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DTs, ADOs, ADTs, GADTs

We want to distinguish ...
  • DT = (non-abstract) data type   (e.g. C strings)
  • ADO = abstract data object
  • ADT = abstract data type   (e.g. C files)
  • GADT = generic (polymorphic) abstract data type
ADTs ⇒ can have multiple instances   (e.g. Set a, b, c;)

GADTs ⇒ multiple instances/types   (e.g. Set<int> a; Set<char> b;)

Warning: Sedgewick's first few examples are ADOs, not ADTs.