摘要 |
The subject invention pertains to a system and method of extending programming languages to enable static inheritance. In particular, static subclasses can be defined which extend class functionality and/or behaviors without extending base class state. The subclasses can be specified to include static fields as well as static or instance methods and/or properties that provide a more specific interpretation of an object without extending the state thereof. Furthermore, a static subclass can be specified to provide for type aliasing. Casting is also enabled in both directions between base class type and derived class type in a convenient manner without run-time performance penalties. According to one aspect of the invention, the disclosed systems and methods can be employed to create specific programmatic context, for instance for accessing, manipulating, and type checking external data (e.g., XML).
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