understanding types data abstraction polymorphism理解类型数据抽象多态性.pdfVIP

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ComputingSurveys,Vol17n.4,pp471-522,December1985

OnUnderstandingTypes,

Dataion,andPolymorphism

LucaCardelli

ATTBellLaboratories,MurrayHill,NJ07974

(currentaddress:DECSRC,130LyttonAve,PaloAltoCA94301)

PeterWegner

Dept.ofComputerScience,BrownUniversity

Providence,RI02912

Ourobjectiveistounderstandthenotionoftypeinprogramminglanguages,presentamodeloftyped,

polymorphicprogramminglanguagesthatreflectsrecentresearchintypetheory,andexaminetherelevance

ofrecentresearchtothedesignofpracticalprogramminglanguages.

Object-orientedlanguagesprovidebothaframeworkandamotivationforexploringtheinteraction

amongtheconceptsoftype,dataion,andpolymorphism,sincetheyextendthenotionoftypeto

dataionandsincetypeinheritanceisanimportantformofpolymorphism.Wedevelopaλ-calculus-

basedmodelfortypesystemsthatallowsustoexploretheseinteractionsinasimplesetting,unencumbered

bycomplexitiesofproductionprogramminglanguages.

Theevolutionoflanguagesfromuntypeduniversestomonomorphicandthenpolymorphictype

systemsisreviewed.Mechanismsforpolymorphismsuchasoverloading,coercion,subtyping,and

parameterizationareexamined.Aunifyingframeworkforpolymorphictypesystemsisdevelopedinterms

ofthetypedλ-calculusaugmentedtoincludebindingoftypesbyquantificationaswellasbindingofvalues

byion.

Thetypedλ-calculusisaugmentedbyuniversalquantificationtomodelgenericfunctionswithtype