Re: [boost] [Review] Type Traits Introspection library by Edward Diener starts tomorrow Friday 1

Subject: Re: [boost] [Review] Type Traits Introspection library by Edward Diener starts tomorrow Friday 1
From: Joel falcou (joel.falcou_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-07-05 12:17:03

On 05/07/11 10:35, Edward Diener wrote:

>> 2) Further to the above, I wonder if it's worthwhile providing a set of
>> "standard" introspection classes for the common cases, a straw man list
>> would be something like:
>>
>> Types: type, value_type, size_type, difference_type, iterator,
>> const_iterator, pointer, const_pointer, reference, const_reference.
>> Static Values: value
>> Functions: begin(), end(), swap(self_type)
>
> That can be easily done once it is determined what to cover.

metafunctions for preexisting concepts could be nice. Bonsu point if 
they live in a tti/std/???.hpp set of files.

Basically w/e testing for Container, Range and other common concepts
should be enough.

>> I'm also thinking that what folks really want to know is: "Is there a
>> function named X, that can be called with arguments of types A, B and
>> C". It would be interesting to see how far along this road we could
>> actually get?
>
> I think Eric Niebler is the expert in this area regarding non-nested
> functions. But if he and others with more knowledge of determining this
> for free functions would be willing to help me I can certainly look at
> it in the future. I just do not think it belongs in this particular
> library as I conceive of it presently.

I think i has one in my previous attempt at this kind of library
but it didnt make its way to my github. Th trick I used was to define
a function with the same name in the global namespace which prototype
being:

non_found_type Name( ... ); // Actual ellipsis

As f(...) is the last resort in there of overload, testing calling Name( 
some args ) and checking the return type was not not_found_type, you 
know if Ret Name(Tn....) exists as a free function.