+1. I can't stress enough how useful it is to make pragmas real
selectors with implementations and to try and apply them using
perform:withArguments:. That's when their real power comes in.
For example, if you have some method that wants to be added to some
tool, make its pragma a message with all the information you need to
add it as arguments (things like its position or priority relative to
other additions, its name in the list of components, an icon to use, a
string for fly-by help) and then implement a builder class whose
methods match these pragmas so that when the builder performs the
pragma it adds the method to the tool, in a given position, with a
given icon and fly-by help etc.
In most other systems method annotations are simply that, just passive
labels. But in Smalltalk these are executable. You can browse for
senders and implementors, you can execute them using a visitor
pattern. Much more powerful.
Hi eliot
For the pragmas paper I read about annotation in Java and from what I
learned they are more powerful in Java.
They can annotate any language elements and they can also be executed (I
have to discuss with a Java expert to get it).
Stef
