83 replies to this topic

[KaoS]

Ferdi265, on 27 August 2014 - 04:41 PM, said:

sci4me said:

Functions with different parameters but the same name!!! Seriously, WHY IS THIS NOT A THING?

Because functions are values. having two functions with the same name is like storing two functions in one variable, which isn't quite possible. (also lua wouldn't know what to call if you did

It actually IS possible believe it or not. You use the same solution as I suggested above to replace all function creations with a table of all functions of the same name.
The table has a metatable __call that when called checks the type of all arguments and selects the best function from the functions stored in the table.
You also need a metatable extending code so you can make the table appear to be a function etc etc

[ElvishJerricco]

KaoS, on 21 September 2014 - 07:58 AM, said:

Ferdi265, on 27 August 2014 - 04:41 PM, said:

sci4me said:

Functions with different parameters but the same name!!! Seriously, WHY IS THIS NOT A THING?

Because functions are values. having two functions with the same name is like storing two functions in one variable, which isn't quite possible. (also lua wouldn't know what to call if you did

It actually IS possible believe it or not. You use the same solution as I suggested above to replace all function creations with a table of all functions of the same name.
The table has a metatable __call that when called checks the type of all arguments and selects the best function from the functions stored in the table.
You also need a metatable extending code so you can make the table appear to be a function etc etc

This seems extremely inefficient. Calls are fast. Searching tables is slow. Other languages handle overloading by knowing at compile time what exactly needs to be called. Overloading in Lua just can't be done efficiently. I see no reason to let my code do so much work when I could just have a differently named function.

[Agent Silence]

Defining variables after a block as in

while true do
print(a)
end
a = "This variable was executed after the loop

[Lyqyd]

What benefit could that possibly give you? That would break... everything.