Re: PATCH: Add type_sprint() function to return type in string form

[Daniel Jacobowitz <drow at mvista dot com>]

On Tue, Apr 22, 2003 at 01:28:57PM -0400, Andrew Cagney wrote:
> >On Tue, Apr 22, 2003 at 12:48:09PM -0400, Andrew Cagney wrote:
> >
> >>>On Fri, Apr 18, 2003 at 03:24:26PM -0700, Jason Molenda wrote:
> >>>
> >
> >>>>There are a few places in gdb where code prints an error message
> >>>>with a type included in it.  The only way for these functions to
> >>>>print a type is with type_print(), which takes a ui_file stream to
> >>>>print its output to.  This means they either have to send the output
> >>>>to gdb_stderr, or build up a fake memory ui_file and retrieve the
> >>>>contents.
> >>>>
> >>>>This patch adds a type_sprint() which does the latter and returns the
> >>>>xmalloc()'ed string.
> >
> >>
> >>Good interface choice!  Just some tweaks.
> >>
> >>sprint makes me think of the nasty sprintf family, which this is 
> >>definitly not.  So ..  suggest calling it something like type_xstrdup: 
> >>x-> xmalloc family; strdup -> allocate a string duplicate (like 
> >>ui_file_xstrdup, but yes pushing it a bit).  The alternative would be 
> >>type_xasprint (&string, ...) but I think that is getting ugly :-)
> >
> >
> >How about type_asprint?  I really don't think that the x is necessary,
> >but the a would be a convenient reminder.
> 
> GDB should use neither sprint* nor asprint*.

I disagree.  Why on earth wouldn't we use sprintf?  Just because it can
be used incorrectly is no excuse.

>  type_sprint or 
> type_asprint would confuse this.

Even given the above assumption, I disagree with your conclusion.

> The xasprint* family all have the signature:
> 
> 	...xasprint* (char **buf, ....)
> 
> which doesn't apply here.

Perhaps it should apply?

> >>The old error message should never have included a period ("."), might 
> >>as well remove it while tweaking the code.
> >
> >
> >Didn't we settle on full sentence error messages the last time this
> >came up?
> 
> For the moment, it's a full sentence, with a leading upper case letter 
> but no trailing period :-)  The period doesn't make much sence to a GUI. 
>  The ARI is looking for this.

Huh, so it is.  Odd.

-- 
Daniel Jacobowitz
MontaVista Software                         Debian GNU/Linux Developer