DIP61: Add namespaces to D

[Michel Fortin via Digitalmars-d]

On 2014-04-26 09:31:51 +0000, Walter Bright <newshound2 at digitalmars.com> said:

> http://wiki.dlang.org/DIP61
> 
> Best practices in C++ code increasingly means putting functions and 
> declarations in namespaces. Currently, there is no support in D to call 
> C++ functions in namespaces. The primary issue is that the name 
> mangling doesn't match. Need a simple and straightforward method of 
> indicating namespaces.
> ...
> As more and more people are attempting to call C++ libraries from D, 
> this is getting to be a more and more important issue.

My opinion is that one shouldn't use namespaces in D.

But I do like this namespace concept. It sends the following message: 
you're welcome to use a namespace if you like -- it'll work -- but 99% 
of the time it'll only be some decoration in your source code that 
users of your API can ignore at will because everything is still 
available at module scope. (The 1% is when there is a name clash.) I 
think it's a practical thing to do to avoid fake namespace substitutes 
in D (look at std.datetime.Clock), even if it's a little dirty.

-- 
Michel Fortin
michel.fortin at michelf.ca
http://michelf.ca