| Re: disable keyword "short forms" [message #89758 is a reply to message #89756] |
Mon, 01 December 2014 11:49   |
chris_torrence@NOSPAM
Messages: 528
Registered: March 2007
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Senior Member |
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On Monday, December 1, 2014 5:27:22 AM UTC-7, superchromix wrote:
> hi,
>
> Is there a compiler option that I can use to turn off the "feature" that allows you to specify a keyword using only the first few characters of the keyword name?
>
> This is an AWFUL feature of IDL.. especially when it comes to object programming.
>
> I have an object, MYOBJ, that inherits IDLgrModel, for example. Now, one of the properties of MYOBJ is "Hidetext". This compiles and runs with no errors.. however, this is a serious bug. When you try to set the HIDE property of MYOBJ, it doesn't work, because IDL thinks you are trying to set "Hidetext" instead.
>
> This "short form keywords" feature is, therefore, a surefire way to generate bugs. Fix please?
>
> thanks
> Mark
Hi Mark,
Well, unfortunately, that decision was made about 30 years ago, at the dawn of IDL. It's probably a holdover from the days when "real programmers" just used variables that were a single character. I can't tell you how many places in IDL's C code where I've discovered a variable "i" that actually points to some huge important C structure.
There's no way to disable this behavior, and it isn't going to change - it's too deeply embedded in the interpreter. Annoying, I know.
There are some "tricks" you can do with _REF_EXTRA to get keywords to work that start with the same characters, but I wouldn't recommend it because it will just confuse people who are actually expecting the goofy behavior.
Sorry,
Chris
ExelisVIS
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