The effect of data abstraction on loop programming techniques

It is shown how loop algorithms can be encompassed in an iterator and then activated for any data type for which a generator can be defined. It takes the iterator-generator idea a step further than previous work in that it permits variations of the iterators to be defined dynamically through the use of selectors and actors, without loss of efficiency or clarity. It is further shown that selectors can be employed in the definition of a truly generic sorting routine. Guidelines for the decomposition of a system into generic data types, abstract data types, iterators, generators, and the programs that exercise them are given, and several complete programs show the implementation of the techniques in Ada