Re: [boost] [TTI] Review

Subject: Re: [boost] [TTI] Review
From: Edward Diener (eldiener_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-07-11 12:32:06

On 7/11/2011 10:56 AM, Stewart, Robert wrote:
> Edward Diener wrote:
>> On 7/10/2011 7:59 PM, Lorenzo Caminiti wrote:
>>> Review of Boost.TTI 2011-07-10 (Lorenzo Caminiti)
>>
>>> 10. [NOTE] I think "member variable" is a more accepted name
>>> that "member data"-- isn't it? If so, I'd rename MEMBER_DATA
>>> to MEMBER_VARIABLE.
>>
>> I can understand your preference. I will consider it.
>
> They are called data members, not member variables, in C++.  Names like "member variable" come from other languages.
>
> I don't use "member data" generally, but to me it describes data members collectively, not singularly.
>
> I recognize the desire to keep the prefixes alike, but I'd rather see "HAS_DATA_MEMBER" to be consistent with Standard terminology.

I agree with your remark about the normal terminology. I could have used 
HAS_DATA_MEMBER and HAS_MEMBER_FUNCTION but I wanted to align the names 
around a common beginning. That is why I chose HAS_MEMBER_DATA and 
HAS_MEMBER_FUNCTION. Similarly HAS_STATIC_MEMBER_DATA and 
HAS_STATIC_MEMBER_FUNCTION. Sometimes such mnemonic similarities ( 
having the same common beginnings ) is more important than other factors.

I know that this may start some long discussion about names in TTI, but 
here is a general suggestion to all programmers who are ever upset about 
names in a library, and does not just refer to TTI: if you do not like a 
name, just create an object-like macro for your own use which takes some 
name and transforms it to some other name which you like better.

Lorenzo might write the macro:

#define BOOST_TTI_HAS_MEMBER_VARIABLE BOOST_TTI_HAS_MEMBER_DATA

and you might write the macro:

#define BOOST_TTI_HAS_DATA_MEMBER BOOST_TTI_HAS_MEMBER_DATA

This is guaranteed to work without problems all the time AFAIK to 
transform one name to another.

Eddie