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From: ttoupin@zephyr.cair.du.edu (Aerin)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: solution to implementing parameterized classes
Message-ID: <1991Jun12.223310.6791@mercury.cair.du.edu>
Date: 12 Jun 91 22:33:10 GMT
References: <1991Jun9.204515.18040@ms.uky.edu> <1991Jun11.183133.11458@auto-trol.com> <1991Jun12.171947.28079@iitmax.iit.edu>
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In article <1991Jun12.171947.28079@iitmax.iit.edu> gkt@iitmax.iit.edu (George Thiruvathukal) writes:
>In article <1991Jun11.183133.11458@auto-trol.com>, mattel@auto-trol.com (Matt Telles) writes:
>>    FINALLY!  Someone else that dislikes the idea of a pointer to nothing ...
>> Can't we define a type called generic????  (You know, like a generic pointer).
>> Matt
>
>...or perhaps one could be allowed to declare variables of type void, given its
>distinguished status as a "scalar" type :-).  Then one can declare variables 
>which hold nothing and for which no space is allocated.

I like the idea of a generic type (leads to: generic pointers), something like

	int xxx=3;
	type thing=xxx, *ptr=&xxx;

Then `thing' acts as an <int> type with value `3'.  The `type' structure would
hold a mangled name for the type it stores; maybe "i" for thing and "Pi" for
ptr.  A secondary mangled name would be allowed for casting, so that the
object doe not loose its integrity after a cast (it still knows that it is a
... when it has been cast to a ...).
 
It would be nice, then, to be able to do something like

	if(thing==<int>)
		// something if thing holds an <int> type
	else
		if(thing==<float *(*)[]>)
			// something if thing holds ...  THAT

In addition, functions should come equipped with two variables, like `this':

	arguments - an argument list (type arglist) of what the function was
		called with

	retval - the return value

So, one can do

	int myprintf(const char *p ...) {
		if(arguments==<const char *p,float,int *,char []>)
			// special case...  Does something neat :)
		else
			printf(p ...);
	}

Or, better yet:

	myprintf.arguments=<"%s",7.3,&xxx,"blah">;
		// do something here
	myprintf.call(); // calls myprintf with preloaded arguments...

With preloaded arguments, one might specify arguments to a destructor, among
other things.  Well, that's my $0.02.  Comments?
>-- 
>George Thiruvathukal
>
>Laboratory for Parallel Computing and Languages
>Illinois Institute of Technology
>Chicago

--
Tory S. Toupin                         |
ttoupin@diana.cair.du.edu              |  Existence toward perfection...
Unversity of Denver                    |      Life of mediocrity! 
Undergraduate: Math & Computer Sciences| 
Denver, CO  80208                      |         - M. E.

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