From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fac41,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 114809,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid114809,public From: demer@hc17031.hcsd.ca (David Emery) Subject: Re: OO, C++, and something much better! Date: 1997/01/08 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 208514847 sender: demer@hc17031.hcsd.ca references: organization: HCSD newsgroups: comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.smalltalk,comp.lang.eiffel,comp.lang.ada,comp.object,comp.software-eng Date: 1997-01-08T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: >> - A completely consistent type structure, in which >> even basic types such as INTEGER are classes, >> present in the general inheritance structure. >> (In C++ or Java, for example, the basic types >> are completely separate from the class and inheritance >> structure.) > >OK, here you have me. But, Eiffel hedges a bit here as well with its >"expanded types". I think that there is not a clear consensus on this as A Good Thing. >From a practical perspective, there seems to be a significant price to pay for 'full generality' (e.g. integers are classes just like user-defined record types.) Java, for instance, has primitive integer types, and my understanding that the reason for this is performance, pure and simple. Making 'int' a class would result in unacceptable performance, both compile-time and runtime, for simple things like "a[i++] := b + c;" (for int a, b, c). Language engineering design is a series of compromises between expressiveness and efficiency (among other compromises). Pure 'class-hood' for all types in the system is one area where there are serious tradeoffs between expressiveness and efficiency. dave -- <.sig is away on vacation>