Re^2: Perl 6: Static/Dynamic Strong/Weak Type Systems


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Re^2: Perl 6: Static/Dynamic Strong/Weak Type Systems

by tomazos (Deacon)

on Apr 16, 2006 at 22:15 UTC ( #543715=note: print w/replies, xml )

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in reply to Re: Perl 6: Static/Dynamic Strong/Weak Type Systems
in thread Perl 6: Static/Dynamic Strong/Weak Type Systems

I realize now that there is clearly no standard definition of "strongly typed".

For me it related to type casting pointers.

In "Weakly Typed" C/C++...

Foo f;
Foo *pf = &f;
Bar *pb = (Bar*) pf;
Bar& b = *pf;
[download]

Here, f points to a piece of memory it will treat as if it was in the structure of a Foo. b points to *the same* piece of memory and instead it will treat as if it was in the structure of a Bar. Foo and Bar may have totally unrelated structures. This is what I was thinking of in terms of weak typing.

I thought you couldn't do that in Perl - hence I called in strongly typed.

(It looks like you might be able to something similiar with the pack/unpack magic mentioned above - although it is certainly not a common practice.)

-Andrew.

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Re^3: Perl 6: Static/Dynamic Strong/Weak Type Systems by Anonymous Monk on Apr 17, 2006 at 19:47 UTC
My favorite take... So what is "strong typing"? This appears to be a meaningless phrase, and people often use it in a non- sensical fashion. To some it seems to mean "The language has a type checker". To others it means "The language is sound" (that is, the type checker and run-time system are related). To most, it seems to just mean, "A language like Pascal, C or Java, related in a way I can't quite make precise". If someone uses this phrase, be sure to ask them to define it for you. (For amusement, watch them squirm.)	[reply]
Re^4: Perl 6: Static/Dynamic Strong/Weak Type Systems by merlyn (Sage) on Apr 17, 2006 at 21:26 UTC
For some, it means "pounding on the keyboard harder trying to make the code work better". As in, "I tried strong typing once... nearly ruined my keyboard". -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker Be sure to read my standard disclaimer if this is a reply.	[reply]

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