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Generics and Reverse Generics for Dynamic Languages

Generics and Reverse Generics for Pharo

Generic programming is a mechanism for re-using code by abstracting specific types used in classes and programs. In this paper, we present a mechanism for adding generic programming in dynamically typed languages, showing how programmers can benefit from generic programming. Furthermore, we enhance the expressiveness of generic programming with reverse generics, a mechanism for automatically deriving new generic code starting from existing non-generic one. We implemented generics and reverse generics in Pharo Smalltalk, and we successfully used them to solve a problem of reusing unit test cases. This helped us to identify a number of bugs and anomalies in the stream class hierarchy

By Greg Buchholz at 2018-02-18 20:07 | LtU Forum | previous forum topic | next forum topic | other blogs | 4215 reads

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Wonky

Reminds me of the informal phrase used in math, where someone will demonstrate something like:

f(7) = g(7*7)

And then claim "and this works for arbitrary values of 7". I suppose 7 is a perfectly fine name for a variable so long as it's not also being used as the constant.

By Matt M at Sun, 2018-02-18 21:36 | login or register to post comments

+1

[..]

By cpurdy at Tue, 2018-03-06 12:15 | login or register to post comments

Ahem

I'm incomfortable with your comment that reads as a claim that the work discussed has no value. This is disrespectful of the authors, not representative of the tone of discussion I would like to see on LtU, and it's not constructive at all -- you don't give a criticism of the paper based on specific claims, you are just insulting it.

By gasche at Tue, 2018-03-06 14:01 | login or register to post comments

Generic issue (no pun intended)

[..]

By cpurdy at Tue, 2018-03-06 17:51 | login or register to post comments

I am with gasche. I have no

I am with gasche. I have no idea what the original comment meant, if it is not about the paper, and we all have read many papers so we pretty much know how we want them discussed here.

By Ehud Lamm at Tue, 2018-03-06 18:06 | login or register to post comments