DRAFT document on coding conventions in kde libraries

[Thiago Macieira]

Harri Porten wrote:
>> - getters should all be const, unless there's a strong reason against
>> that.
>
>This is a rather difficult subject that I wouldn't let be subsumed by
> such a simple statement. Adding const wherever possible makes the
> author and user fall into what I call the "const illusion" trap. It
> seems to promise something which often simply is not there.

I didn't mean for all methods to be const. I meant that getters should be, 
especially if they are property getters (Q_PROPERTY).

The interesting thing is that, if the value it was getting were in the 
class itself (not in the d-pointer), the compiler wouldn't let you return 
it as a non-const. But the function's constness does not apply to the 
Private class's content -- just the pointer.

One other reason for the other recommendation: complex code should be in 
the Private class.

-- 
  Thiago Macieira  -  thiago (AT) macieira.info - thiago (AT) kde.org
    PGP/GPG: 0x6EF45358; fingerprint:
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5. Swa he géanhwearf tó timbran, and hwonne he cóm, lá! Unix cwæð "Hello, 
World". Ǽfre ǽghwilc wæs glæd and seo woruld wæs fréo.
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