On Wed, Jul 12, 2006 at 12:15:07PM -0700, Chip Salzenberg wrote: > > - If another HLL wants to create a Perl6Str, how does it do it? > > - If another HLL wants to create a subclass of Perl6Str...?
I just realized that I misinterpreted these questions. I thought that the first question was asking how some random HLL can create its own class that also has the name 'Perl6Str' -- i.e. a name collision question -- and that the second question was adding on by asking how the new name-collided class could coexist with (for example, derive from) the original. I'll be happy to answer the actual questions precisely, but I need to know more: Frst: Is this about now or the eventual future? Do you want the answer for when the full name of Perl6Str is ['parrot';'Perl6Str'], as I think it is today, or ['perl6';'Perl6Str'], as it should be eventually? Second: Does the derived class have to be named ['myhll','Perl6Str'], or can it have a new basename like ['myhll','MyPerl6Str']? > AFAIK there is no answer for this at present. > > (1) POSSIBLE KLUDGE > > In the very short term we could introduce a simple hack that would allow > the user to specify the root namespace for the creation of the new class, > defaulting to the HLL root: > > .HLL "evillang" > .sub foo > $P0 = get_hll_namespace # ['evillang'] > $P1 = newclass ['Perl6Str'], $P0 # Not a Perl 6 string, but an > incredible simulation > ... > > (2) ELEGANT DIRECTION FOR THE FUTURE > > [to be determined] > > Seriously: Allison's busy (as am I) with nailing namespaces to the wall, so > I wouldn't ask her to decide this. I do have ... not so much an idea, but > an approach, which I'll suggest when the time comes: > > At present, newclass creates a class object and a namespace, both of which > have the same name. That must change once we stop depending on typed > namespaces. Assuming a single namespace object can represent a single class > in future -- which is good for class manipulation and introspection -- I > think we'd want to stop having 'newclass' futz with namespaces at all, > leaving it up to the user to give it a name ... if any. Yes, Virginia, > there are anonymous classes. :-) > > So it might look like: > > .HLL "evillang" > .sub foo > $P0 = newclass > ... > set_hll_global ['Perl6Str'], $P0 # Not a Perl 6 string, but an > incredible simulation > ... > > -- > Chip Salzenberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > -- Chip Salzenberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
