property functions

[Adam D. Ruppe]

On Sunday, 16 May 2021 at 15:12:25 UTC, Nick wrote:
> Is this warning still valid?

The @property thing doesn't do much. All it does is change 
typeof(a.prop) from function over to the return value of the 
function. (Which actually makes it required for the range empty 
and front things!)

But since it doesn't do much it makes it very easy to misuse it 
too - putting it somewhere where it doesn't belong will NOT cause 
the compiler to issue an error.

So that's why it is warned: the current behavior is extremely 
minimal and if that expands and you misused it, you'll see broken 
code down the line.

But on the other hand, @property has been a do-nothing for a 
decade now, so I wouldn't expect that to change any time soon.

My general rule is to put it on something that should be 
replaceable with a public data member. If you can't do that, 
don't make it @property. In particular, do NOT put it on 
something for the sole reason of not using () on the call. 
@property is not really related to parenthesis syntax. Only use 
it when it is specifically meant to be replaceable with a public 
member.