Extension vs defender methods

[Bob Foster]

On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:12:06 +0000 Francis Devereux wrotge:

> I think that if Java uses the name "extension method" then a lot of
application developers with experience languages other than java will be
disappointed that they can't use them like C# extension methods. On the
other hand if they are called something different ("defender methods" for
example) then these developers won't have preconceived ideas about what can
be done with them so they won't be as disappointed.

I and a few others stumbled over the term "closures" as they appear in Java
8, because they do not bind variables. On the other hand, I was astonished
to find that some people thought closures should be synonymous with
"blocks" and should be able to return from a calling method. There are so
many programming languages, each with their own ideosyncratic definitions
of most programming related words. Understanding the differences is useful,
but arguing which is right doesn't help much.

Which seems like a good opportunity to congratulate Brian Goetz on the
excellent slides he prepared for Devoxx 2011 on "Language / Library
co-evolution in Java SE 8"! I didn't see the talk, but the slides went
around at work and generated a lot of enthusiasm from people who haven't
been following Project Lambda. It's absolutely the best of the several
summing-ups I've seen from Brian. Crystal clear!

And positively spliterable! :)

Bob