On 5/4/2011 1:18 PM, Stewart, Robert wrote:
try_convert(s, i) doesn't tell me whether s is being converted to i's type or i to s's type. I don't think this is a problem in practice. C#'s TryParse has the same semantics, albeit you're forced to use the out keyword on the second argument, so perhaps that's not a fair comparison.
convert_cast(s, 17) has the same problem and breaks with the new-style cast pattern. What is the breaking aspect?
The target type should be required in all cases, I suspect, to make things clearer:
try_convert_to<int>(s, i) clearly indicates that int is the target type.
convert_cast<int>(s, 17) is likewise better. Yes, but thanks to type inference users are free to write try_convert_to(s, i) instead and that's even worse than try_convert(s, i). :)
Did we just rediscover Vladimir's reasoning for the ::from interface? If so, I think the cure is worse than the disease. -Matt