Here is an improved version of my own sample (with var keyword, i.e.
non-executable), hopefully better exemplifying my point:
@Canonical class Foo {int x }
@InheritConstructors class SonOfFooextends Foo {int sonOfFooMethod() { ... } }
@InheritConstructors class SonOfSonOfFooextends SonOfFoo {int
sonOfSonOfFooMethod() { ...} }
SonOfFoo mayReturnSonOfSonOfFoo() { ... }
@CompileStatic void flowTypedVar() {
var f =new SonOfFoo(21)// Transformed by compiler to: SonOfFoo f = new SonOfFoo(21); no other
changes to Groovy necessary f =new Foo(-1)// Fails at compile time with "Cannot assign value of type Foo to
variable of type SonOfFoo" f.sonOfFooMethod()// works // ... f = mayReturnSonOfSonOfFoo()// works // ... if(finstanceof SonOfSonOfFoo) {
f.sonOfsonOfFooMethod()// Works because of flow typing (fails at compile
time in Java) }
}
I hope that exemplifies better my thinking that var != def and flow
typing are not necessarily either or, but orthogonal Groovy features,
which would conceivably play well together.
I understand that you have a gut feeling that there mightbe a case out
there where this may not hold, but until someone can come up with an
example, I would hate to conceptually loose flow typing (which is a
really powerful feature) just because of using var :-)
Cheers,
mg
On 25.03.2018 15:19, Paul King wrote:
For the majority of cases, you will be able to conceptually think of
it as if the declaration type of the LHS is the inferred type of the RHS.
Until we have thought about non-denotable types etc. a bit more, I
don't want to preempt whether a more sophisticated conceptual model
will sometimes be needed.
Also, note that it isn't Object in your example but SomeTestClass$1 or
something like that.
Cheers, Paul.
On Sun, Mar 25, 2018 at 12:30 AM, MG <mg...@arscreat.com
<mailto:mg...@arscreat.com>> wrote:
There is no "var" in my example because it is currently valid
Groovy code, so I already had to do the var -> typeof(RHS)
substitution in the line "SonOfFoo f = new SonOfFoo(21)". I maybe
should have made that more explicit :-)
The reason I used currently valid Groovy was, that the point I am
trying to make is: Why should var not just become typeof(RHS),
while all the rest stays the same ? That should give us Java-like
type safety, with some added Groovy goodness...
Your example as currently working Groovy (JUnit) code through only
replacing var with its RHS type:
static class Main {}
@Test @Ignore @CompileStatic void main() {
// mg: was "var x = new Object() {" Object x =new Object() {
public void myMethod() { System.out.println(new Date()); } };
x.myMethod(); // okay because the inferred type is the AIC // mg:
Was "var y = new Main();" Main y =new Main();
y =new Main() {// reassignment okay because new type is subclass of
inferred type
public void myMethod() { System.out.println(new Date());}
};
// mg: Works y.myMethod(); // <=== error: cannot find symbol //
mg: If commented in, fails (as expected) with "Cannot assign value
of type Integer to variable of type Main"//y = new Integer(3); //
<=== error: incompatible types: Integer cannot be converted to Main }
Cheers,
mg
On 24.03.2018 13:08, Paul King wrote:
I don't see a var in your example?
Basically, we can use def and have flow typing (which would be
the behavior if we make var always an alias for def) or we can
behave like Java:
// Java
import java.util.Date;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
var x = new Object() {
public void myMethod() { System.out.println(new Date());}
};
x.myMethod(); // okay because the inferred type is the AIC
var y = new Main();
y = new Main() { // reassignment okay because new type is
subclass of inferred type
public void myMethod() { System.out.println(new Date());}
};
//y.myMethod(); // <=== error: cannot find symbol
// symbol: method myMethod()
// location: variable y of type Main
//y = new Integer(3); // <=== error: incompatible types: Integer
cannot be converted to Main
}
}
which effectively means that we infer as we do now but no flow
typing. Conceptually, you may think that in the above Java
example that var y has type Main (typeof RHS) but that isn't
reflected in the bytecode in the same way that a type for a field
or parameter would be reflected, so it's much more a concept that
the compiler knows about rather than a concept that the bytecode
knows about. Currently flow typing allows both the above "error"
lines to succeed. But to behave like Java, we need both to fail.
Cheers, Paul.
On Sat, Mar 24, 2018 at 3:14 AM, MG <mg...@arscreat.com
<mailto:mg...@arscreat.com>> wrote:
Hi Paul,
wouldn't it make sense to combine flow typing with var x =
RHS being identical to typeof(RHS) x = RHS :
@Canonical static class Foo {
int x }
@InheritConstructors static class SonOfFooextends Foo {
int sonOfFooMethod() {2*x }
}
@Test @Ignore @CompileStatic void flowTypedVar() {
SonOfFoo f =new SonOfFoo(21)
//f = new Foo(-1) // compile time fails with "Groovyc:
[Static type checking] - Cannot assign value of type
groovy.GroovyGeneralSpike$Foo to variable of type
groovy.GroovyGeneralSpike$SonOfFoo" //f.sonOfFooMethod() //
compile time fails with "Groovyc: [Static type checking] -
Cannot find matching method
groovy.GroovyGeneralSpike$Foo#sonOfFooMethod()." if(finstanceof
SonOfFoo) {
println f.sonOfFooMethod()// works because of flow typing }
}
Cheers,
mg
On 23.03.2018 15:42, Paul King wrote:
The Parrot parser already has support for this at the
grammar level but we regard some of the current
implementation details as experimental.
At the moment it is almost just an alias for "def" but
discussions have been around whether we can make the
behavior closer to Java when used within static Groovy code.
We haven't defined exactly what this would mean yet but
roughly I suspect it could mean the same inferencing as now
but without flow typing.
Cheers, Paul.
On Fri, Mar 23, 2018 at 10:12 PM, Merlin Beedell
<mbeed...@cryoserver.com <mailto:mbeed...@cryoserver.com>>
wrote:
I see that the newly release JDK 10 now supports the
“var” declaration for local variables where the type can
clearly be inferred from its initialiser:
http://openjdk.java.net/jeps/286
<http://openjdk.java.net/jeps/286>
I note that Groovy’s “def” syntax (among others) was
mentioned but rejected.
Would Groovy move to support this syntax in the same way
(support ‘var’ only for Type Safe inferred declarations)
or as a general alias to the “def” keyword?
JDK 10 also has support for “docker” containers. The
ecosystem has certainly shifted!
Merlin Beedell
