Re: [Vala] not null 'this' in constructors

[Nor Jaidi Tuah <norjaidi tuah ubd edu bn>]

> Is 'this' always null in constructors? The following code produces a
> run-time error:
>
> public class Foo
> {
>     Foo()
>     {
>         assert( this != null );
>     }
> }

Are you sure about this? Perhaps you should
provide a small program that triggers this error.

> Is there a way to get the true value of this in the constructor? I guess,
> probably not. As far as I understand references in vala are somewhat
> similar to shared_ptr<> pointers in C++ and vala classes to
> enable_shared_from_this<> C++ subclasses. If the reasons are also similar,
> it would be sad.

Vala references are like C pointers -- raw,
unwrapped, direct and optimizer friendly (though
I notice that the vala compiler puts an
additional indirection for private variables,
incurring performance penalty in object construction
and subsequent accesses).

C++ shared_ptr is an ugly wart. Its only similarity
with Vala references is ref counting.

Do not let your experience with shared_ptr
discourage you from Vala.

Nice day
Nor Jaidi Tuah




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