RE: [Dev-C++] const modifier?

[Ioannis V. <no...@ho...>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: dev...@li... 
> [mailto:dev...@li...] On Behalf 
> Of Mac Reiter
> Sent: Friday, June 14, 2002 9:50 PM
> To: Dev-C++ Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Dev-C++] const modifier?
> 
> The compiler should refuse it.  Since technically the pointer is only
> pointing at the first character, it would not *HAVE* to refuse
> modifications to aPtr[1] or any later character, but I believe the C++
> standard makes some special cases to handle arrays of chars 
> because they
> are so prevalent.


No, it has to refuse in C too. It remains a const char * in all cases.



> 
> You can also have "char const * anotherPtr", which (if I 
> haven't screwed
> this up) is a constant pointer to non-constant data.  That 
> would mean that:
> 

char const *p is the same as const char *p. You meant char * const p.




> I really wish that C had used the Pascal or (modern) BASIC 
> declaration style:
> 
> Pascal:
> 	MyInteger : INTEGER;
> 
> BASIC:
> 	Dim MyInteger As Integer


Thank God it doesn't. :)


 
 
> or, while I'm dreaming up changes that will never happen -- 
> it has always
> bothered me that "char *" was a pointer, but to get a pointer from a
> variable, you used "&variable".  From that standpoint, I 
> would prefer &
> instead of * for declaration, resulting in:
> 
> 	aPtr : & const char;
> 	etc.


It could happen but we would still need * since we would confuse the
dereference operator with the address of operator, which are different
things.



> 
> (Of course, you'd have to come up with a different character 
> for references
> in C++)  I also think that @ would be a better dereferencing 
> operator than
> *, because you are trying to access the value "at" an 
> address.  But it's
> far too late for these things now, so they will just remain 
> in my wishful
> thinking category...


Well yes, these are details. The main idea here is that the C/C++
languages get the job done. One could like more @, another could like
more * and i think it is not possible all people to reach an agreement
on what symbols to be used. Personally i like things as they are.


Ioannis

* Ioannis Vranos
* Programming pages: http://www.noicys.cjb.net
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