Re: [boost] Formal Review: Boost Cast Library

From: David Abrahams (abrahams_at_[hidden])
Date: 2000-12-07 15:08:46

I think we may just be poking at semantics in the worst way by trying to
distinguish casting from conversions. Does the C++ language make a clear
distinction?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ed Brey" <brey_at_[hidden]>
To: <boost_at_[hidden]>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 2:22 PM
Subject: Re: [boost] Formal Review: Boost Cast Library

> From: "Beman Dawes" <beman_at_[hidden]>
> > At 04:33 PM 12/7/2000 +0000, Kevlin Henney wrote:
> >
> >  > [Discussion of convert_number...]
> >  >
> >  >This suggests that perhaps we should either rebrand the cast
> library the
> >  >conversions library, with cast-like functions simply being one of
> the
> >  >offerings,
> >
> > Good idea.  That would open it up for future additions which didn't
> fit the
> > cast mold.
>
> The value of considering it a conversion library goes beyond
> flexibility with numeric conversions.  After we have a baseline
> cast/conversion library released, I am hoping to move to the issue of
> nonthrowing conversion, which may well be best expressed as something
> other than a cast, e.g.
>
> bool lexical_convert(const T& source, U& dest)