Adapter

A novice from the Far West had recently come to the Temple. After being assessed by the abbot he was given a new name and sent to the scribe Qi to have it entered into the record.

The novice asked the scribe, “Why is every monk and nun given a new name after they arrive at the Temple?”

The scribe replied, “How could we name you before you arrived?”

The novice bowed and smiled, but made no motion to leave the scribe’s company. Seeing that an explanation was required if he wished a return to solitude, the scribe continued:

“Before you came to us, you were as formless in our minds as bytes upon the heap. Now you have been allocated in living memory, assigned a shape and a purpose. We name you according to this purpose, as one names a variable or a method or an interface. Such things do not exist until they are named.”

The novice thought for a moment, then pointed to himself with a satisfied smirk:

“Third party code!” declared the novice.

Qi grabbed the novice’s wrist and quickly inked the Temple’s new name for him on the back of the young man’s hand.

“Wrapper class,” said the scribe.