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- This example builds on the previous example with the addition of two
- methods/generics and modifies the main program to use them.
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- All external access to a class's methods is done through generic functions
- (or generics for short). Generics are shared among all classes who associate
- methods to similar generics. However, methods are unique to the classes
- which define them, except that their functionality may be inherited by
- subclassing.
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- When a generic is evoked, the generic determines the class of the
- first argument and then executes the method which is associated with
- a particular generic/class combination. If an association is not found,
- the superclasses of the class of the first argument are searched.
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- Instance and class variables may only be directly accessed by methods
- defined in the same class as the variables. Subclasses may not directly
- access class or instance variables which have been defined in a
- superclass. This causes very tight encapsulation.
-
- (To build see the readme file in the first example.)
-