[webkit-dev] For your consideration: Naming scheme for fooIfExists/ensureFoo

[Dan Bernstein]

On Jul 1, 2013, at 7:31 PM, Brady Eidson <beidson at apple.com> wrote:

> 
> On Jul 1, 2013, at 5:27 PM, Ryosuke Niwa <rniwa at webkit.org> wrote:
> 
>> On Sun, Jun 30, 2013 at 9:39 PM, Filip Pizlo <fpizlo at apple.com> wrote:
>> On Jun 19, 2013, at 9:41 AM, Dan Bernstein <mitz at apple.com> wrote:
>> 
>> >
>> >
>> > On Jun 19, 2013, at 7:37 PM, Timothy Hatcher <timothy at apple.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> What about?
>> >>
>> >> StyleResolver* existingStyleResolver()
>> >> StyleResolver& styleResolver()
>> >
>> > I like it.
>> >
>> >>
>> >> — Timothy Hatcher
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Jun 19, 2013, at 11:49 AM, Balazs Kelemen <kbalazs at webkit.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> For me optional seems very misleading and generally different prefixes suggests that those objects are not the same.
>> >>> Maybe IfExists does not sound nicely but at least it's clear. I would choose to have a pointer version with IfExists and a reference version which is a noun, like:
>> >>>
>> >>> StyleResolver* styleResolverIfExists()
>> 
>> I like this more. I like that the use of 'if' in the name alerts me to the fact that the function will return something conditionally.
>> 
>> By contrast, "existingFoo" only makes sense to me if I'm already aware of the idiom. And although I probably will *become* aware of the idiom it will still nonetheless be one of many idioms that I have to be aware of, so I fear that I'll forget why "Foo" is qualified with "existing". That's why I like "fooIfExists" - its super explicit about what is going on.
>> 
>> I concur.  Maybe
>> StyleResolver* styleResolverIfExists()
>> StyleResolver& styleResolver()
>> ?
> 
> I concur with this.
> 
> For this entire discussion, this is where I was hoping it was headed.

On second and third thought, I do think these are better.
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