RFR 8170348: Appendable.appendN(char, int) method to append multiple copies of char

[Claes Redestad]

On 2016-12-08 10:01, Ulf Zibis wrote:
> Am 08.12.2016 um 09:28 schrieb Peter Levart:
>>
>> On 12/07/2016 11:28 PM, Roger Riggs wrote:
>>> AbstractStringBuilder:
>>>    I agree with Claes' comment suggesting that IAE for negative 
>>> lengths is a pain
>>>    and defining it to append 0 would be natural in many use cases. 
>>
>> OTOH, inserting a simple Math.max(n, 0) instead of n where n could 
>> get negative would achieve the same without complicating the 
>> expression too much. Java standard APIs have a tradition of being 
>> explicit rather than having implicit hidden logic which surely 
>> shortens many usecases, but makes them harder to read and understand 
>> for casual readers not intimately familiar with such API. The logic 
>> to treat negative lengths as 0 is implicit and not universally correct.
> +1
> If we would treat negative values as 0, we loose a chance, where 
> programmers could become aware about possible errors in the logic of 
> their program.

Right, the two of you have convinced me that some exceptional 
explicitness is the better choice in this (and likely most) cases.

Thanks!

/Claes
>
> -Ulf