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Realization of multimethods in single dispatch object oriented languages

Authors:

Rajeev Kumar,

Vikram Agrawal,

Anil MangoliaAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 40, Issue 5

Pages 18 - 27

https://doi.org/10.1145/1071221.1071223

Published: 01 May 2005 Publication History

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Abstract

The need for multimethods is preeminent in the domain of object-oriented programming. However, multimethods are far from universally acknowledged. Commonly used languages - C++, Java & C# - are single dispatching languages. In this paper, we demonstrate the alternatives for multimethods in such languages. The techniques discussed, in this paper, include double dispatching (a well known technique), technique of message dispatching using RTTI (explored in detail by us in this paper), and reflection (a feature provided by some compilers). We implement these techniques for C++, Java and C# languages and discuss issues associated with encapsulating multimethods in single dispatch languages. We also compare techniques in terms of their efficiency, ease of (re)use and type safety.

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Cited By

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Harikrishnan SKumar R(2012)Space efficient non-constant time multi-method dispatch in object oriented systemsACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes10.1145/2108144.210815337:2(1-6)Online publication date: 3-Apr-2012
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2108144.2108153
Bettini LCapecchi SVenneri B(2009)Featherweight Java with dynamic and static overloadingScience of Computer Programming10.1016/j.scico.2009.01.00774:5-6(261-278)Online publication date: 1-Mar-2009
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.scico.2009.01.007
Douglas TJohn DKerr S(2007)Making generic functions useable in SmalltalkProceedings of the 45th annual ACM Southeast Conference10.1145/1233341.1233349(36-41)Online publication date: 23-Mar-2007
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1233341.1233349
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Index Terms

Realization of multimethods in single dispatch object oriented languages
1. Software and its engineering
  1. Software creation and management
    1. Software development techniques
      1. Object oriented development
  2. Software notations and tools
    1. Development frameworks and environments
      1. Object oriented frameworks
    2. General programming languages
      1. Language types
        Object oriented languages

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Published In

ACM SIGPLAN Notices Volume 40, Issue 5

May 2005

47 pages

ISSN:0362-1340

EISSN:1558-1160

DOI:10.1145/1071221

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

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Published: 01 May 2005

Published in SIGPLAN Volume 40, Issue 5

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Harikrishnan SKumar R(2012)Space efficient non-constant time multi-method dispatch in object oriented systemsACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes10.1145/2108144.210815337:2(1-6)Online publication date: 3-Apr-2012
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2108144.2108153
Bettini LCapecchi SVenneri B(2009)Featherweight Java with dynamic and static overloadingScience of Computer Programming10.1016/j.scico.2009.01.00774:5-6(261-278)Online publication date: 1-Mar-2009
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.scico.2009.01.007
Douglas TJohn DKerr S(2007)Making generic functions useable in SmalltalkProceedings of the 45th annual ACM Southeast Conference10.1145/1233341.1233349(36-41)Online publication date: 23-Mar-2007
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1233341.1233349
Bieniasz L(2007)Use of dynamically adaptive grid techniques for the solution of electrochemical kinetic equationsElectrochimica Acta10.1016/j.electacta.2006.11.00852:12(3929-3940)Online publication date: Mar-2007
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2006.11.008
Kumar RAgrawal V(2007)Multiple dispatch in reflective runtime environmentComputer Languages, Systems and Structures10.1016/j.cl.2005.09.00133:2(60-78)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2007
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.cl.2005.09.001

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Multiple dispatch as dispatch on Tuples

Multiple dispatch as dispatch on Tuples

What Is Object-Oriented Programming?

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