public static int Tokenize(in ReadOnlySpan<char> glob, ref Span<GlobToken> tokenizedGlob)
I'm assuming the thinking with ref here is that the code will modify the tokenizedGlob, hence ref instead of in. But this is thinking at the wrong level of indirection.
The ref here actually gives Tokenize the capability of modifying the variable that the caller supplies as tokenizedGlob so that it refers to an entirely different Span<GlobToken>. And this method has no need of that.
If we change ref to in, we state, correctly, that this method will not attempt to modify which memory the caller's variable refers to. But we retain the ability to modify what's in that memory, because we've got a Span, and not a ReadOnlySpan.
Currently we have this signature:
I'm assuming the thinking with
refhere is that the code will modify thetokenizedGlob, hencerefinstead ofin. But this is thinking at the wrong level of indirection.The
refhere actually givesTokenizethe capability of modifying the variable that the caller supplies astokenizedGlobso that it refers to an entirely differentSpan<GlobToken>. And this method has no need of that.If we change
reftoin, we state, correctly, that this method will not attempt to modify which memory the caller's variable refers to. But we retain the ability to modify what's in that memory, because we've got aSpan, and not aReadOnlySpan.