# and polymorphic variants

# and polymorphic variants

[Juergen Pfitzenmaier]

Dear ocaml users,
consider the following example:

type t1 = [ `A of int ];;
type t2 = [ `B of string ];;
type t = [ `A of int | `B of string ];;

let f1 (`A (x : int)) =
	print_int x
and f2 (`B (x : string)) =
	print_string x
and f (x : t) =
	match x with
	| #t1 -> f1 x      (* this is not allowed !! *)
	| #t2 -> f2 x;;

The compiler can't constrain the type t of x to t1/t2 in the call to f1/f2.
And an coercion like in
    ...
	match x with
	| #t1 -> f1 (x :> t1)
    ...
is not allowed. So I see only one solution:
    ...
	match x with
	| #t1 -> f1 (Obj.magic(x) :> t1)   (* I don't like magic *)
    ...
But I would like to see something clean like giving a name to the # pattern
    ...
	match x with
	| #t1 y -> f1 y    (* (y : t1) would have the same value as x *)
    ...
or like
    ...
	match x with
	| #t1 -> f1 x      (* x is constrained to type t1 *)
    ...

Any comments ?

-- pfitzen

Re: # and polymorphic variants

[Andrzej M. Ostruszka]

On Thu, Feb 01 (2001), Juergen Pfitzenmaier wrote:
> and f (x : t) =
> 	match x with
> 	| #t1 -> f1 x      (* this is not allowed !! *)
> 	| #t2 -> f2 x;;
> 
> The compiler can't constrain the type t of x to t1/t2 in the call to f1/f2.

What about alias patterns? The following seems to work:

type t1 = [ `A of int ]
type t2 = [ `B of string ]
type t = [ `A of int | `B of string ]

let f1 (`A x) = print_int x
and f2 (`B x) = print_string x
and f (x : t) = match x with
        | #t1 as a -> f1 a
        | #t2 as b -> f2 b
						Best regards
-- 
    ____   _  ___
   /  | \_/ |/ _ \		Andrzej Marek Ostruszka
  / _ |     | (_) | Instytut Fizyki, Uniwersytet Jagiellonski (Cracow)
 /_/ L|_|V|_|\___/	(PGP <-- finger ostruszk@order.if.uj.edu.pl)

Re: # and polymorphic variants

[Jacques Garrigue]

From: Juergen Pfitzenmaier <pfitzen@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de>

> Dear ocaml users,
> consider the following example:
> 
> type t1 = [ `A of int ];;
> type t2 = [ `B of string ];;
> type t = [ `A of int | `B of string ];;
> 
> let f1 (`A (x : int)) =
> 	print_int x
> and f2 (`B (x : string)) =
> 	print_string x
> and f (x : t) =
> 	match x with
> 	| #t1 -> f1 x      (* this is not allowed !! *)
> 	| #t2 -> f2 x;;
...
> But I would like to see something clean like giving a name to the # pattern
>     ...
> 	match x with
> 	| #t1 y -> f1 y    (* (y : t1) would have the same value as x *)

You were pretty close to the solution !
You just have to write
        match x with
        | #t1 as y -> f1 y
        | #t2 as y -> f2 y

logical, no?

         Jacques

Re: # and polymorphic variants

[Brian Rogoff]

You need to use a "let rec" so that the function f1 is defined in f (or
replace the "and"s with "let"s) and use aliases. The first should be
obvious, the need for aliases seems necessary to get the coercion. Is 
this what you want?

type t1 = [ `A of int ];;
type t2 = [ `B of string ];;
type t = [ `A of int | `B of string ];;

let rec f1 (`A (x : int)) =
        print_int x 
and f2 (`B (x : string)) =
        print_string x 
and f (x : t) =
        match x with
        | #t1 as x -> f1 x 
        | #t2 as x -> f2 x;;

-- Brian

On Thu, 1 Feb 2001, Juergen Pfitzenmaier wrote:

> Dear ocaml users,
> consider the following example:
> 
> type t1 = [ `A of int ];;
> type t2 = [ `B of string ];;
> type t = [ `A of int | `B of string ];;
> 
> let f1 (`A (x : int)) =
> 	print_int x
> and f2 (`B (x : string)) =
> 	print_string x
> and f (x : t) =
> 	match x with
> 	| #t1 -> f1 x      (* this is not allowed !! *)
> 	| #t2 -> f2 x;;
> 
> The compiler can't constrain the type t of x to t1/t2 in the call to f1/f2.
> And an coercion like in
>     ...
> 	match x with
> 	| #t1 -> f1 (x :> t1)
>     ...
> is not allowed. So I see only one solution:
>     ...
> 	match x with
> 	| #t1 -> f1 (Obj.magic(x) :> t1)   (* I don't like magic *)
>     ...
> But I would like to see something clean like giving a name to the # pattern
>     ...
> 	match x with
> 	| #t1 y -> f1 y    (* (y : t1) would have the same value as x *)
>     ...
> or like
>     ...
> 	match x with
> 	| #t1 -> f1 x      (* x is constrained to type t1 *)
>     ...
> 
> Any comments ?
> 
> -- pfitzen
> 
> 
> 

Re: # and polymorphic variants

[Julian Assange]

Jacques Garrigue <garrigue@kurims.kyoto-u.ac.jp> writes:

> > 	match x with
> > 	| #t1 -> f1 x      (* this is not allowed !! *)
> > 	| #t2 -> f2 x;;

Where is this hash notation documented, btw?