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Meta-object
In computer science, a metaobject is an object that manipulates, creates, describes, or implements objects (including itself). The object that the metaobject pertains to is called the base object. Some information that a metaobject might define includes the base object's type, interface, class, methods, attributes, parse tree, etc. Metaobjects are examples of the computer science concept of reflection, where a system has access (usually at run time) to its own internal structure. Reflection enables a system to essentially rewrite itself on the fly, to alter its own implementation as it executes. Metaobject protocol A metaobject protocol (MOP) provides the vocabulary (protocol) to access and manipulate the structure and behaviour of systems of objects. Typical functions of a metaobject protocol include: *Create or delete a new class *Create a new property or method *Cause a class to inherit from a different class ("change the class structure") *Generate or change the code defining ...
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Method (computer Science)
A method in object-oriented programming (OOP) is a procedure associated with a message and an object. An object consists of ''state data'' and ''behavior''; these compose an ''interface'', which specifies how the object may be utilized by any of its various consumers. A method is a behavior of an object parametrized by a consumer. Data is represented as properties of the object, and behaviors are represented as methods. For example, a Window object could have methods such as open and close, while its state (whether it is open or closed at any given point in time) would be a property. In class-based programming, methods are defined within a class, and objects are instances of a given class. One of the most important capabilities that a method provides is ''method overriding'' - the same name (e.g., area) can be used for multiple different kinds of classes. This allows the sending objects to invoke behaviors and to delegate the implementation of those behaviors to the receiving o ...
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Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical disciplines (including the design and implementation of Computer architecture, hardware and Computer programming, software). Computer science is generally considered an area of research, academic research and distinct from computer programming. Algorithms and data structures are central to computer science. The theory of computation concerns abstract models of computation and general classes of computational problem, problems that can be solved using them. The fields of cryptography and computer security involve studying the means for secure communication and for preventing Vulnerability (computing), security vulnerabilities. Computer graphics (computer science), Computer graphics and computational geometry address the generation of images. Progr ...
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OpenC++ (software Tool)
OpenC++ can refer to * OpenC++ is a software tool to parse and analyze C++ source code. *OpenC++ or OpenC is an extension by Nokia of the P.I.P.S. Is POSIX on Symbian P.I.P.S. is a term (recursive acronym) for Symbian software libraries, and means "P.I.P.S. Is POSIX on Symbian OS". It is intended to help C language programmers in migration of desktop and server middleware, applications to Symbian OS base ...
library. {{disambiguation ...
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Gregor Kiczales
Gregor Kiczales is an American computer scientist. He is currently a full time professor of computer science at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is best known for developing the concept of aspect-oriented programming, and the AspectJ extension to the Java programming language, both of which he designed while working at Xerox PARC. He is also one of the co-authors of the specification for the Common Lisp Object System, and is the author of the book ''The Art of the Metaobject Protocol'', along with Jim Des Rivières and Daniel G. Bobrow. Most of Kiczales' work throughout the years has been focused on allowing software engineers to create programs that look as much as possible like their design, to reduce complexity and make code maintenance easier, ultimately improving software quality. Career After pursuing undergraduate studies at MIT, Kiczales started his research career in 1980 at the MIT Lab for Computer Science, where he stay ...
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The Art Of The Metaobject Protocol
''The Art of the Metaobject Protocol'' (AMOP) is a 1991 book by Gregor Kiczales, Jim des Rivieres, and Daniel G. Bobrow (all three working for Xerox PARC) on the subject of metaobject protocol. Overview The book contains an explanation of what a metaobject protocol is, why it is desirable, and the ''de facto'' standard for the metaobject protocol supported by many Common Lisp implementations as an extension of the Common Lisp Object System, or CLOS. A more complete and portable implementation of CLOS and the metaobject protocol, as defined in this book, was provided by Xerox PARC as Portable Common Loops. The book presents a simplified CLOS implementation for Common Lisp called "Closette", which for the sake of pedagogical brevity does not include some of the more complex or exotic CLOS features such as forward-referencing of superclasses, full class and method redefinitions, advanced user-defined method combinations, and complete integration of CLOS classes with Common Lisp's typ ...
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Single Dispatch
In computer science, dynamic dispatch is the process of selecting which implementation of a polymorphic operation (method or function) to call at run time. It is commonly employed in, and considered a prime characteristic of, object-oriented programming (OOP) languages and systems. Object-oriented systems model a problem as a set of interacting objects that enact operations referred to by name. Polymorphism is the phenomenon wherein somewhat interchangeable objects each expose an operation of the same name but possibly differing in behavior. As an example, a object and a object both have a method that can be used to write a personnel record to storage. Their implementations differ. A program holds a reference to an object which may be either a object or a object. Which it is may have been determined by a run-time setting, and at this stage, the program may not know or care which. When the program calls on the object, something needs to choose which behavior gets enacted. ...
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Message Passing
In computer science, message passing is a technique for invoking behavior (i.e., running a program) on a computer. The invoking program sends a message to a process (which may be an actor or object) and relies on that process and its supporting infrastructure to then select and run some appropriate code. Message passing differs from conventional programming where a process, subroutine, or function is directly invoked by name. Message passing is key to some models of concurrency and object-oriented programming. Message passing is ubiquitous in modern computer software. It is used as a way for the objects that make up a program to work with each other and as a means for objects and systems running on different computers (e.g., the Internet) to interact. Message passing may be implemented by various mechanisms, including channels. Overview Message passing is a technique for invoking behavior (i.e., running a program) on a computer. In contrast to the traditional technique of callin ...
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Generic Functions
In computer programming, a generic function is a function defined for Polymorphism (computer science), polymorphism. In statically typed languages In statically typed languages (such as C++ and Java (programming language), Java), the term ''generic functions'' refers to a mechanism for ''compile-time polymorphism'' (static dispatch), specifically parametric polymorphism. These are functions defined with TypeParameters, intended to be resolved with compile time type information. The compiler uses these types to instantiate suitable versions, resolving any function overloading appropriately. In Common Lisp Object System In some systems for object-oriented programming such as the Common Lisp Object System (CLOS) and Dylan (programming language), Dylan, a ''generic function'' is an entity made up of all methods having the same name. Typically a ''generic function'' is an instance of a class that Inheritance (object-oriented programming), inherits both from ''function'' and ''stand ...
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Multiple Dispatch
Multiple dispatch or multimethods is a feature of some programming languages in which a function or method can be dynamically dispatched based on the run-time (dynamic) type or, in the more general case, some other attribute of more than one of its arguments. This is a generalization of single-dispatch polymorphism where a function or method call is dynamically dispatched based on the derived type of the object on which the method has been called. Multiple dispatch routes the dynamic dispatch to the implementing function or method using the combined characteristics of one or more arguments. Understanding dispatch Developers of computer software typically organize source code into named blocks variously called subroutines, procedures, subprograms, functions, or methods. The code in the function is executed by ''calling'' it – executing a piece of code that references its ''name''. This transfers control temporarily to the called function; when the function's execution has co ...
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Multiple Inheritance
Multiple inheritance is a feature of some object-oriented computer programming languages in which an object or class can inherit features from more than one parent object or parent class. It is distinct from single inheritance, where an object or class may only inherit from one particular object or class. Multiple inheritance has been a controversial issue for many years, with opponents pointing to its increased complexity and ambiguity in situations such as the "diamond problem", where it may be ambiguous as to which parent class a particular feature is inherited from if more than one parent class implements said feature. This can be addressed in various ways, including using virtual inheritance. Alternate methods of object composition not based on inheritance such as mixins and traits have also been proposed to address the ambiguity. Details In object-oriented programming (OOP), ''inheritance'' describes a relationship between two classes in which one class (the ''child'' class ...
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Brian Cantwell Smith
Brian Cantwell Smith is a philosopher and cognitive scientist working in the fields of cognitive science, computer science, information studies, and philosophy, especially ontology. His research has focused on the foundations and philosophy of computing, both in the practice and theory of computer science, and in the use of computational metaphors in other fields, such as philosophy, cognitive science, physics, and art. He is currently professor of information, computer science, and philosophy at University of Toronto. Career Smith received his BS, MS and PhD degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Smith's 1982 doctoral dissertation Brian C. Smith, Reflection and semantics in a procedural language''. Technical Report MIT-LCS-TR-272, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., January 1982. introduced the notion of computational reflection in programming languages, an area of active ongoing research in computer science. Past publications have addr ...
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Common Lisp Object System
The Common Lisp Object System (CLOS) is the facility for object-oriented programming which is part of ANSI Common Lisp. CLOS is a powerful dynamic object system which differs radically from the OOP facilities found in more static languages such as C++ or Java. CLOS was inspired by earlier Lisp object systems such as MIT Flavors and CommonLoops, although it is more general than either. Originally proposed as an add-on, CLOS was adopted as part of the ANSI standard for Common Lisp and has been adapted into other Lisp dialects such as EuLisp or Emacs Lisp. Features The basic building blocks of CLOS are methods, classes, instances of those classes, and generic functions. CLOS provides macros to define those: defclass, defmethod, and defgeneric. Instances are created with the method make-instance. Classes can have multiple superclasses, a list of slots (member variables in C++/Java parlance) and a special metaclass. Slots can be allocated by class (all instances of a class share th ...
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