TempAlloc Overhaul

[David Nadlinger]

On 6/17/11 7:59 PM, Jose Armando Garcia wrote:
> Hmm. I don't know. Maybe we can create an internal package
> (std.internal) that std modules can use in their implementation. The
> daring programmer can also use if they dig around but maybe we
> shouldn't put the gun on the kitchen counter. Modules in std.internal
> should be ddoc but they are not linked from
> d-programming-language.org.

I don't quite see how std.internal relates to the TempAlloc proposal. 
std.internal is a namespace for modules that are, well, Phobos-internal, 
and not part of the public API – hence, they are not publicly documented 
at d-programming-language.org as well. No guarantees about API 
stability, etc. are made, they should never be used from outside Phobos.

On the other hand, TempAlloc is generally useful if you are writing 
performance-sensitive code. It is only a »hack« insofar as it allows you 
to break some guarantees in order to be able to gain performance, not 
because it has an unstable API or something like that. Obviously, you 
_can_ shoot yourself in the foot with it, but there isn't quite a  way 
this could be avoided. One could even argue that for »unsafe« things, 
having well documented and tested library artifacts is even more 
important than for basic, »safe« things.

David