Re: Object or <T> parameters

[email protected] wrote:

>>I think it's reasonable. It might be nice to have it print name, type
>>information, and so on. Even if it doesn't, I don't see what the issue
>>is. If it's first class, you ought to be able to inspect it, IMHO.
>>    
>>
>
>I agree, it might be a useful feature. But, is the current behavior useful? I
>personally don't think it is. It seems likely that whenever we write:
>    x + f + y
>when f is a function, we really mean:
>    x + f() + y.
>given that toString(t) doesn't do what you describe above.
>  
>
Ah, I see. In that case, I propose that we make toString() return 
something useful for methods. :-)

>>Did you mean "let d = newInstance(getClass(c))"? I would think it would 
>>create a new method. This would fail at runtime I imagine, since methods 
>>probably wouldn't have no-arg constructors.
>>    
>>
>
>Yes, that is what I meant. What does getClass() mean for methods? 
>  
>
Well, if we're going to be dealing with creating new methods and so on 
at runtime, I imagine that notionally getClass() would return class 
nice.lang.Method or something. This isn't implemented of course, but I 
think it's a reasonable guess to say that getClass() will have a 
sensible (and useful) meaning sometime in the future. Of course, that's 
just me, I don't speak for Daniel.
 

>>A worthwhile goal, but I'm not convinced that benefits outweigh the costs.
>>    
>>
>
>Fair enough. This is not a huge deal to me. I think it is something to consider
>when implementing features based on the block call syntax(es).
>  
>
So noted. I agree it's easier than one might like to make a mistake and 
pass the method where you wanted the result of calling the method. This 
is common to most languages with first-class methods, of course. Some 
make you use some special character to indicate that you want the 
method, and not the call: \foo, :foo, or something like that. What do 
you think of that approach?

Bryn



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