const and immutable values, D vs C++?

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad]

On Wednesday, 4 December 2019 at 22:43:35 UTC, Bastiaan Veelo 
wrote:
> There is a difference I guess if g() returns a reference type 
> and is an inout function. immutable y will only work if the 
> reference returned is immutable.

But not for values?

> Const is a promise to the rest of the code that you will never 
> mutate it. Immutable is a promise by the rest of the code that 
> it will never mutate.

But if it isn't marked as "shared" then only the current thread 
will modify it, so it is only different if you have a mutable 
reference as well that could modify the same object as a const 
reference.

> So if g() always returns immutable, it’s best to receive it as 
> such, not const. If it can be either, it must be received as 
> const.

Is there a way to specify in generic code that you want the best 
fit of a const/immutable reference depending on the return type 
(but not a mutable one)?


>> I'm comparing D to C++ and I get the following mapping:
>
> Does that make sense at all? D’s const is transitive, C++’s is 
> not.

Yes, but it is the same for value types.