Why can't we define re-assignable const reference variable?

[Robert Fraser]

Janice Caron Wrote:
> So change it to
> 
>     const(C)*[string] map;
> 
> Now you've a map of mutable pointers, indexed by string. It's not hard.
> 

I don't feel good about sacrificing performance for something that I've lived without my whole programming career. The syntax is uglier, too.

Your argument "we don't need it; there's always a workaround" is complete bollocks. We don't need high-level native-compiled languages at all, anything we can do in C or D we can in assembly language. We choose to use them because they encourage a more structured programming style with abstracted syntax. What you're basically encouraging is "workaround-oriented programming."