D and expression evaluation order.

[Russell Lewis]

Walter Bright wrote:
> Bruno Medeiros wrote:
>> That's nice, but why not go all the way, and actually define an
>> evaluation order for such expressions.
> 
> I want to do that eventually, but it isn't easy to do. (There are also 
> issues with making it work with a C back end, where the C optimizer 
> reorders things according to what is legal C.)

To me, this sounds like a slam-dunk argument for never defining an 
evaluation order.  Why prevent optimizers from doing all that they can 
conceive of?  IMHO, the only places where you want to define evaluation 
order is when it makes the program clearer, and the examples given are 
(again, my opinion) examples of bad coding style.  If you want to do 
something complex, then code the steps in different statements; then 
it's totally clear what you're trying to do - to both the compiler *and* 
the guy maintaining your code 10 years from now.

Russ