[erlang-questions] clarify: Sending big messages

[Zoltan Peter Toth]

>     > deliver(Port, Data) ->
>     >     Port ! {data, Data}.
>     >
>     > This function returns Data.
>
>     Nope.  This function returns {data, Data}.
>
Oops, sorry. Such things will not bypass the attention of the creator of 
dialyzer, though :)))
>
>     I personally think that !/2 returning a value instead of being void as
>     it should, is a design flow in the definition of the language. (*)
>
>
> Trouble is there is no void data type and every expression must return 
> a value. So we decided that as it must return something it might as 
> well return something useful, so why not the message? Personally I 
> think this is better than returning 'ok' or 'void'.
It's probably a matter of taste... however, imho:

- the message to be sent is obviously available in the function invoking 
!/2. I see no gain from  
  returning it. If one needs it, it can be bound to a variable before 
sending.
- it would be safer to return ok: otherwise it's easy to cause trouble 
with an unconsidered rpc.
  It's easy to run into that if one calls a function via rpc that calls 
others locally, and the call stack
  may somehow end with a !/2 in certain cases.

/Zoltan