Re: [Boost-users] [serialization]

From: Paul Giaccone (paulg_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-11-17 06:23:38

Daryle Walker wrote:

>On 11/13/05 10:01 AM, "David Abrahams" <dave_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Daryle Walker <darylew_at_[hidden]> writes:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Reading from an uninitialized variable, like what could happen in the
>>>original case during encoding, is not a problem any library can fix.  The
>>>programmer just has to be non-sloppy.
>>>      
>>>
>>I buy Robert's argument that, in the case of bool, the assertion will
>>often help him diagnose the problem and help his users when they
>>complain that the library isn't working because they forgot to
>>initialize something.
>>    
>>
>[TRUNCATE]
>
>Since Robert's test involves undefined behavior, it's not portable.  The
>assert may work on his system but may crash & burn on a different
>environment.  The assert didn't help the second user at all.  And what
>happens if the uninitialized variable just happens to match a valid state?
>  
>

If users complain that the library isn't working because they forgot to 
initialize something, and this is included in the documentation as a 
reason for the exception that is thrown (stream error), as I have 
suggested, then users might well still complain, but they can then be 
told to RTFM :)  There's no need to pander to slipshod programmers by 
trying to deal with their broken code - all that is needed is an update 
to the documentation.  Simple solution.

Paul