On Jan 13, 2010, at 11:00 AM, Sittampalam, Ganesh wrote:
Type classes allow you to dispatch based on return type, and on the instantiations of generic parameters. Neither of these things is reasonably possible with interfaces.
There is recent work that generalises the capabilities of interfaces in Java: http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~wehr/publications/WehrLammelThiemann2... http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~wehr/publications/WehrThiemann2009.ht... http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~wehr/publications/Wehr2009.html Seeing type-class features in Java disguise highlights the differences between the two concepts that you mention. Sebastian -- Underestimating the novelty of the future is a time-honored tradition. (D.G.)