[fpc-devel] Compiler bug?

[Paul van Helden]

On 2010/01/31 10:30 AM, Daniël Mantione wrote:
>
> This behaviour is intentional to allow you to read instead of just 
> write the function result. The incompatibility just affects recursive 
> procedures without parameters, which seldomly occurs, because normally 
> the parameters determine the behaviour of the function, and a 
> recursive function without parameters would prevent you writing a 
> mechanism that makes the recursive function terminate.
>
> Only if the behaviour of the recursive function is controller by 
> global variables, then you can actually write a recursive function 
> without parameters. Because this is so seldom, and the desire to read 
> from the function result is extremely common, there is a strong case 
> for this behaviour.
OK, thanks. Also to Cobines for pointing out $mode delphi works as (I) 
expected. I'm deliberately writing new units to compile with $mode 
objfpc so I still have lots to learn. I do think a compiler hint would 
be nice, either at the method declaration ("Hint: Overloaded function 
without parameters may conflict with function result value.") or when 
using the function name as the result in code ("Hint: Ambiguous use of 
function name; use () if you wanted to call the overloaded function 
instead"). Or perhaps I must get used to using() for functions without 
parameters, and even better: give me another $mode where (like C++) 
MethodName; is equivalent to @MethodName, so I'd be forced to use (). :-)
>
> Indeed Borland did invent "result" as a method to read from the 
> function result, so FPC had to support that too.
I must say I prefer Result. It reads much easier, so I'd say it is more 
to the spirit of Pascal than to have to use () to disambiguate things. 
(So Borland /did/ actually invent some useful stuff....)

Being able to read the result is +1 Pascal, -1 C. If only I can have 
"var I, J: Integer;"  anywhere between a begin and end and (inline) 
method implementations inside class definitions... sigh :-)

And to regain my productivity: to figure out how to debug with Lazarus 
the way I'm used to in Delphi...

Regards,

Paul.