annotate admin/notes/iftc @ 83262:92c8be21e2c3

Merged from [e-mail]--gnu-2005 (patch 31-33, 129-141) Patches applied: * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-129 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-130 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-131 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-132 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-133 Merge from gnus--rel--5.10 * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-134 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-135 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-136 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-137 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-138 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-139 Merge from gnus--rel--5.10 * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-140 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/emacs--cvs-trunk--0--patch-141 Update from CVS * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/gnus--rel--5.10--patch-31 Merge from emacs--cvs-trunk--0 * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/gnus--rel--5.10--patch-32 Merge from emacs--cvs-trunk--0 * [e-mail]--gnu-2005/gnus--rel--5.10--patch-33 Update from CVS git-archimport-id: [e-mail]--2004/emacs--multi-tty--0--patch-302

Iso-Functional Type Contour


This is a term coined to describe "column int->float" change approach, and can
be used whenever low-level types need to change (hopefully not often!) but the
meanings of the values (whose type has changed) do not.

The premise is that changing a low-level type potentially means lots of code
needs to be changed as well, and the question is how to do this incrementally,
which is the preferred way to change things.

Say LOW and HIGH are C functions:

  int LOW (void) { return 1; }
  void HIGH (void) { int value = LOW (); }

We want to convert LOW to return float, so we cast HIGH usage:

  float LOW (void) { return 1.0; }
  void HIGH (void) { int value = (int) LOW (); }  /* iftc */

The comment /* iftc */ is used to mark this type of casting to differentiate
it from other casting.  We commit the changes and can now go about modifying
LOW and HIGH separately.  When HIGH is ready to handle the type change, the
cast can be removed.

;;; arch-tag: 3309cc41-5d59-421b-b7be-c94b04083bb5