Re: access & address

[Martin Krischik <krischik@users.sourceforge.net>]

Xenos wrote:

> 
> "Marc A. Criley" <mcNOSPAM@mckae.com> wrote in message
> news:2t7jm8F1sp752U1@uni-berlin.de...
>> "Xenos" <dont.spam.me@spamhate.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > "Martin Krischik" <krischik@users.sourceforge.net> wrote in message
>> > news:1347924.5V7QhTSfdI@linux1.krischik.com...
>> > > Unlike C/C++ where you can't switch type safety on even when you
>> > desperately
>> > > need it.
>> > >
>> > You obviously know nothing about C++ then.
>>
>> Don't tell me I can write a class to make this check, no one writes
> classes
>> to keep track of item counts.  And if I create a CApples class and a
>> COranges class that includes quantities and prevents me from mixing
>> Apples and Oranges, why is it that _I_ then have to code up the range
>> checking, when every Ada programmer would write:
>>
>>   type Apple_Count  is range 0 .. 500;
>>   type Orange_Count is range 0 .. 120_000;
>>
>> and let the compiler do both type safety and range checking.
>>
> Your point was not that you disliked the way you "switched on" type safety
> in C++.

Not not about dislike. The problem is that we all have to work with 3rd
party libraries - and non of the other do it. Only features which are used
by the mayoritiy of the developers of a give language are true features.
The rest is just academic talk.

> Nothing prevents you from mixing Apples and Oranges, you just have to tell
> C++ how you want this accomplished.  Plus, you can tell the compiler
> whether
> to allow an implicit conversion or not with the explicit keyword.

When "explicit" was invented the C++ designers missed to one off change for:

typedef explicit int Apple_Count;
typedef explicit int Orange_Count;

Then perhaps the STL would have used "typedef explicit" - and them most of
the C++ developers as well. And then we would have type safety. As it is is
I have seen things like the following more then once:

std:string X = ...;
int X_Len = X.length ();

(std::string::lenght () returns size_t and not int)

With Regards

Martin
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