Existentially quantified types as a database viewing mechanism

Dearle

ACM Trans. Program. Lang. Syst.

et al. 1991

Polymorphic abstraction provides the ability to write programs that are independent of the form of the data over which they operate. There are a number of different categories of polymorphic expression-ad hoc and umversal, which includes parametric and inclusion-all of which have many advantages in terms of code reuse and software economics. It has proved difficult to provide efficient implementations of polymorphism.Here, we address this problem and describe a new technique that can implement all forms of polymorphism, use a conventional machine architecture, and support nonuniform data representations. Furthermore, the method ensures that any extra cost of implementation applies to polymorphic forms only, and allows such polymorphic forms to persist over program invocations.

Section: Empirical Results and Implementation Tacticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ad hoc approach to the implementation of polymorphism

Dearle

ACM Trans. Program. Lang. Syst.

et al. 1991

“…Napier88 provides existentially quantified types (abstract data types) to implement 2nd-order information hiding. To illustrate their utility, we will use the example of a banking system, taken from [10], in which customers have access to their accounts through autoteller machines. The autoteller machines have different styles of access to accounts according to which bank the machine belongs.…”

Section: Nd-order Information Hidingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The system was also intended as, or turned out to be, a testbed for experiments in: type systems for data modelling [2][3][4][5][6][7], bulk data [8,9] and protection [10,11]; programming language implementation [12,13]; binding mechanisms [14][15][16][17]; programming environments [17][18][19][20]; system evolution [21][22][23]; concurrency control and transactions [24][25][26][27]; object stores [26,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] and software engineering tools [36][37][38][39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Napier88 Persistent Programming Language and Environment

Fully Integrated Data Environments

Kirby

et al. 2000

Self Cite

Abstract. Persistent programming systems are designed as an implementation technology for long lived, concurrently accessed and potentially large bodies of data and programs, known here as persistent application systems (PASs). Within a PAS the persistence concept is used to abstract over the physical properties of data such as where it is kept, how long it is kept and in what form it is kept. As such it is seen as having a number of benefits in simplifying the task of PAS programming. Here, we describe the integrated design of the Napier88 persistent programming system and how Napier88 may be used to develop PASs.

“…The referential integrity provided by a persistent store ensures that views occur over the same instance of data, and the copying of data, with its associated integrity problems, is not necessary. The details of these mechanisms are discussed in [CDM90].…”

Section: 1 Extending Type Systems Over Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms for controlling evolution in persistent object systems

Microprocessors and Microsystems

Cutts

et al. 1993

Persistent programming is concerned with the creation and manipulation of data with arbitrary lifetimes. A requirement of such systems is that the data (including programs) must be capable of evolving and that the evolution should be within the control of the application's programmer. This paper discusses some recent developments in persistent programming that enable controlled evolution. The areas discussed are: the use of type systems, the use of reflection and a new style of programming, only available in persistent object systems, called hyperprogramming.