MultiJava: Modular Open Classes and Symmetric Multiple
Dispatch for Java
Proceedings of the Conference on Object-Oriented
Programming, Systems, Languages, and Applications
(OOPSLA 2000), Minneapolis,
Minnesota, October 15-19, 2000.
Curtis Clifton, Gary
T. Leavens,
Craig Chambers, and
Todd Millstein
We present MultiJava, a backward-compatible extension to Java
supporting open classes and symmetric multiple dispatch. Open classes
allow one to add to the set of methods that an existing class supports
without creating distinct subclasses or editing existing code. Unlike
the "Visitor" design pattern, open classes do not require advance
planning, and open classes preserve the ability to add new subclasses
modularly and safely. Multiple dispatch offers several well-known
advantages over the single dispatching of conventional object-oriented
languages, including a simple solution to some kinds of "binary
method" problems. MultiJava's multiple dispatch retains Java's
existing class-based encapsulation properties. We adapt previous
theoretical work to allow compilation units to be statically
typechecked modularly and safely, ruling out any link-time or run-time
type errors. We also present a novel compilation scheme that operates
modularly and incurs performance overhead only where open classes or
multiple dispatching are actually used.
The paper is available in
PostScript
and
PDF formats.
Cecil/Vortex
Project