Re: [boost] [multimethods] Proposal: Open Multi-Methods

Subject: Re: [boost] [multimethods] Proposal: Open Multi-Methods
From: Edward Diener (eldiener_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-08-31 07:08:56

On 8/31/2013 5:19 AM, Jean-Louis Leroy wrote:
> Hi,
>
> For lack of interest, I will not go forward with the submission
> process. I would like to thank the people who expressed interest and
> provided suggestions and encouragements.
>
> To those who will find this thread in the future: it does not mean
> that the project is dead - or if it is, I hope that it is because open
> multi-methods have finally made it into C++. Normally you should be
> able to grab the library from GitHub (https://github.com/jll63/yomm11)
> and read the documentation from http://www.yorel.be/mm/ A series of
> articles (ongoing at the time of this post) provides a detailed
> discussion of the library on Code Project
> (http://tinyurl.com/m8kg2y3).

The issue seems to be to justify practical use of multi-methods over 
traditional OO programming with virtual functions. Remember that the 
latter has been the core of OO programming for decades. I do not know 
even how to think about designing software using multi-methods as 
opposed to virtual functions. Without some serious practical benefits 
about the 'when' and 'why' multi-methods would ever be used in 
programming design it is hard to justify the idea, as clever as it seems 
to be. Perhaps it is an idea that has appeared before its time and it 
just needs some actual programming demonstrations which show its 
advantage before programmers become interested in it. Nonetheless I 
would like to thank you for bringing an implementation forth, even if 
its practicality eludes me.