Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- type-proposal [2025/08/06 20:41] – created smj-edison
+++ type-proposal [2025/08/06 21:24] (current) – [Types are reactive] smj-edison
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Types will be tagged with their type name, and optionally with type parameters.
+===== Basic operations =====
+Types can be manually created with `[list typeName typeValue]`, or with helper functions like `[$box::typeName typeValue]`. Types are NOT verified when boxed.
+Types are unboxed using `[$unbox::typeName $thing]`. This is where values are verified, if a type verifier has been registered.
+To check if a type is a certain type, use `[$is::typeName $type]` or `[expr {[$typeName $type] == typeLookingFor}]`.
+To get details of a type, use `[$details $typeName]`. It should return a doc string or similar.
+===== Type names =====
+Type names come in two forms: canonical and inline. Canonical type names are either a name, or a list with the first parameter as its name. For example, a type name for meters could be "m", and a type name for acceleration could be "{accel m s}" (note meters and seconds as type parameters). All the type parameters specific to the type, and should not be assumed to be referencing an existing type.
+Inline type names are a mixture of wildcards and symbol/number characters. For example, the type signature of acceleration could be expressed as "*/*^2". One thing that signature would match to is "m/s^2", with "m" and "s" as the types' parameters. The canonical form would be "{accel m s}". Not all types have inline representations.
+===== Types are reactive =====
+To get the type list (or any type list, lists can coexist), use <code>
+When the types are /types/ {
+  lassign $types box unbox is typeName details
+  # example using the newly imported types
+  puts [$unbox::mm "10 mm"]
+}
+</code>
 ===== Postfix or prefix? =====
@@ Line 21: / Line 44: @@
 Pros of postfix:
-  * Types like "10 mm" are automatically a two item list, and as such are a full type
+  * Types like "10 mm" are automatically a two item list, and as such are a full type.
 Cons of postfix:
-  * If the value is long, it will exceed the text boundaries, and as such the tag won't be rendered. (Somewhat mitigated by having something like `[typeof $foo]`)
+  * If the value is long, it will often exceed the renderer's boundaries, and as such the tag won't be seen. (Somewhat mitigated by having something like `[$typeName $foo]`)
 Pros of prefix:
-  * A lot of current types are already in the prefix form
+  * A lot of current types are already in the prefix form.
 Cons of prefix:
-  * Makes constructing some types harder (like "10 mm")
+  * Makes constructing some types harder (like "10 mm").