>> similarly, it is usually >> if(p != nil) >> ... >> not >> if(!p) > > ha ha. sorry i meant > if(p == nil) > not > if(!p)
personal opinion here. while i appreciate the sentiment behind nil, it breaks down for me around the edges. zero is the one value that can be assigned to anything. i think the c standard thinks about zero like andy worhol thinks about coke. you know that pointers can be zero and integers can be zero your ptr can be zero, too. a zero is a zero and no amount of casting about will get you a better zero. (all things being equal, i'd rather have a coke than a zero, but i digress....) what it does get you is longer lines, which many folk still wrap at 80 characters. and all things being equal, i find unwrapped lines easier to read. - erik