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

[Carlos Santander]

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"?

-- 
Carlos Santander Bernal