34 lines
4.7 KiB
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34 lines
4.7 KiB
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<TITLE>CLHS: System Class GENERIC-FUNCTION</TITLE>
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<A NAME="generic-function"><I>System Class</I> <B>GENERIC-FUNCTION</B></A> <P>
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<P><B>Class Precedence List:</B><P>
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<A REL=DEFINITION HREF="#generic-function"><B>generic-function</B></A>, <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="t_fn.htm#function"><B>function</B></A>, <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="t_t.htm#t"><B>t</B></A> <P>
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<P><B>Description:</B><P>
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A <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_g.htm#generic_function"><I>generic function</I></A> is a <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_f.htm#function"><I>function</I></A> whose behavior depends on the <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_c.htm#class"><I>classes</I></A> or identities of the <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_a.htm#argument"><I>arguments</I></A> supplied to it. A generic function object contains a set of <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_m.htm#method"><I>methods</I></A>, a <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_l.htm#lambda_list"><I>lambda list</I></A>, a <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_m.htm#method_combination"><I>method combination</I></A> <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_t.htm#type"><I>type</I></A>, and other information. The <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_m.htm#method"><I>methods</I></A> define the class-specific behavior and operations of the <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_g.htm#generic_function"><I>generic function</I></A>; a <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_m.htm#method"><I>method</I></A> is said to <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_s.htm#specialize"><I>specialize</I></A> a <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_g.htm#generic_function"><I>generic function</I></A>. When invoked, a <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_g.htm#generic_function"><I>generic function</I></A> executes a subset of its <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_m.htm#method"><I>methods</I></A> based on the <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_c.htm#class"><I>classes</I></A> or identities of its <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_a.htm#argument"><I>arguments</I></A>. <P>
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A <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_g.htm#generic_function"><I>generic function</I></A> can be used in the same ways that an ordinary <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_f.htm#function"><I>function</I></A> can be used; specifically, a <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="26_glo_g.htm#generic_function"><I>generic function</I></A> can be used as an argument to <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="f_funcal.htm#funcall"><B>funcall</B></A> and <A REL=DEFINITION HREF="f_apply.htm#apply"><B>apply</B></A>, and can be given a global or a local name. <P>
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<P><HR>The following <A REL=META HREF="../Front/X3J13Iss.htm">X3J13 cleanup issue</A>, <I>not part of the specification</I>, applies to this section:<P><UL><LI> <A REL=CHILD HREF="../Issues/iss207.htm">JUN90-TRIVIAL-ISSUES:9</A><P></UL><HR>
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