On (22 Jul 97) Sunir Shah wrote to Dan Mcgregor...
 SS> /* 1. Passing by reference */
 SS> void foo( int& HeyIMagicallyAlterYourVariableWithoutTellingYou )
 DM> It can be avoided.
 SS> Not if you buy a third-party library it can't.
If you buy a third party library, it's up to you to decide what quality
of library you buy.  I think we can all agree that it's possible for
somebody to have written arbitrarily awful code in virtually any
language.  The quality depends on the library, NOT the language.
 SS>     /* 2. Declaring data in random places */
 SS>     int HiIAmRandomlyDeclaredHere;
 DM> Well C++ allowes it.  Its up to the programmer to do it :)
 SS> And they will.  And then I'll have to maintain it.
Declaring variables as close as possible to where they're used is, at
least IMO, a real advantage to C++.  Like almost anything else with good
uses, it can be abused.  If you want a language with little that's open
to abuse, neither C nor C++ is a good choice for you.
 SS>     HiIAmRandomlyDeclaredHere = ButICannotFindWhereHereIs; // a=b
 SS>                                        /* 3. Assembly comments */
 DM> I like them actually...
 SS> But they don't mean anything!
Again, anybody who wants to write lousy, meaningless, perhaps even
misleading, comments can do so.  Signifying a comment with // instead of
/* makes absolutely NO difference to the contents.
 SS>     /* 4. C-style casts are outlawed as of the latest draft
 SS>      * proposal */
[ ... ]
There is NO truth to this assertion whatsoever.  I put off replying
until I had a chance to re-read the relevant section of the draft
standard to check, though my first reaction involved the manure of male
animals of bovine species.
Examination of the standard reveals that my initial reaction was
basically correct.  C++ adds a number of new casts to the language, but
does NOT make C-style casts illegal at all.
    Later,
    Jerry.
... The Universe is a figment of its own imagination.
--- PPoint 1.90
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