Casts, especially array casts

[Rainer Deyke]

On 2/24/2010 14:30, Jonathan M Davis wrote:
> C++ is the only language that I'm aware of which has multiple types of 
> casts, and I don't think that it really adds anything of benefit.

Really?  I think the casts are one of the areas where C++ has a huge
advantage over C.  Maybe the new casts are not as important as templates
and RAII, but they're up there in the same category.  The best part of
the C++ cast system is that it uses template function syntax, which
allows user-defined casts to use the same syntax.

Casts are yet another issue where moving from C++ to D feels like
regressing to C.

> Can't the compiler figure out which cast is supposed to be used in a given 
> situation and deal with it internally?

That's not the point.

> Having multiple casts just confuses 
> things (certainly, I don't think that I know anyone who fully understands 
> the C++ casts).

If you don't understand C++ casts, then you don't understand D casts.
They do the same thing; the C++ version is just more explicit about what
it does (and therefore safer and easier to read).


-- 
Rainer Deyke - rainerd at eldwood.com