Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!husc6!psuvax1!psuvm.bitnet!cunyvm!nyser!itsgw!imagine!rpics!adamsf
From: adamsf@rpics (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
Subject: Re: Specify New Classes in Smalltalk/V
Summary: if you don't understand the issues, use subclass
Message-ID: <1766@imagine.PAWL.RPI.EDU>
Date: 17 Nov 88 18:49:47 GMT
References: <1361@aucs.UUCP> <3269@entire.UUCP>
Sender: news@imagine.PAWL.RPI.EDU
Reply-To: adamsf@turing.cs.rpi.edu (Frank Adams)
Distribution: na
Organization: RPI CS Dept.
Lines: 18

In article <3269@entire.UUCP> elt@entire.UUCP (Edward L. Taychert) writes:
>In article <1361@aucs.UUCP>, 831059l@aucs.UUCP (Langlois) writes:
>> When you choose to add a subclass to an existing class, you are then asked
>> to select from a menu containing subclass, variableSubclass,
>> variableWordSubclass, and variableByteSubclass.
>
>use variableSubclass, this means that object instance variable can reference
>any kind of object.

This is not, in general, good advice.  For most classes, you should choose
just plain subclass.  This means that the instance variables of the instances
of the class will all have names.  These named instance variables can each
reference any kind of object.

Use the variable* forms only for things like arrays which are going to
maintain a list of members.  Even then, consider whether it wouldn't be
better to have, say, an instance variable which always contains an array
instead of indexed instance variables.
#! rnews