On Monday, July 09, 2012 20:42:47 Gor Gyolchanyan wrote:
> Currently, code introspection in D is way worse, then it should be. And
> this is true for both compile-time and run-time introspection.
> Moreover, the available stuff is bugged out in the most critical places.
> I'd like to hear what people think would be a better way to handle
> code introspection.

* What are the types this one can implicitly/explicitly convert to/from?

* What does this alias point to (variable/type/template/function)?

* What is the protection of this alias?

* What aliases does this one contain?

* What are the instances of this template?

* What are the available types (including/excluding template instances)?

* What modules are being compiled and what modules do they import?

* What packages are visible from the specified import paths?

This kind of information can allow enormously powerful libraries to be built. For instance python-style dynamic type subsystem, which flawlessly integrates with existing static type system, making D the first ever hybrid static-dynamic typed language. This will include making functions and templates dynamic:

Templates transformed into partially dynamically-typed functions/classes or associative arrays (in case of template variables).
Function and template overloading make dynamic, creating multi-dispatch functions.

Bye,
Gor Gyolchanyan.