Robert Ramey wrote:
Would it not be possible to produce something like a "C++ Lint" (missing clever name here). Which would be
a) Written in portable C++ b) Would permit "concept" syntax to be added in as a tagged comment like
/* indiana concept syntax ... */
which would produce concept errors.
This would
a) be a practical tool for working programmers b) would be useful regardless of the C++ compiler being used c) would be quicker and easier to make than a full compiler d) wouldn't have to be very fast as it would only be invoked "occasionally" e) would provide feedback to the C++ community regarding the utility and practicality of any concept proposal.
From my limited understanding of the concepts proposals (I'm an "average programmer"), there were some cases where overriding on concepts should apply to allow for optimizations in some cases (e.g., random-access vs. bidirectional iterators). I don't think "C++ Lint" would allow that. It would still be useful in other cases, but I don't think it could substitute for an in-compiler reference implementation. --Jeffrey Bosboom