Is there any advantage to using a constant (unchangable) than just not changing a variable?
Is there any advantage to using a constant (unchangable) than just not changing a
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Is there any advantage to using a constant (unchangable) than just not changing a variable?
In some program languages, declaring something to be constant will allow a compiler to make optimizations which would not otherwise be possible. Further, declaring something to be constant can be a useful way of documenting that there are places in the code which might be broken should the value change.
Unfortunately, some programming languages sometimes do evil things with things that are declared constant. For example, in some .net languages, if a value type which is declared read-only is passed by modifiable reference, the compiler will, rather than refusing to allow such an action, instead make a copy and pass that. Such implicit copying will impair efficiency, and may result in unexpected semantics.