Re: design question about "programming to interfaces"
Lew wrote:
Removing types from Java, quite aside from making the language not be
Java, would complicate all sorts of other things that types and
type-safety make possible, much less easier. Types exist for a reason
(many reasons), not just to make your one "original question" harder for
you to solve.
Your representation of the object-oriented type system as existing to
"fool the system" bespeaks a fundamental lack of understanding about
types. Just to mention one purpose, types properly used usually permit
the compiler to catch and prevent errors at compile time before they
become bugs at run time.
Could you explaining in more detail all the things that would complicate
it, because the one example you gave as an oppositional argument I seem
to have mentioned in my previous post. Also, any explanations of my
apparent lack of understanding of types would be nice. Basically, any
constructive information that would cast more light on the matter would
be infinitely more appreciated.
If you prefer typeless programming, there are alternatives to Java.
That was not really the point. Its more a matter of an observation I
made about what I see as the complexities of programming with types,
coincidentally in the language I am programming in, java. So by airing
the thoughts I hoped to get constructive feedback with insights to the
complexity of the problem and specifically how that can help me solve
design and programming problems in the future.
tom