Re: [boost] [filesystem] "leaf"

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-05-21 08:31:34

Johan Råde wrote:
> David Abrahams wrote:
>> I was just reviewing the filesystem docs and came across "leaf()".  I'm
>> sure this isn't the first time I've seen it, but this time I picked up a
>> little semantic dissonance.  Normally we think of "leaf" in the context
>> of a tree as being a thing with no children.  An interior node like a
>> directory that has files or other directories in it is usually not
>> called a "leaf."  I wonder if this is the best possible name?
>>
>> Is there a precedent we can draw on in some other language/library?  In
>> python, it's os.path.basename(p).  Perl, php, and the posix basename
>> command seem to do something similar.
>>
> 
> David is absolutely right.
> 
> The name leaf is the result of conceptual confusion,
> failure to distinguish between the tree structure of the file system
> and the linear structure of a path.
> 
> If possible, at this late stage, the names should be changed.

Why don't you and Dave come up with a proposed set of names? The current 
names are:

       root_path
       root_name
       root_directory
       relative_path
       leaf
       branch_path
       basename
       extension

For examples, see 
http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_35_0/libs/filesystem/doc/reference.html#Path-decomposition-table

--Beman