641641 - ANI: slot getters and AS3 getters (+setters) are confusing

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Tamarin Graveyard :: Virtual Machine, defect)

Description

[Steven Johnson]

Nomenclature issue: Historically, a native implementation of a getter/setter in AS3 was named get_propname/set_propname in AS3. With the addition of wrappers to get/set member slots directly, a similar nomenclature was used, but prepended with namespace to avoid collisions (eg get_private_propname).

We'd like to expand the use of the member slot accessors, but want to avoid confusion with the implementation and/or call of similarly named getter/setters, which have function semantics, not data.

Idea #1: obfuscate the AS3 native implementation name for getters/setters, e.g. "impl_get_propname", then require C++ clients to use the callin wrapper (see bug 634638), eg "call_get_propname". I'm not wild about this because "call_get" strikes me as weird-sounding.

Idea #2: adopt a different nomenclature for the slot accessors; e.g. "peek_propname/poke_propname". (Not really serious about those names, as wonderfully old-school as they may be, but you get the idea.)

Comment 1

[Lars T Hansen]

Getters and setters are not properties but methods and this is apparent in the language, eg, interfaces can carry getters and setters but not properties.

If it's a getter then the only candidate name we have for the function is "get propname".

Ergo call_get_propname, though an eyesore, is reasonable provided the programmer understands the language reasonably well.

Alternatively, use names like "getter_propname" and "setter_propname", or more informatively, "call_getter_propname".

"Peek" and "poke" obfuscate what's going on - getters and setters are under no obligation to read or write anything whatsoever.  Anything that indicates the contrary is probably not a good idea, which is another reason why I think "getter_propname" is better than "get_propname".

Comment 2

[Steven Johnson]

(In reply to comment #1)
> "Peek" and "poke" obfuscate what's going on - getters and setters are under no
> obligation to read or write anything whatsoever. 

right, and agreed -- I was proposing peek/poke as an example of a naming convention for the direct-slot-accessors, *not* the getter/setter functions.

Comment 3

[Sylvestre Ledru [:Sylvestre]]

Tamarin is a dead project now. Mass WONTFIX.

Comment 4

[Sylvestre Ledru [:Sylvestre]]

Tamarin isn't maintained anymore. WONTFIX remaining bugs.