object Test{ abstract class Number case class Int(n: scala.Int) extends Number case class Double(d: scala.Double) extends Number trait Term[+a] case class Cell[a](var x: a) extends Term[a] case class NumTerm(val n: Number) extends Term[Number] class IntTerm(n: Int) extends NumTerm(n) with Term[Int] def f[a](t:Term[a], c:Cell[a]): Unit = { t match { case NumTerm(n) => c.x = Double(1.0) } t match { // presently testing that this gets past the parser: eventually // it should actually work. case Cell[a](x: Int) => c.x = 5 } } val x:Term[Number] = NumTerm(Int(5)) def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = { val cell = Cell[Int](Int(6)) Console.println(cell) f[Int](new IntTerm(Int(5)), cell) Console.println(cell) } }