Creating Ruby builder object with re-usable code - ruby

I'm working to create a few Ruby builder objects, and thinking on how I could reuse some of Ruby's magic to reduce the logic of the builder to a single class/module. It's been ~10 years since my last dance with the language, so a bit rusty.
For example, I have this builder:
class Person
PROPERTIES = [:name, :age]
attr_accessor(*PROPERTIES)
def initialize(**kwargs)
kwargs.each do |k, v|
self.send("#{k}=", v) if self.respond_to?(k)
end
end
def build
output = {}
PROPERTIES.each do |prop|
if self.respond_to?(prop) and !self.send(prop).nil?
value = self.send(prop)
# if value itself is a builder, evalute it
output[prop] = value.respond_to?(:build) ? value.build : value
end
end
output
end
def method_missing(m, *args, &block)
if m.to_s.start_with?("set_")
mm = m.to_s.gsub("set_", "")
if PROPERTIES.include?(mm.to_sym)
self.send("#{mm}=", *args)
return self
end
end
end
end
Which can be used like so:
Person.new(name: "Joe").set_age(30).build
# => {name: "Joe", age: 30}
I would like to be able to refactor everything to a class and/or module so that I could create multiple such builders that'll only need to define attributes and inherit or include the rest (and possibly extend each other).
class BuilderBase
# define all/most relevant methods here for initialization,
# builder attributes and object construction
end
module BuilderHelper
# possibly throw some of the methods here for better scope access
end
class Person < BuilderBase
include BuilderHelper
PROPERTIES = [:name, :age, :email, :address]
attr_accessor(*PROPERTIES)
end
# Person.new(name: "Joe").set_age(30).set_email("joe#mail.com").set_address("NYC").build
class Server < BuilderBase
include BuilderHelper
PROPERTIES = [:cpu, :memory, :disk_space]
attr_accessor(*PROPERTIES)
end
# Server.new.set_cpu("i9").set_memory("32GB").set_disk_space("1TB").build
I've been able to get this far:
class BuilderBase
def initialize(**kwargs)
kwargs.each do |k, v|
self.send("#{k}=", v) if self.respond_to?(k)
end
end
end
class Person < BuilderBase
PROPERTIES = [:name, :age]
attr_accessor(*PROPERTIES)
def build
...
end
def method_missing(m, *args, &block)
...
end
end
Trying to extract method_missing and build into the base class or a module keeps throwing an error at me saying something like:
NameError: uninitialized constant BuilderHelper::PROPERTIES
OR
NameError: uninitialized constant BuilderBase::PROPERTIES
Essentially the neither the parent class nor the mixin are able to access the child class' attributes. For the parent this makes sense, but not sure why the mixin can't read the values inside the class it was included into. This being Ruby I'm sure there's some magical way to do this that I have missed.
Help appreciated - thanks!

I reduced your sample to the required parts and came up with:
module Mixin
def say_mixin
puts "Mixin: Value defined in #{self.class::VALUE}"
end
end
class Parent
def say_parent
puts "Parent: Value defined in #{self.class::VALUE}"
end
end
class Child < Parent
include Mixin
VALUE = "CHILD"
end
child = Child.new
child.say_mixin
child.say_parent
This is how you could access a CONSTANT that lives in the child/including class from the parent/included class.
But I don't see why you want to have this whole Builder thing in the first place. Would an OpenStruct not work for your case?

Interesting question. As mentioned by #Pascal, an OpenStruct might already do what you're looking for.
Still, it might be more concise to explicitly define the setter methods. It might also be clearer to replace the PROPERTIES constants by methods calls. And since I'd expect a build method to return a complete object and not just a Hash, I renamed it to to_h:
class BuilderBase
def self.properties(*ps)
ps.each do |property|
attr_reader property
define_method :"set_#{property}" do |value|
instance_variable_set(:"##{property}", value)
#hash[property] = value
self
end
end
end
def initialize(**kwargs)
#hash = {}
kwargs.each do |k, v|
self.send("set_#{k}", v) if self.respond_to?(k)
end
end
def to_h
#hash
end
end
class Person < BuilderBase
properties :name, :age, :email, :address
end
p Person.new(name: "Joe").set_age(30).set_email("joe#mail.com").set_address("NYC").to_h
# {:name=>"Joe", :age=>30, :email=>"joe#mail.com", :address=>"NYC"}
class Server < BuilderBase
properties :cpu, :memory, :disk_space
end
p Server.new.set_cpu("i9").set_memory("32GB").set_disk_space("1TB").to_h
# {:cpu=>"i9", :memory=>"32GB", :disk_space=>"1TB"}

I think no need to declare PROPERTIES, we can create a general builder like this:
class Builder
attr_reader :build
def initialize(clazz)
#build = clazz.new
end
def self.build(clazz, &block)
builder = Builder.new(clazz)
builder.instance_eval(&block)
builder.build
end
def set(attr, val)
#build.send("#{attr}=", val)
self
end
def method_missing(m, *args, &block)
if #build.respond_to?("#{m}=")
set(m, *args)
else
#build.send("#{m}", *args, &block)
end
self
end
def respond_to_missing?(method_name, include_private = false)
#build.respond_to?(method_name) || super
end
end
Using
class Test
attr_accessor :x, :y, :z
attr_reader :w, :u, :v
def set_w(val)
#w = val&.even? ? val : 0
end
def add_u(val)
#u = val if val&.odd?
end
end
test1 = Builder.build(Test) {
x 1
y 2
z 3
} # <Test:0x000055b6b0fb2888 #x=1, #y=2, #z=3>
test2 = Builder.new(Test).set(:x, 1988).set_w(6).add_u(2).build
# <Test:0x000055b6b0fb23b0 #x=1988, #w=6>

Related

How to get all instances variables in ruby class?

I have a ruby class, and in one of the methods, it calls an external function, and pass in all instance variables, and continue with the return value. Here is the code:
class MyClass
attr_accessor :name1
attr_accessor :name2
...
attr_accessor :namen
def inner_func():
all_vars = ???? # how to collect all my instance variables into a dict/Hash?
res = out_func(all_vars)
do_more_stuff(res)
end
end
The problem is the instance variables might vary in subclasses. I can't refer them as their names. So, is there a way to do this? Or Am I thinking in a wrong way?
You can use instance_variables to collect them in an Array. You will get all initialized instance variables.
class MyClass
attr_accessor :name1
attr_accessor :name2
...
attr_accessor :namen
def inner_func():
all_vars = instance_variables
res = out_func(all_vars)
do_more_stuff(res)
end
end
You could keep track of all accessors as you create them:
class Receiver
def work(arguments)
puts "Working with #{arguments.inspect}"
end
end
class MyClass
def self.attr_accessor(*arguments)
super
#__attribute_names__ ||= []
#__attribute_names__ += arguments
end
def self.attribute_names
#__attribute_names__
end
def self.inherited(base)
parent = self
base.class_eval do
#__attribute_names__ = parent.attribute_names
end
end
def attributes
self.class.attribute_names.each_with_object({}) do |attribute_name, result|
result[attribute_name] = public_send(attribute_name)
end
end
def work
Receiver.new.work(attributes)
end
attr_accessor :foo
attr_accessor :bar
end
class MySubclass < MyClass
attr_accessor :baz
end
Usage
my_class = MyClass.new
my_class.foo = 123
my_class.bar = 234
my_class.work
# Working with {:foo=>123, :bar=>234}
my_subclass = MySubclass.new
my_subclass.foo = 123
my_subclass.bar = 234
my_subclass.baz = 345
my_subclass.work
# Working with {:foo=>123, :bar=>234, :baz=>345}

Ruby metaprogramming: accessing class name

I'm fairly new to Ruby metaprogramming. I'm trying to write code which generates the
"dup" function for a class when it's created, using a list of fields which should be passed into the constructor. However, I can't figure out how to get access to the name of the class I'm creating, while I'm creating it.
So for example, if I had this code:
class Example
make_dup :name, :value
attr_accessor :name, :value
def initialize(name,value)
#name, #value = name, value
end
end
I'd want it to create the method:
def dup
Example.new(name,value)
end
I'm just getting stuck on how it would figure out to insert Example there.
Note that all classes have built-in dup and clone methods. You can customize what happens in them by adding an initialize_copy method, e.g.:
class Foo
attr_accessor :bar
def initialize_copy(orig)
super
#bar = #bar.dup
end
end
In case that isn't what you're truly looking for, you can access an object's class using its class method:
class Foo
def p_class
p self.class # Foo.new.p_class => Foo ; self is *a* `Foo'
end
def self.p_class
p self.class # Foo.p_class => Class ; self *is* `Foo'
end
end
def dup
self.class.new(name,value)
end
Maybe you can implement it this way:
module MyDup
def make_dup(*args)
define_method(:my_dup) do
obj = self.class.new(nil, nil)
args.each do |arg|
obj.send(arg.to_s + "=", self.send(arg))
end
obj
end
end
end
class Example
extend MyDup
make_dup :name, :value
attr_accessor :name, :value
def initialize(name,value)
#name, #value = name, value
end
end
e = Example.new("John", 30)
p e
d = e.my_dup
p d
Execution result as follows:
#<Example:0x000000022325d8 #name="John", #value=30>
#<Example:0x00000002232358 #name="John", #value=30>

Abstracting/generecizing class hierarchy variables in Ruby

I have several classes and I want each one to maintain on the class level a hash of all the instances that have been created for future lookup. Something akin to:
class A
def initialize(id, otherstuff)
# object creation logic
##my_hash[id]=self
end
def self.find(id)
##my_hash[id]
end
end
so I can then A.find(id) and get the right instance back.
There are several of these classes (A, B, etc), all having ids, all of which I want to have this functionality.
Can I have them all inherit from a superclass which has a generic version of this which they can leverage so I don't have to reimplement many things for every class?
Yes, you can either inherit from the same superclass, or use modules and include:
module M
def initialize(id)
##all ||= {}
##all[id] = self
end
def print
p ##all
end
end
class C
include M
def initialize(id)
super
puts "C instantiated"
end
end
If you want to keep separate indexes for each subclass, you can do something like:
def initialize(id)
##all ||= {}
##all[self.class] ||= {}
##all[self.class][id] = self
end
Edit: After your comment, I see that you need to keep per-class indexes. So:
class A
def initialize(id)
self.class.index(id, self)
end
def self.index id, instance
#all ||= {}
#all[id] = instance
end
def self.find(id)
#all[id]
end
end
class B < A
end
class C < A
end
a = A.new(1)
b = B.new(2)
c = C.new(3)
p A.find(1)
#=> #<A:0x10016c190>
p B.find(2)
#=> #<B:0x10016c140>
p C.find(3)
#=> #<C:0x10016c118>
p A.find(2)
#=> nil

Customising attr_reader to do lazy instantiation of attributes

(Big edit, I got part of the way there…)
I've been hacking away and I've come up with this as a way to specify things that need to be done before attributes are read:
class Class
def attr_reader(*params)
if block_given?
params.each do |sym|
define_method(sym) do
yield
self.instance_variable_get("##{sym}")
end
end
else
params.each do |sym|
attr sym
end
end
end
end
class Test
attr_reader :normal
attr_reader(:jp,:nope) { changethings if #nope.nil? }
def initialize
#normal = "Normal"
#jp = "JP"
#done = false
end
def changethings
p "doing"
#jp = "Haha!"
#nope = "poop"
end
end
j = Test.new
p j.normal
p j.jp
But changethings isn't being recognised as a method — anyone got any ideas?
You need to evaluate the block in the context of the instance. yield by default will evaluate it in its native context.
class Class
def attr_reader(*params, &blk)
if block_given?
params.each do |sym|
define_method(sym) do
self.instance_eval(&blk)
self.instance_variable_get("##{sym}")
end
end
else
params.each do |sym|
attr sym
end
end
end
end
Here's another alternative approach you can look at. It's not as elegant as what you're trying to do using define_method but it's maybe worth looking at.
Add a new method lazy_attr_reader to Class
class Class
def lazy_attr_reader(*vars)
options = vars.last.is_a?(::Hash) ? vars.pop : {}
# get the name of the method that will populate the attribute from options
# default to 'get_things'
init_method = options[:via] || 'get_things'
vars.each do |var|
class_eval("def #{var}; #{init_method} if !defined? ##{var}; ##{var}; end")
end
end
end
Then use it like this:
class Test
lazy_attr_reader :name, :via => "name_loader"
def name_loader
#name = "Bob"
end
end
In action:
irb(main):145:0> t = Test.new
=> #<Test:0x2d6291c>
irb(main):146:0> t.name
=> "Bob"
IMHO changing the context of the block is pretty counter-intuitive, from a perspective of someone who would use such attr_reader on steroids.
Perhaps you should consider plain ol' "specify method name using optional arguments" approach:
def lazy_attr_reader(*args, params)
args.each do |e|
define_method(e) do
send(params[:init]) if params[:init] && !instance_variable_get("##{e}")
instance_variable_get("##{e}")
end
end
end
class Foo
lazy_attr_reader :foo, :bar, :init => :load
def load
#foo = 'foo'
#bar = 'bar'
end
end
f = Foo.new
puts f.bar
#=> bar

Ruby methods similar to attr_reader

I'm trying to make a method similar to attr_reader but I can't seem to get the instance of the class that the method gets called in.
class Module
def modifiable_reader(*symbols)
# Right here is where it returns Klass instead of #<Klass:0x1df25e0 #readable="this">
mod = self
variables = symbols.collect { |sym| ("#" << sym.to_s).to_sym }
attr_reader *symbols
(class << ModifyMethods; self; end).instance_eval do
define_method(*symbols) do
mod.instance_variable_get(*variables)
end
end
end
end
class Object
module ModifyMethods; end
def modify(&block)
ModifyMethods.instance_eval(&block)
end
end
class Klass
modifiable_reader :readable
def initialize
#readable = "this"
end
end
my_klass = Klass.new
my_klass.modify do
puts "Readable: " << readable.to_s
end
I'm not sure what it is you're trying to do.
If it helps, the spell for attr_reader is something like this:
#!/usr/bin/ruby1.8
module Kernel
def my_attr_reader(symbol)
eval <<-EOS
def #{symbol}
##{symbol}
end
EOS
end
end
class Foo
my_attr_reader :foo
def initialize
#foo = 'foo'
end
end
p Foo.new.foo # => "foo"
What I can understand from your code is that you want to have the modify block to respond to the instance methods of Klass, that's as simple as:
class Klass
attr_reader :modifiable
alias_method :modify, :instance_eval
def initialize(m)
#modifiable = m
end
end
Klass.new('john').modify do
puts 'Readable %s' % modifiable
end
About this tidbit of code:
def modifiable_reader(*symbols)
# Right here is where it returns Klass instead of #<Klass:0x1df25e0 #readable="this">
mod = self
...
Probably this can give you a hint of what is going on:
Class.superclass # => Module
Klass.instance_of?(Class) # => true
Klass = Class.new do
def hello
'hello'
end
end
Klass.new.hello # => 'hello'
When you are adding methods to the Module class, you are also adding methods to the Class class, which will add an instance method to instances of Class (in this case your class Klass), at the end this means you are adding class methods on your Klass class

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