RE: [libxml++] node iterators

[andy glew amd com]

> One problem I faced is the type return by iterator::operator*().
> I first wanted to return a Node &. It is, I think, more 
> logical, and avoid 
> writing things like (*iter)->do_something().
> However this change the use of dynamic_cast to 'test' the 
> type of node. If the 
> cast fail we have an exception instead of just returning a 
> null pointer.
> 
> So the question is :
> What do you expect as a return type for 
> Node::ChildrenList::iterator::operator*() ?

I always use Node& for such code.  (In more detail,
I use a T& if the value is copied into the container,
and if modifying the value in the container does not
affect the value copied from; I use T* if modifying
the value 

To get a non-trapping dynamic cast, the user can always
take the address:

	dynamic_cast<Special_Node*>(&(*iter))