UDP enhancement

[Jonathan M Davis]

On Monday, July 01, 2013 03:22:15 JS wrote:
> struct Foo
> {
>      @property int data() { return m_data; } // read property
>      @property int data(int value) { return m_data = value; } //
> write property
>      private: int m_data;
> }
> 
> It would be nice if properties had an internal variable to use
> instead of having to declare it explicitly:
> 
> 
> struct Foo
> {
>      @property int data() { return data.value; } // read property
>      @property int data(int value) { return data.value; } // write
> property
> }
> 
> This reduces code complexity. If a property does not use the
> internal variable(which I signify by .value) then it does not add
> any storage. This allows one to easily wrap fields into
> properties without having to create private fields for each
> property unless needed.

I believe that the way that this sort of enhancement has typically been 
suggested is to do something like

public @property int value;

which would be lowered to something like

public @property int value() @safe const pure nothrow { return _value; }
public @property int value(int v) @safe pure nothrow { return _value = v; }
private int _value;

And I think that that's clearer than your suggestion (it's definitely shorter). 
It also doesn't require the compiler to infer anything about whether you meant 
to have it create a variable or not. It simply tells the compiler what to do 
in a more concise manner.

- Jonathan M Davis