Re: Interfaces in Ruby

> 
> The goals behind an interface or abstract class are:
> 1) Be able to write a function that can take as a parameter any object
>    that inherits from the abstract class (generic programming).
> 2) Be able to easily determine whether a given concrete class has a
>    particular set of features
> 
> In Ruby:
> - #1 is unnecessary in Ruby, because any method can accept any object
>   as a parameter.
> - #2 is the source of an ongoing debate on ruby-talk.

Doesn't the fact that a class mixes in the mixin satisfy goal number 2?  I
mean if you have that mixin, then you are implementing a particular set of
features. In the case of the mixin, you get the mixin's default
implementation and if you'd like you can overload what you want changed for
your particular class. So you know you do implement those features or at
least inherit some default implementation.

The fact that you can inherit default implementations is also something that
makes Ruby's mixin's more powerful than Java's interfaces.  And it is also a
point for weak typing.  The reason you can't have Java interfaces provide
default implementations is the strong typing.

Just a thought!


-- 
Sam Griffith Jr.
email:      [e-mail]
Web site:   http://homepage.mac.com/staypufd/index.html

On 10/16/2002 4:34 PM, in article [e-mail], "Paul
Brannan" <[e-mail]> wrote:

> On Thu, Oct 17, 2002 at 12:45:41AM +0900, Chris Gehlker wrote:
>>> This doesn't make sense to me.  I see interfaces and mixins as
>>> orthogonal concepts; interfaces are used to specify a contract, while
>>> mixins are used to provide additional methods to a class.
>> 
>> It's just that the contract is used as a weak form of multiple
>> inheritance. At least I've never seen it used any other way.
> 
> I think that MI can be used to implmement the contract, but that does
> not mean that the contract is a form of MI.
> 
>> And it is called "Interface Inheritance" because it allows the
>> programmer to add functionality to a class that is orthogonal to the
>> functionality of the main inheritance path. For example if bird
>> inherits from animal and implements flight then a bird 'is a' animal
>> but a bird also 'is a' flier. In Ruby I'd just make flight a mixin.
> 
> Interface inheritance does not add any functionality to a class.
> 
> The goals behind an interface or abstract class are:
> 1) Be able to write a function that can take as a parameter any object
>    that inherits from the abstract class (generic programming).
> 2) Be able to easily determine whether a given concrete class has a
>    particular set of features
> 
> In Ruby:
> - #1 is unnecessary in Ruby, because any method can accept any object
>   as a parameter.
> - #2 is the source of an ongoing debate on ruby-talk.
> 
> If there are other uses for interface inheritance (besides derivatives
> of the above), then I am yet to see them in use.
> 
>>> What is a "class cluster"?  Can you provide an example?
>> 
>> Lets start with the hoary example from C++ of the abstract class shape
>> whose only non-virtual methods are move and resize where resize
>> operates on a circumscribed rectangle and whose only attributes are the
>> coordinates of the bounding rectangle. To do something similar in
>> dynamic languages, you define a class shape with move and resize
>> methods but you make shape's new method private. Then you define
>> concrete constructors such as create_circle_with_radius(r) and
>> create_rectangle_with_sides(length, width) etc. Of course you derive
>> circle, rectangle,  pentagon and friends from shape. You can call
>> draw(boundingBox) in shapes move and resize methods so long as every
>> child of shape defines a draw method.
>> 
>> Shape is called a class cluster because the private constructor
>> guarantees that any variable referencing a shape is actually
>> referencing a member of a concrete subclass. Use it as you would an
>> abstract class.
>> 
>> I hope that helps. It was pretty condensed so ask again if it's
>> confusing. I'll try to provide a better example.
> 
> Yes, it's confusing.  I tried implementing your example in Ruby, but I
> ran into the following problems:
> 1) If resize is a method of Shape, then what parameters does it take?
>    For a Circle, I would expect it to take a radius, but for a
>    Rectangle, I would expect it to take a length and a width.
> 2) I could not figure out how to define a concrete constructor for
>    Rectangle while still making it impossible to accidentally
>    instantiate a Rectangle without going through the factory method
>    (if I can't call Rectangle.new, then neither can the factory
>    method).
> 3) Having a private constructor in Ruby doesn't make sense; this is
>    the purpose of a Module (you can always instantiate a Class, but
>    you can't always instantiate a Module).
> 
> Perhaps if you provide a sample implementation it would be easier to
> see.
> 
> Paul
> 
>