Re: [boost] [guidelines] why template errors suck

Subject: Re: [boost] [guidelines] why template errors suck
From: Steven Watanabe (watanabesj_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-09-27 21:22:41

  AMDG

On 9/27/2010 6:06 PM, Eric Niebler wrote:
> I think so far I have failed to make my use case sufficiently clear, so
> I'll simplify and try to follow the Process. Take the following simple
> algorithm sum_ints:
>
>    template<class First, class Second>
>    int sum_ints_impl( std::pair<First, Second>  const&  p )
>    {
>        return sum_ints_impl(p.first) + sum_ints_impl(p.second);
>    }
>
>    int sum_ints_impl( int i )
>    {
>        return i;
>    }
>
>    template<class T>
>    int sum_ints( T const&  t )
>    {
>        return sum_ints_impl( t );
>    }
>
> <snip>
>
> Can you show me how you would approach this problem?

The only solution I know is to make sum_ints_impl
a concept itself with concept maps for int and std::pair.
Frankly, I think that moving the metaprogramming into
concepts like this is a terrible idea.  The current situation
with template error messages may be bad, but I strongly
suspect that the errors coming from such a concept
metaprogramming system would be far worse, because
of the "silently fail to match" behavior of concepts.

In Christ,
Steven Watanabe