🚀 go-pugleaf

MaxPolk@megaweb.com (Max Polk) writes:

>Note the special treatment given to char and short:
>
>char c;        short s;      int i;        long l;
>c = 'A';       s = 5;        i = 7;        l = 8L;
>c = c + 'B'    s = s + 2;    i = i + 2;    l = l + 2
>ILLEGAL        ILLEGAL       OKAY          OKAY

Excuse me, but where did you get the idea that the first two
examples are illegal?

>Why not allow a char plus a char equal a char, or a short plus 
>a short equal a short, just like an int plus an int DOES equal 
>and int and a long plus a long DOES equal a long.

I agree that this would not be such a bad idea.
However, in defence of the status quo, the above four examples
are all quite legal in C++, so you have not yet demonstrated
any real practical problems arising from the status quo.

>To avoid warnings, you must use a cast:
>c = (char)(c + 'B');        s = (short)(s + 2);
>which is absurdly stupid and unnecessary.

Agreed, but again in defense of the status quo this is a
quality-of-implementation issue.  Such warnings are not
mandated by the standard, and it would certainly be possible
for a C++ compiler to issue warnings about

	int i;
	char c = i;

without issuing warnings in the above cases.
I suggest you send your vendor an enhancement request.

-- 
Fergus Henderson             |  "Australia is the richest country in the world,
fjh@cs.mu.oz.au              |   according to a new system of measuring wealth
http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh  |   announced by the World Bank yesterday."
PGP: finger fjh@128.250.37.3 |  - Melbourne newspaper "The Age", 18 Sept 1995.
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