auto ref is on the docket

[Timon Gehr via Digitalmars-d]

On 06/23/2015 12:40 AM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
> On 6/22/15 3:06 PM, Timon Gehr wrote:
>> On 06/22/2015 06:11 AM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
>>> Walter and I discussed what auto ref for templates should look like and
>>> reached the conclusion that an approach based on lowering would be best.
>>> I added a proposed lowering to
>>> https://github.com/D-Programming-Language/dmd/pull/4717.
>>>
>>> Andrei
>>
>> "@WalterBright auto ref for templates and non-templates do different
>> things by necessity. ..."
>>
>> The proposed lowering also works for template functions.
>>
>> "... This is not an issue."
>>
>> Yes it is. Walter is right.
>
> For templates, auto ref generates two copies of the function. Inside,
> which was generated can be interrogated by using is(param == ref). For
> non-templates, only one copy of the function is generated. Using
> is(param == ref) inside should be an error.
>
> The two mechanisms bear many similarities and some differences, too.
> ...

There is no reason to prevent templates from using the mechanism that 
generates only one copy. The two mechanisms shouldn't share the same 
syntax, because then there is no way to tell them apart for template 
functions.