[m-dev.] Ye Olde Subtyping Proposal

[Fergus Henderson]

On 18-Nov-2002, Ralph Becket <rafe at cs.mu.OZ.AU> wrote:
> Fergus Henderson, Monday, 18 November 2002:
> > 
> > I agree that abstract subtypes would be useful, but supporting them would
> > mean that the proposal was no longer just syntactic sugar, but instead added
> > a major new feature.  This would require substantial changes to mode analysis
> > to implement.  I'm not opposed to doing that in the long term, but in the
> > short term I think it would be better to support subtypes without abstract
> > subtypes.
> 
> Why would it require major changes (forgive me if I'm a bit slow... it's one
> of those days)?
> Can't we just export the appropriate subtype and inst information in the
> .int file and leave it at that (with your structural-and-by-name approach)?

For concrete subtypes, sure.  But for abstract subtypes, including that
information in the .int file would be wrong; it would mean that changing
the implementation of the module would change the .int file, in ways that
could cause other modules to no longer compile.

For example:

	:- module fruit.
	:- interface.

	:- type fruit ---> apple ; orange ; lemon.
	:- subtype citrus < fruit ---> orange ; lemon.
	:- subtype favourite_fruit < fruit.  % abstract

	:- func my_favourite = favourite_fruit.
	:- func your_favourite = favourite_fruit.

Suppose this is initially implemented as

	:- implementation.

		% no-one likes apples.
	:- subtype favourite_fruit < fruit ---> orange ; lemon.

	my_favourite = lemon.
	your_favourite = orange.

and some other module uses this

	:- module fruit_comparison.
	:- interface.
	:- import_module io.
	:- pred main(io::di, io::uo) is det.

	:- implementation.
	:- import_module fruit.

	main --> print("My favour fruit is "),
		 print(comparison(my_favourite, your_favourite)),
		 print(" your favourite fruit."), nl.

	:- func comparison(citrus, citrus) = string.
	comparison(orange, lemon) = "sweeter than".
	comparison(lemon, orange) = "yellower than".
	comparison(lemon, lemon) = "the same as".
	comparison(orange, orange) = "the same as".

If the implementation of the fruit module is changed to

		% revision 2: fixes issue that some people do like apples.
	:- implementation.

	:- subtype favourite_fruit < fruit ---> apple ; orange ; lemon.

	my_favourite = apple.
	your_favourite = orange.

then the fruit_comparison module will end up comparing apples with oranges,
which won't work.

-- 
Fergus Henderson <fjh at cs.mu.oz.au>  |  "I have always known that the pursuit
The University of Melbourne         |  of excellence is a lethal habit"
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>  |     -- the last words of T. S. Garp.
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