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[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] RE: Semantics, Complex Systems, (XSLT) Programs which Write T
 Hi James, James said: i would not try to do it in c++ or java. i would use clos or smalltalk. directly. yes, they propose patterns and structures which make it possible to accomplish some of the same things in static languages like c++ and java. the only thing which i had found useful in their papers was the effort to standardize rule-based typing. i didn't thin it was worth the baggage. Didier replies: For people who knows only C++ or Java or for people constrained by available tools offered to these environments, yes it does. These strongly typed language do not offer dynamic adaptation. Even more, in C++ you have very little reflexivity offered by the language. Considering type definition as meta data or as an instance itself allows some reflexivity. This type of reflexivity can also be language independent. For instance, for C++ and Java when the implementation is on an object DB. Some recent run-time environment like Microsoft CLR virtual machine are beginning to offer "multi-language" reflexive properties. In the past we got "single language" reflexivity as with, for instance, Smalltalk. Even if the Smalltalk virtual machine could potentially be used to run other languages. Nonetheless, Java creators just created a new VM, and so is going the computer world with the "not invented here" syndrome. All the example you gave James where single language, single environment. What is new in case you didn't noticed is that the pattern is language independent. I can have two applications created in two different languages (let's say C++ and Java) and both can share the same adaptive model. James said: the user still has to be familiar with specific concepts and re-express their observations and/or requirements in those terms. they say it's not "programming" because it is not java and does not need to be "compiled". i suggest that the distinction is not material. Didier replies: Notheless, the implementation allows users to modify types without having to know a particular language. This is because, the "class" definition is stored as an instance and this latter can be modified. The "class" definition is still available at run time. Off course, the user has to be familiar with the object model and know that a particular object can be modified. The main point here is that the system could be designed to be adaptable without the need of a developer and a new development cycle. They don't claim having invented to cookie cutter, just proposed a language independent pattern for statically typed languages. It's not a revolution, its just Kaizen. Off course, you may want users to modify everything, thus, you need a way to control access to the "class meta information". Also, dependent on the way you see the world, a link from a "class definition" to the different contexts where this class could be used. These last two elements are missing in their model as well as in all previous language dependent dynamic typing environments. But this is a different story.... Cheers Didier PH Martin http://didier-martin.com 
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