Author: lwall
Date: 2009-12-19 22:07:00 +0100 (Sat, 19 Dec 2009)
New Revision: 29381
Modified:
docs/Perl6/Spec/S02-bits.pod
Log:
[S02] rough in idea of moritz_++ to have separate type for convenience loopbacks
also conjecturally put all "last-resort" multis there to see if jnthn++ freaks
Modified: docs/Perl6/Spec/S02-bits.pod
===================================================================
--- docs/Perl6/Spec/S02-bits.pod 2009-12-19 18:18:23 UTC (rev 29380)
+++ docs/Perl6/Spec/S02-bits.pod 2009-12-19 21:07:00 UTC (rev 29381)
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
Created: 10 Aug 2004
- Last Modified: 3 Dec 2009
- Version: 193
+ Last Modified: 19 Dec 2009
+ Version: 194
This document summarizes Apocalypse 2, which covers small-scale
lexical items and typological issues. (These Synopses also contain
@@ -1110,6 +1110,7 @@
Mu Perl 6 object (default block parameter type, either Any or
junction)
Any Perl 6 object (default routine parameter type, excludes
junction)
+ Cool Perl 6 Convenient OO Loopbacks
Whatever Wildcard (like Any, but subject to do-what-I-mean via MMD)
Int Any Int object
Widget Any Widget object
@@ -1126,7 +1127,8 @@
for the most generic non-failure undefined value. The C<Any> type,
derived from C<Mu>, is also undefined, but excludes C<junctions> so
that autothreading may be dispatched using normal multiple dispatch
-rules. The C<Whatever> type is derived from C<Any> but nothing else
+rules. All user-defined classes derive from the C<Any> class by default.
+The C<Whatever> type is derived from C<Any> but nothing else
is derived from it.
=head2 Immutable types
@@ -1538,6 +1540,32 @@
different inner type is useful if you wish to hold your routine to
a stricter standard than you let on to the outside world, for instance.
+=head1 The Cool class (and package)
+
+The C<Cool> type is derived from C<Any>, and contains all the methods
+that are "cool" (as in, "I'm cool with an argument of that type.").
+
+More specifically, these are the methods that are culturally universal,
+insofar as the typical user will expect the name of the method to imply
+conversion to a particular built-in type that understands the method in
+question. For instance, C<$x.abs> implies conversion to an appropriate
+numeric type if C<$x> is "cool" but doesn't already support a method
+of that name. Conversely, C<$x.substr> implies conversion to a string
+or buffer type.
+
+The C<Cool> namespace also contains all multimethods of last resort;
+these are automatically searched if normal multiple dispatch does not
+find a viable candidate. Note that the C<Cool> namespace is mutable,
+and both single and multiple dispatch must take into account changes
+there for the purposes of run-time monkey patching. However, since
+the multiple dispatcher uses the C<Cool> package only as a failover,
+compile-time analysis of such dispatches is largely unaffected for any
+arguments with an exact or close match. Likewise any single dispatch
+a method that is more specific than the C<Cool> class is not affected
+by the mutability of C<Cool>. User-defined classes don't derive from
+C<Cool> by default, so such classes are also unaffected by changes
+to C<Cool>.
+
=head1 Names and Variables
=over 4
