[boost] Re: Re: Re: Policy-based smart pointers revisisted (was:Re:Preliminarysubmission: command line & config file library)

From: Andrei Alexandrescu (andrewalex_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-01-19 14:14:15

"Terje Slettebø" <tslettebo_at_[hidden]> wrote in message
news:092001c2bfeb$e91ee110$cb6c6f50_at_pc...
> This issue is also discussed in D&E. When you have ordinary function
calls,
> you also have the names/values used in the call, to help you understand
the
> meaning of the parameters. Consider:
>
> Window w=make_window("Title",0,0,100,100,some_flags);
>
> with defaults anywhere in the parameter list, you could get:
>
> Window w=make_window(,,,,,123);
>
> It may be non-trivial to figure out what the number corresponds to, unless
> you remember what the preceding parameters are, or look them up.

One thing I like less about D&E is that it discusses some problem, a couple
of possible solutions to it, and why they are not recommendable. It does
not, however, discuss the obvious alternative solutions that avoid the
mentioned drawbacks. For example, in this case D&E does not go the normal
path of discussing how the solutions:

Window w=make_window(?,?,?,?,?,123);

or:

Window w=make_window(default,default,default,default,default,123);

would work.

Andrei