Re:Scala founder: Language due for 'fundamental rethink'
by the_af on Sunday September 07, 2014 @09:31AM
(#8281059)
Awesome, thanks for the explanation!
I think I understand the appeal of structural typing: you are defining implicit anonymous interfaces as you write objects, and automatically grouping objects that share structure. But in which case is this more useful than, say, defining type classes or using explicit interfaces in mainstream OO languages? Or is it a case of preferences?
I can see a difference with objects: in most mainstream OO languages you cannot retrofit an object to comply with the interface you want if you don't control the source code and the object only differs from what you need on a triviality such as naming. But what about type classes? Isn't this what they are there for?
I think I understand the appeal of structural typing: you are defining implicit anonymous interfaces as you write objects, and automatically grouping objects that share structure. But in which case is this more useful than, say, defining type classes or using explicit interfaces in mainstream OO languages? Or is it a case of preferences?
I can see a difference with objects: in most mainstream OO languages you cannot retrofit an object to comply with the interface you want if you don't control the source code and the object only differs from what you need on a triviality such as naming. But what about type classes? Isn't this what they are there for?