By-Name vs. By-Identifier Access
Two ways are provided to refer to parameters and enumerated parameter values:
- The by-identifier access (also called the by-ident access or by-handle access). The items are referred to by their identifier.
- The by-name access. The items are referred to by their name (a character string).
See also Parameter Name and Parameter Identifiers.
Advantages and disadvantages of using by-ident access or by-name access
By-ident access |
By-name access |
Static method All item identifiers are prepared offline by Euresys, and made known to the user application source code by means of a special header file. |
Dynamic method The reference to an item can be dynamically established at runtime. For example, a dialog box can invite the user to type an item name. |
Syntax checking The compiler can check the consistency of the identifier spelling. |
No syntax checking The compiler has no way to control the correctness of a quoted character string. |
Faster The MultiCam driver directly accesses the required item when the access function is executed. This can be valuable when a lot of items have to be consecutively updated under application control. |
Slower The MultiCam driver has to interpret the string when the parameter access function is executed. This involves a search in a list of names, and consumes time at runtime. |