RE: [Aldor-l] [Axiom-developer] Re: exports and constants

[Page, Bill]

Gaby, 

On Thursday, July 27, 2006 1:40 PM you wrote:

> ...
> Bill Page writes:
>  
> | It is very very easy for the compiler to generate self-
> | identifying type constants either all the time or as a
> | compile-time option. This can even been done in a simple
> | pre-compilation step if necessary.
> 
> Either we have a very different view of what "Reflection"
> is, or we have a very different experience in the use and
> implementations of that suff :-)

That is quite possible. Care to give a couple of simple
examples we can continue to discuss?

> I don't find Template Haskell implementation "very very
> very easy". Here is an overview of Template Haskell 
>     
> http://research.microsoft.com/~simonpj/Papers/meta-haskell/index.htm
>     http://www.haskell.org/th/#papers
> 

I have read some of these papers (you've referred to them
before) and I am inclined to agree. I have not actually tried
to code in Template Haskell yet, but do not find this extension
of Haskell particularly "comfortable" yet. It's true isn't it
that some of the goals of meta-programming go beyond what one
would normally associate with language features that support
reflect?

Perhaps the difference between Template Haskell and what seems
easy in Aldor (at least with respect to self-identification and
reflection) has to do with significant differences in the
underlying type system. Aldor is set apart from Haskell for
historical reasons. Perhaps Aldor has more in common with ML?
I guess also need to find some time to look at MetaOCaml.

Regards,
Bill Page.