Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!mcvax!ukc!reading!cf-cm!cybaswan!eeartym
From: eeartym@cybaswan.UUCP (Dr R.Artym eleceng )
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Friend specifier considered harmful
Message-ID: <61@cybaswan.UUCP>
Date: 25 Aug 88 23:04:41 GMT
Reply-To: eeartym@cybaswan.UUCP (Dr R.Artym eleceng )
Organization: University College of Swansea
Lines: 24


	This is not the flame-attracting exercise that the subject line
would seem to indicate ---  what I'm really after are the group's opinions
on the basic notion that direct access to any data element of another class
is *ALWAYS* a bad idea, and should be avoided at all cost.
	So far I haven't come across any situation where friends are really
necessary ---  most cases seem to derive from a lack of object-oriented
structuring, or the requirements can be met with inline functions.
	My own concerns lie with the impact of this loosening of the class
system on the software engineering aspects of programming.  In large systems,
small transgressions allow in the bugs.
	Do YOU have a c++ program that couldn't have been written without
the friend specifier?
			Rich
-- 
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Keywords:  Parallel, Applicative, and Object-Oriented Languages and Systems
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Dr. Richard Artym,              +   UUCP   :  ..!ukc!pyr.swan.ac.uk!eeartym
Electrical Engineering Dept.,   +   JANET  :  eeartym@uk.ac.swan.pyr
University of Wales,            +   Phone  :  [(0792) or (+44 792)]  295536
Swansea, SA2 8PP,               +   Fax    :  [(0792) or (+44 792)]  295532
U.K.                            +   Telex  :  48358
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