runtime type and that bizarre "is()"

[spir]

Hello,


Is there a way to check the runtime type of an element? Meaning, for instance, process differently according to the actual type in a hierarchy?

class C {}
class C1 : C {int i;}
bool checkTypeC1 (C c) {
    return is(typeof(c) == C1);
}
void main () {
    C1 c1 = new C1();
    writeln(is(typeof(c1) == C1));  // true, indeed!
    writeln(checkTypeC1(c1));       // false!
    C c = new C1();
    writeln(is(typeof(c) == C1));   // false!
}

If, above, checktype is actualy a func that does more according to c's type (or is called by a func that does more), then it bugs.
Should one write overloaded versions of the func depending on param type? But what about common parts of the process (sometimes, the difference is tiny)? One can factorise out into an additional func, but then there is func call overhead, and the code structure gets complexified.

Also, I would like to ask about "is()". I don't understand its logics and uses, even after reading TDPL pages about it. Seems uselessly complicated and unintuitive. For instance, in the above cases, why do I need is() at all? Why not just "typeof(c) == C1"? or even better "typeof(c) is C1"?
By the way, why is "is(typeof(c) is C1)" refused by the compiler? It's more logical than "==", imo, as types should be compared by identity, not value. (For instance, 2 structs or classes that happen to define identically named and typed fields are _not_ the same, unique, type.)


Denis
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vit esse estrany ☣

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