */):  72 [1]
 shared static this():   8
static this():   1 [2]

shared static ~this():   0
   static ~this():   0
  ~this():   8

   this(this):   0 [3]

[1] Most operations in most constructors are trivial assignments to members.

[2] It contains just an enforce expression to ensure the environment is 
as expected. (It is an oversight that this is not a 'shared static this' 
as well.)


[3] There are no copy constructors either because the project started 
with an older compiler.


It is remarkable that I did not implement a single copy or move behavior 
ever. Compare that to countless C++ articles on attempting to teach how 
to deal with fundamental operations of object. Forgotten to be called or 
not, there are no 'move' (which does not move in C++) or 'forward' 
(which does not forward in C++) expressions at all.


What a price the programming community keeps on paying just because 
their powerful programming language was there first...


Ali



Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread H. S. Teoh via Digitalmars-d-learn
On Mon, Apr 18, 2022 at 08:22:26AM +, cc via Digitalmars-d-learn wrote:
> On Monday, 18 April 2022 at 03:21:30 UTC, H. S. Teoh wrote:
> > Structs in D ought to be treated like "glorified ints", as Andrei
> > puts it. If you need complex ctors and complex methods, that's a
> > sign you should be using a class instead.
> 
> Unless you're having a nice quiet get-together with friends, and you
> don't want to invite the GC, the biggest loudest party animal on the
> block.  Phobos's RefCounted seems to stretch the definition of
> "glorified ints"..

"Glorified int" includes pass-by-value types like pointers. Pointers /
references wrapped in a struct is one of the more powerful D constructs
that lets you do some pretty neat things.  (Just don't expect it to
behave like C++, lol. :-P)


T

-- 
Debian GNU/Linux: Cray on your desktop.


Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread zjh via Digitalmars-d-learn

On Monday, 18 April 2022 at 13:21:44 UTC, zjh wrote:


I hope that d can support it like `C++`.



`Struct` and `class` behavior is inconsistent.
`Constructors` sometimes have initialize behavior.
If D doesn't think about `C++` users, `C++` users feel too 
troublesome, can't understand, and the cognitive burden is too 
heavy.






Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread zjh via Digitalmars-d-learn

On Sunday, 17 April 2022 at 15:13:29 UTC, HuskyNator wrote:

This is a twofold question, along the example code below:



The `default constructor` of `struct` is very convenient to use.
I hope that d can support it like `C++`.



Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread user1234 via Digitalmars-d-learn

On Monday, 18 April 2022 at 10:26:16 UTC, HuskyNator wrote:
On a sidenote, I'm surprised D did not choose 0 as the default 
floating value. Doesn't almost every language do this? I 
understand the thinking behind it, but when the type one uses 
in a template influences the behavior of the code, that seems 
like a pretty big red flag to me. (Any non-floating type 
defaults to 0, but using floats/doubles suddenly introduces 
NaN, surely I'm not the only one that sees a problem with this 
) Especially when it's basically a standard 0 is used for 
this. Sorry for the rant.


Let me explain the why:

D default initialization is not designed to replace user-defined 
initialization, it's rather made to make bugs related to 
non-initialized variables stable, e.g not UB.


The easiest way to get that is to think to references and 
pointers. A random garbage value pointed by an alloca may work to 
some point (e.g access to member), if it's set to `null` right 
after the alloca then you have a stable segfault that always 
happens at the same time and is easy to debug.


Similarly, for floating point numbers the D designers considered 
that `NaN` was the best choice because FP operations will not 
wrongly appear valid when starting operations with NaN.


With integral types, this system does not work as well, as `0` 
doesn't create bugs as easily as `null` and `NaN`. The confusion 
about the real role of default initialization comes from integral 
types I believe.


Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread cc via Digitalmars-d-learn

On Monday, 18 April 2022 at 10:26:16 UTC, HuskyNator wrote:
On a sidenote, I'm surprised D did not choose 0 as the default 
floating value. Doesn't almost every language do this? I 
understand the thinking behind it, but when the type one uses 
in a template influences the behavior of the code, that seems 
like a pretty big red flag to me. (Any non-floating type 
defaults to 0, but using floats/doubles suddenly introduces 
NaN, surely I'm not the only one that sees a problem with this 
) Especially when it's basically a standard 0 is used for 
this. Sorry for the rant.


I agree, it's a hiccup.  I have at times intentionally 
initialized a float as NaN so that I can identify later whether 
an appropriate value has been assigned, but I've never seen the 
need to have this be the default behavior when integer types 
always init to 0 (more specifically, init to a MODIFYABLE value). 
 In game design I have tons upon tons of floats that all [should] 
start initialized to zero.  I can add 4 to a declared but 
not-assigned-to int and it'll be 4, a float remains NaN.  Having 
to manually declare appropriate init values to each one doesn't 
aid me in detecting "bugs".  If I had an int that was supposed to 
default to 10 instead of 0 it would still be a bug if I forgot to 
specify that, tripping me up for falsely assuming floats would 
start at 0 doesn't aid my workflow in any way.  The whole "you 
should pay more attention to what you're initializing, o buggy 
programmer you" philosophy seems like something that should be 
reserved for pointers and reference types, not basic numeric 
data.  It's probably set in stone by this point though and too 
late to change.


Ten years ago, almost to the day:
https://forum.dlang.org/thread/thsjtreegdwcgbazh...@forum.dlang.org

The reasoning still feels flimsy and stubborn.


Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread HuskyNator via Digitalmars-d-learn

On Monday, 18 April 2022 at 03:21:30 UTC, H. S. Teoh wrote:
Structs in D ought to be treated like "glorified ints", as 
Andrei puts it. If you need complex ctors and complex methods, 
that's a sign you should be using a class instead.


I prefer not to use classes, as the code would now move towards 
using references, which is the exact reason I'm using structs.


I ended up creating a constructor for my needs and disabling the 
default constructor. I'm mostly just surprised the static syntax 
is turned off by adding one. I still don't see the reason behind 
it. Why have it but disable it?


I ironically almost always need the exact same constructor with 
the identical arguments though: Initialize the matrix to the 
identity matrix. Why not introduce the empty self-defined 
constructor as a separate thing from the .init value?


On a sidenote, I'm surprised D did not choose 0 as the default 
floating value. Doesn't almost every language do this? I 
understand the thinking behind it, but when the type one uses in 
a template influences the behavior of the code, that seems like a 
pretty big red flag to me. (Any non-floating type defaults to 0, 
but using floats/doubles suddenly introduces NaN, surely I'm not 
the only one that sees a problem with this ) Especially when 
it's basically a standard 0 is used for this. Sorry for the rant.


Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-18 Thread cc via Digitalmars-d-learn

On Monday, 18 April 2022 at 03:21:30 UTC, H. S. Teoh wrote:
Structs in D ought to be treated like "glorified ints", as 
Andrei puts it. If you need complex ctors and complex methods, 
that's a sign you should be using a class instead.


Unless you're having a nice quiet get-together with friends, and 
you don't want to invite the GC, the biggest loudest party animal 
on the block.  Phobos's RefCounted seems to stretch the 
definition of "glorified ints"..


Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-17 Thread H. S. Teoh via Digitalmars-d-learn
On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 05:35:13PM -0700, Ali Çehreli via Digitalmars-d-learn 
wrote:
> On 4/17/22 08:13, HuskyNator wrote:
[...]
> > - 2: Why does adding a constructor to a struct disable the use of
> > the static initialization syntax?
> 
> I am not sure how to answer this question because I am about to say
> don't use the static initialization syntax. :/ To me, idiomatic way of
> constructing D objects is
> 
>   auto m = Mat!2([1,2]);
> 
> The reason why one cannot define a default constructor for a D struct
> is because every type in D must have a statically known .init value. A
> user-defined default constructor could not be known at compile time.

IME, when the lack of default ctors in D starts bothering me, that's
usually around the time the struct really ought to be rewritten as a
class (which *does* support default ctors).

Structs in D ought to be treated like "glorified ints", as Andrei puts
it. If you need complex ctors and complex methods, that's a sign you
should be using a class instead.


[...]
> Really, compared to C++, the amount of constructor, destructor, copy
> constructor, etc. that I do *not* write in D is very liberating to me.
> It feels like I just write what is needed and it mostly just works.
[...]

One thing about idiomatic D code is that it embraces the "create the
object first, then kick it into shape" philosophy, vs. the "meticulously
manage the initialization of every last bit in the ctor so that the
object comes out of the ctor call a perfect product ready to ship"
philosophy. The latter requires a lot of boilerplate and micromanagement
of object state; the former, when done well, leads to streamlined code
that gets its job done with a minimum of fuss.


T

-- 
Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. Then when you do 
criticize him, you'll be a mile away and he won't have his shoes.


Re: Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-17 Thread Ali Çehreli via Digitalmars-d-learn

On 4/17/22 08:13, HuskyNator wrote:

> - 1: Why does `m` initialization behave as if `m[0][]=1` and `m[1][]=2`
> were used? (Shouldn't this code result in an error instead?)

That's pretty weird. I think it boils down to scalar assignment to an 
array being valid:


void main() {
  int[3] arr;
  arr = 42;// Feature? (Yes.)

  import std.algorithm : all;
  assert(arr[].all!(e => e == 42));
}

So, in the end, each element of your argument array gets assigned to 
each element of member array. Makes sense (to me :) )...


I think the initialization of 'n' is more straightforward.

> - 2: Why does adding a constructor to a struct disable the use of the
> static initialization syntax?

I am not sure how to answer this question because I am about to say 
don't use the static initialization syntax. :/ To me, idiomatic way of 
constructing D objects is


  auto m = Mat!2([1,2]);

The reason why one cannot define a default constructor for a D struct is 
because every type in D must have a statically known .init value. A 
user-defined default constructor could not be known at compile time.


> it now requires me to
> write additional constructors, as soon as I want to add 1.

I don't see it as a big problem in practice. As soon as I need to add a 
constructor, the default behavior of setting members to arguments seems 
out of place. Either the one constructor is sufficient or write at most 
another one at most.


> the commonly suggested workarounds (using `opCall`) seems
> rather inelegant to me.

Agreed. And static opCall() is not usable in all cases as it somehow 
conflicts in some cases. (Don't remember now.)


> Why is this possible in C++ in contrast?

C++ does not insist that all types have a statically known .init value. 
If I'm not mistaken, the part about disabling certain constructors, move 
or otherwise, is commonly accepted in C++ as well.


Really, compared to C++, the amount of constructor, destructor, copy 
constructor, etc. that I do *not* write in D is very liberating to me. 
It feels like I just write what is needed and it mostly just works.


Ali



Static struct initialization syntax behavior & it being disabled upon adding a constructor

2022-04-17 Thread HuskyNator via Digitalmars-d-learn

This is a twofold question, along the example code below:
- 1: Why does `m` initialization behave as if `m[0][]=1` and 
`m[1][]=2` were used? (Shouldn't this code result in an error 
instead?)
- 2: Why does adding a constructor to a struct disable the use of 
the static initialization syntax? I only see it mentioned in the 
documentation indirectly (there are notes in the example code 
specifying as such, but the text itself does not seem to define 
their removal). I also don't see how this behavior is beneficial, 
as it now requires me to write additional constructors, as soon 
as I want to add 1.


```d
struct Mat(int n){
int[n][n] mat;

void write(){
writeln(mat);
}
// Will cause the m & n initialisations to yield errors.
//  this(int i){
//  mat[0][0] = i;
//  }
}

void main() {
Mat!2 m = {[1,2]}; // Prints [[1, 1], [2, 2]]
Mat!2 n = {[[1,2],[3,4]]}; // Prints [[1, 2], [3, 4]]
m.write();
n.write();
}
```

PS:
Are there any plans to change the behaviour of empty struct 
constructors? (eg: `this(){}`) It surprised me greatly coming 
into D, and one of the commonly suggested workarounds (using 
`opCall`) seems rather inelegant to me. Why is this possible in 
C++ in contrast?


Re: Struct initialization syntax

2018-01-20 Thread Azi Hassan via Digitalmars-d-learn

On Thursday, 18 January 2018 at 03:50:15 UTC, arturg wrote:

On Wednesday, 17 January 2018 at 17:37:07 UTC, H. S. Teoh wrote:
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 05:31:03PM +, Azi Hassan via 
Digitalmars-d-learn wrote:
The D tour for structs uses a syntax similar to that of C++ 
in order to initialize a Person struct : Person p(30, 180). 
Is this syntax supported in D ? Running that part of the code 
neither works on the playground nor on my machine (dmd 
v2.076.0).


You're probably looking for this syntax:

auto p = Person(30, 180);


T


looks like a bug in the 3rd example.


That's what I was wondering about, thanks.


Re: Struct initialization syntax

2018-01-17 Thread H. S. Teoh via Digitalmars-d-learn
On Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 03:50:15AM +, arturg via Digitalmars-d-learn wrote:
> On Wednesday, 17 January 2018 at 17:37:07 UTC, H. S. Teoh wrote:
> > On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 05:31:03PM +, Azi Hassan via
> > Digitalmars-d-learn wrote:
> > > The D tour for structs uses a syntax similar to that of C++ in order
> > > to initialize a Person struct : Person p(30, 180). Is this syntax
> > > supported in D ? Running that part of the code neither works on the
> > > playground nor on my machine (dmd v2.076.0).
> > 
> > You're probably looking for this syntax:
> > 
> > auto p = Person(30, 180);
> > 
> > 
> > T
> 
> looks like a bug in the 3rd example.

Indeed. Here's a fix:

https://github.com/dlang-tour/english/pull/230


T

-- 
Not all rumours are as misleading as this one.


Re: Struct initialization syntax

2018-01-17 Thread arturg via Digitalmars-d-learn

On Wednesday, 17 January 2018 at 17:37:07 UTC, H. S. Teoh wrote:
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 05:31:03PM +, Azi Hassan via 
Digitalmars-d-learn wrote:
The D tour for structs uses a syntax similar to that of C++ in 
order to initialize a Person struct : Person p(30, 180). Is 
this syntax supported in D ? Running that part of the code 
neither works on the playground nor on my machine (dmd 
v2.076.0).


You're probably looking for this syntax:

auto p = Person(30, 180);


T


looks like a bug in the 3rd example.


Re: Struct initialization syntax

2018-01-17 Thread H. S. Teoh via Digitalmars-d-learn
On Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 05:31:03PM +, Azi Hassan via Digitalmars-d-learn 
wrote:
> The D tour for structs uses a syntax similar to that of C++ in order
> to initialize a Person struct : Person p(30, 180). Is this syntax
> supported in D ? Running that part of the code neither works on the
> playground nor on my machine (dmd v2.076.0).

You're probably looking for this syntax:

auto p = Person(30, 180);


T

-- 
Never step over a puddle, always step around it. Chances are that whatever made 
it is still dripping.


Struct initialization syntax

2018-01-17 Thread Azi Hassan via Digitalmars-d-learn
The D tour for structs uses a syntax similar to that of C++ in 
order to initialize a Person struct : Person p(30, 180). Is this 
syntax supported in D ? Running that part of the code neither 
works on the playground nor on my machine (dmd v2.076.0).