Parametric Polymorphism

[Karu Raj]

In the designing a language is it required to include parametric polymorphism? What would be your justification for your decision?

[Roberto Perillo]

Karu Raj wrote:What would be your justification for your decision?

You mean, if we were to create a programming language? Well, if it was an object-oriented programming language, supporting polymorphism would be mandatory, since it is by definition one of the pillars of object orientation.

[Karu Raj]

I meant parametric polymorphism why is it important to have it

[Joe Ess]

Karu Raj wrote:I meant parametric polymorphism why is it important to have it

This sounds very much like an academic or interview question. Why do you think parametric polymorphism is important? Can you think of a language that does not support it? How does that effect the kinds of solutions you can implement?

[Matthew Brown]

Well, as I understand it, in Java parametric polymorphism means generics. If you've used older versions of Java that didn't have generics, hopefully you'll have seen the advantages it can give you.

But I think you could argue that the term doesn't really apply to dynamically typed languages. Which means that it's certainly not an essential feature, because lots of people use dynamic languages (and prefer them).