Re: Proposal: Make use of C99 designated initialisers for nulls/values arrays

On 10/21/19 11:25 AM, Joe Nelson wrote:
> we have the
> INIT_ALL_ELEMS_ZERO macro to avoid (2). However the more I look at the
> code using that macro the less I like it. The {0} initializer is more
> idiomatic.

If faced with the two questions:

1. which of a or b is more "clear" ?
2. which of a or b is more "idiomatic" ?

I think I would feel on more solid ground opining on (1),
where wrt (2) I would feel a little muzzier trying to say
what the question means.

It seems to me that idioms are common bits of usage that take off
because they're widely recognized as saying a specific thing
efficiently and clearly.

On that score, I'm not sure {0} really makes a good idiom ... indeed,
it seems this conversation is largely about whether it /looks/ too
much like an idiom, and to some readers could appear to be saying
something efficiently and clearly but that isn't quite what it means.

I would favor {} in a heartbeat if it were standard, because that
sucker is an idiom.

Failing that, though, I think I still favor the macro, because
question (1) seems less fuzzy than question (2), and on "clear",
the macro wins.

Regards,
-Chap