Re: CVS commit: src/share/man/man3

[David Holland <dholland-sourcechanges%netbsd.org@localhost>]

On Thu, Mar 04, 2010 at 05:26:02PM -0500, Greg A. Woods wrote:
 > > No such luck, at least not until C grows a stronger type system. See
 > > for example strchr(3).
 > 
 > I don't think a stronger type system would really change this issue
 > fundamentally unless it was one which was so radical as to change the
 > entire language -- All that may really be needed is a new kind of
 > qualifier, one that tells the compiler a return value (or other internal
 > variable) has the same "const" status as some given input parameter
 > ("const_if_{parameter-name}_const" or some such similar nonsense).

That *is* a stronger type system, one with parametric polymorphism for
type qualifiers.

 > While strchr()'s interface, and that of strrchr() of course, are indeed
 > excellent examples this issue, the use of __UNCONST() within their
 > implementation to hide silly warnings that might be encountered by
 > compiling their implementations doesn't really "fix" anything except the
 > silly warnings.  The code _must_ do what it _should_ not do.  :-)

Well right...

 > And so I think what I said about __UNCONST() being unnecessary
 > remains.

...but that makes it necessary. At least given the concept of
"necessary" that I'm familiar with :-)

-- 
David A. Holland
dholland%netbsd.org@localhost