about self type

[Liigo Zhuang]

I've found that, in the current api, the self type is X* (a pointer) if the api may mutate object, other wise the type is X (non-pointer type).

void  cmap_X_clear(cmap_X* self); // type: pointer of cmap_X
size_t cmap_X_size(cmap_X  map);  // type: cmap_X (non-pointer)

I'd not say this is wrong, actually it's OK, ... but lacks a bit of consistency.

I'd like to suggest a new pattern:

void cmap_X_clear(cmap_X* self);
size_t cmap_X_size(const cmap_X* self);  // `const` means self's state cannot be changed

This is a typical usage of const in C.

[Liigo Zhuang]

feel free to close it, if not makes sense.

[Tyge Løvset]

Thanks for the suggestion, liigo. I have thought about this too, but I'm not sure what is best.
All simple const functions are passed by value, like ..._size(cmap_X map), so it is consistent across all containers.
However, find() takes a const self ptr, although it is a const fn..
I think I did it because it returns a non-const reference..., but it is a bit messy.

I actually like to pass by value when possible, because you see it from the call that argument is const. Performance are generally not hurt much by passing by value, especially when code is inlined. AlI critical function uses pointers anyway (including find). I will go over to check for other inconsistencies,

[Liigo Zhuang]

STC version 3.7 has shipped with these changes. ❤️🎉 Closing.