Whilst selecting codepath depending upon the (sub)type of a scalar at runtime is definitely a form of introspection, the fact that it is under compiler/interpreter control, rather than programmer control, makes it a somewhat different animal to the normal.

Indeed, I would say that run-time dispatching upon the base type (HASH/ARRAY/SCALAR/CODE etc.) of a reference is likewise, something of a 'special case'.

The types of reflection that I'm more intrigued by the need for, are those provided by the use of UNIVERSAL::ISA and UNIVERSAL::can and similar. These seemed to be used to provide for 'generic programming' ala C++-style templating solutions. In simplistic terms, as a substitute for providing essentially copy&paste dedicated methods, or resorting to MI and/or deep inheritance trees.

An alternative to introspection for dynamic languages is compile-time code generation.

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
"Too many [] have been sedated by an oppressive environment of political correctness and risk aversion."

In reply to Re^2: Runtime introspection: What good is it? by BrowserUk
in thread Runtime introspection: What good is it? by BrowserUk

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.