The keyhole problem. Scott Meyers, author of the essential Effective C++, is working on a new book. This one is on the keyhole problem. In his words: The book explains how some kinds of constraints in software systems decrease the quality of those systems in many ways. It proposes practical steps programmers can take to avoid these constraints.I call the constraints I'm interested in keyholes: arbitrary restrictions on your ability to see or express something. The name is motivated by the analogy of looking at a room through a keyhole in the door. I'm especially interested in keyholes that programmers can easily avoid, i.e., on gratuitous keyholes. The book defines a number of such keyhole types, gives a variety of examples of how they manifest themselves, explains why they are harmful, and describes how they can be avoided or mitigated. [Ceejbot]