Variants are data types that can store different types of values in them, as opposed to one fixed type. In contrast to a generic object or an untyped variable, there is a […]
How I use `variant` in the Leaf compiler
Embedding a text file in C++ code (with Scons)
I needed a way to embed a text file in my C++ code. I recently introduced Leaf code into the Leaf compiler and didn’t want to depend on a file dependency at […]
Porting Leaf from Linux to OSX
I recently ported Leaf from Linux to OSX. I figured it was about time to start making it cross-platform. The goal is to get it compiling useful libraries for iOS and Android […]
A pattern bandage for messy virtual functions
In my previous article the mess of virtual functions, I show how easily they introduce bugs and propose language extensions to fix it. Several comments suggested an alternate solution with the “non-virtual […]
The very real mess of virtual functions
Virtual functions, though generally a blessing, have a defect-prone dark side. No language, that I know of, provides a way to encode when the base class should be called. This leads to […]
Is reference counting slower than GC?
“Reference counting is slower than garbage collection”, a claim often made in the discussion of memory management. I heard it again recently when discussing Leaf; somebody took issue with my arguments against […]
What is the length of a string? A tricky question
Every day millions of programmers require the length of a string. Despite this there is no universal definition of what string.length actually represents. It changes between languages, and quite often doesn’t return […]
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