These new names are more consistent and logical because:
primitiveField():
primitiveFieldRef():
Provides low-level access to the Field<Type> (primitive field)
without dimension or mesh-consistency checking. This should only be
used in the low-level functions where dimensional consistency is
ensured by careful programming and computational efficiency is
paramount.
internalField():
internalFieldRef():
Provides access to the DimensionedField<Type, GeoMesh> of values on
the internal mesh-type for which the GeometricField is defined and
supports dimension and checking and mesh-consistency checking.
When the GeometricBoundaryField template class was originally written it
was a separate class in the Foam namespace rather than a sub-class of
GeometricField as it is now. Without loss of clarity and simplifying
code which access the boundary field of GeometricFields it is better
that GeometricBoundaryField be renamed Boundary for consistency with the
new naming convention for the type of the dimensioned internal field:
Internal, see commit a25a449c9e
This is a very simple text substitution change which can be applied to
any code which compiles with the OpenFOAM-dev libraries.
Resolves bug-report http://www.openfoam.org/mantisbt/view.php?id=1938
Because C++ does not support overloading based on the return-type there
is a problem defining both const and non-const member functions which
are resolved based on the const-ness of the object for which they are
called rather than the intent of the programmer declared via the
const-ness of the returned type. The issue for the "boundaryField()"
member function is that the non-const version increments the
event-counter and checks the state of the stored old-time fields in case
the returned value is altered whereas the const version has no
side-effects and simply returns the reference. If the the non-const
function is called within the patch-loop the event-counter may overflow.
To resolve this it in necessary to avoid calling the non-const form of
"boundaryField()" if the results is not altered and cache the reference
outside the patch-loop when mutation of the patch fields is needed.
The most straight forward way of resolving this problem is to name the
const and non-const forms of the member functions differently e.g. the
non-const form could be named:
mutableBoundaryField()
mutBoundaryField()
nonConstBoundaryField()
boundaryFieldRef()
Given that in C++ a reference is non-const unless specified as const:
"T&" vs "const T&" the logical convention would be
boundaryFieldRef()
boundaryFieldConstRef()
and given that the const form which is more commonly used is it could
simply be named "boundaryField()" then the logical convention is
GeometricBoundaryField& boundaryFieldRef();
inline const GeometricBoundaryField& boundaryField() const;
This is also consistent with the new "tmp" class for which non-const
access to the stored object is obtained using the ".ref()" member function.
This new convention for non-const access to the components of
GeometricField will be applied to "dimensionedInternalField()" and "internalField()" in the
future, i.e. "dimensionedInternalFieldRef()" and "internalFieldRef()".
in case of tmp misuse.
Simplified tmp reuse pattern in field algebra to use tmp copy and
assignment rather than the complex delayed call to 'ptr()'.
Removed support for unused non-const 'REF' storage of non-tmp objects due to C++
limitation in constructor overloading: if both tmp(T&) and tmp(const T&)
constructors are provided resolution is ambiguous.
The turbulence libraries have been upgraded and '-DCONST_TMP' option
specified in the 'options' file to switch to the new 'tmp' behavior.
