using a typedefed variable with library classes

[Charles Hixson]

Bill Baxter wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 8:23 AM, Charles Hixson
> <charleshixsn at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> Is it possible to use a typedefed variable with library classes?
>>
>> In particular, what I've done is:
>>
>> typedef  int  TestType;
>> TestType  t;
>> File      f;
>>
>> t = 42;
>> f.write (t);
>>
>> And the response I get is the compiler asking whether I want to write bytes
>> or a long.
>>
>> Am I doing something grossly wrong?  Or is typedef just broken?  Or is it
>> really supposed to work that way for some not-understood reason?
>> (alias works fine...but this seems to make typedef basically useless. Unless
>> there's a way of adding functions to the library classes [like file] so that
>> they'll understand how to cast the typedefed variable.)
>>
> 
> I've never found a use for typedef myself.  I don't think it's used
> much, so it could be that it's a special case that Andrei didn't
> consider when re-writing write()  [at least I'm assuming you're
> talking D2, based on the error message].  Or it could be that it is a
> bug with the compiler.  But either way I think no one uses it, so it's
> likely to flush out lots of corner cases.
> 
> --bb
Sorry.  Yes, it was D2.  Guess I'll just avoid it then. (Pity.)