- Hiding abstract methods

From: Bob Walkden <"Bob>
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:27:42 +0100

You can't simultaneously hide the methods of A and have A as an abstract type extensible from other modules - it's a contradiction. An abstract type can't be instantiated, it must be inherited and its inheritors must instantiate its parts. If the parts are hidden then it's impossible for its inheritors (in other modules) to instantiate them.
 

--
Regards,
 Bob 
 
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From: blackbox{([at]})nowhere.xySent: 15 June 2007 03:35
To: BlackBox Mailing List
Subject: [BlackBox] - Hiding abstract methods
Bob,
I am trying to keep the amount of stuff shown to a minimum.
There is also a procedure Run that is exported from M that when called starts up and eventually calls the installed reader and writer (repeatedly).
The reader and writer do not invoke the hidden procedures they are passive and are called by M when needed.
How do I hide the methods of A, Bits, and Ints?
-Doug Danforth
Bob Walkden wrote: 
How and when are M's internal procedures invoked? If the client's reader is to invoke them directly then they must be made public. If you want M's hidden procedures to be invoked indirectly by the reader or writer you may need to provide a couple of Notifier procedures in M and have the reader or writer call them explicitly.
 
--
Regards,
 Bob 
 
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From: blackbox{([at]})nowhere.xySent: 14 June 2007 22:25
To: BlackBox Mailing List
Subject: [BlackBox] - Hiding abstract methods
Chris,
Here is what I would like the interface to module M to appear
DEFINITION M;
    TYPE
        A = POINTER TO ABSTRACT RECORD  END;
        Bits = POINTER TO RECORD (A)
            x: POINTER TO ARRAY OF SET
        END;
        Ints = POINTER TO RECORD (A)
            x: POINTER TO ARRAY OF INTEGER
        END;
        Reader = PROCEDURE (VAR a: A): BOOLEAN;
        Writer = PROCEDURE (a: A);
    PROCEDURE InstallReader (rd: Reader);
    PROCEDURE InstallWriter (wr: Writer);
END M.
One just installs a specific reader that generates a Bits or an Ints.
Internally to M there are many procedures that take the abstract
quantity 'a' when a read operation is done and operate on it with procedures
that are methods of type either Bits or Ints whose definitions are given internally
and are abstractions of the of type A.  But the user of M need not know anything
about this and BlackBox should not force the user to see these methods.
How can this be accomplished?
-Doug Danforth
CFB Software wrote: 
Hi Doug,
I don't know if I can help but as nobody else has responded yet I'm
willing to give it a try. I'm interested in learning more about the
finer details of issues like this. However, I'm not sure from your
desription that I understand exactly what you are trying to do. Would it
be possible for you to show complete minimal examples of: 
a) What you would like the code to look like 
b) How you think it needs to be written to make it acceptable to
Blackbox
Regards,
Chris Burrows
CFB Software
http://www.cfbsoftware.com/gpcp
  
-----Original Message-----
From: blackbox{([at]})nowhere.xyBehalf Of Douglas G. Danforth
Sent: Wednesday, 13 June 2007 10:22 AM
To: BlackBox Mailing List
Subject: [BlackBox] - Hiding abstract methods
Folks,
I have a conceptual problem on which I would like your advice.
I have an ABSTRACT type A and two concrete types C1 and
C2 which are extensions of A.
    TYPE
       A* = POINTER TO ABSTRACT RECORD END;
       C1* = POINTER TO RECORD(A) END;
       C2* = POINTER TO RECORD(A) END;
I would like to export A (as shown with the '*'') but within the
module M where A is defined I *do not want* to export its
methods.  I want them to be completely hidden so that the user
of M only needs to create the instance Ci (and fill its 
fields (not shown))
and pass Ci to the module M in which the specific methods 
appropriate to Ci
are specified (but also not exported).  Within M, procedures take 'a'
(an instance of A which is either C1 or C2) and operates on it without
knowledge of its concrete form.  The methods of A are simply called
and the concrete forms of those methods as C1 or C2 are actually
run.
Unfortunately, it seems that this scheme of things is not possible in 
BlackBox.
I am forced to export the methods of A and also the methods of C1 and
the methods of C2, greatly cluttering the interface to M when 
none of that
information will be used by the person operating with M.  
Only the existence
of A and the extensions C1 and C2 are needed.
Is there a clean way to hide all of these methods?
-Doug Danforth
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Received on Fri Jun 15 2007 - 08:27:42 UTC