Proposed improvements to the separate compilation model

[Andrei Alexandrescu]

On 7/25/11 11:19 AM, Steven Schveighoffer wrote:
> On Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:06:19 -0400, Andrei Alexandrescu
> <SeeWebsiteForEmail at erdani.org> wrote:
>
>> A chat in IRC revealed a couple of possible improvements to the
>> development scenario in which the interface file (.di) is managed
>> manually and separately from the implementation file (.d).
>
> I have mixed feelings on this proposal.
>
> On one hand, one of the best parts of D over C++ is it's module system.
> No more #ifdef __thisfile_included crap, and implementations just sit
> right where they are defined. My concern with such an improvement is
> that it would encourage people (especially C++ coders) to unnecessarily
> split their implementation from the definition. I think there have been
> at least 2 or 3 people ask how to do this in D. I really like that
> implementation and definition are all in one file, and cannot be out of
> sync (a common problem with C++). Already di files allow for these
> problems to creep back in, but I understand it's a necessary evil.

Once we accept that, we should also acknowledge its big issues and fix 
them. The current .di model is marred by numerous problems.

Andrei