Teach Yourself Borland C++ in 14 Days - portal

496 Day 14
__published
The __published keyword is used when you want a property to be displayed in the Object
Inspector at design time. This keyword is used in a class declaration just like the public,
private, and protected keywords are used. For example, a typical class declaration for a
C++Builder component might look like this:
class TFlashingLabel : public TCustomLabel
{
private:
//
// Private data members and functions here.
//
protected:
//
// Protected data members and functions here.
//
public:
//
// Public data members and functions here.
//
__published:
//
// The component’s published properties here.
//
__property int FlashLimit = {read=FFlashLimit, write=FFlashLimit, default=0};
// more property declarations
};
Any properties in the __published section will be displayed in the Object Inspector at design
time. Although the implementation of the __published keyword is trivial, this keyword is one
of the major keywords from the standpoint of C++Builder extensions to the C++ language.
Summary
Programming languages evolve based on many factors. One of the most viable reasons for a
language to evolve is because programmers require a language feature not found in the current
incarnation of that language. That’s the way it should be: Ask and ye shall receive—or at least
have a chance of receiving at some point in the future. Programming languages are rarely
static. They are almost always changing to some degree or another. Changes to a language
frequently challenge the comfort level of many of the users of that language. While I don’t
promote change just for the sake of change, I am certainly open to language extensions when
they make sense.
The fact is that Borland decided to add extensions to the C++ language. Those extensions give
C++Builder much of its power. It is pointless to debate the language extensions. You can
either use C++Builder with all its power and accept the extensions to the C++ language, or