Re: Enumeration data type

Brian Webb <irobot@swbell.net> wrote:
>I'm planning on adding the ability to create "sets of typed constants"
>to a language that I'm designing, but feel that using the term
>"enumeration" may be confusing. What's a good name to use for the
>following constructs.


Finding a good name is imperative, since I find that naming is (for
me) the essence of a good design. If I can't name it, then the
concept/role is muddled.


So, for your example you called it a set of typed constants, but I
think that was not completely correct. I think you meant 'sets of
named constants'. Things to think about is how these are used, for
example are they included (and searched) like a namespace when you are
trying to resolve symbols in your language. Is the order preserved?
Can you interate over them (successor, predecessor operations?)


The smalltalk language contains something like what I think you want.
It is called a 'Pool' or 'PoolDictionary'. Essentially they are a
dictionary (aka MAP in C++ STL) of name-value pairs (Associations)
where the value is assumed to be constant. When you define a class in
the Smalltalk language you include a list of 'pools' that are searched
when symbols are resolved, thus providing a bucket of constants that
are not in the global scope.


I personally didn't care much for pool variables; I prefered creating
a class that provided a method (function) that would return the
constant. Provided all the utility of pools without adding another
(low value) concept to the language.


Cheers,
Kevin

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.