[erlang-questions] The compiler "eats" structures which are not separated by commas

[Ulf Wiger]

On 27 Apr 2012, at 13:08, Jan Burse wrote:

> ROK wrote:
> > Frames make do without *any* static type information;
> > that's what the design is about.  But they can take
> > advantage of type information if available.
> 
> Are especially dangerous. They insuinate that late
> binding (*) can be solved performance wise.

Not really. It merely points out that it is designed to operate in
a setting where no (or extremely limited) static type information
is available. This has performance repercussions, but there isn't
much ROK can do about that. If there is no static type information
to work with, the frames construct will have to do without.

It would be possible to envision a future erlang version that has 
a closer integration of types, and thus more type information
available at compile-time. I read Richard's statement as saying 
that, in that event, frames would be able to operate more 
efficiently.

Adding static types to Erlang is not merely a technical challenge.
Erlang is an industrial language which takes backward compatibility
very seriously. A broader view of BW compatibility is that one has 
to think very carefully before fundamentally changing the nature
of the language, even if the change would, technically speaking,
not break legacy code.

BR,
Ulf W

Ulf Wiger, Co-founder & Developer Advocate, Feuerlabs Inc.
http://feuerlabs.com