← Back to context

Comment by cb321

6 hours ago

In this case, it compiles & runs fine with floats (if you just delete the type constraint "Fibable") because the string "1" can be implicitly converted into float(1) { or 1.0 or 1f64 or float64(1) or 1'f64 or ..? }. You can think of the "1" and "2" as having an implicit "T(1)", "T(2)" -- which would also resolve your "doesn't work for me" if you prefer the explicitness. You don't have to trust me, either. You can try it with `echo fib(7.0)`.

Nim is Choice in many dimensions that other PLang's are insistently monosyllabic/stylistic about - gc or not or what kind, many kinds of spelling, new operator vs. overloaded old one, etc., etc., etc. Some people actually dislike choice because it allows others to choose differently and the ensuing entropy creates cognitive dissonance. Code formatters are maybe a good example of this? They may not phrase opposition as being "against choice" as explicitly as I am framing it, but I think the "My choices only, please!" sentiment is in there if they are self-aware.

4 comments

cb321

Reply
sevensor  4 hours ago

But given the definition of Fibable, it could be anything that supports + and - operators. That could be broader than numbers. You could define it for sets for example. How do you add the number 1 to the set of strings containing (“dog”, “cat”, and “bear”)? So I suppose I do have a complaint about Fibable, which is that it’s underconstrained.

Granted, I don’t know nim. Maybe you can’t define + and - operators for non numbers?

  • cb321  4 hours ago

    Araq was probably trying to keep `Fibable` short for the point he was trying to make. So, your qualm might more be with his example than anything else.

    You could add a `SomeNumber` predicate to the `concept` to address that concern. `SomeNumber` is a built-in typeclass (well, in `system.nim` anyway, but there are ways to use the Nim compiler without that or do a `from system import nil` or etc.).

    Unmentioned in the article is a very rare compiler/PLang superpower (available at least in Nim 1, Nim 2) - `compiles`. So, the below will print out two lines - "2\n1\n":

        when compiles SomeNumber "hi": echo 1 else: echo 2
    when compiles SomeNumber 1.0: echo 1 else: echo 2

    Last I knew "concept refinement" for new-style concepts was still a work in progress. Anyway, I'm not sure what is the most elegant way to incorporate this extra constraint, but I think it's a mistake to think it is unincorporatable.

    To address your question about '+', you can define it for non-SomeNumber, but you can also define many new operators like `.+.` or `>>>` or whatever. So, it's up to your choice/judgement if the situation calls for `+` vs something else.