Newsgroups: comp.lang.dylan
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Subject: Re: message passing not-vs. multimethods
References: <9502041646.AA25511@speed.harvard.edu>
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Date: Sun, 5 Feb 1995 11:01:13 +0000
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In article <9502041646.AA25511@speed.harvard.edu> pg@das.harvard.edu  writes:

>   Why is Dylan using the multi-method paradigm instead of the more common
>   reciever/message-passing paradigm?
> 
> This is a question that seems to come up often.  It's a bit
> like asking, "why are you using polygons instead of squares?"
> Multimethods are a superset of message-passing.  If you only
> ever specialize the first argument of a method, then you have
> message-passing.  

That's a better answer than the stock answer I use for almost any
question that begins, "Why do you...", which is, "Because _I can_."
It's simple, and makes a good point. The fact that I can speaks for
itself, so what more do you need to know?

However, in this case it deserves a better answer than that, and
the one you've given suits me just fine. It's a superset.
 
> Perhaps something about this should be added to the Dylan FAQ.

Go for it! This is a good question, and a good answer. Perhaps a
few example classes and multi-methods to make it perfectly clear
would help.

"Here's how we might try to do it without multi-methods, ....and
here's how we try it _with_ multi-methods...."

The examples might speak for themselves. ;-)
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