Re: Generics vs. Message passing: object namespaces

On 24 Feb 2007, at 16:15, Tom Locke wrote:

>>> In practice, programmers using object-dispatch languages have no  
>>> difficulty understanding where a call is going when the see  
>>> something like "file.name". Yes the namespace is implicit rather  
>>> than explicit, but people are good at context! Honestly, this is  
>>> a BIG reason why people like object-dispatch. It is. Honestly.
>>
>> I don't buy into this. For me, the big win of OOP always was ad- 
>> hoc polymorphism, i.e., the ability to invoke different variations  
>> of the conceptually same operation without the need to write  
>> extensive if-statements everywhere. It never was about the ability  
>> to clutter the same names with completely unrelated functionality.
>
> It is amazing how people insist on arguing in absolutes. Notice how  
> "A big reason" becomes "THE big win". I didn't for a moment suggest  
> that this was the main benefit of OO. I'm just saying that this is  
> a VERY popular aspect of OO with the masses (of course this is  
> conjecture). In my experience, people like that feature a lot.

I don't know so many people, so I am not able to tell what is popular  
with the masses. I just don't buy into this. However, I think it is  
easy to confuse ad-hoc polymorphism with overloading of names.


Pascal

-- 
Pascal Costanza, mailto:[email protected], http://p-cos.net
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Programming Technology Lab
Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel, Belgium