On Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 2:10 PM, Matt Benson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Without having looked at the code, I'm not > understanding why [proxy] would be a "first-class" > dependency. Seems like it would be optional depending > on whether a client of [expression?] wanted to use the > recording implementation. > Proxy isn't a required dependency. You could use the existing Expression implementations without having to record them. However, the recording feature is what makes this library so cool, IMHO. Recording gives you the following benefits: - You're using Java syntax to record what you want. - If you change method names, you'll either get a compiler error on your recording code or the refactoring utility will change it for you. - Less error-prone. If you can traverse the object graph in Java, the builder can make an expression that can do it (aside from indexing into arrays or using fields of course). > I still agree with Rahul that object graph navigation > is the commonality here. Oooh, what about commons-navigator? > But once you remove the > concept of an integral String representation it seems > like generic functor stuff to me. JXPath has Pointers > that behave somewhat like what you're suggesting, > James, but ultimately they are still tied to the > original syntactic representation. Of course, "object > graph navigation" is 3/4 of OGNL's name, isn't it? > Once you turn the originating syntactic representation into an Expression object, you're free to do with it what you want. The syntax is hidden behind the Expression. So, other libraries that take Expression objects (like the one I'm going to help write for Wicket) don't have to have any idea that you're using a String behind the scenes (or possibly nothing but a hard-wired class that does exactly what you did in the first place). > I MIGHT be able to accept the recording implementation > as an "expression" if you at least made the toString() > of the recording present something expressionlike: > e.g. > > record < > getFoo() > getBar() > getBaz() > > > toString(): "getFoo().getBar().getBaz()" > That would be easy to do, really. All of the recorders currently use Proxy's idea of an InvocationRecorder which gives you a list of RecordedInvocations. It'd be trivial to write a toString() method somewhere that took the method names and made a string like that out of them (along with the parameters used along the way too). --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
