Generics in Scilab

In Scilab, there is no direct equivalent to generics or type parameters. However, we can demonstrate similar concepts using Scilab’s dynamic typing and function handles. Here’s an example that mimics some of the functionality:

// SlicesIndex function
function index = SlicesIndex(s, v)
    for i = 1:length(s)
        if s(i) == v then
            index = i;
            return;
        end
    end
    index = -1;
endfunction

// List "class"
function L = List()
    L = struct('head', [], 'tail', [], 'Push', Push, 'AllElements', AllElements);
endfunction

function Push(L, v)
    if isempty(L.tail) then
        L.head = struct('next', [], 'val', v);
        L.tail = L.head;
    else
        L.tail.next = struct('next', [], 'val', v);
        L.tail = L.tail.next;
    end
endfunction

function elems = AllElements(L)
    elems = [];
    e = L.head;
    while ~isempty(e)
        elems = [elems, e.val];
        e = e.next;
    end
endfunction

// Main function
function main()
    s = ["foo", "bar", "zoo"];
    
    printf("index of zoo: %d\n", SlicesIndex(s, "zoo"));
    
    lst = List();
    lst.Push(10);
    lst.Push(13);
    lst.Push(23);
    printf("list: ");
    disp(lst.AllElements());
endfunction

// Run the main function
main();

This script demonstrates concepts similar to those in the original example:

1. We define a SlicesIndex function that searches for an element in an array and returns its index.

2. We create a List “class” using Scilab’s structures and function handles. This mimics object-oriented programming and allows us to have methods associated with our List.

3. The Push and AllElements functions are defined as methods of our List “class”.

4. In the main function, we demonstrate the usage of SlicesIndex and our List “class”.

Note that Scilab doesn’t have true generics or static typing, so our implementation is more dynamic. The List can hold any type of data, and type checking would need to be done manually if required.

To run this program, save it as a .sce file (e.g., generics_example.sce) and execute it in Scilab:

--> exec('generics_example.sce', -1)
index of zoo: 3
list:    10.    13.    23.  

This example shows how we can implement similar functionality to generics in Scilab, even though the language doesn’t have built-in support for this feature.