Trailing spaces in lists: bug or feature?

monarch_dodra monarchdodra at gmail.com
Sun Jun 16 04:01:35 PDT 2013


I've come to notice something which I *though* was nice, but I 
have not yet used it extensively, because I'm unsure it is a 
feature. I wasn't able to find an answer in the grammar.

Basically, it would appear that in D, whenever you have a comma 
delimited list of things, you are allowed to append a comma after 
the last parameter. This can help when declaring lists, or auto 
generating code, so you don't have to "special case" the last 
item. The most basic example I can think of are enums:

enum E
{
     a,
     b,
     c, //Trailing space
}

So... Bug or feature? Personally, I like this very much. The 
"trailing space" problem was "so problematic" in C++, that there 
is a pattern to put the comma at the beginning of the next line, 
as the first parameter has a tendency to be more stable than the 
last. It means you can then comment any line (including the 
last), without breaking your code:

//C++enum E
{
       a
     , b
     , c
}

Or, for classes:
MyClass()
   : FatherClass()
   , param1(arg1)
   //, param2(arg2) //Commented out
{}

This D "feature" is nice as it allows equivalent notation for all 
parameters, and helps us OCD users align things neatly. It also 
means the coder has to worry a bit less about things like commas, 
and get on with his life.

I *think* this is D feature, but I'd like confirmation.

--------------------------------------
I've *also* noticed this works for function calls and/or 
constructors (yes, I know, they are just functions). EG:

struct S
{
     int a;
     int b;
}

void foo(int i, int j);

void main()
{
     S s = S(
         1,
         2, //Trailing space
     );
     foo(
         1,
         2, //Trailing space
     );
}

I'm even less sure that this is a feature... Well... Is it?


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