[plt-scheme] framing problem

On Feb 21, 2008, at 2:57 PM, Mark Engelberg wrote:

> In my view, this problem has been most satisfactorily solved by  
> "multiple-dispatch" (aka multimethod) object-oriented languages  
> (like Dylan, inspired by CLOS), but for various reasons, this  
> solution hasn't really caught on.  But the quest to solve this  
> problem is why many OO languages are being stretched to incorporate  
> elements of functional programming, and vice versa.

The problem has two faces:

  -- given a fixed language, how do you best solve it? I consider  
this aspect the critical one.
  -- change the language so that the solution becomes easy to  
formulate. I consider this aspect the fun one.

While I agree that solving the problem in a language with multiple  
dispatch is appealing, I think that a language designer must weight  
the pros and cons of these features, and based on this, multiple  
dispatch has too many disadvantages at the moment to make it into  
mainstream languages.

;; ---

Of course in PLT Scheme, you can define your own class system and  
language via a module. And if you have time, I recommend playing with  
Swindle.

-- Matthias

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