Problem Description
Design a function that returns an object supporting an "infinite-method" interface. In other words, no matter what property (method name) is called on the object (followed by parentheses), it should always return that method’s name as a string. For example, calling obj.abc123() must return "abc123".
Key Insights
- The object must dynamically handle any method call.
- Dynamic languages like Python and JavaScript allow interception of attribute/method access, making this task straightforward.
- In statically typed languages (C++/Java), we simulate the behavior using techniques like operator overloading (in C++) or a dynamic proxy (in Java).
- The core trick is to intercept the method access, then return a callable that when executed returns the name of the method.
Space and Time Complexity
Time Complexity: O(1) per method call. Space Complexity: O(1) per method call.
Solution
We create an object (or use a factory function) that returns an "infinite-method" object. In Python, override getattr to capture any method name and return a lambda returning that name. In JavaScript, use a Proxy to intercept any property access and return a function that returns the property name. In C++, since dynamic member functions aren’t directly supported, we overload the operator[] so that accessing a key provides a callable lambda which returns that key. In Java, we use a dynamic proxy that intercepts all method calls on an interface and returns the invoked method's name. Each solution capitalizes on language-specific features to handle calls to methods that are not explicitly defined.