Talk:Const (computer programming)

Other Languages

Anyone know of other languages that support this? Wouter Lievens 10:47, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Strange, I never noticed before you asked: c++ is the only major language I can confirm uses const variables... Maybe it's because it sounds like such an oxymoron. Java seems to have a const keyword, but doesn't use it. Java's final keyword is similar when used with a member variable however. I believe that const may be valid C now since C99, but it'd be better to double-check that. I know of no other language with anything anologous to mutable. Const correctness seems to be a wholly C++ phenomenon. TheIncredibleEdibleOompaLoompa 17:19, 2005 Apr 28 (UTC)

C# also has a const keyword (and a readonly keyword), though it really has nothing like const correctness in C++. IIRC, it makes a reference immutable, not the object itself. OracleofTroy

Yeah Java has final and C# has const but it's not the same. What really matters (in this article) is the const correctness of methods. Wouter Lievens 07:48, 12 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Immutabitity

I barely know the semantic of const, so I may be wrong but isn't this article talking about the same thing as immutable object? Of course, there is a difference but I don't think it is much to warrant two separate articles. So I am adding merge tag. Feel free to correct me if necessary. -- Taku 09:55, Jun 23, 2005 (UTC)

Const correctness is a programming technique that maximizes the use of immutable objects and allows for a simple design by contract. It applies in several programming languages, but the only one in widespread use is C++, which is what the bulk of this article covers. I don't think they should be merged necessarily, but I wonder if this article belongs in the Wikipedia rather than a Wikibook on C++. --Flex 11:40, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)

While I am not C++ guru, this article, it seems to me, is little too verbose. For example, it says "const char *p" is the same as "char const *p", and this is clearly redundant; we are not writing a tutorial. Besides, the article seems to simply have random facts related to const rather than one specific idea (Actually I am not quite getting what this article is trying to say :) For instance, the discussion about volatile seems off-topic; if I understand correctly, it's basically the marker for lessening aggressive optimization. I don't believe that we can simply the content of this page to immutable object without any revision. But I still think it makes more sense to give some context, and for this the merger may help. What do ya think? -- Taku 12:38, Jun 23, 2005 (UTC)