Function calls

[Lars T. Kyllingstad]

Steven Schveighoffer wrote:
> On Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:22:45 -0500, Adam D. Ruppe 
> <destructionator at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> On Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 11:47:45AM -0300, Leandro Lucarella wrote:
>>> Andrei Alexandrescu, el 28 de enero a las 07:57 me escribiste:
>>> > I need to put it for all front() and empty() declarations. By the
>>> > way I decided that popFront() is not a property. I don't know why.
>>>
>>> Because it denotes an action?
>>
>> I don't think it is that simple - I see popFront; as an action all the
>> same as popFront();
> 
> Whether you use parentheses or not, it's not a property.  The statement 
> of Andrei is that he doesn't know why it's not a property.  The simple 
> reason is because it's an action.
> 
> Now, does popFront; look like an action?  Yes.  But that is not the case 
> being disambiguated.  It is collateral damage.  Because the compiler 
> doesn't understand English, it can't know whether to disallow popFront; 
> any more than an ambiguous term like read

...or, as in Andrei's example, 'empty'.  In Java you'd write isEmpty(), 
or even worse, getEmpty().  In D we now have the option of declaring it 
a property, with little chance of people thinking it actually empties 
anything.

-Lars