Re: [boost] overflow_traits

From: Alexander Nasonov (alnsn_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-09-11 10:50:08

>Alexander Nasonov wrote :
>
>> Don't say "generic" to people who care about security.
>
>I don't see how generics are security issues.
>Could you explain that argument ?
I don't see how generics are related to generic (code).

Compare

template<class T>
inline T max(T const& a, T const& b)
{
    return a > b ? a : b;
}

and

inline int max(int a, int b)
{
    return a > b ? a : b;
}

When you use the first code, you should check that every T you pass to the max() has greater than with expected behavior, that copy ctors copies without side effects, etc (try to continue my list). With flexibility comes the danger.

--
Alexander Nasonov