Dylan (TM) -- An object-oriented dynamic language

DYLAN

Apple Computer
Eastern Research and Technology

Copyright 1992 Apple Computer, Inc.

Contents:

Acknowledgments 5
Foreword 7
Preface 9
1. Introduction 15: Background and Goals 15; About this Manual 16; Manual Notation 16
2. Language Overview 19: Structure of Dylan 20
3. Syntax and Semantics 23: Lexical Notation 23; Conventions 25; Expressions and Programs 27; Multiple Values 30
4. Variables 31: Module Variables 31; Lexical Variables 32
5. Modules 35: Overview of Modules 35; References to Module Variables 36; Adding Variables to a Module 36; Using Modules 36; ReadOnly Variables 37
6. Introduction to Functions and Classes 39: Generic Functions and Methods 39; Classes, Instances, and Singletons 48
7. Assignment 61
8. Conditionals, Flow of Control, and Evaluation 63: True and False 63; Conditional Execution 63; Iteration Constructs 68; Simple Exits 71; Evaluation 72
9. Equality and Magnitude Comparisons 75: Equality Comparisons 75; Magnitude Comparisons 77
10. Functions 79: Methods 79; Method Dispatch 81; Additional Function Details 85; Reflective Operations on Functions and Methods 87
11. Classes 91: Coercing and Copying Objects 91; Reflective Operations on Classes 92; Sealing Classes 94; Slots and Slot Descriptors 94; Singletons 96
12. Collections 99: Functions for Collections 99; Functions for Sequences 104; The Instantiable Collection Classes 111; Operations on Arrays 113; Operations on Deques 114; Operations on Lists 115; Operations on Ranges 118; Operations on Stretchy Vectors 119; Operations on Strings 119; Operations on Tables 120; Operations on Vectors 121; The Iteration Protocol 122; Iteration Stability and Natural Order 123; Collection Keys 123; Mutability 127; Collection Alignment 128; Defining a New Collection Class 130
13. Conditions 131: Background 131; Overview 133; Specification 136; Examples 144
14. Numbers 147: Automatic Type Conversion 147; Numeric Classes 148; General Arithmetic Functions 149
15. Keywords and Symbols 153
16. Characters 155
17. Functional Operations 157
18. Miscellaneous Operations 161
Index 163

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