34 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
34 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
In [[object-oriented programming]] '''class''' is a set (a [[wp:Transitive_closure|transitive closure]]) of types bound by the relation of [[inheritance]]. It is said that all types derived from some base type T and the type T itself form a class T.
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The first type T from the class T sometimes is called the '''root type''' of the class.
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A class of types itself, as a type, has the values and operations of its own.
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The operations of are usually called '''methods''' of the root type.
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Both operations and values are called [[polymorphism | polymorphic]].
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A polymorphic operation (method) selects an implementation depending on the actual specific type of the polymorphic argument.
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The action of choice the type-specific implementation of a polymorphic operation is called '''dispatch'''. Correspondingly, polymorphic operations are often called '''dispatching''' or '''virtual'''.
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Operations with multiple arguments and/or the results of the class are called '''multi-methods'''.
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A further generalization of is the operation with arguments and/or results from different classes.
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* single-dispatch languages are those that allow only one argument or result to control the dispatch. Usually it is the first parameter, often hidden, so that a prefix notation ''x''.''f''() is used instead of mathematical ''f''(''x'').
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* multiple-dispatch languages allow many arguments and/or results to control the dispatch.
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<br>
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A polymorphic value has a type tag indicating its specific type from the class and the corresponding specific value of that type.
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This type is sometimes called '''the most specific type''' of a [polymorphic] value.
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The type tag of the value is used in order to resolve the dispatch.
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The set of polymorphic values of a class is a transitive closure of the sets of values of all types from that class.
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In many [[object-oriented programming | OO]] languages
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the type of the class of T and T itself are considered equivalent.
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In some languages they are distinct (like in [[Ada]]).
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When class T and T are equivalent, there is no way to distinguish
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polymorphic and specific values.
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;Task:
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Create a basic class with a method, a constructor, an instance variable and how to instantiate it.
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<br><br>
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