On 2 February 2013 23:18, Reed Wilson <cedilla@gmail.com> wrote:I think that the problem arises because methods are typed similarly to
> What I really want is a signature like this:
> method private method_12 : int -> [ > `One | `Two ]
> method method_123 : int -> [ `One | `Two | `Three ]
> method method_124 : int -> [ `One | `Two | `Four ]
>
> If I replace method_12 with a function outside the class it works fine, but
> for whatever reason method_12 really wants to be the exact same type as
> method_123 and method_124.
>
> Is there any way around this typing requirement for methods?
mutually-recursive functions. Unless you give type signatures, both
functions that are marked as mutually recursive and methods are
assumed to be monomorhpic. For example, in
let rec f = fun x -> x
and g = fun x -> f (x + 1)
the types are
val f : int -> int
val g : int -> int
i.e. f is assigned the type with which it is used in the body of g.
If you remove the (unnecessary) mutual recursion then the more general
types will be inferred; for example, in
let f = fun x -> x
let g = fun x -> f (x + 1)
the types are
val f : 'a -> 'a
val g : int -> int
It's also possible to ensure that f is assigned the more general type
by using a type signature:
let rec f : 'a. 'a -> 'a = fun x -> x
and g = fun x -> f (x + 1)
With objects, the situation is similar, except that you can't mark
methods non-recursive, so you have to give a type signature to avoid
the monomorphising. So
object (self)
method f = fun x -> x
method g = fun x -> self#f (x + 1)
end
receives the type
< f : int -> int;
g : int -> int >
whereas
object (self)
method f : 'a. 'a -> 'a = fun x -> x
method g = fun x -> self#f (x + 1)
end
receives the more general type
< f : 'a. 'a -> 'a;
g : int -> int >
In your example you can ensure that the type you want is inferred by
annotating method_12 with a polymorphic signature:
object (self)
method private method_12 : 'a. int -> ([> `One | `Two] as 'a) = function
| 1 -> `Oneend
| _ -> `Two
method method_123 = function
| 3 -> `Three
| x -> self#method_12 x
method method_124 = function
| 4 -> `Four
| x -> self#method_12 x
Now the inferred types for method_123 and method_125 are distinct:
< method_123 : int -> [> `One | `Three | `Two ];
method_124 : int -> [> `Four | `One | `Two ] >
Hope that helps a bit,
Jeremy.