C-Style declarations, are they here to stay?!! Walter?

[Tom]

Carlos Santander escribió:
> Hasan Aljudy escribió:
>> << I don't know if this has been discussed before, but I don't 
>> remember seeing any discussion about it. If it has been, please direct 
>> me to one of the old threads that discussed it. >>
>>
>> I noticed that D supports the klumsy C-Style declarations, like
>>
>> int (*x[5])[3];       // x is an array of 5 pointers to arrays of 3 ints
>>
>> I hate them!
>> To be honest, I never understood them; never tried to. This example is 
>> taken from the docs, and I really don't understand how does it make x 
>> an array of 5 pointers to arrays of 3 ints!!
>>
>> D has nicer syntax,
>> int[3]*[5] x;    // x is an array of 5 pointers to arrays of 3 ints
>>
>> I can't say I understand how it works, but when I read the 
>> description, is makes a lot of sense. It reads right to left:
>> [5]    array of size 5
>> *      pointer(s)
>> [3]    array of size 3
>> int    int(s)
>>
>> array of 5 pointers to array of 3 ints!
>>
>> The only reason I don't understand it right away is because I don't 
>> like nested complex declarations like this anyway, so I never tried to 
>> learn how to declare them. However, the D syntax makes alot of sense.
>>
>> Consider for example this C-Style declaration:
>> int (*x)(char);
>>
>> VS this D-Style declaration:
>> int function(char) x;
>>
>> Why does D support int (*x)(char); anyway?!
>>
>> Since D has a more intelligent way of declaring the same things, the 
>> C-Style syntax is unnecessarily redundant IMHO.
>>
>> My understanding is that it's supported to attract the C/C++ people 
>> and get them familiarized with D quickly.
>>
>> But, does this mean that C-Style declarations are gonna stay with D 
>> forever?
>>
>> I personally would like to see them gone. but that's not for me to 
>> decide.
>>
>> I mean, isn't the C-Style declaration syntax considered to be a design 
>> flaw in the original C? If so, does D really need to carry it out in 
>> order to attract C/C++ people?
>> That seems to be (to me) totally against the philosophy of D.
>>
>> So Walter, I would like to please hear your opinion/decision about 
>> C-Style declarations; are they here to stay? or will they be 
>> deprecated at some point?
>>
> 
> Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing today, but I decided not to 
> write about it because I understand they're there to ease porting.
> 
> However, I think they should go, and as others think the same way, how 
> about a plan to kiss them good bye? What if it was clearly stated in the 
> D docs something like "C style declarations will be deprecated in 2.0 
> and completely gone in 3.0"?

OMG! No, just drop them now! :)

--
Tom;