Super-dee-duper D features

[janderson]

Andrei Alexandrescu (See Website For Email) wrote:
> janderson wrote:
>> Andrei Alexandrescu (See Website For Email) wrote:
>>> janderson wrote:
>>>> Note: I'm not arguing that meta-programming should be higher 
>>>> priority then say reflection.  I'm just arguing that its just an 
>>>> extension to what programmers do on a day-to-day basis.
>>>
>>> But metaprogramming *gives* reflection (as even you and others 
>>> discussed recently). The half-assed way to do reflection is to have 
>>> the language implementer sit down and define the run-time reflection 
>>> mechanism. The full-assed way is to define compile-time reflection, 
>>> to then allow people to define and refine run-time reflection 
>>> mechanisms as libraries, in addition to many other useful libraries! 
>>> It's like in the fish vs. fishing parable.
>>
>> I agree but its like the stl vectors.  I'm unsure weather it just is 
>> easier to have that kinda thing in the language because it already has 
>> much of that information. 
> 
> The information being there is all the more reason to make it available 
> during compilation, for reflection and many other purposes, e.g. PyD 
> being one of them.
> 
>> Also to write a reflection program that doesn't require wrapping each 
>> and every call you'd need to write a fully fledged compiler which may 
>> become out of sync with the compiler.   I'm undecided on this matter.
> 
> Not sure I understand. All that will be needed to make Widget available is:
> 
> mixin Manifest!(Widget);
> 
> I don't see where the syncing problem occurs.

This is wrapping each class.  What if the the code was hidden in a 
library or something.  How would you get a such information?  Also 
wrapping each class is not as neat as a complete code analysis could be 
(which is possible in mixin, just very difficult and slow).

Syncing problems could still occur if Walter decides to make some change 
in the language syntax.

-Joel

> 
> Andrei