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From: ahodgson@athena.mit.edu (Antony Hodgson)
Newsgroups: comp.std.c++
Subject: Re: default value specifications
Message-ID: <1990Dec12.151547.19962@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 12 Dec 90 15:15:47 GMT
References: <1990Dec12.122646.13874@hemel.bull.co.uk>
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Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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In article <1990Dec12.122646.13874@hemel.bull.co.uk> pmoore@hemel.bull.co.uk (Paul Moore) writes:

>[Given:]    funca(int i,int j,int k=1, int l=1)

Could we use a syntax like one of the following to allow us to specify l,
but not k?
>
>	funca(1,2,,3);
>	funca(1,2,*,3);  // or some other character
>	funca(1,2, l=3);
>
>My preference is for the first construct as it seems the most natural and
>does not involve adding any extra meaning to any tokens, or defining new
>tokens.

I would also find this a useful feature, and although I agree that the
first construct is the most "natural", I think I would prefer to use some
character (like _ in Prolog) to call attention to the fact that you are
accepting the default.

Tony Hodgson
ahodgson@hstbme.mit.edu