Function overloading

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the reason we don't have overloading is because BlitzMax is still too beginner friendly. In C# for example, you can't start passing ints as floats and vice versa, but in BlitzMax you can. C# requires all type changes are explicit casts, but BlitzMax allows implicit casting all over the place. ( Much to my annoyance, actually. )

If you had something like this :

Type MyType
   Function Create(Param1:Float,Param2:Float)
   End Function

   Function Create(Param1:Int,Param2:Int)
   End Function

   Function Create(Param1:Double, Param2:Double)
   End Function

End Type

Now if you call MyType.Create(1,1) then BlitzMax has no clue which function you just called, because 1 is valid as an integer, float and double. You can specify the type of a constant value, but you're not required to.

So essentially, BlitzMax is doing it all backwards. When you call that function, it looks at the function prototype and then tries to cast your parameters to match the function prototype. But with overloading, it can't look at the function prototype because there are several.

So it would require a complete rewrite of the way BlitzMax handles variable casting, and it would require ditching the noob-friendly attitude of implicitly casting everything.

In short, much as I would like to, I don't see Mark doing that. Heavens, there are enough people whining about BlitzMax trying to become a more professional language as it is.