Idioms for the D Programming Language
ἰδῐόω (idióō): peculiarity, specific property, unique feature.

The merged allocation optimization

One of the most suprisingly effective optimization is to merge your array allocations together, if they have a chance to be accessed together.

You can do that with eg. MergedAlloc, a handy way to do that in an aggregate, that supports alignment, does the memory reclaim, and supports both pointers and slices.

Usage

Consider the following struct. It process things with intermediate buffers, who themselved have alignment requirements.

struct A
{
    float[] buf0;
    int[]   buf1;
    double* buf2;

    void init(int n)
    {
        // allocate arrays
        buf0 = allocateAligned!float(n, 16);
        buf1 = allocateAligned!int(n, 16);
        buf2 = allocateAligned!double(n, 16).ptr;
    }

    ~this()
    {
        // reclaim memory
        deallocate(buf0); 
        deallocate(buf1);
        deallocate(buf2);
    }

    void process(float[] input)
    {
        // Do things with buf0, buf1, buf2, and input
    }
}

Let's introduce MergedAlloc instead to have all the arrays in a single malloc call.

struct A
{
    float[] buf0;
    int[]   buf1;
    double* buf2;
    MergedAllocation mergedAlloc;

    void init(int n)
    {
        mergedAlloc.start();       // initialize merged alloc counter
        layout(n);                 // first layout call count the bytes
        mergedAlloc.allocate();    // make single allocation
        layout(n);                 // second layout call sets the final pointers
    }

    void layout(int n)
    {
        mergedAlloc.allocArray(buf0, n, 16);
        mergedAlloc.allocArray(buf1, n, 16);
        mergedAlloc.alloc(buf2, n, 16);
    }

    void process(float[] input)
    {
        // Do things with buf0, buf1, buf2, and input
    }
}

The layout functions is called twice:

MergedAlloc implementation

See its source code.

DIID #12 - Simple HTTP server

Solution: Use the arsd-official:cgi package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "simple-HTTP-server",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "arsd-official:cgi": "~>10.0"
    }
}

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Hello</h1>
    <p>This page brought to you by D.</p>
  </body>
</html>

source/main.d

static import std.file;
import arsd.cgi;
import std.format;
import std.stdio;

void myHTTPServer(Cgi cgi) 
{
    string url = cgi.pathInfo;
    writefln("GET %s", url);
    switch(cgi.pathInfo) 
    {
        case "/style.css":
            cgi.setResponseContentType("text/css");
            cgi.write("body { color: red; }");
            break;

        case "/":
            cgi.setResponseContentType("text/html");
            cgi.write(std.file.read("index.html"));
            break;

        default:
            cgi.setResponseStatus(404);
    }
    cgi.close();
}

mixin GenericMain!myHTTPServer;

How to run

dub -- --port 8080 then open http://localhost:8080/.

Get cgi.d documentation here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

Alternatives:

DIID #11 - Write current date on a PNG

Solution: Use the dplug:graphics package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "write-current-date-on-png",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "dplug:graphics": "~>12.0"      
    }
}

Input image and font file

This program assumes input.png and VeraBd.ttf in the project directory.

source/main.d

static import std.file;
import std.datetime;
import dplug.graphics;


void main(string[] args)
{
    // Load image.
    auto image = loadOwnedImage( std.file.read("input.png") );

    // Load font.
    auto font = new Font( cast(ubyte[]) std.file.read("VeraBd.ttf") );

    // Write text.
    RGBA red = RGBA(255, 0, 0, 255);
    float textX = 20;
    float textY = 20;
    float fontSize = 16;
    string timeStr = Clock.currTime().toISOExtString();
    image.toRef.fillText(font, timeStr, fontSize, 0.0, red, textX, textY, HorizontalAlignment.left);

    // Save image.
    std.file.write("output.png", image.toRef.convertImageRefToPNG);
}

Get dplug:graphics documentation here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.
Alternative: arsd solution.

Installing Dlang on Windows

This idiom by Stephane Ribas.

Installing the D programming language on Windows can be sometimes difficult. This guide is intended to provide a beginner-friendly tutorial for foolproof D installation, using Visual Studio + VisualD.

General plan to install D language, LDC, etc.

Install & compile D code by following those steps:

  1. 1. Install Microsoft Visual Studio.
  2. 2. Add C++ & Windows SDK libs.
  3. 3. Install Visual D.
  4. 4. Check the LDC path in the PATH environment variable.
  5. 5. Open a terminal window, check that DUB and compilers are working.

The order is important!

1. Install Microsoft Visual Studio IDE + Libraries

Before starting the D language installation, we recommend you to install FIRST the Microsoft Visual Studio Community IDE:

  1. To do so you will have to install Microsoft Visual Installer that can be downloaded from Microsoft Visual Studio official website.

  2. Once you have downloaded this executable and installed it on your PC, launch it and install the free Microsoft Visual Studio Community Edition (2019 version or above).

  1. IMPORTANT: Once installed, you need to install Windows SDK and C/C++ libs.

2. Install librairies

Windows SDK (version 10 or 11)

  1. Open again the Microsoft Visual Installer & in Microsoft Visual Studio Community area, click on the "MODIFY" option

  1. Choose the thumbnail called "Individual component':

  1. In the SEARCH toolbar, write "Windows SDK" and press ENTER:

  1. The program will show you all the Windows SDK libraries that you can install on your system.

  2. Install ALL OF THEM.

Windows C++/C libs

  1. Once you have install the Windows SDK librairies, go back the SEARCH toolbar.
  2. Write "C++ development tools".
  3. The program will show you all the libraries that you can install on your system.
  4. Install ALL OF THEM...

  1. Now you have an IDE & libs installed. Perfect!

Explanation: D programs links with both the D runtime, and a C runtime. Here the C runtime is MSVCRT (Visual C language runtime), so we need to install it.

3. Visual D installer

  1. Go on the official webpage VisualD installer that bundles everything needed for D on Windows. That installer will install VisualD, LDC and DMD on your computer.
  2. During the installation process, the VisualD installer will ask you if you want to integrate in Microsoft Visual Studio IDE the D language extension. Yes you want to.
    This will add a specific D menu into the Microsoft IDE (to access D specific function directly from the Visual Studio graphic user interface).

4. Set up the DUB/LDC path in the PATH environment variable

Normally, the Visual D installer should have already set up the PATH environment variable, adding the path to ldc2.exe:

  1. You can check this by opening the environment variable setup in your system:

If you have the LDC path in your PATH variable: nothing else to do!

Otherwise, follow the instructions below:

  1. If you are lazy, we advise you to go to the LDC official github repository & download the latest LDC stable release (multilib version is highly recommended).
  2. Launch this executable (for instance LDC.1.29-multilib.exe)
  3. Follow the instructions.
  4. At the end of the process, the installer will ask you if you want to add the right LDC PATH automatically. Do so :-)
  5. You can do that everytime you want to update LDC.

If you don't want to do this (you are not lazy) :

  1. Go the the Windows Configuration Panel, search for "environment variables" & add into the PATH the path to the LDC root folder:

Here is a detailed guide to set your environment variables: https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000549.htm

Note: environment variables are inherited from parent process to child process. After modifying them, you will have to restart your IDE, or terminal window, in order for them to udpate.

5. This is the END...

Open a CMD.exe and try dub --version. You should get an answer from the system with a version number. You can now start writing D code & compile it!

Some useful commands:

Warning: both DMD and LDC comes with their own dub. The one that is used depends on who is first in the PATH envvar.

An issue while installing D language ?

In case you encounter an issue while installing the D programming language, do not hesitate to post your questions on the D.learn forum: https://forum.dlang.org/group/learn

DIID #10 - Colorize console output

Solution: Use the console-colors package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "colorize-text-output",
    "dependencies": 
    {
        "console-colors": "~>1.0"
    }
}

source/main.d

import consolecolors;

void main()
{
    cwriteln("This is light blue on orange".lblue.on_orange);    
    cwritefln("This is a <red>%s</red>.", "nested <yellow>color</yellow> string");
}

Get console-colors documentation here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

DIID #9 - Parse command-line arguments

Solution: Use std.getopt from Phobos.

dub.json

{
    "name": "cmdline-args",
    "dependencies": {   
    }
}

source/main.d

import std.getopt;

int main(string[] args)
{
    string data = null;
    int length = 24;
    bool verbose;
    enum Color { no, yes }
    Color color;
    auto helpInformation = getopt(
                                  args,
                                  "length",  &length,    // numeric
                                  "file",    &data,      // string
                                  "verbose", &verbose,   // flag
                                  "color", "Information about this color", &color);    // enum

    // std.getopt always add an option for --help|-h
    if (helpInformation.helpWanted || data is null) 
    {

        defaultGetoptPrinter("Usage:", helpInformation.options);
        return 1;
    }

    // do things...

    return 0;
}

Get std.getopt documentation here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

/+ +/ nestable comments and version(none)

In addition to single-line comments // and block comments /* */, D supports nestable block comments with /+ +/.

/+
    This whole block is commented.

    /**
     * A documented function.
     */
    void doStuff()
    {
        // blah blah
    }

    /+
      Such block comments are nestable.
    +/
+/

They are handy when commenting large swaths of code. It would be the D equivalent to #if 0 / #endif pairs in C or C++.

If you prefer the commented portion of code to stay valid, prefer using version(none).

version(none)
{
    // This whole block is commented, but still must parse.

    /**
     * A documented function
     */
    void doStuff()
    {
        // blah blah
    }
}

Indeed, none is a special version identifier that cannot be set.

version = none; // Error: version identifier 'none' is reserved and cannot be set

@nogc Array Literals: Breaking the Limits

Array literals may allocate

The most vexing limitation of @nogc is that array literals generally can't be used anymore.

void main() @nogc
{
    // Works: the array literal is used as a value.
    int[3] myStaticArray = [1, 2, 3]; 

    // Doesn't work.
    int[] myDynamicArray = [1, 2, 3];  // Error: array literal in @nogc function 
                                       // may cause GC allocation
}

Indeed, such literals may well allocate a new array on the GC heap.

The little template that could

Fortunately, like often in the D world, there is an easy work-around to lift the limitations.

T[n] s(T, size_t n)(auto ref T[n] array) pure nothrow @nogc @safe
{
    return array;
}

void main() @nogc
{
    int[] myDynamicArray = [1, 2, 3].s; // Slice that static array which is on stack

    // Use myDynamicArray...
}

Beware of the stack lifetime

That work-around slices the stack allocated array and turn it into a slice. This would lead to memory corruption if the reference escapes.

Do not fear! The compiler warns you of escaped references to the stack, even in unsafe D.

// This function is illegal
int[] doNotDoThat() @nogc
{
    return [1, 2, 3].s; // Error: escaping reference to stack allocated 
                        // value returned by s([1, 2, 3])
}

Instead, duplicate this slice @nogc-style, for example with malloc. You are now able to use array literals in @nogc code.

This idiom originated from Randy Schütt.

Adding or removing an element from arrays

Appending an element to a dynamic array:

T[] arr;
arr ~= value;                    // value is pushed at the back of the array

Removing an element from a dynamic array given an index:

import std.algorithm : remove;
T[] arr;
arr = arr.remove(index);         // index-th element is removed from array

Removing an element from a dynamic array given a value:

auto removeElement(R, N)(R haystack, N needle)
{
    import std.algorithm : countUntil, remove;
    auto index = haystack.countUntil(needle);
    return (index != -1) ? haystack.remove(index) : haystack;
}
int[] arr = [1, 5, 10];
arr = arr.removeElement(5);
assert(arr == [1,10]);

Adding an element into an associative array:

aa[key] = value;                 // aa[key] is created if not already existing

Removing an element from an associative array given a key:

aa.remove(key);                  // there is a builtin property to do that

assert(false) is special

assert(false), assert(0), assert(null), or any other falsey expression at compile-time does not produce a regular assert.

Instead it is an instruction to crash the program, and is not removed in -release mode.

string getStuff()
{
    if(expr)
        return "something";
    assert(1 < 0); // also possible, but "assert(0)" is typically used
    // no return needed, since we just crashed
}

assert(false) (or an equivalent) also means that the current branch of the function doesn't need to return anything since the program will always crash when the assertion is reached.

It does not mean unreachable code, it means crash now and the compiler will never remove it.

Always-on assertion

Since assert(false) never get removed, it can be used to create a persistent assertion.

    if (!cond)
        assert(false); // will never be removed by the compiler in -release builds

assert(false) is fit for finding bugs, but not for input errors. In this case, prefer the use of std.exception.enforce.

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_exception.html#.enforce

Automatic attribute inference for function templates

A pure, nothrow, @nogc or @safe function can only call functions that are respectively pure, nothrow, @nogc or @safe/@trusted.

int plusOne(int a)
{
    return a + 1;
}

void f() pure nothrow @nogc @safe
{
    // Error: pure function 'f' cannot call impure function 'plusOne'
    // Error: safe function 'f' cannot call system function 'plusOne'
    // Error: @nogc function 'f' cannot call non-@nogc function 'plusOne'
    // Error: 'plusOne' is not nothrow
    plusOne(3);
}

However, function templates have their attributes automatically inferred.

int plusOne(int b = 2)(int a)
{
    return a + 1;
}

void f() pure nothrow @nogc @safe
{
    plusOne(3); // everything fine
}

Why?

Function templates bodies are always available to the compiler. Which is not the case for non-templated functions, who could be extern.
For consistency, non-templated functions attributes don't get inferred, even if the source code is available.

See also: https://dlang.org/spec/function.html#function-attribute-inference

Bypassing @nogc

@nogc is a function attribute which ensures a function never allocates through the GC.

void processStuff(double[] data) @nogc
{
    double[] tempBuffer;

    // Error: setting 'length' in @nogc function processStuff may cause GC a
    tempBuffer.length = data.length; 

    ...
}

Using @nogc is a must for memory-conscious code sections or for real-time threads.

However, not all library functions that could be marked @nogc are. At one point, you'll probably want to call functions as if they were @nogc. Here's how to do it:

import std.traits;

// Casts @nogc out of a function or delegate type.
auto assumeNoGC(T) (T t) if (isFunctionPointer!T || isDelegate!T)
{
    enum attrs = functionAttributes!T | FunctionAttribute.nogc;
    return cast(SetFunctionAttributes!(T, functionLinkage!T, attrs)) t;
}

// This function can't be marked @nogc but you know with application knowledge it won't use the GC.
void funcThatMightUseGC(int timeout)
{
    if (unlikelyCondition(timeout))
        throw new Exception("The world actually imploded.");

    doMoreStuff();
}

void funcThatCantAffortGC() @nogc
{
    // using a casted delegate literal to call non-@nogc code
    assumeNoGC( (int timeout)
                {
                    funcThatMightUseGC(timeout);
                })(10000);
}

Capturing with regular expressions

Regular expressions are found in the std.regex Phobos module.

import std.regex;
import std.stdio;

void main(string[] args)
{
    auto re = regex(`My name is (\w+)\. I work for ([A-Za-z ]+)\.`);

    string input = "My name is Kobayashi. I work for Keyser Soze.";

    if (auto captures = matchFirst(input, re))
    {
        // There is a trap there, capture[0] is the whole matched string
        writefln("First capture = %s", captures[1]);
        writefln("2nd capture   = %s", captures[2]);
    }
}

ctRegex instead of regex builds the regular expression at compile-time, trading off compile-time speed for runtime speed.

auto re = ctRegex!(`My name is (\w+)\. I work for ([A-Za-z ]+)\.`); // automaton built at compile-time

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_regex.html

Compile-time RNG

In January 2016, an anonymous programmer posted on the D forums a Proof-of-Concept for a devious compile-time Random Number Generator.

/+ CTRNG
    Proof-Of-Concept Compile-Time Random Number Generator.
    Please never actually use this or anything like it.

    While doing some metaprogramming tomfoolery, I stumbled into an
    interesting scenario. It occurred to me that with some work, I could
    probably turn what I had into a functioning compile-time random
    number generator, despite D's restrictions on metaprogramming intended
    to keep things deterministic. Some of this may be obvious to you,
    some of it may be interesting. Whether or not any of this is a bug, I do
    not know. It probably isn't useful unless trying to sabotage a codebase.

    Note: This is specifically developed with minimal dependence on other
    modules (even standard ones), so some things are implemented in
    non-idiomatic (read: strange) ways.
+/

/+
    Step 1
    We need something useable as a seed. Luckily, D has __TIMESTAMP__, which
    reports time of build as a string in roughly the following format:

        Wed Jan 20 18:04:41 2016

    Specific contents of this function don't matter. All that matters is
    timestamp goes in, largish unsigned integers come out. Feel free to skip
    the implementation, it is not important. All that matters is that with
    this, we will be able to get a psuedo-random seed at compile-time.
    We *could* parse the timestamp accurately, but the rest of this is
    hackish, so why not make this hackish as well?
+/
ulong timestampToUlong(string stamp)
{
    ulong result;

    foreach_reverse(c; stamp)
    {
        result += c;
        result *= 10;
    }

    return result;
}

/+
    Step 2
    Next, we'll need the ability to track some sort of state. D is designed
    with the intention that compile-time constructs cannot have a useful
    permanent state, so this'll take some doing.

    For starters, we need something we can query that can give different
    results different times we call it (as in, impure). For this, we
    have the following templated enum. It is manifest constant giving
    the number of top-level members in the current module. However,
    this number can change as other templates and mixins are resolved.

    Technically, each instantiation is different, but because the dirty
    details are hidden inside the default parameter value, it can be used
    as if it should always be the same value.
+/
enum counter(size_t x = [__traits(allMembers, mixin(__MODULE__))].length)=x;

/+
    Step 3
    For step 2 to work, we also need the ability to add members in between
    uses of `counter`. These need to be uniquely named, so we will
    need a way to generate names. Step 2 already gave us a source of
    increasing numbers, so we can trivially generate names based on
    the value of `counter`. So, we define a method to yeild a string
    containing a new unique declaration that we can `mixin()`.
+/
char[] member(ulong x)
{
    char[] buf = "void[0] _X0000000000000000;".dup;
    enum mapping = "0123456789abcdef";
    foreach_reverse(i; buf.length-17 .. buf.length-1)
    {
        buf[i] = mapping[x & 0xf];
        x >>= 4;
    }
    return buf;
}

/+
    Step 4
    This is just a simple wrapper combining `member` and `counter` under
    a single name, making it slightly easier to increment the counter.
+/
mixin template next()
{
    mixin(member(counter!()));
}

/+
    Step 5
    Finally, we define a simple XorShift64* RNG. We don't really
    have arbitrary mutable state (yet?), so this depends on the D
    compiler caching previous template instantiations.
    The first is a specialization introducing our seed.
    The second is how all subsequent xorShift instantiations are
    handled, again taking advantage of changing default parameters.
+/
template xorShift(size_t x = counter!())
{
    static if(x == 0)
    {
        enum xorShift = timestampToUlong(__TIMESTAMP__);
    }
    else
    {
        // Name previous result to reduce syntax noise.
        enum y = xorShift!(x-1);
        enum xorShift = 0x2545_f491_4f6c_dd1dUL
            * (((y ^ (y >> 12)) ^ ((y ^ (y >> 12)) << 25))
            ^ (((y ^ (y >> 12)) ^ ((y ^ (y >> 12)) << 25)) >> 27));
    }
}

/+
    Now, let's use it!
+/
// Two instantiantions of xorShift result in the same value
static assert(xorShift!() == xorShift!());

// However, we can save one value,
enum a = xorShift!();

// ... update the counter,
mixin next;

// ... and save another value,
enum b = xorShift!();

// ... and they will not be the same.
static assert(a != b);

/+ What's more, because we have a time based seed, they will
all be different every time you compile this code. +/
pragma(msg, a);
pragma(msg, b);

mixin next;

mixin template headsOrTails(size_t x)
{
    static if(x % 2 == 0)
    {
        pragma(msg, "Heads!");
    }
    else
    {
        pragma(msg, "Tails!");
    }
}

mixin headsOrTails!(xorShift!());

/+
    Conclusion
    This is a really simple proof of concept. A "better" version
    could use a recursively scanning counter implementation that
    looked for symbols tagged with a certain User-Defined attribute
    to allow advancing the RNG state inside structs and such.
    More complicated RNGs could be implemented in a similar way.
    There may be value in mixing in template specializations.

    But then again, all this code is evil and I won't be doing
    anything more with it.
+/
void main()
{
    // Don't do anything at runtime. Just make dpaste's linker happy.
}

See source code on DPaste....

Contributing back with money

While the D phenomenon relies primarily on benevolent effort, a bit of money can go a long way towards enhancing documentation, supporting libraries, compilers and IDEs.

If your company depends on a healthy D ecosystem, your donations will have a noticeable impact in spreading D to the programming world, while hedging against related technology risks.

The D Foundation

The D Language Foundation is a 501(c) non-profit public charity devoted to advancing open source technology related to the D programming language.

A one-stop shop for pushing the interests of the D world at large.

You can contribute for free through Amazon Smile! https://forum.dlang.org/thread/pikn41$u9q$1@digitalmars.com

LDC

The LDC project is pivotal to many D companies that profit from top performance.
If you are one of them, consider giving back to this critical piece of infrastructure...

GDC

The GDC project is also pivotal to high-performance D. As part of GCC, GDC is the D compiler with the most platform reach, so funding GDC is a great technology hedge.

Solo developers

Let us know if you identify other ecosystem contributors with a donation link!

Converting from and to C strings

Convert to C strings

Use std.string.toStringz.

extern(C) nothrow @nogc void log_message(const char* message);

void logMessage(string msg)
{
    import std.string: toStringz;
    log_message(toStringz(msg));
}

D string literals are already zero-terminated, you don't have anything to do in this case.

extern(C) nothrow @nogc void window_set_title(const char* title);

void main()
{
    window_set_title("Welcome to zombo.com");  // Works: literals terminated with '\0'
}

See also: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_string.html#.toStringz

Convert from C strings

Use std.string.fromStringz.

extern(C) nothrow @nogc char* window_get_title(window_id id);

struct Window
{
    // Note: to avoid allocations you can return a slice within the C string
    // and keep the slice constant. Else you can use .dup or .idup to get
    // an immutable string.
    const(char)[] name(string msg)
    {
        import std.string: fromStringz;
        return fromStringz( window_get_title(_id) );
    }

    window_id _id;
}

What if you already know the length of the C string?

Then you can use regular slicing.

assert(len == strlen(messageC));
string messageD = messageC[0..len];

See also: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_string.html#.fromStringz

Custom format() for builtin types

When using std.conv.to() or std.stdio.write(), the arguments are formatted using a predefined format.

Structs are processed differently. By default, all the members of a struct are converted
but the internal to() also checks if a struct implements a custom toString() function.
If so, this function is used and the default formatting of the members doesn't happen.

This can be used as a trick to override the default predefined formats of a basic type.

For example, to display a pointer as a hexadecimal address prefixed with 0x, we can define a struct with a single member of type void* and a custom toString() function:

import std.stdio;

struct FmtPtr
{
    void* ptr;
    string toString()
    {
        import std.format;
        static if (size_t.sizeof == 4)
            return format("0x%.8X ", cast(size_t)ptr);
        static if (size_t.sizeof == 8)
            return format("0x%.16X ", cast(size_t)ptr);
    }
}

void main(string[] args)
{
    import core.stdc.stdlib;
    auto a = malloc(8);
    auto b = malloc(8);
    auto c = malloc(8);

    // ugly custom formatting
    writeln("0X", a, " ", "0X", b, " ", "0X", c);
    writefln("0X%.8X 0X%.8X 0X%.8X", a, b, c);

    // clean and clear equivalent using the struct
    writeln(FmtPtr(a), FmtPtr(b), FmtPtr(c));
}

D online resources

Design by Introspection

What is Design by Introspection?

Coined and promoted by Andrei Alexandrescu, Design by Introspection (also known as "DbI") means something pretty specific: instead of multiplying the number of named concepts in generic code, let's inspect types at compile-time for capabilities.

An example is Phobos' input ranges that can be infinite regardless of the particular compile-time concept they follow.

In the D language, such duck-typing at compile-time seems to unlock most interesting designs.

Code examples

Where do I start?

There is currently not much written on this programming technique.

The best resource on the topic is probably this talk by Alexandrescu: std::allocator Is to Allocation what std::vector is to Vexation.

Differences in integer handling vs C

By and large D integer handling is identical to C. However there are some differences you might want to be aware of.

By design, none of those can break C code ported to D.

>>> operator

D has a >>> operator to force unsigned right bit-shifting, regardless of the type of the left operand.

import std.stdio;

void main()
{
    short i = -48;
    writeln(i >>  1);                                     // Output: -24

    // unsigned shift, regardless of signedness of i
    writeln(i >>> 1);                                     // Output: 2147483624

    writeln(typeof(i >>> 1).stringof);                    // Output: int
}

The >>> operator promotes integers like the other bit-shifting operators.

Signed overflow is not Undefined Behaviour

In D signed integer overflow is well-defined with wrapping semantics. You can rely on it and don't have to avoid signed overflow.

Source: https://forum.dlang.org/post/n23bo3$qe$1@digitalmars.com

Don't use @property

The current agreement on best practices with regards to @property is to not use it.

@property does very little and you can always avoid it.

Emulating Perl's __DATA__

Using import(__FILE__) allows to embed data at the end of a D file.

Here is an example from the D newsgroups:

#! /usr/bin/env dub
/++ dub.sdl:
    dependency "dxml" version="0.4.0"
    stringImportPaths "."
+/
import dxml.parser;
import std;

enum text = import(__FILE__)
    .splitLines
    .find("__EOF__")
    .drop(1)
    .join("\n");

void main() {
    foreach (entity; parseXML!simpleXML(text)) {
        if (entity.type == EntityType.text)
            writeln(entity.text.strip);
    }
}
__EOF__
<!-- comment -->
<root>
    <foo>some text<whatever/></foo>
    <bar/>
    <baz></baz>
    more text
</root>

See also: D lexer special tokens.

Ensure array access without bounds checking

Slice indexing will check bounds depending on -boundscheck and @safe.

But pointer indexing won't ever check bounds.

int[] myArray;
myArray.ptr[index] = 4; // no bounds check, guaranteed

Enumerate fields with __traits(allMembers) and "static" foreach

Using __traits(allMembers, X) allows us to iterate on the fields of a struct or class.

This can be useful when:

Here's how DUB implements a .dup with __traits(allMembers):

BuildSettings dup() const
{
    BuildSettings ret;

    // Important: this foreach is a special "static" foreach
    //            though it isn't visually different from a regular foreach
    foreach (m; __traits(allMembers, BuildSettings))
    {
        static if (is(typeof(__traits(getMember, ret, m) = __traits(getMember, this, m).dup)))
            __traits(getMember, ret, m) = __traits(getMember, this, m).dup;
        else static if (is(typeof(__traits(getMember, ret, m) = __traits(getMember, this, m))))
            __traits(getMember, ret, m) = __traits(getMember, this, m);
    }
    return ret;
}

When new members are added to BuildSettings, this generic .dup will still duplicate them.

Eponymous templates

The term eponymous templates refers to a symbol with the same name as its enclosing template block.

template HasUniqueElements(int[] arr)
{
    import std.algorithm : sort, uniq;
    import std.array : array;
    enum bool HasUniqueElements = arr.sort().uniq.array.length == arr.length;
}

static assert(HasUniqueElements!( [5, 2, 4] ));
static assert(!HasUniqueElements!( [1, 2, 3, 2] ));

In symbol resolution, the template instantiation is replaced by the enclosed declaration with the same name. In a way, this is like alias this, but for templates.

Bill Baxter came up with the eponymous name in this thread.

Everything you wanted to ask about struct construction

Isn't that a bit complicated?

struct MyStruct
{
    this(int dummy)
    {
    }
}


// This is explicit constructor call
MyStruct a = MyStruct(0);     

// This is an implicit constructor call
MyStruct b = 1;               

// Blit, and eventually postblit call if it is defined
MyStruct c = b;           

// Same as previous line, parameters created from existing structs
myFunction(c);                         

// Implicit call to `opAssign` with an `int` parameter, fails if it doesn't exist
a = 2;                        

// Implicit call to default opAssign, or a custom one with a `MyStruct` parameter
b = a;

// Same as previous line
// Except a temporary instance is created and destroyed on that line
c = MyStruct(3);


struct MyAggregateStruct
{
    // `MyStruct(0)` evaluated at CTFE, 
    // not during MyAggregateStruct construction!
    MyStruct a = MyStruct(0); 
}

The rules to remember

Extend a struct with alias this

What if we want to decorate a struct with additional features?
We can't use virtual dispatch since the parent aggregate is a struct.
That means we are on board for extensive manual delegation of method calls to a member.

Fortunately the alias this feature comes to the rescue!

As an example, let's write a wrapper around the Phobos File struct for writing an HTML page.

import std.stdio;
import std.file;
struct HTMLPage
{
    File file;
    alias file this; // file's methods are looked at on name lookup.
    this(string path)
    {
        file = File(path, "w"); // akin to calling parent constructor
    }
    void writeAnchor(string anchor)
    {
        writeln("<" ~ anchor ~ ">"); // will call file.writeln
    }
}

When using HTMLPage you will still have access to every method in File. For example, you'll be able to do:

htmlPage.writeln("<doctype html>");

This site uses this idiom.

alias this can also define an implicit conversion.

struct A
{
    int a;
}
struct B
{
    A a;
    alias a this;
    string b;
}
int f(A a)
{
    return a.a+1;
}
int g(ref A a)
{
    return a.a+1;
}
ref A h(ref A a)
{
    return a;
}
void main(string[]ags)
{
    B b;
    return f(b)  // b implicitely converted to an A
         + g(b); // b implicitely converted to a ref A
}

As TDPL says it, using alias this is subtyping.

Falsey values

In an if(expr) condition, expr does not need to have boolean type.

Falsey value in D are:

Thus, the empty string "" points to a single \0 char (string literals are zero-terminated for C compatibility reasons), and is truthy despite having length 0.


ubyte* p = cast(ubyte*)("".ptr);
assert(p != null);
assert(*p == 0);

See this article for more...

Four ways to use the static keyword you may not know about

The static keyword is heavily re-used in the D language. With this uniquely detailed article, you'll learn to recognize the different species of static in the wild.

1. Most obvious: static member functions and static data members

Much like in Java and C++, you can declare static data and functions members in a struct or a class. The one caveat is that static data members will be put in Thread Local Storage unless marked with __gshared.

class MyClass
{
    // A static member variable => only one exist for all MyClass instances
    // You need __gshared here else instanceCount would be thread-local
    static __gshared int instanceCount = 0;

    // A static member function => does not receive "this"
    static void incrementCount()
    {
        // Can't use "this" here
        instanceCount += 1;
    }
}

void main()
{
    import std.stdio;
    MyClass.incrementCount();
    writeln(MyClass.instanceCount); // Prints: "1"
}

Additionally, static immutable can be used instead of enum to force compile-time evaluation of a constant, while keeping an address.

This is especially useful for arrays computed at compile-time.

2. Top-level static variables and functions

This is perhaps the strangest static abuse. At top-level, static does nothing for variables and function declarations.

Here, a TLS (Thread Local Storage) variable:

// At top-level
static int numEngines = 4;          // Accepted. Does nothing.

This is 100% equivalent to:

// At top-level.
int numEngines = 4;                 // The normal way to declare a TLS variable.

Similarly for top-level functions:

static int add(int a, int b)        // You can leave out "static" at top-level. It does nothing.
{
    return a + b;
}

As the D specification says:

"Static does not have the additional C meaning of being local to a file. Use the private attribute in D to achieve that."

Leave your C++ knowledge about static inline functions and static top-level variables at the door: it doesn't apply here.

3. Nested static struct, nested static class, and nested static functions

static can be put before nested struct, class or functions.

It means "I don't have a pointer to the outer context".

import std.stdio;

void main()
{
    float contextData;

    struct InternalA
    {
        void uglyStuff()
        {
            // can access contextData here, and use this.outer
        }
    }

    static struct InternalB
    {
        void uglyStuff()
        {
            // cannot access contextData here, cannot use this.outer
        }
    }

    void subFunA()
    {
        // can access contextData here
    }

    static void subFunB()
    {
        // cannot access contextData here
    }

    writeln(typeof(&subFunA).stringof); // Prints: "void delegate()"
    writeln(typeof(&subFunB).stringof); // Prints: "void function()"
}

To sum up, a nested static struct or static class:

A nested static function:

4. Global constructors and global destructors

Arguably the most important static use out of the four we've listed.

Thread-local global constructors static this():

Called when a thread is registered to the D runtime. Typically used to initialize TLS variables.

Thread-local global destructor static ~this():

Called when a thread is unregistered to the D runtime. Typically used to finalize TLS variables.

Global constructors shared static this():

Called when the D runtime is initialized. Typically used to initialize shared or __gshared variables, for example in Derelict.

Global destructor shared static ~this():

Called when the D runtime is finalized. Typically used to finalize shared or __gshared variables.

Important: global constructors and global destructors can be placed within a struct or a class, where they will be able to initialize shared, __gshared or static members.

Beware: It's a common mistake to write static this() instead of shared static this(). Don't be a TLS victim.

Friends don't let friends use the default struct postblit

By default D structs are copyable and that copy is just a .dup verbatim bit copy.
Indeed the default struct postblit does nothing.

struct MyStruct
{
    int field;
}

MyStruct a;
MyStruct b;

a = b; // Bit copy here.

The trouble happens with structs that hold a resource: whenever copied, the struct destructor would be called twice, and twice the resource would be freed.

That doesn't look like the beginning of a success story. To solve this, follow the Rule of Two.

Rule of Two

If a struct has a non-trivial destructor, then:
- either disable the default postblit with @disable this(this),
- or implement the postblit.
Don't let the default one.

Example

struct MyResource
{
    this()
    {
        acquireResource();
    }

    ~this()
    {
        releaseResource();
    }

    // Disabling the postblit to avoid the destructor being
    // called twice after an accidental copy.
    @disable this(this);

    /*
        // Alternatively, duplicate the resource
        this(this)
        {
            duplicateResource();
        }
    */
}

See: http://dlang.org/struct.html

Games made with D

Quantum Break

Quantum Break is an AAA video game developed by Remedy Entertainment (2016).
Is it written in C++ with D as the scripting language. Available on Xbox One and Windows.

See:

Mayhem Intergalactic

Mayhem Intergalactic is the first ever commercial video game written in D (2007).
Available for Windows.
See the newsgroup announcement.

Kenta Cho's games

Kenta Cho released a number of Windows shooter games in early D.

Atrium

Atrium is an unfinished first-person game with physics based puzzles, entirely written with the D programming language.

Vibrant

Vibrant is an arena shooter based on 2D dogfighting. Available for Windows and OS X on Steam.

Jan Jurzitza's games

Jan Jurzitza wrote several Ludum Dare entries.

GC-proof resource class

Class destructors have painful limitations when called by the GC.

But there is a way to make a class holding a resource that:

The general idea behind the GC-proof resource class is to check why the destructor was called and act accordingly.

class MyGCProofResource
{
    void* handle;

    this()
    {
        // acquire resource
        handle = create_handle();
    }

    ~this()
    {
        // Important bit.
        // Here we verify that the GC isn't responsible
        // for releasing the resource, which is dangerous.
        import core.memory;
        assert(!GC.inFinalizer, "Error: clean-up of MyGCProofResource incorrectly" ~
                                " depends on destructors called by the GC");

        // release resource
        free_handle(handle);
    }
}

You'll get a clear message whenever you rely on the GC to release resources.

This idiom was first introduced in the GFM library.

Get parent class of a class at compile-time

Surprisingly, there is no __traits or std.traits to do this, but you can use this secret is() syntax to get the parent class of a class.

class A { }
class B : A {}

template ParentOf(Class)
{
    static if(is(Class Parents == super) && Parents.length)
        alias ParentOf = Parents[0];
    else
        static assert(0, "No parent for this");
}

static assert(is(ParentOf!B == A));

Getting a method callbacked from C

How to get a class method callbacked from C?

What is needed is a way to pass the this pointer. Most C callbacks allow to specify a "user data" pointer.
A common trick is to cast this into a void* pointer back and forth, and use it as user data.

Here is an example with SDL2 logging handler:

class MyGame
{
    this()
    {
        // Pass this as user data, since most C callbacks have one.
        SDL_LogSetOutputFunction(&loggingCallbackSDL, cast(void*)this);
    }

    // We'd like this method to get called whenever the SDL callback triggers
    void onMessage(const(char)* message)
    {
        // do stuff
    }
}

extern(C)  // would be extern(System) depending on the library
void loggingCallbackSDL(void* userData, int category, SDL_LogPriority priority, const(char)* message)
{
    // Get back the object reference here
    MyGame game = cast(MyGame)userData;
    game.onMessage(message);
}

Grouping modules with package.d

package.d is a special filename which is used in import resolution. When reading:

import mymodule;

a D compiler will search for either mymodule.d or mymodule/package.d (and if both exist, it will complain about the name conflict).

This feature allows to organize modules logically and combined with public import to split big modules in several parts.

Here is an example:

// In file path/mypackage/package.d
module mypackage;
public import mypackage.foo;
public import mypackage.bar;
// In file path/mypackage/foo.d
module mypackage.foo;
// In file path/mypackage/bar.d
module mypackage.bar;
// In user code
// mypackage.foo and mypackage.bar are also imported
import mypackage;

How does D improve on C++17?

Warning: this post is opinionated.

 

With C++ evolving and coming to C++17, is D still relevant?

I think that yes, and very much so. Here's is why.

DUB

D has a package manager. C++ has none that is popular in its community.
Using a third-party library becomes many times easier.

No more preprocessor

D has no need for a preprocessor.

No more header files, today

Even when C++ compilers implement modules and you can finally use them, headers will still survive alongside modules for backward compatibility.

No more order of declaration

Order of declaration is insignificant in D. There is no need to pre-declare or reorder anything.

Faster compiles

C++ has compilation speed problems. For example the preprocessor needs to iterate on source files at least 3 times by design.

In C++ development, significant amounts of time can be spent waiting for the compiler.

Default initialization

Uninitialized variables can create subtle and hard to find bugs in C++ programs. In D all variables and members are initialized by default. If that happens to be expensive, the = void initialization can be used instead.

Name conflict bugs are impossible

A name conflict when importing modules with the same identifier triggers a compilation error. It is thus impossible to use the wrong symbol by mistake.

No more implicit conversion of arrays to pointers

This is a long-standing problem with C and C++.

Ranges vs Iterators

Ranges provides a number of advantages over iterators, being essentially a better tool for iteration.

Move and copy semantics radically simplified

D makes the assumption that structs and classes are copyable by bit copy. It adds some restrictions on internal pointers, but overall it's simpler.

unittest blocks

Built-in unit-tests lower the barrier for testing.

Documentation comments

Similarly built-in documentation comments lower the barrier for writing documentation comments.

The D STL is actually readable

Reading Phobos source code is easy and often enlightening.

Simpler object model

C++ having multiple inheritance implies a complex object model.
With alias this, multiple implementation inheritance is pretty much never needed.

Streamlined operator overloading

Making custom numerical types requires a lot less operator overloads.

++pre and post-increment++ have been fixed

See how here.

GC

For the large majority of programs, the GC is a productivity enhancer. For the other programs, it's not that bad and can be work-arounded.

No need for C++ templates heroes

The easier and more powerful templates of D allow any programmer to create meta-programs routinely. Not just one programmer in your team which happen to be comfortable with them.

Large language, but approachable

Learning to use D well is tricky, but you can use a subset from the get-go.

 

Downsides

For balance, here are the downsides (opinionated again):

How the D Garbage Collector works

There seems to be a stigma surrounding Garbage Collection when you talk to C++ users. The GC would be an wild memory-hungry beast that can't be tamed, essentially outside the control of the programmer. It would render real-time work impossible by its mere presence.

But the D Garbage Collector is firmly under the application control. Once you learn how it works, it doesn't seem so uncontrollable, and reveal itself as what it really is: a trade-off that most modern languages have choosen.

How the D GC works:

First of all, collections are not triggered randomly but when a thread allocates memory.

Tips

Intuitively, one can see that memory scanning is a potentially long and expensive process. Keeping a small GC heap makes it faster.
What you can do to accelerate scanning is using malloc/free instead of new to allocate big chunks of memory.
Anything that reduces the total amount of GC-owned memory will reduce the maximum pause duration.

More about the GC

See: http://dlang.org/garbage.html.

if (__ctfe)

D will run a lot of things through Compile-Time Function Execution (CTFE) if you ask for it.
Sometimes it is useful to branch based on whether the function is executing at compile-time or runtime.

That's what __ctfe is for.

import std.stdio;

string AmIInCTFE()
{
    if (__ctfe)
        return "Hello from CTFE!";
    else
        return "Hello from runtime!";
}

void main(string[] args)
{
    writefln(AmIInCTFE());
    pragma(msg, AmIInCTFE());
}

if embedded declaration

It's legal to declare a variable inside an if condition.

// AA lookup shortcut
if (auto found = key in AA)
{
    // found only defined in this scope
    doStuff(*found);
}

The branch is taken if the right expression evaluates to a truthy value.

// Equivalent for Java's instanceof
if (auto derived = cast(Derived)obj)
{
    // derived only defined in this scope
    doStuff(derived);
}

Implicit conversion for user-defined types

D officially forbid implicit conversions for user-defined types to avoid the pitfalls associated with them.
But defining an implicit conversion is actually possible by abusing alias this.

import std.stdio;

struct NumberAsString
{
    private string value;
    this(string value)
    {
        this.value = value;
    }

    int convHelper()
    {
        return to!int(value);
    }
    alias convHelper this;
}

void main(string[] args)
{
    auto a = NumberAsString("123");
    int b = a; // implicit conversion happening here
    writefln("%d", b);
}

This idiom was discovered by Benjamin Thaut.

Inheriting from Exception

When in doubt, do it like Phobos!

class MyOwnException : Exception
{
    public
    {
        @safe pure nothrow this(string message,
                                string file =__FILE__,
                                size_t line = __LINE__,
                                Throwable next = null)
        {
            super(message, file, line, next);
        }
    }
}

Is a specific program available in PATH?

This functions checks the PATH environment variable, looking for a specific program.

// Similar to unix tool "which", that shows the full path of an executable
string which(string executableName)
{
    import std.process: environment;
    import std.path: pathSeparator, buildPath;
    import std.file: exists;
    import std.algorithm: splitter;

    // pathSeparator: Windows uses ";" separator, POSIX uses ":"
    foreach (dir; splitter(environment["PATH"], pathSeparator))
    {
        auto path = buildPath(dir, executableName);
        if (exists(path))
            return path;
    }
    throw Exception("Couldn't find " ~ executableName);
}

If the command isn't available, this function will throw an Exception.

which("wget").writeln; // output: /usr/bin/wget

Should this property be available at compile-time or runtime?

It is common in Design by Introspection to decide between a runtime value and a compile-time value.

A hot sample

For example, our generic example library will operate on a Volcano concept.
The only requirement is to have a .magma property, be it compile-time or runtime, implicitely convertible to int.

template isVolcano(S)
{
    enum bool isVolcano = hasMagma!S; // only requirement for now
}

template hasMagma(S)
{
    enum bool hasMagma = is(typeof(
        ()
        {
            S s = S.init;
            int d = s.magma; // need a magma property
        }));
}

You don't necessarily have to choose

It turns out generic algorithms can work with both a runtime or compile-time .magma property, with this simple C++ trick.

template hasStaticMagma(S)
{
    enum bool hasStaticMagma = hasMagma!S && __traits(compiles, int[S.magma]);
}

void myVolcanoGenericAlgorithm(S) if (isVolcano!S)
{
    static if (hasStaticMagma!S)
    {
        // optimized version for statically known .magma ...
    }
    else
    {
        // plain version ...
    }
}

You aren't forced to choose runtime or static for your meta-programming design. This idiom enables faster code when some value is statically known, without necessarily hindering your design.

Knowing inout inside out

inout is a good-looking storage class. When should it be used?

Firstly, inout is great for writing getters returning references.

struct MyBuffer(T)
{
    private T* data;

    // This getter needs inout to fit MyBuffer,
    // const(MyBuffer) or immutable(MyBuffer) as caller
    inout(T)* getData() inout // <= 2nd inout applies to "this"
    {
        return data;
    }
}

It avoids to write the longer equivalent:

// Longer struct without inout
struct MyBuffer(T)
{
    private T* data;

    T* getData()
    {
        return data;
    }

    const(T)* getData() const
    {
        return data;
    }

    immutable(T)* getData() immutable
    {
        return data;
    }
}

Secondly, inout is also useful for free functions walking reference types:

// An example of a useful free function using inout
inout(char)[] chomp(inout(char)[] str)
{
    if (str.length && str[$-1] == '\n')
        return str[0..$-1];
    else
        return str;
}

It is allowed to use inout variables inside of an inout-enabled function:

// Useless example to demonstrate inout local variables
inout(int)[] lastItems(inout(int)[] arr, size_t pivot)
{
    // Local inout variables are allowed
    inout(int)[] lasts = arr[nth+1..$];
    return lasts;
}

But inout member variables are not allowed, because inout doesn't mean anything outside the context of a function.

struct InoutMember
{
    inout(int) member; // Wrong, won't compile
}

Leveraging TLS for a fast thread-safe singleton

In D the declarations you reasonably thought would be globals, are instead put in Thread-Local Storage (TLS) unless marked with shared or __gshared. Each thread the runtime knows has its own independent copy of TLS things.

class A
{
    static int instanceCount = 0; // Caution: one per thread
}

Don't ask what TLS can do for you. Ask what you can do with TLS!

TLS is useful to avoid locks when accessing global state.

In this example, we'll show how to leverage TLS to avoid a costly synchronized block and still be thread-safe.

class FastSingleton
{
private:

    this()
    {
    }

    // TLS flag, each thread has its own
    static bool instantiated_;

    // "True" global
    __gshared FastSingleton instance_;

public:
    static FastSingleton get()
    {
        // Since every thread has its own instantiated_ variable,
        // there is no need for synchronization here.
        if (!instantiated_)
        {
            synchronized (FastSingleton.classinfo)
            {
                if (!instance_)
                {
                    instance_ = new FastSingleton();
                }
                instantiated_ = true;
            }
        }
        return instance_;
    }

}

This singleton implementation was taken from this talk by David Simcha.

If you find any other use for TLS, please send us your discoveries.

Linking with C gotchas

The little known pragma(mangle)

pragma(mangle) is extremely useful when you need to statically link with a C function whose name is a reserved D keyword:

pragma(mangle, "version") extern(C) void c_version();

Minimum or maximum of numbers

min and max are found in std.algorithm, not std.math.

import std.algorithm : max;
int a = -5;
int b = 4;
double c = 10.0;
double max_abc = max(a, b, c);
assert(max_abc == 10.0);

They work with builtin types and any number of arguments.

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_algorithm.html#.min

Minimum or maximum of a slice

There is no standard function to get the minimum and maximum element of a slice.
But you can use std.algorithm.reduce().

import std.algorithm : min, max, reduce;

double[] slice = [3.0, 4.0, -2.0];

double minimum = reduce!min(slice);
double maximum = reduce!max(slice);

assert(minimum == -2.0);
assert(maximum == 4.0);

Never use >= for dependencies

Using DUB and dependencies? Here is a pattern you should avoid:

{
    "name": "my-program",

    "dependencies":
    {
        "awesome-lib": ">=1.0.0"
    }
}


Depending on a library using >= is risky. If awesome-lib breaks its API then releases a new major tag, your project will break. This is implicit in SemVer and using >= suscribes for immediate breakage.

Now this can be useful for executables, but this is especially bad for publicly released libraries. Any downstream project might break in the future when using your already released tags. And how will you fix tags that are already in use?

TL;DR Do not depend on APIs that will break in the future. Use ~> or == instead.

See: http://code.dlang.org/package-format#version-specs

One does not simply call new for static arrays

It just happens that in D you can't use new to get a pointer to a newly allocated static array.

void main()
{
    alias T = int[4];

    // This line does not compile!
    // Error: new can only create structs, dynamic arrays or class objects, not int[4]'s
    auto t = new T; 
}

"You can only call new with structs, dynamic arrays, and class objects" says the compiler.

Unrelated: actually the compiler is lying a bit, since it is possible to allocate a single (builtin type) value on the heap:

void main()
{
    int* p = new int;  // Works
}

But this can't be with static arrays, despite them being value types. Doesn't that sound like an inconsistency? Something that would have to be explained.

Why?

The reasoning for new and static arrays was probably that you rarely really want to allocate a static array on the heap; it could just as well be a slice.

So there is no syntax to do this.
When you do write new int[4] this will instead return an int[] slice with a length of 4, which adds the benefits of holding a length.

writeln(typeof(new int[4]).stringof); // output: "int[]"

auto arr = new int[4];
writeln(arr.length); // output: "4"
arr ~= 42;
writeln(arr.length); // output: "5"

So far, so good.

It gets weirder whenever shared, const and immutable get introduced...

Do it anyway

If for some reason you really need a static array allocated on the heap instead of a slice, you can do it anyway by using std.experimental.allocator (or its DUB equivalent stdx-allocator):

import std.experimental.allocator;

void main()
{
    alias T = int[4];

 // T* t = new T;                 // Won't work.
    T* t = theAllocator.make!T;   // Fine!
    assert((*t).length == 4);     // Safe too.

    (*t)[1] = 42;                 // Needs pointer dereference and parentheses before use.
    assert(*t == [0, 42, 0, 0]);  // Features default initialization.
    
 // (*t) ~= 43; // Error: cannot append type int to type int[4]
}

This idiom got some help from Bastiaan Veelo.

Optimal AA lookup

When used on an Associative Array, the in operator returns either a pointer to the searched for element, or null if not found.

Instead of:

key in aa ? aa[key] : ValueType.init;

which perform 2 AA lookups prefer:

auto ptr = key in aa;
ptr ? *ptr : ValueType.init;

The .get builtin property can also be used. It provides a default value when the key doesn't exist.

aa.get(key, defaultValue);

Reminder: AAs are hashmaps, not balanced trees!

Associative arrays in D are akin to C++'s std::unordered_map, not std::map.

See: https://dlang.org/spec/hash-map.html

Parallel foreach

This performs a parallel loop with a default task pool.

import core.atomic;
import std.parallelism;
import std.range;

void main()
{
    shared(int) A = 0;
    foreach(n; iota(2000).parallel)
    {
        atomicOp!"+="(A, 1);
    }
    assert(A == 2000);
}

Patching a library available on the DUB registry

How to patch a DUB library with minimal hassle for users?

  1. Commit your hopefully working fix.
  2. Test it. dub add-local or dub test can help to do it.
  3. Make a git tag. Please try to respect SemVer with respect to breaking changes, else you could break an unknown number of already released software. Also don't name your tag 1.0.0 instead of v1.0.0, else the registry won't take it. Likewise avoid leading zeroes like v2.3.04.
  4. Push the changes online. I would advise git push then git push --tags but to be honest I don't really know why it's better in this order. At this point the fix is online. This is not finished yet!
  5. Login on http://code.dlang.org and click on Trigger manual update button. This will acknowledge the new version and allow downstream to update to the new tag as soon as possible. Do not skip this step if you want a timely fix. If you don't do the manual update, the new tag will be acknowledged by the registry in less than 30 minutes.
  6. If downstream doesn't actually download the latest tag, consider using dub clean-caches to update the list of available packages.
  7. Your users are now delighted. Enjoy the endorphin rush.

People blogging about D

Planet D is a blog aggregator much more complete than this list:
http://planet.dsource.org/

Phobos Gems

There is no shortage of useful and surprising things in the D standard library.
Here is some of the most useful stuff.

Check recoverable errors with std.exception.enforce

It is good practice to check for unrecoverable errors with assert, and recoverable errors with enforce.
Which means you should learn the difference between those two types of errors.

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_exception.html#.enforce

Explicit destructor call with object.destroy()

Whenever you want to destroy an object manually, destroy() is probably what you want.
As a part of object.d, it is always available.

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/object.html#.destroy

Allocate a class object on stack with std.typecons.scoped

scoped replaces new and put a class object on the stack, with the double benefit of avoiding GC and performing deterministic destruction.

import std.typecons;
auto myClass = scoped!MyClass(); // no need for 'new', and automatic destructor call at scope exit.

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_typecons.html#.scoped

Remove type qualifiers with std.traits.Unqual

Unqual enables to write template and instantiate them with const(T), immutable(T), shared(T)

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_traits.html#.Unqual

Convert a range to a dynamic array with std.array.array

array is usually used to convert a range computation to a dynamic array.

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_array.html#.array

More Phobos gems

Placement new with emplace

C++ has "placement new" which is a language construct to construct an object at a given pointer location.

The D equivalent is a Phobos function called std.conv.emplace (documentation here).

emplace can be used as an alternative to new to support custom allocation. For example this perform construction of a class instance on the stack.

import std.conv : emplace;
ubyte[__traits(classInstanceSize, YourClass)] buffer;
YourClass obj = emplace!YourClass(buffer[], ctor args...);
// Destroy the object explicitly at scope exit, which will
// call the destructor deterministically.
scope(exit) .destroy(obj);

Courtesy of Adam D. Ruppe.

Porting from C gotchas

Globals must be marked __gshared

Variables at global scope are in Thread Local Storage (TLS) unless qualified with shared or __gshared. You are probably wanting to use __gshared.

// A C global variable
int my_global_var;
// Equivalent D global
__gshared int myGlobalVar;

long and unsigned long

C's long and unsigned long have variable size, no builtin type is equivalent in D!

The recommended way is to use c_long and c_ulong from module core.stdc.config.

// A C function declaration
unsigned long countBeans(const long *n)
// Equivalent D function declaration
import core.stdc.config;
c_ulong countBeans(const(c_long)* n);

c_int and c_uint also exist to replace int and unsigned int, but because they are 32-bits in most architectures, it's usually simply translated with D's int and uint instead.

char

In C, the char type can refer to either signed char or unsigned char, depending on the implementation.

In D, char is always an unsigned integer (0 to 255). If you need the equivalent of signed char, use byte.

// A C function declaration
unsigned char * computeBlurb(signed char *data);
// Equivalent D function declaration
char* computeBlurb(byte* data);

Multi-dimensional arrays declarations

// A C array declaration
int myMatrix[4][2] = { { 1, 2}, { 3, 4}, { 5, 6}, { 7, 8} };
// Equivalent D array declaration
int[2][4] myMatrix = [ [ 1, 2], [ 3, 4], [ 5, 6], [ 7, 8] ];

Enum values without enum namespace

// A C enum declaration
typedef enum
{
    STRATEGY_RANDOM,
    STRATEGY_IMMEDIATE,
    STRATEGY_SEARCH
} strategy_t;
// Equivalent D enum declaration
alias strategy_t = int;
enum : strategy_t
{
    STRATEGY_RANDOM,
    STRATEGY_IMMEDIATE,
    STRATEGY_SEARCH
}

This avoids having to write strategy_t.STRATEGY_IMMEDIATE instead of STRATEGY_IMMEDIATE when porting C code.

Anonymous struct and union

D provides a limited form of anonymous nested struct and union, but they can't be used to translate this C anonymous struct:

// A C anonymous struct
struct Foo
{
    struct
    {
        int x;
    } bar;
};
// Equivalent D
struct Foo
{
    private struct bar_t
    {
        int x;
    }
    bar_t bar;
}

Convert array to pointers explicitely

When porting from C, you will probably have to spam .ptr anywhere an array is implicitely converted to a pointer.

// In C
void sum(const int *array, int n);
int coeff[16];
sum(coeff, sizeof(coeff) / sizeof(int));
// In D
void sum(const(int)* array, int n);
int[16] coeff;
sum(coeff.ptr, coeff.sizeof / int.sizeof); // array not implicitely convertible to a pointer

Precise timestamps in milliseconds

core.time.MonoTime.currTime() returns the most precise (as opposed to accurate) available clock.

/// Returns: Most precise clock ticks, in milliseconds.
long getTickMs() nothrow @nogc
{
    import core.time;
    return convClockFreq(MonoTime.currTime.ticks, MonoTime.ticksPerSecond, 1_000);
}

Precomputed tables at compile-time through CTFE

D compilers provide extensive Compile-Time Function Execution.
This feature allows to easily compute almost anything at compile-time, without using an external program.

Here is an example of a precomputed array from the GFM library.

static immutable ushort[64] offsettable =
    (){
        ushort[64] t;
        t[] = 1024;        // Fills the table with 1024
        t[0] = t[32] = 0;
        return t;
    }();

What is happening there?

But why not use enum for this purpose?

If you must remember one rule from this article

For large constants, prefer using static immutable over enum.

It's important that static immutable is used in the previous example instead of just enum. This will create a constant with an address.

enum creates a compile-time only construct.
static immutable actually puts it in the static data segment.

// This example highlights the difference between "enum" and "static immutable" for constants.
import std.stdio;

bool amIInCTFE()
{
    return __ctfe;
}

void main()
{
    bool                  a = amIInCTFE(); // regular runtime initialization
    enum bool             b = amIInCTFE(); // forces compile-time evaluation with enum
    static immutable bool c = amIInCTFE(); // forces compile-time evaluation with static immutable

    writeln(a, " ", &a);   // Prints: "false <address of a>"
    //writeln(b, " ", &b); // Error: enum declarations have no address
    writeln(c, " ", &c);   // Prints: "true <address of c>"
}

Using enum would duplicate the constant at each call-site, which is inefficient for arrays and may even lead to allocations on use point in the same way than array literals allocate!

This pre-computed fibonacci example fails to compile:

enum int[] fibTable =
    (){
        int[] t;
        t ~= 1;
        t ~= 1;
        int precomputedValues = 128;
        foreach(i; 2..precomputedValues)
            t ~= t[i - 1] + t[i - 2];
        return t;
    }();


int fibonacci(int n) pure @nogc
{
    if (n < fibTable.length)  // Error: array literal in @nogc function fibonacci may cause GC allocation
        return fibTable[n];
    else
        return fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2);
}

For all the other uses of static, read this article.

Qualified switch using "with"

Let's say we have an enum:

enum MyEnum
{
    small,
    normal,
    huge
}

Switching on an enum value is annoying and redundant: MyEnum has to be repeated for each case.

final switch(enumValue)
{
case MyEnum.small:
    writeln("small");
    break;
case MyEnum.normal:
    writeln("normal");
    break;
case MyEnum.huge:
    writeln("huge");
    break;
}

We can work-around this by using with:

final switch(enumValue) with (MyEnum)
{
case small:
    writeln("small");
    break;
case normal:
    writeln("normal");
    break;
case huge:
    writeln("huge");
    break;
}

This idiom was discovered by Amaury Sechet.

Recursive Sum Type with matching

Never write a tagged union by hand again! std.variant.Algebraic solves this nicely.

Recursive data-types are supported despite the documentation saying it's not.

import std.variant, std.typecons;
alias Symbol = Typedef!string;

// an Atom is either:
// - a string,
// - a double,
// - a bool,
// - a Symbol,
// - or Atom[]
alias Atom = Algebraic!(string, double, bool, Symbol, This[]); // Use 'This' for recursive ADT

Atom atom;
if (bool* b = atom.peek!bool()) // is atom a bool?
{
    // here *b is a bool
}

Algebraic can be used with the visit function to do an exhaustive match.

// an exhaustive match with this ADT
string toString(Atom atom)
{
    return atom.visit!(
        (Symbol sym) => cast(string)sym,
        (string s) => s,
        (double x) => to!string(x),
        (bool b) => (b ? "#t" : "#f"),
        (Atom[] atoms) => "(" ~ map!toString(atoms).joiner(" ").array.to!string ~ ")"
    );
}

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_variant.html#.Algebraic

Renaming a module with backwards compatibility

It is easy to rename a function or object in D with the deprecated alias idiom.

deprecated("Use myNewFun() instead") alias myOldFun = myNewFun; 

void myNewFun()
{
     // Show a deprecation message if called with myOldFun() name
}

deprecated can also be used for module renaming.

deprecated("Import lib.newer.mod; instead") module lib.older.mod;

public import lib.newer.mod; 

However, at times you might want to write code that can work without deprecation message, with either the new or old module name.

That is also possible:

static if (__traits(compiles, (){import my.renamed.mod;})) 
    import my.renamed.mod;
else
    import my.original.mod;

The origin of that idiom is unknown, but probably first appeared in the arsd library.

Rvalue references: Understanding auto ref and then not using it

What are Rvalue references?

"Rvalue references", known from C++, are a way to pass both Lvalues and Rvalues by reference.
It looks like this:

#include <iostream>

struct Vector2f
{
    float x, y;

    explicit Vector2f(float x, float y) : x(x), y(y)
    {
    }
};

void foo(const Vector2f& pos)
{
    std::cout << pos.x << '|' << pos.y << std::endl;
}

int main()
{
    Vector2f v(42, 23);
    foo(v);                   // Pass a Lvalue, works
    foo(Vector2f(42, 23));    // Pass a Rvalue, works as well
}

How do you achieve something similar in D?

Understanding auto ref parameters

The canonical way to pass both Rvalues and Lvalues in D is to use auto ref parameters in combination with templates.


struct A
{
    int id;
}

void test(T)(auto ref T a)
{
}

//
// Case 1:
//
// This generates one function:
//
//      void test(ref A a) { ... }
//
// taking the argument by ref.
A a = A(42);
test(a);


//
// Case 2
//
// This generates another function:
//
//      void test(A a) { ... }
//
// taking the argument by value.
test(A(42));

What auto ref does is generating two different versions of the function, one passing Lvalues by reference, and the other passing Rvalues by copy.

Wait! You may immediately notice two key differences with C++:

You'll be relieved to know there is a way to mimic the C++ behaviour.

Here comes the trick

Let's define in our struct a byRef method which return this by reference.

import std.stdio;

mixin template RvalueRef()
{
    alias T = typeof(this); // typeof(this) get us the type we're in
    static assert (is(T == struct));

    @nogc @safe
    ref const(T) byRef() const pure nothrow return
    {
        return this;
    }
}

struct Vector2f
{
    float x, y;

    this(float x, float y) pure nothrow
    {
        this.x = x;
        this.y = y;
    }

    mixin RvalueRef;
}

void foo(ref const Vector2f pos)
{
    writefln("(%.2f|%.2f)", pos.x, pos.y);
}

void main()
{
    Vector2f v = Vector2f(42, 23);
    foo(v);                           // Works
    foo(Vector2f(42, 23).byRef);      // Works as well, and use the same function
}

By effectively converting the Lvalue into an Rvalue using the ref storage class on a function return type, we can pass the Vector2f to a function taking ref const input.

This idiom was written by Randy Schütt.

Searching for a substring position

The indexOf function in std.string gives back the index of the first found substring or -1 if missing.

import std.string;
assert(indexOf("Hello home sweet home", "home") == 6);

See: http://dlang.org/phobos/std_string.html#.indexOf

Should I use ++pre-increment or post-increment++?

Either one. It did matter a bit in C++ but doesn't in D. The compiler rewrites internally post-increments to pre-increments if the expression result is unused.

  it++; // lowered to ++it since the result isn't used
  it--; // ditto, lowered to --it

Contrarily to C++, a single operator overload is used to define both pre-increment and post-increment in user-defined types.

struct WrappedInt
{
    int m;

    // overload both ++pre and post++
    int opUnary(string op)() if (op == "++")
    {
        return ++m;
    }
}

Skip initialization with = void

In D, everything is initialized by default.
Because it may have a runtime cost, the syntax = void allows to skip default assignment for stack variables.

void bark()
{
    int dog = void; // dog contains garbage
    if(cond)
        dog = 1;
    else
        dog = 2;
}

= void is also accepted for struct or class members but doesn't do anything useful at the moment. Don't use it there.

Slices .capacity, the mysterious property

Dynamic arrays aka slices in D have a .capacity property: the maximum length the slice can reach before needing reallocation.

int[] arr = new int[10];
writeln(arr.capacity);
assert(arr.capacity >= arr.length);

Since .capacity is read-only, the .reserve builtin property also exist to ensure allocation size. This is similar to C++'s std::vector::capacity() and std::vector::reserve(size_t n). Handy!

T[] arr;
arr.reserve(N);
foreach(i ; 0..N)
  arr ~= expr(i);                        // guaranteed not to allocate in the loop

I hear you saying: "How is that possible since D slices are only a pointer and a length?"
There is a trick, getting that information relies on the GC, and slices pointing to non-GC memory will report a capacity of 0 which means reallocating is mandatory for appending.

char[16] hexChars = "0123456789abcdef";
char[] decChars = hexChars[0..10];
writeln(decChars.capacity);              // output '0' since decChars points to non-GC memory

decChars = decChars.dup;                 // makes a GC copy of the slice
writeln(decChars.capacity);              // outputs non-zero value now that decChars points to GC memory

"Slices" and "Dynamic Arrays" are one single thing

There is a tendency to call slices that own their memory "Dynamic Arrays" and the ones that don't "Slices"; perhaps to map other languages to D.

This is a harmful dichotomy. That a slice own or not its memory is purely derived from the pointed area.

Smallest dub.json for an executable

What DUB options are strictly necessary in a dub.json file to build an executable?

It turns out only one is needed:

{
    "name": "program_name"
}

Place the source code in a source/main.d or source/app.d file and DUB will find it and guess
you want to build an executable.

No main.d or app.d? DUB will guess it's a source library then.

So D is just C++ with a Garbage Collector?

There is sometimes a perception in Internet forums that D is a mere repackaging of C++. D would bring more or less the same feature set with a more friendly syntax, and not bring any new possibility.

The goal of this article is to provide counterpoints to this belief. D does allows some design that the community regards as new, alongside with the expected incremental improvements.

Here is an edited list of things that D can do, and C++ can't.

Static introspection

Can this module be imported?
Is this method const?
What is the list of all child classes of the given class?

Branded under the moniker Design by Introspection, static introspection applied to APIs enables code that abandon more type-safety in the quest for more genericity.

Examples:

Full-on CTFE

Compile-Time Function Evaluation, patiently evolved from a "glorified constant folder", is ubiquitous in D. Endlessly applicable, it also requires very few explanations: just add enum and you get it.
Regular looking code, evaluated at compile-time, with only a few limitations: what's not to love?

Examples:

Generative abilities

CTFE and deep type introspection would be nothing without the ability to generate code at compile-time easily.
String mixins, templates, mixin templates, "static" foreach are different way in which this can be achieved.

Examples:

The combination of Static Introspection, generative features and CTFE forms the trinity that powers D's unique selling point. It's the fire behind the proverbial smoke.

So what do module declarations do, exactly?

Module declarations are the things found at the top of modules.

module fancylib.interfaces; // this is a module declaration aka module directive

They seem simple enough, but elicit a number of questions in the long run:

Every module has a name

Every module has a module name whether it has a module declaration or not.

If you don't use one, the compiler uses the file name by default, but only the file name. The path on the file system is in no way taken into account.

Given a source file source/foo.d, using the following declaration is the same as not using a module declaration at all:

module foo; // can be omitted for a file source/foo.d

However, you rarely want to omit module declarations, we'll see why.

Module names role in  import

When a module is imported, the compiler will search for it in D files directly given through the command-line. If this fails, it will append the module name to import directories (the paths given with -I) in order to find such a file.

// Do I know such a module with this name?
// Can I find it in <import-paths>/mylib/foo/bar.d otherwise?
import mylib.foo.bar;

If you need to remember one thing

Modules have two ways to be found:

Unless your program is small and self-contained, you should prefer the latter, and use module names matching file pathes in the file-system.

See also: https://dlang.org/spec/module.html#module_declaration

So what does -debug do, exactly?

In D compilers, the -debug switch does only one thing: compiling in code in debug clauses.

debug
{
    writeln("-debug was used");
}
else
{
    writeln("-debug was NOT used");   
}

debug identifiers: who are they and what do they want?

You can define a "debug identifier" ident that will be compiled in if -debug=ident is passed through the command-line.

debug(complicatedAlg)
    writeln("-debug=complicatedAlg was used"); // useful for debug logging
else
    writeln("-debug=complicatedAlg was NOT used");

That makes debug remarkedly similar to... version.

debug is indeed strikingly similar to version

The 2 key differences between -debug and -version are:

Breaking pure/@nogc/nothrow/@safe with -debug is Undefined Behaviour, though in most cases it will work just fine and you don't have to worry. Just don't ship code with -debug enabled.

Read more about -debug: https://dlang.org/dmd-windows.html#switch-debug

So what does -release do, exactly?

In D compilers, the -release switch does the following things:

See: http://dlang.org/dmd-windows.html#switch-release

TRIVIA: Regardless of the use of -release, assertions are always on whenever the -unittest flag is passed to the compiler. This is the sort of special case that breathes life in this very page!

Static arrays are value types

(Note: on this whole website, with "static arrays" we mean fixed-size arrays, not arrays declared with static).

It's important to note that D static arrays are value types.

void addFour(int[16] arr)
{
    arr[] += 4;           // Only the local version is modified.
}

void main()
{
    int[16] a;
    addFour(a);           // a is passed by value on the stack, not by pointer.
    assert(a[0] == 0);
}

That makes such declaration a trap when porting functions from C or C++.

Static arrays convert implicitely into slices!

To pass static arrays by reference, either write a function taking a slice or use ref.

void addFive(ref int[16] arr)
{
    arr[] += 5;           // Caller parameter modified.
}

void addSix(int[] arr)
{
    arr[] += 6;           // Caller parameter modified.
}

void main()
{
    int[16] a;
    addFive(a);         // Works, a is passed by reference
    addSix(a);          // Works, a is converted into a slice referencing the same data
}

One of the oddities about static arrays is that you can't new them.

String interpolation as a library

D doesn't have string interpolation built in the language like PHP, Perl or Python.
Yet you can get a similar feature using the scriptlike library from Nick Sabalausky.

import scriptlike;
int num = 21;
writeln( mixin(interp!"The number ${num} doubled is ${num * 2}.") ); // Output: The number 21 doubled is 42.

Is interp difficult to implement?

It turns out interp is a pretty simple function, forced to execute at compile-time through CTFE by the use of mixin.

scriptlike also provides many more useful features for quick programs.
Homepage: https://github.com/Abscissa/scriptlike

The importance of being pure

pure is a good looking function attribute that unfortunately doesn't seem to provide much value at first sight. On the other hand, who doesn't want to write pure code?

How can we justify the horizontal space investment in pure annotations?

Reason 1: Purity helps with alias analysis

The compiler has to assume a non-pure function could modify any global state:

Let's say we have a function lacking a pure annotation.

extern(C) int impureFibonacci(int n);

This function gets called.

int result = impureFibonacci(8);
// Any global state could have changed, like allocated heap, global variables, and so on.
// That's like a barrier for the optimizer.

The compiler must assume any global state could have changed.

Reason 2: pure is documentation

As dreadful as annotation streaks like pure const nothrow @nogc can be, they are some kind of compiler-enforced documentation.

More about purity

This article was written with the help of Amaury Sechet.

The impossible real-time thread

It is often said on Internet forums that D couldn't possibly do real-time work, since its stop-the-world GC might pause every thread at once.

This is wildly inaccurate. The GC pauses all threads registered to the D runtime.

Real-time threads like audio callbacks are doable since forever. Here is how:

Another limitation: Such a thread must not hold roots to GC objects. What it means is that you can use GC objects from the real-time thread, but these GC objects should be pointed to by registered threads to avoid them being collected.

The trouble with class destructors

Despite having a GC, resource management in D is one of the most difficult point of the language.

In particular, class destructors in D enjoy a variety of limitations you should be aware of.

1. Don't expect class destructors to be called at all by the GC

The garbage collector is not guaranteed to run the destructors for all unreferenced objects.

2. Don't expect class destructors to be called timely and by the right thread

Class destructors might be called when a collect is performed which can be later than you wished and by any thread the GC is currently running on.

3. Don't expect members to be valid in a class destructor

The order in which the garbage collector calls destructors for unreferenced objects is not specified. Don't use members in class destructors if you expect to be called by the GC.

4. Don't allocate within a destructor called by the GC

Using GC allocation is forbidden within a class destructor.

5. Don't assume a class destructor won't be called because the constructor threw an exception.

If a class constructor throw, the corresponding destructor will be called as part of the normal teardown sequence! Be prepared for this: your class destructor should check for object validity.

Conclusion

All this is in sharp contrast with the deterministic way C++ deals with destructors. However, all these constraints go away if destructors are called manually using:

TL;DR There is not much that can safely be done in a class destructor if called by the GC. A solution to this problem is GC-proof resource classes.

See: http://dlang.org/class.html

The truth about shared

It's unclear when and how shared will be implemented.

Virtually noone use shared currently. You are better off ignoring it at this moment.

Trailing commas

D accepts trailing commas in every comma-separated list of things.

// Function declarations
void doNothing(
        int unusedA,
        int unusedB,
    )
{
}

// enum declarations
enum
{
    whatever,
    yolo,
}

// Array literals
static immutable double[] valuesOfPI =
[
    22.0 / 7.0,
];

void main()
{
    // Function calls
    doNothing(
       0,
       31,
    );

    // AA literals
    string[int] severities =
    [
         0: "info",
         1: "warning",
         2: "error",
    ];
}

Type qualifiers and slices creation

When a slice is created with new and a type qualifier, the qualifier applies to pointed elements
instead of the whole slice as would be expected.

import std.stdio;

void main(string[] args)
{
    // Output: "const(int)[]"
    writeln(typeof(new const(int[4])).stringof);
    
    // Output: "immutable(int)[]"
    writeln(typeof(new immutable(int[4])).stringof);
    
    // Output: "shared(int)[]"
    writeln(typeof(new shared(int[4])).stringof);
}

Note: this syntax doesn't return pointers to static arrays but indeed return a slice.

This peculiarity was emphasized at DConf 2018 by Andrei Alexandrescu.

Unittests with optimizations: the Final Frontier

DUB is an essential piece of the modern D language experience. However, that experience doesn't include "Running unit tests with optimizations" by default.

So, how do you avoid surprises in production? What would Kent Beck do?

In this post, we unleash the jaleously-guarded secret behind the most successful organizations in the world: running unittests with optimizations ON and OFF.

Changes to dub.json

Create a new build type with the proper flags. This is also a good way to get to know the discreet "buildTypes".

"buildTypes": 
{
    "unittest-opt": 
    {
        "buildOptions": ["unittests", "optimize", "inline"]
    }
}

Because it doesn't have a -release flag, asserts will still be enabled. Hence, the unittest content is here.

(Please, don't call this configuration unittest-release. Because flag -release not being there is the one important thing. This increase the confusion between "release" and "optimizations").

Run both versions

$ dub test 
$ dub test -b unittest-opt

You are now listed in Forbes.

Unrecoverable vs recoverable errors

This item is language-agnostic and perhaps the most widely applicable tip on this page.

Simply said

Being a D programmer requires knowing the two fundamental types of errors in programs.

Similarly to many languages with exceptions, errors are separated in logic errors and runtime errors. This is embodied in the two-headed exception hierarchy:

Unrecoverable/logic errors

Such errors are basically bugs. Logic errors includes but are not limited to:

The recommended way to deal with these is to throw an Error, for example by using assert. Indeed the only reasonable option when encountering a logic error is to crash. This is how highly reliable system are built: let the OS handle the program crash, let a supervisor restart the faulty process.

If you think you should recover from bugs and keep things running anyway, you are dangerous.

Recoverable/input errors

Such errors are basically not bugs:

The canonical way to deal with these is to throw an Exception, for example by using enforce.

Some errors are difficult to classify: what is unrecoverable for a program part might well be recoverable for another. In this case it is recommended to use Exception.

More material

Walter Bright repeatedly explained this item in the D newsgroup:

I believe this is a misunderstanding of what exceptions are for. "File not found" exceptions, and other errors detected in inputs, are routine and routinely recoverable.

This discussion has come up repeatedly in the last 30 years. It's root is always the same - conflating handling of input errors, and handling of bugs in the logic of the program.

The two are COMPLETELY different and dealing with them follow completely different philosophies, goals, and strategies.

Input errors are not bugs, and vice versa. There is no overlap.

See also: http://forum.dlang.org/post/m07gf1$18jl$1@digitalmars.com

Using std.typecons.Flag like a pro

Functions calls with boolean arguments are often hard to read and don't provide meaning.

void doSomething(bool frob);

[...]

doSomething(false);         // false what?

Fortunately std.typecons.Flag can help you turn bool arguments into readable flags at no cost.
Buy it now! At your local standard library dealer.

import std.typecons;

void doSomething(Flag!"frob" frob);

[...]

doSomething(No.frob);       // ok, no frob. Got it

Here are the guidelines straight from Andrei Alexandrescu:

For more documentation: https://dlang.org/phobos/std_typecons.html#.Flag

Voldemort types

A Voldemort type is simply a type that can't be named by the user.

An example from ae.utils.graphics:

template procedural(alias formula)
{
    alias fun = binaryFun!(formula, "x", "y");
    alias Color = typeof(fun(0, 0));

    // Returning auto is necessary here.
    // Procedural can't be named outside of the procedural function.
    auto procedural()
    {
        struct Procedural
        {
            auto ref Color opIndex(int x, int y)
            {
                return fun(x, y);
            }
        }
        return Procedural();
    }
}

Outside of the procedural function of this eponymous template, there is no way to name Procedural. Therefore, Voldemort types can only be passed around in auto variables or auto returns.

Why?

Hiding information about types. Because the user can't name or instantiate Voldemort types at will, expressions in a Voldemort lazy computation chain can change types without changing user code.

Voldemort types were promoted and named by Andrei Alexandrescu. They are typically used in chains of lazy computations, like ranges.

See also: Voldemort Types in D

What is the difference between out and ref parameters?

Both pass parameters by reference. But out parameters are initialized with .init at function startup, while ref parameters aren't.

import std.stdio;
import std.math;

void functionUsingRef(ref float refParam)
{
    writeln(refParam);
}

void functionUsingOut(out float outParam)
in
{
    // Initialization for out parameters happens
    // before function pre-conditions.
    assert(isNaN(outParam));
}
body
{
    writeln(outParam);
    // Nothing actually forces you to write outParam
    // but that's what you should normally do.
    // You can also read it's value.
}

void main()
{
    float x = 2.5f;
    functionUsingRef(x); // Output: 2.5
    functionUsingOut(x); // Output: nan
    writeln(x);          // Output: nan
}

ref and out are storage classes, not type qualifiers. They don't belong to the parameter's type.

Which book should I read?

"I'm already experienced with C++, Java or C#. I want to ramp up quickly with the best current practices."

Try Learning D by Mike Parker.

"I want examples of feature applications and usage, to see what D enables. Advanced stuff please."

Try the D Cookbook by Adam D. Ruppe.

"I want a whirlwind tour of D."

Try The D Programming Language (TDPL) by Andrei Alexandrescu.

"I want to learn how to program, with D."

Try Programming In D by Ali Cehreli.

"I want to do Web development, with D."

Try D Web Development by Kai Nacke.

Working with files

See this article, the best reference on the topic.

DIID #8 - Your own tree-walk interpreter

Solution: Use the pegged package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "treewalk-interpreter",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "pegged": "~>0.0"
    }
}

source/main.d

import std.conv;
import pegged.grammar;

mixin(grammar(`
Arithmetic:
    Term     < Factor (Add / Sub)*
    Add      < "+" Factor
    Sub      < "-" Factor
    Factor   < Primary (Mul / Div)*
    Mul      < "*" Primary
    Div      < "/" Primary
    Primary  < Parens / Neg / Number / Variable
    Parens   < :"(" Term :")"
    Neg      < "-" Primary
    Number   < ~([0-9]+)
    Variable <- identifier
`));

double interpreter(string expr)
{
    auto p = Arithmetic(expr);

    double value(ParseTree p)
    {
        switch (p.name)
        {
            case "Arithmetic":
                return value(p.children[0]);
            case "Arithmetic.Term":
                double v = 0.0;
                foreach(child; p.children) v += value(child);
                return v;
            case "Arithmetic.Add":
                return value(p.children[0]);
            case "Arithmetic.Sub":
                return -value(p.children[0]);
            case "Arithmetic.Factor":
                double v = 1.0;
                foreach(child; p.children) v *= value(child);
                return v;
            case "Arithmetic.Mul":
                return value(p.children[0]);
            case "Arithmetic.Div":
                return 1.0/value(p.children[0]);
            case "Arithmetic.Primary":
                return value(p.children[0]);
            case "Arithmetic.Parens":
                return value(p.children[0]);
            case "Arithmetic.Neg":
                return -value(p.children[0]);
            case "Arithmetic.Number":
                return to!double(p.matches[0]);
            default:
                return double.nan;
        }
    }
    return value(p);
}

void main(string[] args)
{
    assert(interpreter("3 * 1 - (3 + 3) * 4") == -21);
}

Get pegged documentation here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

DIID #1 - Parse a XML file

Solution: Use the arsd-official:dom package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "parse-xml-file",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "arsd-official:dom": "~>10.0"
    }
}

inventory.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<inventory>   
    <stuff count="5">
        <name>melons</name> 
    </stuff>

    <stuff count="8">
        <name>lemons</name> 
    </stuff>
</inventory>

source/main.d

import std.file;
import std.conv;
import std.string;
import std.stdio;
import arsd.dom;

struct Stuff
{
    string name;
    int count;
}

void main()
{
    Stuff[] allStuff = parseStuff("inventory.xml");
 
    // Do things with stuff
    foreach(s; allStuff)
    {
        writefln("%s %s", s.count, s.name);
    }
}

Stuff[] parseStuff(string xmlpath)
{
    Stuff[] result;
    string content = readText(xmlpath);
    auto doc = new Document();
    bool caseSensitive = true, strict = true;
    doc.parseUtf8(content, caseSensitive, strict);

    foreach (e; doc.getElementsByTagName("stuff"))
    {
        Stuff s;

        // Parse a mandatory attribute (throw if not there)
        s.count = e.getAttribute("count").to!int;

        // Parse sub-tags <name>
        foreach (e2; e.getElementsByTagName("name"))
        {
            s.name = e2.innerText.strip; // strip spaces inside <name>  myname </name>
        }

        result ~= s;
    }

    return result;
}

Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

DIID #7 - GET a file from the Internet

Solution: Use the requests package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "get-file-internet",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "requests": "~>2.0"
    }
}

source/main.d

import std.stdio;
import requests;

void main(string[] args)
{
    auto content = getContent("http://httpbin.org/");
    writeln(content);
}

Get requests documentation here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

DIID #6 - Parse JSON file

Solution: Use the arsd-official:jsvar package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "parse-json-file",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "arsd-official:jsvar": "~>10.0"
    }
}

inventory.json

{
    "stuff":
    [
        {
            "name": "melons",
            "count": 5
        },
        {
            "name": "lemons",
            "count": 8
        }
    ]
}

source/main.d

import std.file;
import std.stdio;
import arsd.jsvar;

void main(string[] args)
{
    var inventory = var.fromJson( cast(string) std.file.read("inventory.json") );

    foreach(i, v; inventory.stuff)
    {
        writefln("Item %s: name = %s count = %s", i, v.name, v.count);
    }
}

Get jsvar documentation here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

DIID #2 - Play music

Solution: Use the game-mixer package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "play-music",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "game-mixer": "~>1.0"
    }
}

source/main.d

import std.stdio;
import gamemixer;

void main(string[] args)
{
    IMixer mixer = mixerCreate();
    // Obviously you will need a `music.mp3` file in the working directory.
    IAudioSource music = mixer.createSourceFromFile("music.mp3");
    mixer.play(music);    
    writeln("Press ENTER to exit...");
    readln();
    mixerDestroy(mixer);
}

Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

DIID #3 - Convert Markdown to HTML

Solution: Use the commonmark-d package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "md2html",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "commonmark-d": "~>1.0"
    }
}

input.md

# title
Some **bold** text.

source/main.d

import std.stdio;
import std.file;
import commonmarkd;

void main(string[] args)
{
    string text = cast(string) std.file.read("input.md");
    text.convertMarkdownToHTML.writeln; // simply writeln the HTML
    // CommonMark and Github Flavoured Markdown are supported.
}

Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

DIID #4 - Draw an accelerated triangle

Solution: Use the arsd-official:nanovega package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "accelerated-triangle",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "arsd-official:nanovega": "~>10.0"
    }
}

source/main.d

import arsd.nanovega;
import arsd.simpledisplay;

void main () 
{
    auto window = new NVGWindow(800, 600, "NanoVega Simple Sample");

    window.redrawNVGScene = delegate (nvg) 
    {
        auto W = window.width;
        auto H = window.height;
        nvg.beginPath();
        nvg.moveTo(W*0.5, H*0.24);
        nvg.lineTo(W*0.3, H*0.7);
        nvg.lineTo(W*0.7, H*0.7);
        nvg.fillPaint = nvg.linearGradient(W*0.3, H*0.5, W*0.7, H*0.7, 
                                           NVGColor("#f00"), NVGColor.green);
        nvg.fill();
    };

    window.eventLoop(0,
        delegate (KeyEvent event) 
        {
            if (event == "*-Q" || event == "Escape") 
            {
                // quit on Q, Ctrl+Q, and so on
                window.close(); 
                return; 
            }
        },
    );
}

See Nanovega documentation here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

DIID #5 - Draw a triangle in a PDF

Solution: Use the printed:canvas package.

dub.json

{
    "name": "pdf-triangle",
    "dependencies":
    {
        "printed:canvas": "~>1.0"
    }
}

source/main.d

import std.stdio;
import std.file;
import printed.canvas;

void main(string[] args)
{
    auto pdfDoc = new PDFDocument();
    IRenderingContext2D renderer = pdfDoc;
    with(renderer)
    {
        // Draw a 50% transparent green triangle
        fillStyle = brush("rgba(0, 255, 0, 0.5)");
        beginPath(80, 70);
        lineTo(180, 70);
        lineTo(105, 140);
        closePath();
        fill();

        fillStyle = brush("black");
        fillText("That was easy.", 20, 20);        
    }
    std.file.write("output.pdf", pdfDoc.bytes);
}

See the printed API here.
Get the source code for all DIID examples here.

Smallest valid D program

Only 13 bytes are necessary:

void main(){}

You don't necessarily need to write void main(string[] args){}.