Hi all,
  I have just read Walter's article about octals on Dr. Dobb's. As a newbie, I tried to create one myself.

template octal(int n) {
	int toOct(int x) {...}
	
	enum octal = toOct(n);
}

void main() {
	import std.stdio : writeln;
	writeln(octal!10);
}

I have two questions about this.
1) The specification is clear that the if the template has only one member and the member has the same name with the template's, the member is implicitly referred to in the instantiation. The template octal has two members, so the program should not really be compiling, and yet it does. Is this a compiler bug?
2) I chose the declare the inner "octal" as an enum following Walter's example. But why enum? What would be different if it were auto, immutable, or static?

Thanks guys!
Michael

On Wednesday, August 15, 2012 19:49:53 Michael wrote:
> Hi all,
> I have just read Walter's article about octals on Dr. Dobb's.
> As a newbie, I tried to create one myself.
> 
> template octal(int n) {
> int toOct(int x) {...}
> 
> enum octal = toOct(n);
> }
> 
> void main() {
> import std.stdio : writeln;
> writeln(octal!10);
> }
> 
> I have two questions about this.
> 1) The specification is clear that the if the template has only
> one member and the member has the same name with the template's,
> the member is implicitly referred to in the instantiation. The
> template octal has two members, so the program should not really
> be compiling, and yet it does. Is this a compiler bug?

If the spec says that you can only have one member in an eponymous template, then it's wrong and needs to be updated. All of the symbols which don't match the template name are private and are used only as helpers. TDPL (The D Programming Language by Andrei Alexandrescu) gives the correct description.

> 2) I chose the declare the inner "octal" as an enum following Walter's example. But why enum? What would be different if it were auto, immutable, or static?

Normally, enum is used for values and alias is used for types. You _can_ use other stuff like auto if the result is a value, but if it doesn't generate a compile-time constant (which pretty much only enum and immutable will do), then it won't work in any context where the result must be known at compile time. And if you use immutable rather than enum, then that forces the result to be immutable, which may or may not be desirable. I don't think that I've ever seen anyone use anything other than enum or alias for the symbol which is the result of an eponymous template.

- Jonathan M Davis

On Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:07:59 +0200, Jonathan M Davis <jmdavisProg@gmx.com> wrote:

>> 1) The specification is clear that the if the template has only
>> one member and the member has the same name with the template's,
>> the member is implicitly referred to in the instantiation. The
>> template octal has two members, so the program should not really
>> be compiling, and yet it does. Is this a compiler bug?
>
> If the spec says that you can only have one member in an eponymous template,
> then it's wrong and needs to be updated. All of the symbols which don't match
> the template name are private and are used only as helpers. TDPL (The D
> Programming Language by Andrei Alexandrescu) gives the correct description.

And those symbols are only private if there is a member that matches the
template name. Otherwise you'd have to resort to ugkly hacks to keep more
than one piece of information in a template.


-- 
Simen

On Thursday, August 16, 2012 06:14:23 Simen Kjaeraas wrote:
> On Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:07:59 +0200, Jonathan M Davis <jmdavisProg@gmx.com>
> 
> wrote:
> >> 1) The specification is clear that the if the template has only one member and the member has the same name with the template's, the member is implicitly referred to in the instantiation. The template octal has two members, so the program should not really be compiling, and yet it does. Is this a compiler bug?
> > 
> > If the spec says that you can only have one member in an eponymous
> > template,
> > then it's wrong and needs to be updated. All of the symbols which don't
> > match
> > the template name are private and are used only as helpers. TDPL (The D
> > Programming Language by Andrei Alexandrescu) gives the correct
> > description.
> 
> And those symbols are only private if there is a member that matches the template name. Otherwise you'd have to resort to ugkly hacks to keep more than one piece of information in a template.

Well, if no member matches the template name, then it's not an eponymous template, and different rules apply.

- Jonathan M Davis