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Introspection (computer Science)
In computing, type introspection is the ability of a program to ''examine'' the type or properties of an object at runtime. Some programming languages possess this capability. Introspection should not be confused with reflection, which goes a step further and is the ability for a program to ''manipulate'' the values, metadata, properties, and functions of an object at runtime. Some programming languages also possess that capability (e.g., Java, Python, Julia, and Go). Examples Ruby Type introspection is a core feature of Ruby. In Ruby, the Object class (ancestor of every class) provides and methods for checking the instance's class. The latter returns true when the particular instance the message was sent to is an instance of a descendant of the class in question. For example, consider the following example code (you can immediately try this with the Interactive Ruby Shell): $ irb irb(main):001:0> A=Class.new => A irb(main):002:0> B=Class.new A => B irb(main):003:0> a=A.ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, engineering, mathematical, technological and social aspects. Major computing disciplines include computer engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, information systems, information technology and software engineering. The term "computing" is also synonymous with counting and calculating. In earlier times, it was used in reference to the action performed by mechanical computing machines, and before that, to human computers. History The history of computing is longer than the history of computing hardware and includes the history of methods intended for pen and paper (or for chalk and slate) with or without the aid of tables. Computing is intimately tied to the representation of numbers, though mathematical conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Run-time Type Information
In computer programming, run-time type information or run-time type identification (RTTI) is a feature of some programming languages (such as C++, Object Pascal, and Ada) that exposes information about an object's data type at runtime. Run-time type information may be available for all types or only to types that explicitly have it (as is the case with Ada). Run-time type information is a specialization of a more general concept called type introspection. In the original C++ design, Bjarne Stroustrup did not include run-time type information, because he thought this mechanism was often misused. Overview In C++, RTTI can be used to do safe typecasts, using the dynamic_cast operator, and to manipulate type information at runtime, using the typeid operator and std::type_info class. In Object Pascal, RTTI can be used to perform safe type casts with the as operator, test the class to which an object belongs with the is operator, and manipulate type information at run time with classes c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Object-oriented Programming
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or ''properties''), and the code is in the form of procedures (often known as ''methods''). A common feature of objects is that procedures (or methods) are attached to them and can access and modify the object's data fields. In this brand of OOP, there is usually a special name such as or used to refer to the current object. In OOP, computer programs are designed by making them out of objects that interact with one another. OOP languages are diverse, but the most popular ones are class-based, meaning that objects are instances of classes, which also determine their types. Many of the most widely used programming languages (such as C++, Java, Python, etc.) are multi-paradigm and they support object-oriented programming to a greater or lesser degree, typically in combination with imper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Typeof
typeof, alternately also typeOf, and TypeOf, is an operator provided by several programming languages to determine the data type of a variable. This is useful when constructing programs that must accept multiple types of data without explicitly specifying the type. In languages that support polymorphism and type casting, the typeof operator may have one of two distinct meanings when applied to an object. In some languages, such as Visual Basic, the typeof operator returns the dynamic type of the object. That is, it returns the true, original type of the object, irrespective of any type casting. In these languages, the typeof operator is the method for obtaining run-time type information. In other languages, such as C# or D and, to some degree, in C (as part of nonstandard extensions and proposed standard revisions),https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Typeof.html "Typeof" in Using the GNU Compiler Collection the typeof operator returns the static type of the operand. That is, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reification (computer Science)
Reification is the process by which an abstract idea about a computer program is turned into an explicit data model or other object created in a programming language. A computable/addressable object—a resource—is created in a system as a proxy for a non computable/addressable object. By means of reification, something that was previously implicit, unexpressed, and possibly inexpressible is explicitly formulated and made available to conceptual (logical or computational) manipulation. Informally, reification is often referred to as "making something a first-class citizen" within the scope of a particular system. Some aspect of a system can be reified at ''language design time'', which is related to reflection in programming languages. It can be applied as a stepwise refinement at ''system design time''. Reification is one of the most frequently used techniques of conceptual analysis and knowledge representation. Reflective programming languages In the context of programming ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reflection (computer Science)
In computer science, reflective programming or reflection is the ability of a process to examine, introspect, and modify its own structure and behavior. Historical background The earliest computers were programmed in their native assembly languages, which were inherently reflective, as these original architectures could be programmed by defining instructions as data and using self-modifying code. As the bulk of programming moved to higher-level compiled languages such as Algol, Cobol, Fortran, Pascal, and C, this reflective ability largely disappeared until new programming languages with reflection built into their type systems appeared. Brian Cantwell Smith's 1982 doctoral dissertation introduced the notion of computational reflection in procedural programming languages and the notion of the meta-circular interpreter as a component of 3-Lisp. Uses Reflection helps programmers make generic software libraries to display data, process different formats of data, perform seri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inheritance (object-oriented Programming)
In object-oriented programming, inheritance is the mechanism of basing an object or class upon another object ( prototype-based inheritance) or class ( class-based inheritance), retaining similar implementation. Also defined as deriving new classes ( sub classes) from existing ones such as super class or base class and then forming them into a hierarchy of classes. In most class-based object-oriented languages, an object created through inheritance, a "child object", acquires all the properties and behaviors of the "parent object" , with the exception of: constructors, destructor, overloaded operators and friend functions of the base class. Inheritance allows programmers to create classes that are built upon existing classes, to specify a new implementation while maintaining the same behaviors ( realizing an interface), to reuse code and to independently extend original software via public classes and interfaces. The relationships of objects or classes through inheritance give ris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ActionScript
ActionScript is an object-oriented programming language originally developed by Macromedia Inc. (later acquired by Adobe). It is influenced by HyperTalk, the scripting language for HyperCard. It is now an implementation of ECMAScript (meaning it is a superset of the syntax and semantics of the language more widely known as JavaScript), though it originally arose as a sibling, both being influenced by HyperTalk. ActionScript code is usually converted to byte-code format by the compiler. ActionScript is used primarily for the development of websites and software targeting the Adobe Flash platform, originally finding use on Web pages in the form of embedded SWF files. ActionScript 3 is also used with Adobe AIR system for the development of desktop and mobile applications. The language itself is open-source in that its specification is offered free of charge and both an open source compiler (as part of Apache Flex) and open source virtual machine (Tamarin) are available. Action ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Role (computer Science)
Role-oriented programming as a form of computer programming aims at expressing things in terms that are analogous to human conceptual understanding of the world. This should make programs easier to understand and maintain. The main idea of role-oriented programming is that humans think in terms of roles. This claim is often backed up by examples of social relations. For example, a student attending a class and the same student at a party are the same person, yet that person plays two different roles. In particular, the interactions of this person with the outside world depend on his current role. The roles typically share features, e.g., the intrinsic properties of being a person. This sharing of properties is often handled by the delegation mechanism. In the older literature and in the field of databases, it seems that there has been little consideration for the context in which roles interplay with each other. Such a context is being established in newer role- and aspect-ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moose (Perl)
Moose is an extension of the object system of the Perl programming language. Its stated purpose is to bring modern object-oriented language features to Perl 5, and to make object-oriented Perl programming more consistent and less tedious. Features Moose is built on top of Class::MOP, a metaobject protocol (a.k.a. MOP). Using the MOP, Moose provides complete introspection for all Moose-using classes. Classes Moose allows a programmer to create classes: * A class has zero or more attributes. * A class has zero or more methods. * A class has zero or more superclasses (a.k.a. parent classes). A class inherits from its superclass(es). Moose supports multiple inheritance. * A class has zero or more method modifiers. These modifiers can apply to its own methods, methods that are inherited from its ancestors or methods that are provided by roles. * A class does zero or more roles (also known as traits in other programming languages). * A class has a constructor and a destructor. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perl
Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was officially changed to Raku in October 2019. Though Perl is not officially an acronym, there are various backronyms in use, including "Practical Extraction and Reporting Language". Perl was developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions. Raku, which began as a redesign of Perl 5 in 2000, eventually evolved into a separate language. Both languages continue to be developed independently by different development teams and liberally borrow ideas from each other. The Perl languages borrow features from other programming languages including C, sh, AWK, and sed; They provide text processing facilities without the arbitrary data-le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
