From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: (from majordomo@localhost) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) id XAA31080; Fri, 23 May 2003 23:38:52 +0200 (MET DST) X-Authentication-Warning: pauillac.inria.fr: majordomo set sender to owner-caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr using -f Received: from nez-perce.inria.fr (nez-perce.inria.fr [192.93.2.78]) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) with ESMTP id XAA31075 for ; Fri, 23 May 2003 23:38:51 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from nexus.stwing.upenn.edu (NEXUS.STWING.UPENN.EDU [165.123.132.61]) by nez-perce.inria.fr (8.11.1/8.11.1) with ESMTP id h4NLcoT02678 for ; Fri, 23 May 2003 23:38:50 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from force.stwing.upenn.edu (daemon@force.stwing.upenn.edu [165.123.132.65]) by nexus.stwing.upenn.edu (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id h4NLcmrb018410 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA bits=256 verify=OK) for ; Fri, 23 May 2003 17:38:48 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from wlovas@localhost) by force.stwing.upenn.edu (8.12.9/8.12.9) id h4NLcmiH014316 for caml-list@inria.fr; Fri, 23 May 2003 17:38:48 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 17:38:47 -0400 From: William Lovas To: caml-list@inria.fr Subject: [Caml-list] use of `generics' Message-ID: <20030523213847.GA12787@force.stwing.upenn.edu> Mail-Followup-To: caml-list@inria.fr Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.4i X-Spam: no; 0.00; lovas:01 wlovas:01 stwing:01 extensional:01 ad-hoc:01 off-topic:01 o'caml:02 slightly:03 william:05 cheers:06 upenn:06 uses:06 polymorphism:06 practice:06 java:07 Sender: owner-caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr Precedence: bulk Hi, Apologies for the slightly off-topic nature of this posting, but i hope people on the list can provide some insight. Everytime a discussion pops up on the list about extensional polymorphism, this question comes to my mind: why does the O'Caml community use the word `generics' to refer to ad-hoc polymorphism, while e.g. the Java community uses the same word to refer to parametric polymorphism? Is it just standard practice for a community to use `generics' to refer to "the kind of polymorphism we don't have"? :) cheers, William ------------------- To unsubscribe, mail caml-list-request@inria.fr Archives: http://caml.inria.fr Bug reports: http://caml.inria.fr/bin/caml-bugs FAQ: http://caml.inria.fr/FAQ/ Beginner's list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ocaml_beginners