I'd like everone's opinion on this:
Every now and then we write up classes with *nothing* but abstract
functions - interfaces, as they are called. When writing up about a
dozen function prototypes, the need to prefix 'virtual' and suffix '=0'
can often get annoying for the coder as well as for the reader. So
can't we have a shortcut syntax like:

virtual
{ void fun1(int,int);
  int blah(float);
}=0;

What does everyone else here think?

Samee

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Samee Zahur wrote:
> I'd like everone's opinion on this:
> Every now and then we write up classes with *nothing* but abstract
> functions - interfaces, as they are called. When writing up about a
> dozen function prototypes, the need to prefix 'virtual' and suffix '=0'
> can often get annoying for the coder as well as for the reader. So
> can't we have a shortcut syntax like:
>
> virtual
> { void fun1(int,int);
>   int blah(float);
> }=0;
>
> What does everyone else here think?

I think it makes the class definition harder to read than

    virtual void fun1(int,int) = 0;
    virtual int  blah(float)   = 0;

However, I can see defining a whole class as 'interface' by use of
'virtual' in the class definition:

    class virtual ABC {
    public:
        void fun1(int,int);
        int  blah(float);
    };

which should mean that all functions are virtual and pure (including
the compiler-provided destructor and the assignment op).  The d-tor
should be trivial in that case IIUIC and its purity is superficial.

Not sure it can be done or whether it already has been suggested.

V

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