Mats Kindahl <mats@stripped> writes:
> Just to clarify, when we mention forward declarations here, we are talking about
> forward declarations of *classes* only, not variables, so the "extern int foo"
> is not an example of a forward declaration we are considering. For functions and
> variables, it is a requirement to use an include file.
Mats, could you describe what the benefits are of using forward declarations
of structs/classes in place of #including the definition?
Clearly, self-references in structs (whether direct or recursive) require
forward declarations, but otherwise?
It seems to me to be a simpler if code referencing struct/class FOO would
always do so by including file_defining_FOO.h? What am I missing? I don't
remember seeing this style much in C/C++ code...
(More generally, I think your proposal would benefit from explaining more
concretely what problems you are trying to solve. Clearly there are some real
issues that are being addressed, like the possibility to use parts of the
server code in unit tests that has been hinted at. It seems to me that the
proposal mixes some changes needed to solve concrete problems with other
changes that are more a matter of style and preferences).
- Kristian.
