Thanks to Nigel for answering my question
Tyson Dowd wrote:
> > Microsoft indicates that C# will not support "genericity", through
> > even anything as crude as C++'s templates, so it is unlikely that
> > they will seek to support functional programming languages in the
> > short term. Perhaps this limitation is part of the impetus for the
> > Mondrian variant.
That they are not supporting templates ala C++ can only be a good thing.
It leaves the door open for something closer to Haskell's or ML's
styles of genericity. This is certainly something that the functional
language community can contribute to the world of mainstream imperative
programming languages, and thence to the bulk of software development.
Yes, I know it's been done; for example pizza; but pizza is not a widely
adopted standard. If C# adopts parametric polymorphism and either type
classes or ML style modules, and C# becomes more than a
proprietary language, then it could make a contribution to getting
some of the ideas developed by the functional community into the
mainstream.
With Haskell# or Mondrian: Can I use C# to create an instance of
a Haskell class? Can I use Haskell to extend a C# abstract class?
I suspect the answer to both these questions is currently no.
If future versions of .NET and Haskell variants change that, it will
be very interesting.
Cheers,
Theodore Norvell
----------------------------
Dr. Theodore Norvell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Electrical and Computer Engineering http://www.engr.mun.ca/~theo
Engineering and Applied Science Phone: (709) 737-8962
Memorial University of Newfoundland Fax: (709) 737-4042
St. John's, NF, Canada, A1B 3X5
