Manifest constants using 'manifest' keyword?

[Derek Parnell]

On Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:05:40 +0900, Bill Baxter wrote:

> Derek Parnell wrote:
>> On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:01:08 +0200, Matti Niemenmaa wrote:
>> 
>>> Jérôme M. Berger wrote:
>>>> Matti Niemenmaa wrote:
>>>>> Derek Parnell wrote:
>>>>>> Until one gets to know what it means, "manifest" looks like a noun
>>>>>> rather than an adjective. I can just see newbies saying things like ...
>>>>>> "what is a 'manifest'" when confronted with stuff like ...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> manifest 
>>>>>> {
>>>>>>    int Foo;
>>>>>>    long Bar;
>>>>>> }
>>>>> Alright, I'll bite. What /is/ manifest meant to mean here?
>>>> 	I'd bet for a compilation error ;)
>>> That wasn't my point. I get the semantics, I want to understand what the word
>>> itself means.
>>>
>>> "const" -> a constant, i.e. something you can't write to. Fine, though it's not
>>> necessarily "constant" per se.
>>> "manifest" -> a manifest constant. What's a manifest constant? A compile-time
>>> constant. Why isn't it called "compiletime" then? What's with the word "manifest"?
>> 
>> The adjective 'manifest' in this context means "something whose purpose or
>> meaning is self-evident". It is a fairly obscure usage of English and not
>> many native-English speakers would use the term except in academic circles.
>> It is certainly not in common usage by the average man-in-the-street.
> 
> I think it's more like these meanings (from dictionary.com)
> 
> 6. a list of the cargo carried by a ship, made for the use of various 
> agents and officials at the ports of destination.
> 7.	a list or invoice of goods transported by truck or train.
> 8.	a list of the cargo or passengers carried on an airplane.
> 
> I.e. it's something that's embedded in the executable as part of its 
> "cargo".  At least I think that's where the terminology "manifest 
> constant" comes from.

That would be the NOUN manifest and the adjective.

-- 
Derek Parnell
Melbourne, Australia
skype: derek.j.parnell