'int' is enough for 'length' to migrate code from x86 to x64

[Marco Leise via Digitalmars-d]

Am Tue, 18 Nov 2014 15:01:25 +0000
schrieb "Frank Like" <1150015857 at qq.com>:

> > but now ,'int' is enough for use,not huge and not small,only 
> > enough.
> > 'int' is easy to write,and most people are used to it.
> > Most importantly easier to migrate code,if  'length''s return
> >value type is 'int'.
> 
> How about your idea?

I get the idea of a broken record right now...
Clearly size_t (which I tend to alias with ℕ in my code for
brevity and coolness) can express more than 2^31-1 items, which
is appropriate to reflect the increase in usable memory per
application on 64-bit platforms. Yes, the 64-bit version of a
program or library can handle larger data sets. Just like it
was when people transitioned from 16-bit to 32-bit. I wont use
`int` just because the technically correct thing is `size_t`,
even it it is a little harder to type.

Aside from the size factor, I personally prefer unsigned types
for countable stuff like array lengths. Mixed arithmetics
decay to unsinged anyways and you don't need checks like
`assert(idx >= 0)`. It is a matter of taste though and others
prefer languages with no unsigned types at all.

-- 
Marco