[erlang-questions] Parameterized module idioms

[Vlad Dumitrescu]

Hi,

2010/4/23 Richard O'Keefe <ok@REDACTED>:
> A module with parameters is basically a surpassingly strange
> way to write a function that returns a record of functions.
>
> Right now, we can do exactly that:
>
>    new(V1, ..., Vk) ->
>        #record{
>            f1 = fun (...) -> ... end,
>            ...
>            fm = fun (...) -> ... end
>        }.
>
> This thing, which I regard as an aggregate of closures,
> can be passed around (just as an instance of a module with
> parameters can), and the functions can be invoked:
>
>        R#record.fi(...)

Cool!

This record is then a representation of an anonymous module instance.
Taken a step longer and adding some "normal" data fields, it becomes
an object of the OO-kind, with the funs building the virtual method
table. A classless object, JavaScript-like, and immutable. Then we can
relate this to the discussion recently brought to our attention by
Robert Virding in the thread named "Clojure and OO, and Erlang"...

best regards,
Vlad