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Modularizing constructors Viviana Bono, Dept. of Computer Science, Torino University Jaroslaw D. M. Kusmierek, Institute of Informatics, Warsaw University

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Abstract

Object-oriented class-based languages provide mechanisms for the initialization of newly created objects. These mechanisms specify how an object is initialized and what information is needed to do so. The initialization protocol is usually implemented as a list of constructors. It is often the case that the initialization protocol concerns some orthogonal properties of objects. Unfortunately, if those properties have more than one option of initialization, the total number of constructors becomes exponential in the number of properties.
In this paper, we propose an alternative protocol. In our approach, instead of defining a list of constructors, it is possible to split blocks of definitions into smaller and composable pieces, in order to obtain reduction in the size of the code, better reusability, more expressiveness, and easier maintenance.

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About the authors

		Viviana Bono is an Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Torino, Italy. Her main research interests are theoretical foundations, semantics, and design of object-oriented and functional languages. She can be reached at bono@di.unito.it and at http://www.di.unito.it/~bono.
		Jaroslaw Dominik Mateusz Kusmierek is a PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Warsaw, Poland. His main research interests are the base concepts and the design of object oriented languages, and the component oriented approach to software development. He can be reached at jdk@duch.mimuw.edu.pl.