On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 1:03 PM, Shantanu Kumar <kumar.shant...@gmail.com> wrote: > I tried to assign a data type to a var and then instantiate it using > the var, but it doesn't seem to work: > > user=> (defrecord X []) > user.X > > user=> (X.) > #:user.X{} > > user=> X > user.X > > user=> (def hey X) > #'user/hey > > user=> (hey.) > java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unable to resolve classname: hey > (NO_SOURCE_FILE:59) > > user=> (new X) > #:user.X{} > > user=> (new hey) > java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unable to resolve classname: hey > (NO_SOURCE_FILE:61) > > user=> (apply new hey) > java.lang.Exception: Unable to resolve symbol: new in this context > (NO_SOURCE_FILE:62) > > Can anybody help me understand how to accomplish this when using the > var? This will give me a generic way to instantiate the type when I > know the parameters.
The problem is that "X." is a special form, so when you say "hey." it's looking for a class literally named "hey". The best solution is to provide for each defrecord a real Clojure function to act as a factory. There are several places that such a function can be helpful, and in real-world code you almost always run into at least one of them: (defrecord X []) (defn new-X [] (X.)) (def hey new-X) (hey) ;=> #:user.X{} If you don't like the idea of a named factory function for each record type, you can create an anonymous fn on the fly instead: (defrecord X []) (def hey #(X.)) (hey) ;=> #:user.X{} Note in either case when you define the factory fn (named or not), you need to specify all the args the real record constructor requires. --Chouser http://joyofclojure.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Clojure" group. To post to this group, send email to clojure@googlegroups.com Note that posts from new members are moderated - please be patient with your first post. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to clojure+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/clojure?hl=en