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Re: function signature type checking



In article <u1yiisfwc.fsf@telus.net>, Ray Blaak <blaak@telus.net> 
wrote:

> Given that a Dylan compiler necessarily has the ability to
> determine signature matching when doing dispatching, and to
> raise errors when incorrectly invoking a method, I would be
> very interested to know what some of the difficulties are.

Me too, as I'm havng trouble seeing them.

It may be simply that it was difficult to see precisely what the 
difficulties might *be* until there were actual implementations of the 
language.  Real compilers have to deal with function signatures, and 
they do, but the design of how to do it while coping with all possible 
"hair" may have been best found operationally rather than specified 
a-priori.

In which case it may now be time to go back and codify practise.

-- Bruce



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