property syntax strawman

[Michiel Helvensteijn]

KennyTM~ wrote:

>>>> auto data = std.file.readText(filename).chomp.split;
>>>
>>> I love that too. Unfortunately, the way the water is moving, it looks
>>> like we'll lose some or all of that.
>> 
>> That's not really true. Some of those no-parameter functions are just
>> meant to be read-only properties instead of functions.
>> 
>> auto data = std.file.textFrom(filename).chomped.split;
> 
> So to allow omission of the parenthesis of these "read-only properties"
> we do

No, it's not "allowing omission", it's "forcing omission". That's what
properties are.

> @property string chomped (string x) { ... }
> 
> ? I don't think Walter's syntax is capable of introducing "properties"
> to these free methods, but the property attribute can.

I still think an identifier is either property or function, but not both.

And judging by the way the wind is blowing, attributes/annotations will not
be used for properties.

> (However, this may make
> 
> chomped = "abcd"
> 
> valid, which is not what we want.)

No, it wouldn't, since it'd be a read-only property. That means you can only
read, not write.

-- 
Michiel Helvensteijn