Re: [boost] Please look at my suggested pimpl library in the file vault.

From: Jason Hise (chaos_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-10-04 14:37:57

Rob Stewart wrote:

>>>>* pimpl's member functions should be inlined.
>>>>
>>>>They are all trivial, so you should make them inline.
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>Aren't templates always inlined?
>>>      
>>>
>>Agreed, and besides, isn't it usually better to let the compiler decide 
>>what to inline or not inline on its own unless extensive profiling shows 
>>that adding the inline keyword really gives you a big performance gain?
>>
>Does that mean you think they are always inlined?
>
>Many compilers don't do it at all unless you suggest it via
>"inline" or put the code in the class definition.  Some will
>inline things you didn't suggest should be.
>
>In this case, the functions are nothing but forwarding
>functions.  Why would you want to pay for an extra function call
>on those compilers that won't do anything unless you ask for it?
>
Based on reading item 25 in Herb Sutter's "Exceptional C++ Style", I was 
under the impression that a decent compiler would easily inline calls 
like this on its own, without any suggestions from the programmer.  But 
then I haven't directly done any profiling myself to compare how 
differently modern compilers behave when explicitly provided with the 
inline keyword, so I could well just be under a mistaken impression.

-Jason