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I'm not saying implicits and default parameters are the same thing. I'm saying the key idea behind implicits is the realisation that default arguments merge two

• lmm 9y ago
  > I'm saying the key idea behind implicits is the realisation that default arguments merge two ideas that should be kept separate, if we want context dependent defaults. This isn't true though - that's not what implicits are for and not how they're used. Indeed the clearest proof is that Scala still has default arguments, and they still have the behaviour given in your OCaml example. They're different things.
  • YorkshireSeason 9y ago
    I did not say implicits and default arguments are the same thing. I said that implicits improve upon default arguments in various ways, the key realisation being the split between providing elided values in a context-dependent way, and permitting the elision of values. I should not have said the key idea, but a key idea. Default arguments are convenient if you don't need context dependence of elided arguments. I'd probably have remove defaults in order to have a smaller and more simple language.