[Rd] Reference Classes: Accessing methods via [[...]], bug?

[Hadley Wickham]

>> Are you familiar with "Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer
>> Programming" by van Roy and Haridi?  That's what really helped me to
>> understand the strengths and weaknesses of the various styles of
>> programming.
>
> Thanks, I wasn't.  Yes, interesting similar distinction between functional
> and "type" decomposition.  An important associated aspect for us is the
> distinction between reference objects and "ordinary" R objects, not AFAICS
> conveyed by their more abstract treatment.

Another discussion I found useful was in SICP:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book-Z-H-17.html#%_sec_2.4.3

I really like the metaphor of method dispatch as a table with types in
the columns and operations in the rows - then you can think of generic
functions oo as being row-based, and class based oo as column-based.

Hadley

-- 
Assistant Professor / Dobelman Family Junior Chair
Department of Statistics / Rice University
http://had.co.nz/