adhocpolymorfian

Adhocpolymorfian is a term used in discussions of programming language design to describe a design philosophy centered on ad hoc polymorphism as the primary mechanism of behavioral extension. In an adhocpolymorfian system, operations on data types are resolved by specialized implementations tied to concrete types rather than by uniform, language-wide abstractions.

Etymology and scope: The coinage blends "ad hoc polymorphism" with the suffix -ian to indicate a doctrine or style. It is not tied to a single language but describes a family of approaches in which type-specific behavior is added incrementally through overloads, instances, or extensions.

Mechanisms: Core techniques include function and operator overloading, type-class-like instances, extension methods, and multi-method dispatch. Compilers may resolve at compile time (static ad hoc dispatch) or at run time (dynamic). The emphasis is on tailoring behavior to particular types rather than designing highly generic interfaces.

Relation to other polymorphism: While parametric polymorphism seeks behavior that is uniform across types, adhocpolymorfian designs favor specialization. Some languages blend both, using ad hoc mechanisms alongside parametric ones. Multi-methods and type classes are often cited in discussions because they implement ad hoc abstraction across types.

Criticism and examples: Critics warn about fragmentation, maintenance burden, and name collisions. Proponents argue for clarity, performance, and direct expressiveness. In practice, modern languages sometimes adopt hybrid models, making the adhocpolymorfian label a descriptive term rather than a formal standard.

See also: ad hoc polymorphism, parametric polymorphism, type class, operator overloading, multi-methods.