Re: [boost] Variadic append for std::string

Subject: Re: [boost] Variadic append for std::string
From: Hans Dembinski (hans.dembinski_at_[hidden])
Date: 2017-01-04 05:28:16

Hi Olaf,

>> I think << is quite elegant.
> 
> I feel very uneasy with it and I think I have presented quite some
> reasoning why. Also I don't seem to be the only one in this discussion.
> At least that should count as a strong indicator, that you need much
> better reasons to back your proposal.

I agree with Christof. Also think about consistency within the C++ standard library. Consistency is good, because it allows you to apply the same thinking elsewhere, instead of looking up everything in a reference. There should be a minimum of surprises in using a language and a library. Python does this very well, it is codified in the "There should be one - and preferably only one - obvious way to do it" rule.

Since many years we have established streams and containers as separate things. std::string is a container, std::ostringstream is a stream. They have separate responsibilities. You should not mix these. Herb Sutter and other experts already use std::string as a prime example of a class with too many responsibilities (in form of many member functions). Like it was said before, std::string should be a dynamic container of characters, nothing more.

Hans