DIP26: properties defined

[Michel Fortin]

On 2013-02-08 23:53:30 +0000, Robert <jfanatiker at gmx.at> said:

> Ok. Here finally it is:
> 
> http://wiki.dlang.org/DIP26

This is pretty much exactly how I think properties should work. There's 
two possible benefits you may to have overlooked…

One benefit of the "@property T foo;" syntax that does the boilerplate 
code for you over using a plain variable: the getter and setter 
generated are virtual in a class, so a derived class can override them. 
Doesn't work with a plain variable.

Another possible benefit that we could have is the ability to use the 
default getter but to provide your own setter implementation by just 
declaring it:

	@property int a;
	@property void a(int value) { __a = value; refresh(); }

Much cleaner than this:

	private int _a;
	@property int a() { return _a; }
	@property void a(int value) { _a = value; refresh(); }

It's really great to not have to write boilerplate functions when 
default behaviour is perfectly fine. I've been using Objective-C for a 
while now and the recent changes where it automatically synthesize a 
variable, a getter, and a setter when declaring a property (unless you 
provide your own) are truly delightful.

-- 
Michel Fortin
michel.fortin at michelf.ca
http://michelf.ca/