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<p><a id="X8058CC8187162644" name="X8058CC8187162644"></a></p>
<div class="ChapSects"><a href="chap78.html#X8058CC8187162644">78 <span class="Heading">Method Selection</span></a>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7AEED9AB824CD4DA">78.1 <span class="Heading">Operations and Methods</span></a>
</span>
<div class="ContSSBlock">
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X874C7C6D8650D648">78.1-1 IsOperation</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X813BE52887A3E0FA">78.1-2 TypeOfOperation</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X838E29D485D2BAB9">78.1-3 ShowDeclarationsOfOperation</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X85A9E019795B79D6">78.1-4 NewOperation</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X843F48137B899BC3">78.1-5 DeclareOperation</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X799081B4854DC003">78.1-6 <span class="Heading">Tag Based Operations</span></a>
</span>
</div></div>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X86EC0F0A78ECBC10">78.2 <span class="Heading">Constructors</span></a>
</span>
<div class="ContSSBlock">
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X783FA45E7858A8CF">78.2-1 NewConstructor</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7EB6830886F62CC0">78.2-2 DeclareConstructor</a></span>
</div></div>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X795EE8257848B438">78.3 <span class="Heading">Method Installation</span></a>
</span>
<div class="ContSSBlock">
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B">78.3-1 InstallMethod</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7D2C12DB841CE539">78.3-2 InstallOtherMethod</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7D54FB8A80C0AC3C">78.3-3 InstallEarlyMethod</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X78CA646678B0539F">78.3-4 InstallMethodWithRandomSource</a></span>
</div></div>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X851FC6387CA2B241">78.4 <span class="Heading">Applicable Methods and Method Selection</span></a>
</span>
</div>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X846865A681D4A623">78.5 <span class="Heading">Partial Methods</span></a>
</span>
<div class="ContSSBlock">
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7EED949B83046A7F">78.5-1 TryNextMethod</a></span>
</div></div>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7B85DD797A907106">78.6 <span class="Heading">Redispatching</span></a>
</span>
<div class="ContSSBlock">
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7D4A46CE7BCFCCF5">78.6-1 RedispatchOnCondition</a></span>
</div></div>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X87D38D2584D0A8AF">78.7 <span class="Heading">Immediate Methods</span></a>
</span>
<div class="ContSSBlock">
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X87B47AC0849611F8">78.7-1 InstallImmediateMethod</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X80C3A19E7B99BB41">78.7-2 IsNoImmediateMethodsObject</a></span>
</div></div>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7FB5016E83DB4349">78.8 <span class="Heading">Logical Implications</span></a>
</span>
<div class="ContSSBlock">
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X860B8B707995CFE3">78.8-1 InstallTrueMethod</a></span>
<span class="ContSS"><br /><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X7B26BDF68754DF7A">78.8-2 SuspendMethodReordering</a></span>
</div></div>
<div class="ContSect"><span class="tocline"><span class="nocss"> </span><a href="chap78.html#X855FE25783FB0D4E">78.9 <span class="Heading">Operations and Mathematical Terms</span></a>
</span>
</div>
</div>
<h3>78 <span class="Heading">Method Selection</span></h3>
<p>This chapter explains how <strong class="pkg">GAP</strong> decides which function to call for which types of objects. It assumes that you have read the chapters about objects (Chapter <a href="chap12.html#X86710F997832ABA4"><span class="RefLink">12</span></a>) and types (Chapter <a href="chap13.html#X7E8202627B421DB1"><span class="RefLink">13</span></a>).</p>
<p>An <em>operation</em> is a special <strong class="pkg">GAP</strong> function that bundles a set of functions, its <em>methods</em>.</p>
<p>All methods of an operation compute the same result. But each method is installed for specific types of arguments.</p>
<p>If an operation is called with a tuple of arguments, one of the applicable methods is selected and called.</p>
<p>Special cases of methods are partial methods, immediate methods, and logical implications.</p>
<p><a id="X7AEED9AB824CD4DA" name="X7AEED9AB824CD4DA"></a></p>
<h4>78.1 <span class="Heading">Operations and Methods</span></h4>
<p>Operations are functions in the category <code class="func">IsOperation</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X874C7C6D8650D648"><span class="RefLink">78.1-1</span></a>).</p>
<p>So on the one hand, <em>operations</em> are <strong class="pkg">GAP</strong> functions, that is, they can be applied to arguments and return a result or cause a side-effect.</p>
<p>On the other hand, operations are more. Namely, an operation corresponds to a set of <strong class="pkg">GAP</strong> functions, called the <em>methods</em> of the operation.</p>
<p>Each call of an operation causes a suitable method to be selected and then called. The choice of which method to select is made according to the types of the arguments, the underlying mechanism is described in the following sections.</p>
<p>Examples of operations are the binary infix operators <code class="code">=</code>, <code class="code">+</code> etc., and <code class="func">PrintObj</code> (<a href="chap6.html#X815BF22186FD43C9"><span class="RefLink">6.3-5</span></a>) is the operation that is called for each argument of <code class="func">Print</code> (<a href="chap6.html#X7AFA64D97A1F39A3"><span class="RefLink">6.3-4</span></a>).</p>
<p>Also all attributes and properties are operations. Each attribute has a special method which is called if the attribute value is already stored; this method of course simply returns this value.</p>
<p>The setter of an attribute is called automatically if an attribute value has been computed. Attribute setters are operations, too. They have a default method that ignores the request to store the value. Depending on the type of the object, there may be another method to store the value in a suitable way, and then set the attribute tester for the object to <code class="keyw">true</code>.</p>
<p><a id="X874C7C6D8650D648" name="X874C7C6D8650D648"></a></p>
<h5>78.1-1 IsOperation</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ IsOperation</code>( <var class="Arg">obj</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( category )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>is the category of operations. Every operation is a function, but not vice versa.</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">MinimalPolynomial;</span>
<Operation "MinimalPolynomial">
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">IsOperation(MinimalPolynomial);</span>
true
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">IsFunction(MinimalPolynomial);</span>
true
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">Factorial;</span>
function( n ) ... end
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">IsOperation(Factorial);</span>
false
</pre></div>
<p><a id="X813BE52887A3E0FA" name="X813BE52887A3E0FA"></a></p>
<h5>78.1-2 TypeOfOperation</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ TypeOfOperation</code>( <var class="Arg">object</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>returns a string from the list <code class="code">[ "Attribute", "Operation", "Property", "Category", "Representation", "Filter", "Setter"]</code> reflecting which type of operation <var class="Arg">op</var> is.</p>
<p>(see <a href="chap13.html#X7CC6903E78F24167"><span class="RefLink">13.3</span></a>, <a href="chap13.html#X8698205F8648EB33"><span class="RefLink">13.4</span></a>, <a href="chap13.html#X7C701DBF7BAE649A"><span class="RefLink">13.5</span></a>, <a href="chap13.html#X79DE5208877AE42A"><span class="RefLink">13.6</span></a>, <a href="chap13.html#X871597447BB998A1"><span class="RefLink">13.7</span></a>, <a href="chap13.html#X7997705185C7E720"><span class="RefLink">13.8</span></a>)</p>
<p><a id="X838E29D485D2BAB9" name="X838E29D485D2BAB9"></a></p>
<h5>78.1-3 ShowDeclarationsOfOperation</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ ShowDeclarationsOfOperation</code>( <var class="Arg">oper</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>Displays information about all declarations of the operation <var class="Arg">oper</var>, including the location of each declaration and the argument filters.</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">ShowDeclarationsOfOperation(IsFinite);</span>
Available declarations for operation <Property "IsFinite">:
1: GAPROOT/lib/coll.gd:1451 with 1 argument, and filters [ IsListOrCollection ]
2: GAPROOT/lib/float.gd:212 with 1 argument, and filters [ IsFloat ]
3: GAPROOT/lib/ctbl.gd:1195 with 1 argument, and filters [ IsNearlyCharacterTable ]
</pre></div>
<p><a id="X85A9E019795B79D6" name="X85A9E019795B79D6"></a></p>
<h5>78.1-4 NewOperation</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ NewOperation</code>( <var class="Arg">name</var>, <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p><code class="func">NewOperation</code> returns an operation <var class="Arg">opr</var> with name <var class="Arg">name</var>. The list <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> describes requirements about the arguments of <var class="Arg">opr</var>, namely the number of arguments must be equal to the length of <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>, and the <span class="SimpleMath">i</span>-th argument must lie in the filter <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[i]</span>.</p>
<p>Each method that is installed for <var class="Arg">opr</var> via <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>) must require that the <span class="SimpleMath">i</span>-th argument lies in the filter <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[i]</span>.</p>
<p>One can install methods for other argument tuples via <code class="func">InstallOtherMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X7D2C12DB841CE539"><span class="RefLink">78.3-2</span></a>), this way it is also possible to install methods for a different number of arguments than the length of <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>.</p>
<p><a id="X843F48137B899BC3" name="X843F48137B899BC3"></a></p>
<h5>78.1-5 DeclareOperation</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ DeclareOperation</code>( <var class="Arg">name</var>, <var class="Arg">filters</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>does the same as <code class="func">NewOperation</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X85A9E019795B79D6"><span class="RefLink">78.1-4</span></a>) and then binds the new operation to the global variable <var class="Arg">name</var>. The variable must previously be writable, and is made read-only by this function.</p>
<p><a id="X799081B4854DC003" name="X799081B4854DC003"></a></p>
<h5>78.1-6 <span class="Heading">Tag Based Operations</span></h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ NewTagBasedOperation</code>( <var class="Arg">name</var>, <var class="Arg">requirements</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ DeclareTagBasedOperation</code>( <var class="Arg">name</var>, <var class="Arg">requirements</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ InstallTagBasedMethod</code>( <var class="Arg">oper</var>[, <var class="Arg">tag</var>], <var class="Arg">meth</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p><code class="func">NewTagBasedOperation</code> returns an operation with name <var class="Arg">name</var> that is declared as <em>tag based</em> w.r.t. the list <var class="Arg">requirements</var> of filters for its arguments. If an operation with name <var class="Arg">name</var> exists already before the call then this operation is returned, otherwise a new operation gets created.</p>
<p><code class="func">DeclareTagBasedOperation</code> does the same and additionally binds the returned operation to the global variable <var class="Arg">name</var> if the operation is new.</p>
<p>Declaring the operation <var class="Arg">oper</var> as tag based w.r.t. <var class="Arg">requirements</var> means that <code class="func">InstallTagBasedMethod</code> can be used to install the method <var class="Arg">meth</var> for <var class="Arg">oper</var>, a function whose arguments satisfy <var class="Arg">requirements</var>, with the following meaning.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The method <var class="Arg">meth</var> is applicable if the first argument of the call to <var class="Arg">oper</var> is identical (in the sense of <code class="func">IsIdenticalObj</code> (<a href="chap12.html#X7961183378DFB902"><span class="RefLink">12.5-1</span></a>)) with the tag <var class="Arg">tag</var> that has been specified in the <code class="func">InstallTagBasedMethod</code> call.</p>
</li>
<li><p>If none of the tag based methods for <var class="Arg">oper</var> has a <var class="Arg">tag</var> that is identical with the first argument of the call to <var class="Arg">oper</var> and if there is a tag based method for <var class="Arg">oper</var> for which no <var class="Arg">tag</var> was specified then this method is applicable.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Thus at most <em>one</em> tag based method for <var class="Arg">oper</var> is applicable, and if a method without <var class="Arg">tag</var> has been installed then it serves as the default method. This is in contrast to the situation with constructors (see <a href="chap78.html#X86EC0F0A78ECBC10"><span class="RefLink">78.2</span></a>) where the first argument is a filter that is used as a tag, but several methods can be applicable in a call to a constructor and one cannot define a default method for it.</p>
<p>Typical use cases for tag based operations are operations that shall create objects in particular internal representations; the filters that define these representations are then used as the first argument, and one wants that either the unique method that belongs to this filter or a default method is called.</p>
<p>Currently it is possible to declare an operation as tag based only for <em>one</em> list of requirements.</p>
<p>Installing methods with <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>) for a tag based operation is possible. However, installing such methods with the same requirements as the ones for the tag based methods will have no effect because the handling of tag based methods gets installed with <code class="func">InstallEarlyMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X7D54FB8A80C0AC3C"><span class="RefLink">78.3-3</span></a>) and thus has higher priority.</p>
<p><a id="X86EC0F0A78ECBC10" name="X86EC0F0A78ECBC10"></a></p>
<h4>78.2 <span class="Heading">Constructors</span></h4>
<p>Constructors are a special type of operation used to make new objects. The key difference compared to regular operations is that method selection works slightly differently for them: The first argument in a call to a constructor must always be a filter <a href="chap13.html#X84EFA4C07D4277BB"><span class="RefLink">13.2</span></a>. The result of a method is expected to lie in that filter. Moreover, while normally method selection matches on the type of each argument, for a constructor the first argument is treated differently: instead of matching its type, the argument itself (which is a filter) must be a subset of the filter specified by the method which is being tested for match. In other words, the argument filter must imply the method filter.</p>
<p>Also, method ranking works differently: instead of the sum of the ranks of the types of all arguments, only the rank of the filter given as first argument is considered; and for it, the normal ranking order is reversed. This ensures that if multiple constructor methods match, the <q>most general</q> method is selected.</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">DeclareConstructor("XCons",[IsMagma,IsInt]);</span>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">InstallMethod(XCons, [IsGroup, IsInt], function(t,x) return CyclicGroup(x); end);</span>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">InstallMethod(XCons, [IsPermGroup, IsInt], function(t,x) return SymmetricGroup(x); end);</span>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">InstallMethod(XCons, [IsSemigroup, IsInt], function(t,x) return FullTransformationMonoid(x); end);</span>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">XCons(IsGroup,3);</span>
<pc group of size 3 with 1 generator>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">XCons(IsPermGroup,3);</span>
Sym( [ 1 .. 3 ] )
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">XCons(IsSemigroup,4);</span>
<full transformation monoid of degree 4>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput"># if multiple methods match, the most general is selected:</span>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">XCons(IsMagma,3);</span>
<full transformation monoid of degree 3>
</pre></div>
<p>The example above shows some basic examples (usually a constructor will produce isomorphic objects in different representations, not different objects as in this case).</p>
<p>If no method has been installed which guarantees to produce a suitable objecty, a "No Method Found" error will be returned.</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">XCons(IsFullTransformationMonoid,4);</span>
Error, no method found! For debugging hints type ?Recovery from NoMethodFound
Error, no 1st choice method found for `XCons' on 2 arguments called from
<function "HANDLE_METHOD_NOT_FOUND">( <arguments> )
called from read-eval loop at line 8 of *stdin*
you can 'quit;' to quit to outer loop, or
you can 'return;' to continue
<span class="GAPbrkprompt">brk></span> <span class="GAPinput">quit;</span>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">XCons(IsNilpotentGroup,4);</span>
Error, no method found! For debugging hints type ?Recovery from NoMethodFound
Error, no 1st choice method found for `XCons' on 2 arguments called from
<function "HANDLE_METHOD_NOT_FOUND">( <arguments> )
called from read-eval loop at line 9 of *stdin*
you can 'quit;' to quit to outer loop, or
you can 'return;' to continue
<span class="GAPbrkprompt">brk></span>
</pre></div>
<p>Note that in both these cases there are methods that actually produce results of the required types, but they have not been installed with this information, so are not selected.</p>
<p><a id="X783FA45E7858A8CF" name="X783FA45E7858A8CF"></a></p>
<h5>78.2-1 NewConstructor</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ NewConstructor</code>( <var class="Arg">name</var>, <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p><code class="func">NewConstructor</code> returns a constructor <var class="Arg">cons</var> with name <var class="Arg">name</var>. The list <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> describes requirements about the arguments of <var class="Arg">cons</var>. Namely the number of arguments must be equal to the length of <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>, and the <span class="SimpleMath">i</span>-th argument must lie in the filter <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[i]</span> for <span class="SimpleMath">i ≠ 1</span>. A constructor expects the first argument to be a <em>filter</em> instead of an object and it must be a subset of the filter <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[1]</span>.</p>
<p>Each method that is installed for <var class="Arg">cons</var> via <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>) must require that the <span class="SimpleMath">i</span>-th argument lies in the filter <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[i]</span> for <span class="SimpleMath">i ≠ 1</span>. Its first argument is a filter and must be a subset of the filter <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[1]</span>.</p>
<p>One can install methods for other argument tuples via <code class="func">InstallOtherMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X7D2C12DB841CE539"><span class="RefLink">78.3-2</span></a>), this way it is also possible to install methods for a different number of arguments than the length of <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>.</p>
<p>Note that the method selection for constructors works slightly differently than for usual operations. As stated above, applicabilty to the first argument in an argument tuple is tested by determining whether the argument-filter is a <em>subset</em> of <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[1]</span>.</p>
<p>The rank of a method installed for a constructor is determined solely by <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[1]</span> of the method. Instead of taking the sum of the ranks of filters involved in its <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[1]</span>, the sum of <span class="SimpleMath">-1</span> times these values is taken. The result is added to the number <var class="Arg">val</var> used in the call of <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>).</p>
<p>This has the following effects on the method selection for constructors. If <var class="Arg">cons</var> is called with an argument tuple whose first argument is the filter <var class="Arg">filt</var>, any method whose first argument is <em>more</em> specific than <var class="Arg">filt</var> is applicable (if its other <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> also match). Then the method with the <q>most general</q> filter <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[1]</span> is chosen, since the rank is computed by taking <span class="SimpleMath">-1</span> times the ranks of the involved filters. Thus, a constructor is chosen which returns an object in <var class="Arg">filt</var> using as few extra filters as possible, which presumably is both more flexible to use and easier to construct.</p>
<p>The following example showcases this behaviour. Note that the argument <var class="Arg">filter</var> is only used for method dispatch.</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
DeclareFilter( "IsMyObj" );
DeclareFilter( "IsMyFilter" );
DeclareFilter( "IsMyOtherFilter" );
BindGlobal( "MyFamily", NewFamily( "MyFamily" ) );
DeclareConstructor( "NewMyObj", [ IsMyObj ] );
InstallMethod( NewMyObj,
[ IsMyObj ],
function( filter )
local type;
Print("General constructor\n");
type := NewType( MyFamily, IsMyObj );
return Objectify( type, [] );
end );
InstallMethod( NewMyObj,
[ IsMyObj and IsMyFilter and IsMyOtherFilter ],
function( filter )
local type;
Print("Special constructor\n");
type := NewType( MyFamily, IsMyObj and IsMyFilter and IsMyOtherFilter );
return Objectify( type, [] );
end );
</pre></div>
<p>If only IsMyObj is given, both methods are applicable and the general constructor is called. If also IsMyFilter is given, only the special constructor is applicable.</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">a := NewMyObj( IsMyObj );;</span>
General constructor
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">IsMyOtherFilter(a);</span>
false
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">b := NewMyObj( IsMyObj and IsMyFilter );;</span>
Special constructor
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">IsMyOtherFilter(b);</span>
true
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">c := NewMyObj( IsMyObj and IsMyFilter and IsMyOtherFilter );;</span>
Special constructor
<span class="GAPprompt">gap></span> <span class="GAPinput">IsMyOtherFilter(c);</span>
true
</pre></div>
<p><a id="X7EB6830886F62CC0" name="X7EB6830886F62CC0"></a></p>
<h5>78.2-2 DeclareConstructor</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ DeclareConstructor</code>( <var class="Arg">name</var>, <var class="Arg">filters</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>does the same as <code class="func">NewConstructor</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X783FA45E7858A8CF"><span class="RefLink">78.2-1</span></a>) and then binds the result to the global variable <var class="Arg">name</var>. The variable must previously be writable, and is made read-only by this function.</p>
<p>Note that for operations which are constructors special rules with respect to applicability and rank of the corresponding methods apply (see section <code class="func">NewConstructor</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X783FA45E7858A8CF"><span class="RefLink">78.2-1</span></a>)).</p>
<p><a id="X795EE8257848B438" name="X795EE8257848B438"></a></p>
<h4>78.3 <span class="Heading">Method Installation</span></h4>
<p>In order to describe what it means to select a method of an operation, we must describe how the methods are connected to their operations.</p>
<p>For attributes and properties there is <code class="func">InstallImmediateMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X87B47AC0849611F8"><span class="RefLink">78.7-1</span></a>).</p>
<p>For declaring that a filter is implied by other filters there is <code class="func">InstallTrueMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X860B8B707995CFE3"><span class="RefLink">78.8-1</span></a>).</p>
<p><a id="X837EFDAB7BEF290B" name="X837EFDAB7BEF290B"></a></p>
<h5>78.3-1 InstallMethod</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ InstallMethod</code>( <var class="Arg">opr</var>[, <var class="Arg">info</var>][, <var class="Arg">famp</var>], <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>[, <var class="Arg">val</var>], <var class="Arg">method</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>installs a function method <var class="Arg">method</var> for the operation <var class="Arg">opr</var>; <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> should be a list of requirements for the arguments, each entry being a filter; if supplied <var class="Arg">info</var> should be a short but informative string that describes for what situation the method is installed, <var class="Arg">famp</var> should be a function to be applied to the families of the arguments. <var class="Arg">val</var> should be an integer that measures the priority of the method, or a function of no arguments which should return such an integer and will be called each time method order is being recalculated (see <code class="func">InstallTrueMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X860B8B707995CFE3"><span class="RefLink">78.8-1</span></a>)).</p>
<p>The default values for <var class="Arg">info</var>, <var class="Arg">famp</var>, and <var class="Arg">val</var> are the empty string, the function <code class="func">ReturnTrue</code> (<a href="chap5.html#X7DB422A2876CCC4D"><span class="RefLink">5.4-1</span></a>), and the integer zero, respectively.</p>
<p>The exact meaning of the arguments <var class="Arg">famp</var>, <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>, and <var class="Arg">val</var> is explained in Section <a href="chap78.html#X851FC6387CA2B241"><span class="RefLink">78.4</span></a>.</p>
<p><var class="Arg">opr</var> expects its methods to require certain filters for their arguments. For example, the argument of a method for the operation <code class="func">Zero</code> (<a href="chap31.html#X8040AC7A79FFC442"><span class="RefLink">31.10-3</span></a>) must be in the category <code class="func">IsAdditiveElementWithZero</code> (<a href="chap31.html#X87F3552A789C572D"><span class="RefLink">31.14-5</span></a>). It is not possible to use <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> to install a method for which the entries of <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> do not imply the respective requirements of the operation <var class="Arg">opr</var>. If one wants to override this restriction, one has to use <code class="func">InstallOtherMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X7D2C12DB841CE539"><span class="RefLink">78.3-2</span></a>) instead.</p>
<p><a id="X7D2C12DB841CE539" name="X7D2C12DB841CE539"></a></p>
<h5>78.3-2 InstallOtherMethod</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ InstallOtherMethod</code>( <var class="Arg">opr</var>[, <var class="Arg">info</var>][, <var class="Arg">famp</var>], <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>[, <var class="Arg">val</var>], <var class="Arg">method</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>installs a function method <var class="Arg">method</var> for the operation <var class="Arg">opr</var>, in the same way as for <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>), but without the restriction that the number of arguments must match a declaration of <var class="Arg">opr</var> and without the restriction that <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> imply the respective requirements of the operation <var class="Arg">opr</var>.</p>
<p><a id="X7D54FB8A80C0AC3C" name="X7D54FB8A80C0AC3C"></a></p>
<h5>78.3-3 InstallEarlyMethod</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ InstallEarlyMethod</code>( <var class="Arg">opr</var>, <var class="Arg">method</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>installs a special "early" function method <var class="Arg">method</var> for the operation <var class="Arg">opr</var>. An early method is special in that it bypasses method dispatch, and is always the first method to be called when invoking the operation.</p>
<p>This can be used to avoid method selection overhead for certain special cases, i.e., as an optimization. Overall, we recommend to use this feature very sparingly, as it is tool with sharp edges: for example, any inputs that are handled by an early method can not be intercepted by a regular method, no matter how high its rank is; this can preclude other kinds of optimizations.</p>
<p>Also, unlike regular methods, no checks are performed on the arguments. Not even the required filters for the operation are tested, so early methods must be careful in validating their inputs. This also means that any operation can have at most one such early method for each arity (i.e., one early method taking 1 argument, one early method taking 2 arguments, etc.).</p>
<p>If an early method determines that it is not applicable, it can resume regular method dispatch by invoking <code class="func">TryNextMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X7EED949B83046A7F"><span class="RefLink">78.5-1</span></a>).</p>
<p>For an example application of early methods, they are used by <code class="func">First</code> (<a href="chap21.html#X82801DFA84E11272"><span class="RefLink">21.20-21</span></a>) to deal with internal lists, for which computing the exact type (needed for method selection) can be very expensive.</p>
<p><a id="X78CA646678B0539F" name="X78CA646678B0539F"></a></p>
<h5>78.3-4 InstallMethodWithRandomSource</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ InstallMethodWithRandomSource</code>( <var class="Arg">opr</var>, <var class="Arg">info</var>[, <var class="Arg">famp</var>], <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>[, <var class="Arg">val</var>], <var class="Arg">method</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ InstallOtherMethodWithRandomSource</code>( <var class="Arg">opr</var>, <var class="Arg">info</var>[, <var class="Arg">famp</var>], <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>[, <var class="Arg">val</var>], <var class="Arg">method</var> )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>These functions are designed to simplify adding new methods for <code class="func">Random</code> (<a href="chap30.html#X7FF906E57D6936F8"><span class="RefLink">30.7-1</span></a>), <code class="func">PseudoRandom</code> (<a href="chap30.html#X811B5BD47DC5356B"><span class="RefLink">30.7-2</span></a>), and <code class="func">Randomize</code> (<a href="chap26.html#X83DD8B39864A2C94"><span class="RefLink">26.6-4</span></a>) to <strong class="pkg">GAP</strong> which can be called both with, and without, a random source.</p>
<p>They accept the same arguments as <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>) and <code class="func">InstallOtherMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X7D2C12DB841CE539"><span class="RefLink">78.3-2</span></a>), with the extra requirement that the first member of <var class="Arg">args-filts</var> must be <code class="func">IsRandomSource</code> (<a href="chap14.html#X82E31A697E389F1D"><span class="RefLink">14.7-1</span></a>), and the <var class="Arg">info</var> argument is compulsory and must begin 'for a random source and'.</p>
<p>This function then installs two methods: first it calls <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>) (or <code class="func">InstallOtherMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X7D2C12DB841CE539"><span class="RefLink">78.3-2</span></a>)) with unchanged arguments. Then it calls <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>) (or <code class="func">InstallOtherMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X7D2C12DB841CE539"><span class="RefLink">78.3-2</span></a>)) a second time to install another method which lacks the initial random source argument; this additional method simply invokes the original method, with <code class="func">GlobalMersenneTwister</code> (<a href="chap14.html#X7AC96008820FAF1F"><span class="RefLink">14.7-4</span></a>) added as first argument.</p>
<p><a id="X851FC6387CA2B241" name="X851FC6387CA2B241"></a></p>
<h4>78.4 <span class="Heading">Applicable Methods and Method Selection</span></h4>
<p>A method installed as above is <em>applicable</em> for an arguments tuple if the following conditions are satisfied.</p>
<p>The number of arguments equals the length of the list <var class="Arg">args-filts</var>, the <span class="SimpleMath">i</span>-th argument lies in the filter <var class="Arg">args-filts</var><span class="SimpleMath">[i]</span>, and <var class="Arg">famp</var> returns <code class="keyw">true</code> when applied to the families of the arguments. The maximal number of arguments supported for methods is six, one gets an error message if one tries to install a method with at least seven arguments.</p>
<p>So <var class="Arg">args-filt</var> describes conditions for each argument, and <var class="Arg">famp</var> describes a relation between the arguments.</p>
<p>For unary operations such as attributes and properties, there is no such relation to postulate, <var class="Arg">famp</var> is <code class="func">ReturnTrue</code> (<a href="chap5.html#X7DB422A2876CCC4D"><span class="RefLink">5.4-1</span></a>) for these operations, a function that always returns <code class="keyw">true</code>. For binary operations, the usual value of <var class="Arg">famp</var> is <code class="func">IsIdenticalObj</code> (<a href="chap12.html#X7961183378DFB902"><span class="RefLink">12.5-1</span></a>), which means that both arguments must lie in the same family.</p>
<p>Note that any properties which occur among the filters in the filter list will <em>not</em> be tested by the method selection if they are not yet known. (More exact: if <var class="Arg">prop</var> is a property then the filter implicitly uses not <var class="Arg">prop</var> but <code class="code">Has<var class="Arg">prop</var> and <var class="Arg">prop</var></code>.) If this is desired you must explicitly enforce a test (see section <a href="chap78.html#X7B85DD797A907106"><span class="RefLink">78.6</span></a>) below.</p>
<p>If no method is applicable, the error message <q>no method found</q> is signaled.</p>
<p>Otherwise, the applicable method with highest <em>rank</em> is selected and then called. This rank is usually given by the sum of the ranks of the filters in the list <var class="Arg">args-filt</var>, <em>including involved filters</em>. This value can be modified by the optional <var class="Arg">val</var> argument used in the call of <code class="func">InstallMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X837EFDAB7BEF290B"><span class="RefLink">78.3-1</span></a>), as follows.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>If <var class="Arg">val</var> is an integer then add this value to the rank computed from the filters.</p>
</li>
<li><p>If <var class="Arg">val</var> is a function with zero arguments then add the value returned by this function to the rank computed from the filters.</p>
</li>
<li><p>If <var class="Arg">val</var> is a list of the form <code class="code">[ filters ]</code> or <code class="code">[ filters, abs ]</code>, where <code class="code">filters</code> is a list of filters and <code class="code">abs</code>, if given, is an integer, then ignore the filters in <var class="Arg">args-filt</var> for the rank computation, and instead take the sum of the filters in <code class="code">filters</code> (including involved filters) plus <code class="code">abs</code>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>So the argument <var class="Arg">val</var> can be used to raise or lower the priority of a method relative to other methods for <var class="Arg">opr</var>. The variant where <var class="Arg">val</var> is a function can be useful if one wants to shift the rank of the method by the rank of certain filters; note that such ranks need not be constant during a <strong class="pkg">GAP</strong> session, they can grow due to implications, see <code class="func">InstallTrueMethod</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X860B8B707995CFE3"><span class="RefLink">78.8-1</span></a>). The variant where <var class="Arg">val</var> is a list can be useful for example if one wants that certain filters that are involved in <var class="Arg">args-filt</var> are required but shall not count for the rank of the method.</p>
<p>Note that for operations which are constructors special rules with respect to applicability and rank of the corresponding methods apply (see <code class="func">NewConstructor</code> (<a href="chap78.html#X783FA45E7858A8CF"><span class="RefLink">78.2-1</span></a>)).</p>
<p>Note that from the applicable methods an efficient one shall be selected. This is a method that needs only little time and storage for the computations.</p>
<p>It seems to be impossible for <strong class="pkg">GAP</strong> to select an optimal method in all cases. The present ranking of methods is based on the assumption that a method installed for a special situation shall be preferred to a method installed for a more general situation.</p>
<p>For example, a method for computing a Sylow subgroup of a nilpotent group is expected to be more efficient than a method for arbitrary groups. So the more specific method will be selected if <strong class="pkg">GAP</strong> knows that the group given as argument is nilpotent.</p>
<p>Of course there is no obvious way to decide between the efficiency of incommensurable methods. For example, take an operation with one method for permutation groups, another method for nilpotent groups, but no method for nilpotent permutation groups, and call this operation with a permutation group known to be nilpotent.</p>
<p><a id="X846865A681D4A623" name="X846865A681D4A623"></a></p>
<h4>78.5 <span class="Heading">Partial Methods</span></h4>
<p><a id="X7EED949B83046A7F" name="X7EED949B83046A7F"></a></p>
<h5>78.5-1 TryNextMethod</h5>
<div class="func"><table class="func" width="100%"><tr><td class="tdleft"><code class="func">‣ TryNextMethod</code>( )</td><td class="tdright">( function )</td></tr></table></div>
<p>After a method has been selected and called, the method may recognize that it cannot compute the desired result, and give up by calling <code class="code">TryNextMethod()</code>.</p>
<p>In effect, the execution of the method is terminated, and the method selection calls the next method that is applicable w.r.t. the original arguments. In other words, the applicable method is called that is subsequent to the one that called <code class="func">TryNextMethod</code>, according to decreasing rank of the methods.</p>
<p>For example, since every finite group of odd order is solvable, one may install a method for the property <code class="func">IsSolvableGroup</code> (<a href="chap39.html#X809C78D5877D31DF"><span class="RefLink">39.15-6</span></a>) that checks whether the size of the argument is an odd integer, returns <code class="keyw">true</code> if so, and gives up otherwise.</p>
<p>Care is needed if a partial method might modify the type of one of its arguments, for example by computing an attribute or property. If this happens, and the type has really changed, then the method should not exit using <code class="code">TryNextMethod()</code> but should call the operation again, as the new information in the type may cause some methods previously judged inapplicabl | | |
