Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uunet!mcsun!ukc!newcastle.ac.uk!turing!ncmh From: Chris.Holt@newcastle.ac.uk (Chris Holt) Newsgroups: comp.object Subject: Re: The essence of objects... Keywords: oops objects co2 objective c Message-ID: <1990Jul17.014837.2370@newcastle.ac.uk> Date: 17 Jul 90 01:48:37 GMT References: <1280@media01.UUCP> <1964@runxtsa.runx.oz.au> <1288@media01.UUCP> Sender: news@newcastle.ac.uk Organization: Computing Laboratory, U of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE17RU Lines: 29 In article <1288@media01.UUCP> pkr@media01.UUCP (Peter Kriens) writes: >... >Tim Menzies answers >> ... oop is a way of normalising procedural knowledge. database >> designers realised that we had to normalise data decades ago. now, we >> normalise code as well. > >This answer seems to imply that we now normalize code. I think we should >normalize our code, one way or the other. But it seems that the >database designers have some formal logic, and at least some understanding >of what it means to normalize data. I wouldn't know where to start >to normalize code. Relational databases have a mathematical model of values, and operations that can be used to combine them, and generate new structures from old ones. Denotational semantics and process algebras have a mathematical model of functions and state transformers, and define operations that can be used to combine them and generate new structures from old ones. Objects comprise in themselves values and operations that can be performed on them. They have to be modelled, and an algebra has to be developed that incorporates their combination (e.g. multiple inheritance) and the generation of new objects from old ones. Is this the kind of thing you mean? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris.Holt@newcastle.ac.uk Computing Lab, U of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Algebraic expression is something that is to be surpassed..."