(goops.info.gz) Introductory Remarks
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Introductory Remarks
====================
GOOPS is an object-oriented programming system based on a "metaobject
protocol" derived from the ones used in CLOS (the Common Lisp Object
System), tiny-clos (a small Scheme implementation of a subset of CLOS
functionality) and STKlos.
GOOPS can be used by application authors at a basic level without any
need to understand what the metaobject protocol (aka "MOP") is and how
it works. On the other hand, the MOP underlies even the customizations
that application authors are likely to make use of very quickly -- such
as defining an `initialize' method to customize the initialization of
instances of an application-defined class -- and an understanding of
the MOP makes it much easier to explain such customizations in a precise
way. And in the long run, understanding the MOP is the key both to
understanding GOOPS at a deeper level and to taking full advantage of
GOOPS' power, by customizing the behaviour of GOOPS itself.
Each of the following sections of the reference manual is arranged such
that the most basic usage is introduced first, and then subsequent
subsections discuss the related internal functions and metaobject
protocols, finishing with a description of how to customize that area of
functionality.
These introductory remarks continue with a few words about metaobjects
and the MOP. Readers who do not want to be bothered yet with the MOP
and customization could safely skip this subsection on a first reading,
and should correspondingly skip subsequent subsections that are
concerned with internals and customization.
In general, this reference manual assumes familiarity with standard
object oriented concepts and terminology. However, some of the terms
used in GOOPS are less well known, so the Terminology subsection
provides definitions for these terms.
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* Metaobjects and the Metaobject Protocol
* Terminology
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