[Proj] Use of C++

[Mateusz Loskot]

On 23 May 2018 at 19:59, Andrew Bell <andrew.bell.ia at gmail.com> wrote:
> That said, the issue I have with the GDAL API, which is mentioned as a
> model, is that it's complicated in that it's always unclear who owns what
> and what needs to be freed by the application, etc.  It creates bugs and
> ambiguities.  Whether the API is C or C++, allowing the library to manage
> data to the extent possible is desirable.  Looking at the proj 4 API, there
> are only a few instances where you might need to look at the source code or
> documentation on this (proj_list..., a few calls that take non-const char *
> and a few that take char **), so not a bad starting point.

Since the discussion touches the aspect if/how choice of C++ affects API
discoverability and transparency [1], I'd only point out that costness of
pointer/pointee does not necessarily indicate ownership responsibility.

All three are perfectly delete/free-able:

char const* f1() { return new char{'\a'}; }
char* const f2() { return new char{'\a'}; }
char const* const f3() { return new char{'\a'}; }

Although I'm mostly C++11+ user, I agree with Andrew clean OOP interface
can be achieved using both, C or C++.
(GTK always served me as an excellent example of clean OOP in C.)

Finally, if Even's choice is C++, I'm fairly certain Even will not go
for equivalent
of GDAL's CPL strings, lists, etc. jugglers, but stick to C++ standard library.

[1] https://accu.org/index.php/journals/1572

Best regards,
-- 
Mateusz Loskot, http://mateusz.loskot.net