Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!ukc!reading!cf-cm!cybaswan!eeartym
From: eeartym@cybaswan.UUCP (Dr R.Artym eleceng )
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: Friend specifier considered harmful
Message-ID: <75@cybaswan.UUCP>
Date: 12 Sep 88 02:36:25 GMT
References: <61@cybaswan.UUCP> <424@gt-eedsp.UUCP>
Reply-To: eeartym@cybaswan.UUCP (Dr R.Artym eleceng )
Organization: University College of Swansea
Lines: 24

In article <424@gt-eedsp.UUCP> baud@gt-eedsp.UUCP (Kurt Baudendistel) writes:

> the trick is that this may be true in the general case, but as with most
> things in c++, decisions are colored by the magic concept of *efficiency*.
> it is often in the programmers' best interests to use friends for this
> reason when creating related classes.  a good example is vector and
> matrix classes.

Inline functions are the magic tools that allow us to dispense with the
efficiency argument almost all of the time.  In any case, the structure
of a whole application should never be governed by efficiency, as the 20-80%
rule says that we only really need to optimize our inner loops.  Inlines
strategically placed in those positions can give us the major gains without
compromising class isolation.
-- 
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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
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