From d1b394fa5cde326c2635997ddb7cda27a52d537d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Mark Wooding <mdw@distorted.org.uk>
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2017 10:52:06 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] doc/concepts.tex: Warn about allocating resources in init
 methods.

---
 doc/concepts.tex | 6 +++++-
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/doc/concepts.tex b/doc/concepts.tex
index f7283e4..b48746e 100644
--- a/doc/concepts.tex
+++ b/doc/concepts.tex
@@ -741,7 +741,11 @@ environment in which it operates.
 
 Details of initialization are necessarily class-specific, but typically it
 involves setting the instance's slots to appropriate values, and possibly
-linking it into some larger data structure to keep track of it.
+linking it into some larger data structure to keep track of it.  It is
+possible for initialization methods to attempt to allocate resources, but
+this must be done carefully: there is currently no way to report an error
+from object initialization, so the object must be marked as incompletely
+initialized, and left in a state where it will be safe to tear down later.
 
 Initialization is performed by sending the imprinted instance an @|init|
 message, defined by the @|SodObject| class.  This message uses a nonstandard
-- 
2.11.0

