CSC/ECE 517 Fall 2007/ch1 1c JF

Features of Reflection

Reflection allows programs to act in a more "intelligent" way by providing programs the ability to answer questions about what they do and modify behavior based on those answers. These features can be classified as introspection and intercession [3]. Introspection is what allows an object or class to answer questions about itself. Intercession is what allows an object or class to change behavior based on the answers to those questions.

Languages can implement reflection by either being an inherently reflective language, like Ruby, or by including a package that allows reflection, like Java. The way

Introspection

Reflective langauges can answer questions about themselves and their methods.

References

[1] Reflection-Oriented Programming

[2] Procedural Reflection in Programming Languages

[3] Evolving a Reflective Language Lessons Learned from Implementing Traits