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Genfun 
genfun is a Javascript library that lets you
define generic functions: regular-seeming functions that can be invoked just
like any other function, but that automatically dispatch methods based on the
combination of arguments passed to it when it's called, also known as multiple
dispatch.
It was inspired by Slate, CLOS and Sheeple.
Install
$ npm install genfun
Table of Contents
Example
Various examples are available to look at in the examples/ folder included in this project. Most examples are also runnable by just invoking them with node.
import Genfun from "genfun"
class Person {}
class Dog {}
const frobnicate = Genfun()
frobnicate.add([Person], (person) => {
console.log('Got a person!')
})
frobnicate.add([Dog], (dog) => {
console.log('Got a dog!')
})
frobnicate.add([String, Person, Dog], (greeting, person, dog) => {
console.log(person, ' greets ', dog, ', \'' + greeting + '\'')
})
const person = new Person()
const dog = new Dog()
frobnicate(person) // Got a person!
frobnicate(dog) // Got a dog!
frobnicate('Hi, dog!', person, dog); // {} greets {}, 'Hi, dog!'
API
The basic API for Genfun is fairly simple: You create a new genfun by
calling Genfun(), and add methods to them. Then you call the genfun object
like a regular function, and it takes care of dispatching the appropriate
methods!
Genfun()
Takes no arguments. Simply creates a new genfun. A genfun is a regular
function object with overriden function call/dispatch behavior.
When called, it will look at its arguments and determine if a matching method has been defined that applies to all arguments passed in, considered together.
New methods may be added to the genfun object with gf.add().
If no method is found, or none has been defined, it will invoke
Genfun.noApplicableMethod with the appropriate
arguments.
Genfuns preserve the value of this if invoked using .call or .apply.
Example
var gf = Genfun()
//... add some methods ..
// These calls are all identical.
gf(1, 2, 3)
gf.call(null, 1, 2, 3)
gf.apply(null, [1, 2, 3])
gf.add(<selector>, <body>)
Adds a new method to gf and returns gf to allow chaining multiple adds.
<selector> must be an array of objects that will receive new Roles (dispatch
positions) for the method. If an object in the selector is a function, its
.prototype field will receive the new Role. The array must not contain any
frozen objects.
When a genfun is called (like a function), it will look at its set of added
methods and, based on the Roles assigned, and corresponding prototype chains,
will determine which method, if any, will be invoked. On invocation, a method's
<body> argument will be the called with the arguments passed to the genfun,
including its this and arguments values`.
Within the <body>, Genfun.callNextMethod may be called.
Example
var numStr = Genfun()
numStr.add([String, Number], function (str, num) {
console.log('got a str:', str, 'and a num: ', num)
})
numStr.add([Number, String], function (num, str) {
console.log('got a num:', num, 'and a str:', str)
})
Genfun.callNextMethod([...<arguments>])
NOTE: This function can only be called synchronously. To call it
asynchronously (for example, in a Promise or in a callback), use
getContext
Calls the "next" applicable method in the method chain. Can only be called within the body of a method.
If no arguments are given, callNextMethod will pass the current method's
original arguments to the next method.
If arguments are passed to callNextMethod, it will invoke the next applicable
method (based on the original method list calculation), with the given
arguments, even if they would otherwise not have triggered that method.
Returns whatever value the next method returns.
There must be a next method available when invoked. This function will
not call noApplicableMethod when it runs out of methods to call. It will
instead throw an error.
Example
class Foo {}
class Bar extends Foo {}
var cnm = Genfun()
cnm.add([Foo], function (foo) {
console.log('calling the method on Foo with', foo)
return foo
})
cnm.add([Bar], function (bar) {
console.log('calling the method on Bar with', bar)
return Genfun.callNextMethod('some other value!')
})
cnm(new Bar())
// calling the method on Bar with {}
// calling the method on Foo with "some other value!"
// => 'some other value!'
Genfun.getContext()
The context returned by this function will have a callNextMethod method
which can be used to invoke the correct next method even during asynchronous
calls (for example, when used in a callback or a Promise).
This function must be called synchronously within the body of the method before any asynchronous calls, and will error if invoked outside the context of a method call.
Example
someGenfun.add([MyThing], function (thing) {
const ctx = Genfun.getContext()
return somePromisedCall(thing).then(res => ctx.callNextMethod(res))
})
Genfun.noApplicableMethod(<gf>, <this>, <args>)
Genfun.noApplicableMethod is a genfun itself, which is called whenever any genfun fails to find a matching method for its given arguments.
It will be called with the genfun as its first argument, then the this
value, and then the arguments it was called with.
By default, this will simply throw a NoApplicableMethod error.
Users may override this behavior for particular genfun and this
combinations, although args will always be an Array. The value returned from
the dispatched noApplicableMethod method will be returned by genfun as if it
had been its original method. Comparable to Ruby's
method_missing.
Performance
Genfun pulls a few caching tricks to make sure dispatch, specially for common
cases, is as fast as possible.
How fast? Well, not much slower than native methods:
Regular function: 30.402ms
Native method: 28.109ms
Singly-dispatched genfun: 64.467ms
Double-dispatched genfun: 70.052ms
Double-dispatched genfun with string primitive: 76.742ms