Extending a scripting language to provide an object hierarchy

• US 20080307389A1
• Filed: 06/08/2007
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Marchant, Benoit
• Granted Patent: US 8,132,152 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/449 Object-oriented method invocation or resolution

Abstract

Generating programmatically a pointer to a super implementation of a method in a programming language that is not a class-based object-oriented programming (OOP) language is disclosed. A hierarchy of functions, the hierarchy including one or more parent nodes each representing a parent function and each having one or more child nodes, each child node representing a function that inherits the methods of the corresponding parent node of which it is a child, is traversed until a super implementation of an inherited method is found. A programmatically created pointer to the super implementation is inserted programmatically into a corresponding location in a current function.

Claims

1. A method of generating programmatically a pointer to a super implementation of a method in a programming language that is not a class-based object-oriented programming (OOP) language, comprising:

traversing up a hierarchy of functions, the hierarchy including one or more parent nodes each representing a parent function and each having one or more child nodes, each child node representing a function that inherits the methods of the corresponding parent node of which it is a child, until a super implementation of an inherited method is found; and

inserting programmatically into a corresponding location in a current function a programmatically created pointer to the super implementation.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the super implementation comprises (a) the method as defined (a) at a nearest node to the current function, traversing up the hierarchy, at which the method was last overwritten, if the method was overwritten previously or (b) in the event the method has not been overwritten since being first defined the node at which it was first defined.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the pointer conforms to a syntax of the programming language for invoking in the context of executing a first function a method as implemented in another function.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the other function comprises a parent function from which the current function inherited the method.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the programming language comprises a language that provides prototype-based inheritance.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the programming language comprises a script language.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the programming language comprises the JavaScript™

language.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising using the programming language to define a function which, when invoked with respect to a named method performs said steps of traversing and inserting.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the function has a name that is a near variant of the reserved word “

super”

.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the near variant differs from the reserved word “

super”

by one character.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the different character comprises one or more of the following:

an additional character;

an omitted character;

an underscore or other character preceding the word “

super”

;

capitalization of a letter in the word “

super”

; and

capitalization of the first letter in the word “

super”

.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising storing a data identifying the current function as the location into which said pointer is to be inserted.

13. A system configured to generate programmatically a pointer to a super implementation of a method in a programming language that is not a class-based object-oriented programming (OOP) language, comprising:

a memory configured to store computer code defining one or more functions; and

a processor coupled to the memory and configured to;

traverse up a hierarchy of the one or more functions, the hierarchy including one or more parent nodes each representing a parent function and each having one or more child nodes, each child node representing a function that inherits the methods of the corresponding parent node of which it is a child, until a super implementation of an inherited method is found; and

insert programmatically into a corresponding location in a current function a programmatically created pointer to the super implementation.

14. A system as recited in claim 13, wherein the super implementation comprises (a) the method as defined (a) at a nearest node to the current function, traversing up the hierarchy, at which the method was last overwritten, if the method was overwritten previously or (b) in the event the method has not been overwritten since being first defined the node at which it was first defined.

15. A system as recited in claim 13, wherein the pointer conforms to a syntax of the programming language for invoking in the context of executing a first function a method as implemented in another function.

16. A system as recited in claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to store a data identifying the current function as the location into which said pointer is to be inserted.

17. A system as recited in claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to traverse the hierarchy and insert the pointer by executing instructions associated with a function having a name that is a near variant of the reserved word “

super”

.

18. A computer program product for generating programmatically a pointer to a super implementation of a method in a programming language that is not a class-based object-oriented programming (OOP) language, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

traversing up a hierarchy of functions, the hierarchy including one or more parent nodes each representing a parent function and each having one or more child nodes, each child node representing a function that inherits the methods of the corresponding parent node of which it is a child, until a super implementation of an inherited method is found; and

inserting programmatically into a corresponding location in a current function a programmatically created pointer to the super implementation.

19. A computer program product as recited in claim 18, wherein said computer instructions for traversing and inserting comprise a function defined using the programming language.

20. A computer program product as recited in claim 19, wherein said function defined using the programming language has a name that is a near variant of the word “

super”

.