Re: Me no understand scoping

[Jon Wilson <jsw@wilsonjc.us>]

Time to trot out the tired old koan [1] ...

Maciek Godek wrote:
> which is sad because closures are a very powerful
> yet simple mechanism (definitely simpler than what GOOPS or
> CLOS have to offer if it comes to OOP -- both in concepts and
> implementation)

"  The venerable master Qc Na was walking with his student, Anton. 
Hoping to
prompt the master into a discussion, Anton said "Master, I have heard that
objects are a very good thing - is this true?"  Qc Na looked pityingly at
his student and replied, "Foolish pupil - objects are merely a poor man's
closures."

"  Chastised, Anton took his leave from his master and returned to his cell,
intent on studying closures.  He carefully read the entire "Lambda: The
Ultimate..." series of papers and its cousins, and implemented a small
Scheme interpreter with a closure-based object system.  He learned much, and
looked forward to informing his master of his progress.

"  On his next walk with Qc Na, Anton attempted to impress his master by
saying "Master, I have diligently studied the matter, and now understand
that objects are truly a poor man's closures."  Qc Na responded by hitting
Anton with his stick, saying "When will you learn? Closures are a poor man's
object."  At that moment, Anton became enlightened.


[1] http://people.csail.mit.edu/gregs/ll1-discuss-archive-html/msg03277.html