Predicate dispatch

In computer programming, predicate dispatch is a generalisation of multimethods that allows the method to call to be selected at runtime based on arbitrary decidable logical predicates and/or pattern matching attached to a method declaration.[1]

Experimental implementations have been created for Common LISP,[2] and for Java (JPred[1]).

It allows open extension of previously declared methods at a fine-grained level, but multiple extensions with identical or overlapping predicates created by different developers may interfere with each other in unanticipated ways. In this respect it is similar to aspect-oriented programming.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Millstein, T.; Frost, C.; Ryder, J.; Warth, A. (2009). "Expressive and modular predicate dispatch for Java". ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems 31 (2): 1. doi:10.1145/1462166.1462168.
  2. ↑ "Predicate Dispatching in Common Lisp Object System".

External links