Paul Eggert wrote on 2006-01-05:
> > (If the interface to it was just set_program_name, it could be private.)
>
> Yes, that would be a better convention. This will require revamping
> pretty much everybody that uses program_name, but I think it's worth
> the pain. What do others think?
GNU gettext already uses set_program_name() instead of direct assignment to
program_name since 2001. The benefits are
- The same call can be used for initializing the strings used by relocate()
[relocatable program installation].
- Works around strange executable naming by libtool, when libtool is used
to link the program.
Both benefits are small enough by themselves, but show the typical reasons
why a functional interface is better than just a variable: Extensibility and
workarounds/hacks.
Bruno
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