[2.xx] Expanded void Remove()

[Gleeok]

Why would you need to remove the pointer? I know what Remove() does. I just fail to see what problem you have. Remove() doesn't do anything with pointers it gets rid of what they point to.

Remove is actually a bit of a hack. It doesn't really remove the object, it just makes it so that the next frame ZC will see that it should be removed (deleted). Internalizing it is actually a good suggestion, though actually deleting it might be bad. (Like my pappy used to say: Don't change horses midstream.)

[SUCCESSOR]

Remove is actually a bit of a hack. It doesn't really remove the object, it just makes it so that the next frame ZC will see that it should be removed (deleted). Internalizing it is actually a good suggestion, though actually deleting it might be bad. (Like my pappy used to say: Don't change horses midstream.)

I get that. I know its a hack. I just don't see the useful difference to ZoriaRPG if it is internalized or not.

Because isValid() still returns that the pointer exists, even if you do Remove(), and for loops still scan it, which lengthens loop time.

I wrote other functions to cover this, but it's still optimal to actually remove the pointer when it's no longer needed.

So you want it to remove objects faster? Or are you saying you want if(pointer) to evaluate to false if it is invalid?

[ZoriaRPG]

Right, isValid() should evaluate false when a pointer is specifically removed.Iit would avoid the hack-ish methods that I'm using to determine if it should be skipped. Again, for loops (especially with a Waitframe(), as those can become cumulative) would be optimised if pointers are removed. It would allow the loop to advance in the same frame, and wouldn't require workarounds for multiple loops that run per frame.

If you're curious, here is a set of utility functions that I use with the present Remove() function:

///Used to check if any given pointer is on screen. Move pointers to X = 32768 to effectively kill them with void Remove().
 bool isOnScreen(item i){
	if( i->isValid() && i->X != 32768 ) {
		return true;
	}
	return false;
}

 bool isOnScreen(ffc f){
	if( f->Data > 0 && f->X != 32768 ) {
		return true;
	}
	return false;
}

 bool isOnScreen(npc n){
	if( n->isValid() && n->X != 32768 ) {
		return true;
	}
	return false;
}

 bool isOnScreen(eweapon e){
	if( e->isValid() && e->X != 32768 ) {
		return true;
	}
	return false;
}

bool isOnScreen(lweapon l){
	if( l->isValid() && l->X != 32768 ) {
		return true;
	}
	return false;
}

I use those, in place of isValid(), which works for the present, but it would still be better to remove the pointers. They otherwise just use stack/ heap space anyway.

Again, it's a request for the future. It would be cleaner to remove the pointers, rather than moving them off-screen.

I can see how deleting the ZScript void Remove might be bad, if anything depends on it.

You could do void Rem() for the internal side, to prevent compatibility conflicts.