Late-binding of function defaults (was Re: What is a function parameter =[] for?)

[Marko Rauhamaa]

BartC <bc at freeuk.com>:
> Clearly a huge amount of programming can be done without having to deal
> with first-class functions (or constructing functions at run-time; that
> sounds fun). (Or without using OOP, another thing I can't stand.)

Even the lowliest code monkeys deal with on-the-fly functions and OOP
nowadays. You can't escape them in C# and Java, for example.

> Some people just don't want to be functional programmers. It is
> elitist to try and make out it that it is that important.
>
> If lots of languages now have functional features, it's more likely to
> be a case of keeping up with the Joneses.

There's some of that. Generics and closures in Java are examples.

However, anonymous classes have been there in Java since the dawn of
days, and they are equally "elitist" as closures.


Marko