From: Michael Edgar <adgar@...>
Date: 2011-06-20T01:31:27+09:00
Subject: Re: CORE - Inconsistent Handling of Uninitialized Variables

On Jun 19, 2011, at 11:54 AM, Christopher Dicely wrote:

> Class variables probably should behave like instance variables, but
> then, class variables are almost never the right tool to use anyway.

This is the crux of where Ilias does have a bit of a point: class variables
always require initialization, instance variables and globals do not. The
same rationale for ivars and globals not requiring initialization likely
applies to class variables. I honestly always assumed class variables
behaved like ivars and globals until this thread started.

I imagine the reason behind class variables requiring initialization is
because they're hard enough to use correctly to begin with. However,
changing them to be auto-initialized to `nil` would be more consistent.

I don't care either way - as Chris pointed out, class variables are almost
always wrong. But for long-term internal consistency, it might actually
be worth discussing.

Michael Edgar
adgar@carboni.ca
http://carboni.ca/