What's a module? I've read more than once that “language X doesn't have real modules”. Is there an academic definition? If not can you point me to the discussion? I remember I read somewhere that “only SML has real modules” 🤔
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Harper and Peirce define a module informally as, “A collection of components, which may include procedure of function definitions, variable declarations, type definitions, an initialisation code – specifics will vary from one language to another.”
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More information on their perspective can be found in “Design Concepts for ML-style Module Systems”, a chapter in Advanced Topics in Types and Programming Languages.
“only SML has real modules” – I think this is a pretty extreme and lazy position to take. SML has a pretty expressive module system but yeah, there's a wide diversity in different module systems, and different definitions.
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I'm guessing by that they are more saying “Language X has the best module system I am aware of, under my definition of ‘module’”.
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