Re: [boost] Inconsistent operator[] signature of auto_array?

From: Peter Dimov (pdimov_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-12-10 09:42:07

Daniel Krügler (nee Spangenberg) wrote:
>
> - Using ptrdiff_t (as in the smart pointer classes) matches the
>    built-in signature of array-accesible pointers. We can view
>    an array smart pointer as an interface-wrapper of such a
>    native array.
>
> - Using the size_type member of the array class template
>   supports the Standard Container Requirements, so we
>   have some consistency here, also.

The standard containers can only get away with size_t because they know
their size and can assert(index < size()); when a negative argument is
passed, it is silently converted to something that is usually larger than
size().