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

[bearophile via Digitalmars-d]

David Gileadi:

> But this requires the following knowledge:
> 1. That the signed function exists, and its location. As a 
> casual D programmer I didn't know about it.
> 2. That there's a need for it at all, which requires knowing 
> that length is unsigned. I did know this, but I bet in the heat 
> of programming I'd easily forget it. In a semi-complex 
> algorithm the bug could easily hide for a long time before 
> biting.

A solution for similar language design traps/mistakes is static 
analysis, with tools like Dscanner trained to recognize the 
troubling coding patterns, that should suggest workarounds (or to 
use better designed languages. But no language is perfect).

Bye,
bearophile