11. Multimethods
This chapter defines, discusses, and implements multimethods in the context of C++.
The C++ virtual function mechanism allows dispatching of a call depending on the dynamic type of one object. The multimethods feature allows dispatching of a function call depending on the types of multiple objects. A universally good implementation requires language support, which is the route that languages such as CLOS, ML, Haskell, and Dylan have taken. C++ lacks such support, so its emulation is left to library writers.
This chapter discusses some typical solutions and some generic implementations of each. The solutions feature various trade-offs in speed, flexibility, and dependency management. To describe the technique of dispatching a ...
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