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From: glang@Autodesk.COM (Gary Lang)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.objective-c
Subject: Re: Operator overloading
Message-ID: <1849@autodesk.COM>
Date: 5 Jan 91 20:23:26 GMT
References: <1990Dec14.155211.6598@mprgate.mpr.ca> <191@bosslog.UUCP> <5952@stpstn.UUCP>
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Organization: Autodesk Inc., Sausalito CA, USA
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In-reply-to: lerman@stpstn.UUCP's message of 27 Dec 90 19:10:30 GMT

>IMHO the polymorphism available through Objective-C qualifies as
>operator overloading.

Oh come on. I'm as big a fan of OC as the next guy, but the fact that
I can't build my own floating point package using my own function
calls and then overload math operators so that the code looks like all
the other math code in the world means that you really don't have
_operator_ overloading (BTW this is an essential feature for some work
I have in mind for a new platform that's coming out that you might
want to support soon - email me for details).

I agree with you; I don't miss the method overloading in C++ because of
the way OC works. But don't overstate your case...you cannot overload
the basic operator tokens of your language.

On the other hand, OC on the NeXT under 2.0 is supposed to support C++
so presumably you can do this there (I haven't tried it yet because
everything I'd meant to overload is done through method overloading as
you describe, and I don't need it)...

- g
-- 
Gary T. Lang  (415)332-2344 x2702  
Autodesk, Inc.
Sausalito, CA.
MCI: 370-0730