[fpc-pascal] Re: Case Sensitivity / Multiple Names

[Richard Ward]

Francisco Reyes wrote:

> I was refering to not seeing a note that one can not have a unit  
> name be the same as a function name. I was never refering to case  
> sensitivity. Sorry for not been more clear.


---

Ahh, OK.   Yes, I've run into that problem myself.   The one I  
remember was where I was using the MacOSAll unit which defined a  
random function which then hid the FPC version of random with the same  
name declared in the system unit.   The only reason I figured it out  
was that I tried passing a parameter which didn't work and someone  
pointed out to me what happened.   I was told that you could use both  
versions and the FPC version could be accessed by calling  
system.random.   That is, you can use the unit name as a dot notation  
prefix (like a record or method) to access the specific one you want.

In addition, I am thinking it would be a nice feature for an IDE to  
color code the FPC RTL routines to give one a clue if you are trying  
to redefine a system function.   There are reasons for allowing  
multiple defined names but it can be a bit confusing.

By the way, I've tested the system.random function and three of the  
random functions supplied by Apple via MacOSAll, and I have found the  
FPC implementation to be the fastest most "accurate" and most flexible  
(due to the FPC function overloading.)    - ROW