Proposal: allow passing constructors as functions

[rhcarvalho]

This feature request intends to allow using constructors where functions with the same type/signature are expected.

Example code: https://dartpad.dartlang.org/9745b0f73157959a1c82a66ddf8fdba4

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Background

As of Dart 2, Effective Dart suggests not using the new keyword and removing it from existing code.
Doing that makes named constructors and static methods look the same at call sites.

The Language Tour says (emphasis mine):

Constructors

Declare a constructor by creating a function with the same name as its class [...]

Thus suggesting that a constructor is a function. But it turns out it is not really a function, as it cannot be used in all contexts where a function can.

Why it would be useful

Dart built in types, in particular collection types, have several methods that take functions as arguments, for instance .forEach and .map, two concise and expressive ways to perform computations.

In an program I'm working on, I got a bit surprised by not being able to create new instances using Iterable.map + a named constructor. And then I realized that others have arrived at the same conclusion at least 4 years back on StackOverflow, but I could not find a matching issue.

Example Flutter code

What I would like to write:

  return Column(
    // This won't compile:
    children: ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'].map(Text).toList(),
  );

What I have to write instead with Dart 2.1.0:

  return Column(
    // Need a dummy wrapper around the constructor:
    children: ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'].map((name) => Text(name)).toList(),
  );

Note that the feature request is not specific to Flutter code, but applies to any Dart code as per the more generic example in https://dartpad.dartlang.org/9745b0f73157959a1c82a66ddf8fdba4.

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• Dart SDK Version (dart --version)

Dart version 2.1.0 (build 2.1.0-dev.9.4 f9ebf21297)

[vsmenon]

This issue was moved to dart-lang/language#216