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From: dan@dyndata.UUCP (Dan Everhart)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: anonymous variables
Message-ID: <351@dyndata.UUCP>
Date: 3 May 90 03:36:34 GMT
Organization: Dynamic Data & Electronics, Edmonds WA
Lines: 35


Speaking of non-sequiturs....

It might be neat to be able to define objects anonymously, that is, if
you wrote

     Xyz;

an instance of class Xyz with no name would be created.  Why?  If the
object was created only for the side effects caused by the constructor
and destructor.  For example, here's a way to implement critical
sections: 


class Critical  {
   Critical ()
      { ShutOffInterrupts (); };
   ~Critical ()
      { TurnOnInterrupts (); };
   };

If you didn't have to name objects you could just say

   {
   Critical;
   ...     // Stuff in here runs with interrupts disabled.
   }
   // Interrupts snap back on when the block is exited.

Of course you can just put in any old name for the object and it
will work.  But why bother if there is never a reference to the
object?

No doubt somebody is going to suggest naming the object "section" in
the above example.  Oops, I just did.