[Webkit-unassigned] [Bug 195276] New: Rename AtomicString to AtomString

[bugzilla-daemon at webkit.org]

https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=195276

            Bug ID: 195276
           Summary: Rename AtomicString to AtomString
           Product: WebKit
           Version: WebKit Nightly Build
          Hardware: PC
                OS: Linux
            Status: NEW
          Severity: Normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: Web Template Framework
          Assignee: webkit-unassigned at lists.webkit.org
          Reporter: mcatanzaro at igalia.com

On webkit-dev we discussed confusion caused by the name AtomicString. Many developers over the years have mistaken AtomicString for a threadsafe/synchronized string class to be shared across threads. In fact, it's an interned ("atom string") class where all strings are stored in a global string table, so not only can AtomicStrings not be shared across threads, they cannot be created or used on secondary threads at all. Turns out many developers (myself included) have never heard of "atom strings," while others have never heard of "interned strings" (the term I'm familiar with, from both GLib and Java).

After several possible names were considered (the best: "Stringleton", thanks for that one, Simon) we seem to have consensus to rename this class from AtomicString to AtomString.

It's an intimidating rename, so I don't plan to work on it myself (at least not now), but I wanted to file a bug at least.

Discussed at:

https://lists.webkit.org/pipermail/webkit-dev/2018-December/030355.html
https://lists.webkit.org/pipermail/webkit-dev/2019-January/030411.html

And older:

https://lists.webkit.org/pipermail/webkit-dev/2013-June/024988.html

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