RE: Procedure pointers - can I do this??

["Larry Ducie" <larry_ducie@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Joe,

<snip>
How would you identify which "other service programs" could bind to
those procedures?
</snip>

That's exactly my point - you can't. Hence there is no simulation of package 
behaviour because there is no way of knowing what is/isn't in the package. 
The simulation can only be true if you treat a single program object as the 
only definition of a package. If you do this then you're back to only having 
public/private accessors - public via exported subprocedures, private via 
data items (exported or otherwise). The only true difference is the "level 
of privacy" - module-level or object-level.

Now, if you are asking how I would "propose" to allow package access to 
happen then...

Specifying activation group on the export would be one way of allowing a 
creator of a service program to restrict access. You could specify other 
levels - maybe a signature-level export.

My point is, data items are kept within a program object - period. For any 
other program object to access the data, a "public" getter method must be 
defined (unless they are defined in the public interface). Once you do this, 
there is no way of restricting access except through validation within the 
method itself. Now, I haven't got a problem with this. I am simply 
highlighting the fact that you can't seemlessly integrate a group of related 
service programs without conceding that "other" programs could use your 
sub-procs - whether you would like them to or not.

Cheers

Larry Ducie