[swift-evolution] [SE-0011] Re-considering the replacement keyword for "typealias"

[Jordan Rose]

> On Dec 20, 2015, at 3:58 , Tino Heth via swift-evolution <swift-evolution at swift.org> wrote:
> 
> 
>> The main reason to use `associated` is because the feature is called an "associated type". If we're willing to rename the feature to "placeholder type", then `placeholder` would be a good keyword.
> good point - maybe it's because I'm no native speaker, but for me "associated type" is just a technical term with no obvious meaning.

Fair enough; "associated type" is a fairly vacuous term. I think the implication is that when you choose a model of the protocol, the concrete type, then these other types come along with it. But that's not immediately clear, so I don't think renaming the feature is out of the question.

I don't like the name "placeholder" or "placeholder type" because that only describes how they're used in the protocol. When you're actually implementing a generic function, the generic parameter is a sort of placeholder, and the associated types are just as concrete as the conforming type itself.

Jordan


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