On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 7:48 PM, Jeremy Heiler <jeremyhei...@gmail.com>wrote:
> I am interested in what you think about generating functions at compile > time (with a macro) from data. The specific use case I am thinking about > pertains to libraries for large web services with a lot of endpoints. A > cost-benefit analysis could probably be done for what size is appropriate, > but lets just assume the number of endpoints is large enough for you to > start thinking about this. > > Potential advantages include: > > - Less boilerplate. It would be less annoying to maintain data that > represents each endpoint and generate the boilerplate than it is to > maintain a lot of repetitive code. > > - Shareable. The work done to maintain the endpoint data could be used by > multiple libraries for multiple languages. In fact, it could be maintained > by the web service itself. > > Potential disadvantages include: > > - Limited discoverability. If the code is generated at compile time, there > is no direct source for it, which may hinder the ability to view or > generate documentation with your favorite tool(s). > > - Complicated edge cases. Endpoints that require extra code are usually > edge cases, but not always. Regardless, breaking from the template may > complicate the code further. (I don't think this is a difficult problem to > solve, though.) > > One way to alleviate the "limited discoverability" problem is to generate > source code at build time. This is what you would do in langauges like > Java, and that has always left me frustrated, so I am not inclined to think > it's a good idea. However, feel free to make the case! > > A language like Clojure makes doing this relatively easy, but is it simple? > Another consequence of this that I forgot to mention in the mail above is that there will either need to be way for the library to self-execute the macro or require the user to initialize the library. The latter might not be too bad considering global (immutable) configuration such as authentication credentials and URLs are necessary. -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Clojure" group. To post to this group, send email to clojure@googlegroups.com Note that posts from new members are moderated - please be patient with your first post. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to clojure+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/clojure?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Clojure" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to clojure+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
