[erlang-questions] Why do we need modules at all?
Gordon Guthrie
gordon@REDACTED
Tue May 24 10:49:30 CEST 2011
...and also...
following on from what Dimitri said while I was writing me e-mail, we
hang unit test onto modules and design them at that level of
abstraction
On 24 May 2011 09:48, Gordon Guthrie <gordon@REDACTED> wrote:
> There are two good things about modules:
> * they are a higher level of abstraction
> * they support good working practices
>
> Lets take a module that I use a little bit - and which a colleague
> introduced me to:
> http://erldocs.com/R14B02/stdlib/digraph.html?i=2&search=digra#get_digraph/1
>
> I can use the couple of exposed functions of that that I know,
> confident that if it comes to it I can come back and master the rest
> of the interface later. I have confidence that there is a rubustness
> there that makes code using it maintainable. (my idea of maintainable
> is to be able to ignore most stuff, most of the time...). I can learn
> about the code at this higher level of abstraction.
>
> We too have a module with loads of random functions in it, well we
> have three (hn_util, util, util2), and each of them is just library
> functions. In the utility modules the ratio of exported to
> not-exported fns is maybe 7 to 1.
>
> In functional modules the exported/not ratio goes from 1-1 (in modules
> that define apis) to 1-3 against.
>
> If we had the (promised) -export-to() directive the number of pure
> exported fns would drop.
>
> Given that we build our testing strategy around -export() this
> separation is critical...
>
> Gordon
>
> On 24 May 2011 09:06, Joe Armstrong <erlang@REDACTED> wrote:
>> Why do we need modules at all?
>>
>> This is a brain-dump-stream-of-consciousness-thing. I've been
>> thinking about this for a while.
>>
>> I'm proposing a slightly different way of programming here
>> The basic idea is
>>
>> - do away with modules
>> - all functions have unique distinct names
>> - all functions have (lots of) meta data
>> - all functions go into a global (searchable) Key-value database
>> - we need letrec
>> - contribution to open source can be as simple as
>> contributing a single function
>> - there are no "open source projects" - only "the open source
>> Key-Value database of all functions"
>> - Content is peer reviewed
>>
>> These are discussed in no particular order below:
>>
>> Why does Erlang have modules?
>>
>> There's a good an bad side to modules:
>>
>> Good: Provides a unit of compilation, a unit of code
>> distribution. unit of code replacement
>>
>> Bad: It's very difficult to decide which module to put an individual
>> function in. Break encapsulation (see later)
>>
>> Aside: lib_misc.erl
>>
>> When I'm programming I often get to the point were I say there should
>> a function foo/2 in lists.erl but their isn't. There should be but
>> there isn't - foo/2 is a small self contained thing. Why should it be
>> in lists.erl because it "feels right".
>>
>> Strings are lists, so why do we have two modules lists.erl and
>> string.erl how should I decide in which module my new string/list
>> processing function should go.
>>
>> To avoid all mental anguish when I need a small function that
>> should be somewhere else and isn't I stick it in
>> a module elib1_misc.erl.
>>
>> My elib1_misc exports the following:
>>
>> added_files/2 make_challenge/0
>> as_bits/1 make_response/2
>> as_bits_test/0 make_response_test/0
>> bdump/2 make_test_strings/1
>> bin2hex/1 make_test_strings_test/0
>> bin2hex_test/0 make_tmp_filename/2
>> check_io_list/1 merge_kv/1
>> collect_atom/1 merge_kv_test/0
>> collect_atom_test/0 mini_shell/0
>> collect_int/1 module_info/0
>> collect_int_test/0 module_info/1
>> collect_string/1 ndots/1
>> collect_string_test/0 nibble_to_hex_char/1
>> collect_word/1 nibble_to_hex_char_test/0
>> complete/2 odd/1
>> complete_test/0 on_exit/2
>> dos2unix/1 out_of_date/2
>> downcase_char/1 outfile/2
>> dump/2 padd/2
>> dump_tmp/2 perms/1
>> duplicates/1 perms_test/0
>> ensure_started/2 pmap/2
>> eval_file/1 pmap1/2
>> eval_file_test/0 pmap1_test/0
>> eval_string/1 pmap_test/0
>> eval_string_test/0 priority_receive/0
>> every/3 random_seed/0
>> expand_env_vars/1 random_string/1
>> expand_file_template/3 random_string/2
>> expand_string_template/2 read_at_most_n_lines/2
>> expand_tabs/1 read_at_most_n_lines_test/0
>> expand_tabs_test/0 remove_duplicates/1
>> expand_template/2 remove_duplicates_test/0
>> extract_attribute/2 remove_leading_and_trailing_whitespace/1
>> extract_attribute_test/0 remove_leading_and_trailing_whitespace_test/0
>> extract_prefix/2 remove_leading_whitespace/1
>> fetch/2 remove_prefix/2
>> fetch_test/0 remove_prefix_test/0
>> file2lines/1 remove_trailing_whitespace/1
>> file2lines_test/0 replace/3
>> file2md5/1 root_dir/0
>> file2numberedlines/1 rpc/2
>> file2numberedlines_test/0 safe/1
>> file2paras/1 show_loaded/1
>> file2stream/1 signed_byte_to_hex_string/1
>> file2string/1 signed_byte_to_hex_string_test/0
>> file2template/1 skip_blanks/1
>> file2term/1 skip_blanks_test/0
>> file_size_and_type/1 skip_to_nl/1
>> find_src/1 skip_to_nl_test/0
>> first/1 sleep/1
>> flatten_io_list/1 spawn_monitor/3
>> flush_buffer/0 split_at_char/2
>> for/3 split_at_char_test/0
>> force/1 split_list/2
>> foreach_chunk_in_file/3 split_list_test/0
>> foreach_word_in_file/2 string2exprs/1
>> foreach_word_in_string/2 string2exprs_test/0
>> forever/0 string2html/1
>> get_erl_section/2 string2latex/1
>> get_line/1 string2lines/1
>> get_line/2 string2lines_test/0
>> have_common_prefix/1 string2stream/1
>> have_common_prefix_test/0 string2stream_test/0
>> hex2bin/1 string2template/1
>> hex2bin_test/0 string2template_test/0
>> hex2list/1 string2term/1
>> hex2list_test/0 string2term_test/0
>> hex_nibble2int/1 string2toks/1
>> hex_nibble2int_test/0 string2toks_test/0
>> id/1 sub_binary/3
>> include_dir/0 template2file/3
>> include_file/1 term2file/2
>> interleave/2 term2string/1
>> is_alphanum/1 test/0
>> is_blank_line/1 test1_test/0
>> is_prefix/2 test_function_over_substrings/2
>> is_prefix_test/0 tex2pdf/1
>> is_response_correct/3 time_fun/2
>> keep_alive/2 time_stamp/0
>> lines2para/1 to_lower/1
>> list2frequency_distribution/1 to_lower_test/0
>> list2frequency_distribution_tetrim/1
>> longest_common_prefix/1 trim_test/0
>> longest_common_prefix_test/0 unconsult/2
>> lookup/2 unsigned_byte_to_hex_string/1
>> lorem/1 unsigned_byte_to_hex_string_test/0
>> ls/1 which/1
>> which_added/1
>>
>> Now I find this very convenient when I write a new small utility function
>> I stick in in elib1_misc.erl - no mental anguish in choosing a module
>> name is involved.
>>
>> The observation that I find this very-convenient is telling me something
>> about modules - I like my elib1_misc it feels right.
>>
>> (aside - It seems many development projects have their own private
>> lib_miscs ...)
>>
>> Which brings me to the point of my question.
>>
>> Do we need module's at all? Erlang programs are composed of lots of small
>> functions, the only place where modules seem useful is to hide a letrec.
>>
>> The classic example is fibonacci. We want to expose fib/1 but hide the
>> helper function fib/3. Using modules we say
>>
>> -module(math).
>> -export([fib/1]).
>>
>> fib(N) ->
>> fib(N, 1, 0).
>>
>> fib(N, A, B) when N < 2 -> A;
>> fib(N, A, B) -> fib(N-1, A+B, A).
>>
>> The downside is we have had to *invent* one module name math - whose *only*
>> purpose is to hide the definition of fib/3 which we don't want to be made
>> callable.
>>
>> If we put a second function into the module math, then this second function
>> could call fib/3 which breaks the encapsulation of fib/3.
>>
>> We could say:
>>
>> let fib = fun(N) -> fib(N, 1, 0) end
>> in
>> fib(N, A, B) when N < 2 -> A;
>> fib(N, A, B) -> fib(N-1, A+B, A).
>> end.
>>
>> I hardly dare suggest a syntax for this since I've been following
>> another thread in this forum where syntax discussion seem to encourage
>> much comment.
>>
>> ** Please do suggest alternative syntax's here - but do not comment on
>> other peoples suggestions ...
>>
>> I would like to just talk about why we have modules.
>>
>> Another question:
>>
>> Does the idea of a module come from the idea that functions have to be
>> stored somewhere, so we store them in a file, and we slurp the
>> file (as a unit) into the system, so the file becomes a module?
>>
>> If all the files were store by themselves in a database would this
>> change things.
>>
>> I am thinking more and more that if would be nice to have *all* functions in
>> a key_value database with unique names.
>>
>> lookup(foo,2) would get the definition foo foo/2 from a database.
>>
>> The unique names bit is interesting - is this a good idea. Qualified
>> names (ie names like xxx:foo/2) or (a.b.c.foo/2) sounds like a good
>> idea but but when I'm programming I have to invent the xxx or the
>> a.b.c which is very difficult. It also involves the "decision problem"
>> if the namespaces xxx and a.b.c already exist I have to *choose* which
>> to put my new function in.
>>
>> I think there might be a case for alises here joe:foo/2 could be used
>> while developing "joe" would expand to a horrible random local string the
>> real name being ab123aZwerasch123123_foo/2 but I would not be able to
>> publish my code or make it available to a third_part before I had
>> chosen a sensible name.
>>
>> (( managing namespaces seems really tricky, a lot of peoople seem
>> to thing that the problem goes away by adding "." 's to the name
>> but managing a namespace with namees like foo.bar.baz.z is just as complex
>> as managing a namespace with names like foo_bar_baz_z or names like
>> 0x3af312a78a3f1ae123 - the problem is that we have to go from a symbolic
>> name like www.a.b to a reference like 123.45.23.12 - but how do we discover
>> the initial name www.a.b? - there are two answers - a) we are given the name
>> (ie we click on a link) - we do not know the name but we search fo it ))
>>
>>
>> When programs are small we can live with "just the code" in "a few
>> modules" the ratio of code to meta data is high.
>>
>> When programs are large we need a lot of meta-data to understand them.
>>
>> I would like to see all functions with all meta-data in a data base.
>>
>> I'd like to say:
>>
>> lookup(foo,2,Attribute) when Attribute =
>>
>> code|source|documentation|type signatures|revision history|authors|...
>>
>> The more I think about it the more I think program development should
>> viewed as changing the state of a Key-Value database.
>>
>> So I imagine:
>>
>> 1) all functions have unique names
>> 2) there are no modules
>> 3) we discover the name of a function by searching metadata
>> describing the function in a database
>> 4) all public functions (think open source) are in the same
>> database
>>
>> We could make a system to do this.
>>
>> I think this would make open-source projects easier, since the
>> granularity of contribution goes down. You could contribute
>> a single function - not an entire application.
>>
>> (( A problem with GUT style open source projects is there is
>> not one database of functions, I often what one function from
>> this project, another function from another project -- the
>> granularity of reusable parts should be the individual function.
>>
>> functions are really easy to reuse
>> modules are more difficult to reuse
>> entire applications are very difficult to reuse
>> (Unless there are isolated through a communication channel))
>>
>> Possible extensions.
>>
>> 1) Voting for promotion
>> 2) A review process
>>
>> Given a raw database will *all* functions in it - we could derive an
>> "approved" functions database.
>>
>> Popular functions could be moved to the approved database - the
>> review process would need to be discussed - so kind of peer-review/wiki
>> stuff.
>>
>> Comments?
>>
>> Volunteers?
>>
>> /Joe
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Gordon Guthrie
> CEO hypernumbers
>
> http://hypernumbers.com
> t: hypernumbers
> +44 7776 251669
>
--
Gordon Guthrie
CEO hypernumbers
http://hypernumbers.com
t: hypernumbers
+44 7776 251669
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