Thorsten Ottosen <thorsten.ottosen@dezide.com> writes:
and it doesn't require the user to learn additional container types. To me it seems win-win for almost all uses, having very few down-sides.
If you not willing to accept that value-based programming and OO programming are different disciplines, we will never agree on this one. Period.
An absolutist perspective can be useful for establishing programming discipline when we're still sharpening our basic skills, but it rarely serves to make better programmers in the long run. Yes, OO programming and value-based programming have differences, but they are not totally distinct: they both overlap and synergize, and the intersection is commonly used, interesting and valuable. Stuff like http://www.gotw.ca/gotw/062.htm doesn't appear out of thin air; people get interested in these patterns because they are useful in solving real problems. -- Dave Abrahams Boost Consulting www.boost-consulting.com