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An extended comparative study of language support for generic programming

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2007

RONALD GARCIA ,
JAAKKO JARVI ,
ANDREW LUMSDAINE ,
JEREMY SIEK  and
JEREMIAH WILLCOCK
RONALD GARCIA
Affiliation:
Open Systems Lab, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA (e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
JAAKKO JARVI
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University, Computer Science, College Station, TX, USA (e-mail: [email protected])
ANDREW LUMSDAINE
Affiliation:
Open Systems Lab, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA (e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
JEREMY SIEK
Affiliation:
Rice University, Computer Science, Houston, TX, USA (e-mail: [email protected])
JEREMIAH WILLCOCK
Affiliation:
Open Systems Lab, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA (e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
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Abstract

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Many modern programming languages support basic generics, sufficient to implement type-safe polymorphic containers. Some languages have moved beyond this basic support, and in doing so have enabled a broader, more powerful form of generic programming. This paper reports on a comprehensive comparison of facilities for generic programming in eight programming languages: C++, Standard ML, Objective Caml, Haskell, Eiffel, Java, C# (with its proposed generics extension), and Cecil. By implementing a substantial example in each of these languages, we illustrate how the basic roles of generic programming can be represented in each language. We also identify eight language properties that support this broader view of generic programming: support for multi-type concepts, multiple constraints on type parameters, convenient associated type access, constraints on associated types, retroactive modeling, type aliases, separate compilation of algorithms and data structures, and implicit argument type deduction for generic algorithms. We find that these features are necessary to avoid awkward designs, poor maintainability, and painfully verbose code. As languages increasingly support generics, it is important that language designers understand the features necessary to enable the effective use of generics and that their absence can cause difficulties for programmers.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Functional Programming , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , March 2007 , pp. 145 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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