I have Ruby class into which I want to include both class and instance methods. Following the pattern described here, I'm currently using the following:
class SomeObject
include SomeObject::Ability
def self.some_builder_method(params)
# use some_class_method ...
end
end
module SomeObject::Ability
module ClassMethods
def some_class_method(param)
# ...
end
end
def self.included(klass)
klass.extend(ClassMethods)
end
def some_instance_method
# ...
end
end
I'd rather not make two separate modules (one being included and the other being extended), because all the methods in my module logically fit together. On the other hand, this pattern a) requires me to define an additional ClassMethods module and b) requires me to write a boilerplate self.included method for every module.
Is there a better way to do this?
Edit 1: I've found another way, but I'm unsure if this is better than the first.
module Concern
def included(base)
# Define instance methods.
instance_methods.each do |m|
defn = instance_method(m)
base.class_eval { define_method(m, defn) }
end
# Define class methods.
(self.methods - Module.methods).each do |m|
unless m == __method__
base.define_singleton_method(m, &method(m))
end
end
end
end
module SomeModule
extend Concern
def self.class_m
puts "Class"
end
def instance_m
puts "Instance"
end
end
class Allo
include SomeModule
end
Allo.class_m # => "Class"
Allo.new.instance_m # => "Instance"
If I understand you correctly, you really just want to use ActiveSupport::Concern:
module PetWorthy
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
included do
validates :was_pet, inclusion: [true, 'yes']
end
def pet #instance method
end
module ClassMethods
def find_petworthy_animal
# ...
end
end
end
class Kitty
include PetWorthy
end
Kitty.find_petworthy_animal.pet
You (hopefully obviously) don't need to use the included method if you don't have any behavior to trigger on include, but I put it in just to demonstrate.
Related
I'd like my module to define new instance methods based on its including class' instance methods. But in the included hook, the class methods are not defined yet (as the module is included at the top of the class, before the class methods are defined):
module MyModule
def self.included(includer)
puts includer.instance_methods.include? :my_class_method # false <- Problem
end
end
class MyClass
include MyModule
def my_class_method
end
end
I want the users of the module to be free to include it at the top of their class.
Is there a way to make a module define additional methods to a class?
Note: I don't have to use the included hook if there is another way to achieve this.
There'a a method_added callback you could use:
module MyModule
def self.included(includer)
def includer.method_added(name)
puts "Method added #{name.inspect}"
end
end
end
class MyClass
include MyModule
def foo ; end
end
Output:
Method added :foo
If you want to track both, existing and future methods, you might need something like this:
module MyModule
def self.on_method(name)
puts "Method #{name.inspect}"
end
def self.included(includer)
includer.instance_methods(false).each do |name|
on_method(name)
end
def includer.method_added(name)
MyModule.on_method(name)
end
end
end
Example:
class MyClass
def foo ; end
include MyModule
def bar; end
end
# Method :foo
# Method :bar
So while I'm all against extending existing classes this way, sometimes (hacking rspec) it's necessary to do something like:
module MyModule
module ClassMethods
def define_something(name)
##names ||= []
##names << name
end
end
def self.included(base)
base.extend ClassMethods
end
def all_names
##names
end
end
class Example
include MyModule
define_something "one"
define_something "two"
end
Example.new.all_names
and then it yields this error:
NameError: uninitialized class variable ##names in MyModule
and I understand that because at the time of writing MyModule::ClassMethods - we are working on instance not class (not self.), so I tried:
module MyModule
module ClassMethods
def define_something(name)
#names ||= []
#names << name
end
end
def self.included(base)
base.extend ClassMethods
end
def all_names
##names
end
end
class Example
include MyModule
define_something "one"
define_something "two"
end
Example.new.all_names
it does not work either, finally I ended up with:
module MyModule
module ClassMethods
def define_something(name)
#names << name
end
end
def self.included(base)
base.instance_variable_set(:#names, [])
base.send(:define_method, :all_names) { base.instance_variable_get(:#names) }
base.extend ClassMethods
end
end
class Example
include MyModule
define_something "one"
define_something "two"
end
Example.new.all_names
Is there a better way to do that?
It's usually better from a design perspective to avoid crossing the class/instance line using instance variable references. This is usually more clear:
module MyModule
module ClassMethods
def define_something(name)
self.defined_somethings << name
end
def defined_somethings
#_my_module_names ||= []
end
end
def self.included(base)
base.extend ClassMethods
end
def all_names
self.class.defined_somethings
end
end
class Example
include MyModule
define_something "one"
define_something "two"
end
Example.new.all_names.inspect
#=> ["one","two"]
I've taken care here to create a class-level instance variable with a verbose name. Calling it #name could put it into conflict with a variable defined by the class that includes this module. Remember, when designing mixin code you're a guest and you need to be extra polite.
Class-type instance variables like ##name are sometimes trouble because they can end up spanning inheritance chains depending on how they're used. Defining a method means you can override it at any point in the chain, something not possible with a shared variable.
In other words, treat the instance's class as a separate object and make clear, well-defined method calls to maintain that separation.
Try the following
module MyModule
module ClassMethods
def define_something(name)
#names ||= []
#names << name
end
end
def self.included(base)
base.extend ClassMethods
end
def all_names
self.class.instance_variable_get(:#names)
end
end
class Example
include MyModule
define_something "one"
define_something "two"
end
Example.new.all_names
A class variable can be accessed using ## operator from a class level method i.e. self. methods.
#tadman's answer has a generic approach for similar problems (generally found in gems that provide modules to implement a functionality)
module Gym
def self.included(class_or_module)
class_or_module.send(:include, InstanceMethods)
class_or_module.extend(ClassMethods)
end
module ClassMethods
def build
end
end
module InstanceMethods
def open
end
def book_for_practice
end
def close
end
end
end
this is an example in the Ruby's Object Lifecycle Callbacks section of RubyMonk. I don't understand how it's supposed to work or what the point of this is. self.included should just document how the two modules within Gym get used, right? why does class_or_module then get sent/extended? why doesn't it get saved in some sort of arrays that document the lifecyle, like in the examples leading up to this one, such as
##extended_objects = []
def self.extended_objects
##extended_objects
end
def self.extended(class_or_module)
##extended_objects << class_or_module
It's not just documentation. self.included is a callback method that gets called as soon as the module is being included in any other module or class.
Instance methods are included via send, class or module methods via extend in that example.
Find out more in the Ruby documentation.
Let me answer your Question One by one.
1: self.included should just document how the two modules within Gym get used ?
module A
def instance_methods_1
p 'hello instance_methods_1'
end
def instance_methods_2
p 'hello instance_methods_2'
end
module KlassMethods
def klass_methods_1
p 'Hello!! klass_methods_1'
end
def klass_methods_2
p 'Hello!! klass_methods_2'
end
end
end
class B
include A # instead of writing two piece of code like this we could wrap in one using `self.included` method Hook
extend A::KlassMethods
end
B.new.instance_methods_1
B.new.instance_methods_2
B.klass_methods_1
B.klass_methods_2
Another version of same program with method hook using self.included
module A
# this is special method one of the methods hook in ruby.
def self.included(base)
base.extend(KlassMethods)
end
def instance_methods_1
p 'hello instance_methods_1'
end
def instance_methods_2
p 'hello instance_methods_2'
end
module KlassMethods
def klass_methods_1
p 'Hello!! klass_methods_1'
end
def klass_methods_2
p 'Hello!! klass_methods_2'
end
end
end
class B
include A
end
B.new.instance_methods_1
B.new.instance_methods_2
B.klass_methods_1
B.klass_methods_2
2: self.included
To know more about included hook and
Ruby Hook
3: why does class_or_module then get sent/extended ?
module AddAdditionalProperty
def self.included(base)
base.extend(ClassMethods)
end
module ClassMethods
def add_additional_property
p 'ClassMethods::add_additional_property'
end
end
end
module ActiveRecord
class Base
def test
p 'Base test Method'
end
end
end
ActiveRecord::Base.send(:include, AddAdditionalProperty)
ActiveRecord::Base.add_additional_property
## Another version of same Program
module AddAdditionalProperty
def self.included(base)
base.extend(ClassMethods)
end
module ClassMethods
def add_additional_property
p 'ClassMethods::add_additional_property'
end
end
end
module ActiveRecord
class Base
include AddAdditionalProperty
def test
p 'Base test Method'
end
end
end
ActiveRecord::Base.add_additional_property
Hope this answer help you !!!
possibly I'm not explaining the concept very well, but I'm looking to add class methods to a series of ruby classes to enable them to hold class specific information which will then be called by individual instance methods of the classes.
I can make it work, but it is a bit ugly. Can anyone as it requires 2 modules, one included and the other extended (see example code below).
Can anyone think of a more elegant way of implementing this functionality ?
Thanks
Steve
This module is extended to give class methods but adding an instance member to each class it is included in
module My1
def my_methods (*sym_array)
#my_methods=sym_array
end
def method_list
#my_methods
end
end
This module is included to give instance methods
module My2
def foo
self.class.method_list.each { |m| self.send m }
end
end
Now use the modules - the ugliness is having to use an include and extend statement to allow me to pass a set of symbols to a class method which will then be implemented in an
instance
class Foo
extend My1
include My2
my_methods :baz
def baz
puts "Baz!"
end
end
class Bar
extend My1
include My2
my_methods :frodo
def frodo
puts "Frodo!"
end
end
class Wibble < Bar
extend My1
include My2
my_methods :wobble
def wobble
puts "Wobble!"
end
end
Here is the required output - note that each class has its own instance #my_methods so the behaviour is different for the derived class Wibble < Bar
f=Foo.new
b=Bar.new
w=Wibble.new
f.foo #=> "Bar!"
b.foo #=> "Frodo!"
w.foo #=> "Wobble!"
When a module is included, a hook is called on it. You can use that to do the extend you want.
module M1
def self.included(base)
base.extend(M2)
end
end
People often call that second module M1::ClassMethods. If you're using rails, ActiveSupport::Concern encapsulates this pattern
I would suggest to use a hook from module instead:
module MyModule
def self.included(klass)
klass.extend ClassMethods
end
def foo
self.class.method_list.each{ |m| self.send m }
end
module ClassMethods
attr_reader :method_list
def my_methods(*sym_array)
#method_list = sym_array
end
end
end
So it simplifies to call include only a module whenever you want the functionality to given classes.
class Foo
include MyModule
my_methods :baz
def baz
puts "Baz!"
end
end
Say there are three classes: A, B & C. I want each class to have a class method, say self.foo, that has exactly the same code for A, B & C.
Is it possible to define self.foo in a module and include this module in A, B & C? I tried to do so and got an error message saying that foo is not recognized.
Yep
module Foo
def self.included(base)
base.extend(ClassMethods)
end
module ClassMethods
def some_method
# stuff
end
end
end
One possible note I should add - if the module is going to be ALL class methods - better off just using extend ModuleName in the Model and defining the methods directly in the module instead - rather than having a ClassMethods module inside the Module, a la
module ModuleName
def foo
# stuff
end
end
module Common
def foo
puts 'foo'
end
end
class A
extend Common
end
class B
extend Common
end
class C
extend Common
end
A.foo
Or, you can extend the classes afterwards:
class A
end
class B
end
class C
end
[A, B, C].each do |klass|
klass.extend Common
end
Rails 3 introduced a module named ActiveSupport::Concern which has the goal of simplifying the syntax of modules.
module Foo
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
module ClassMethods
def some_method
# stuff
end
end
end
It allowed us to save a few lines of "boilerplate" code in the module.
This is basic ruby mixin functionality that makes ruby so special.
While extend turns module methods into class methods, include turns module methods into instance methods in the including/extending class or module.
module SomeClassMethods
def a_class_method
'I´m a class method'
end
end
module SomeInstanceMethods
def an_instance_method
'I´m an instance method!'
end
end
class SomeClass
include SomeInstanceMethods
extend SomeClassMethods
end
instance = SomeClass.new
instance.an_instance_method => 'I´m an instance method!'
SomeClass.a_class_method => 'I´m a class method'
Just wanted to extend Oliver's answer
Define Class methods and instance methods together in a module.
module Foo
def self.included(base)
base.extend(ClassMethods)
end
module ClassMethods
def a_class_method
puts "ClassMethod Inside Module"
end
end
def not_a_class_method
puts "Instance method of foo module"
end
end
class FooBar
include Foo
end
FooBar.a_class_method
FooBar.methods.include?(:a_class_method)
FooBar.methods.include?(:not_a_class_method)
fb = FooBar.new
fb.not_a_class_method
fb.methods.include?(:not_a_class_method)
fb.methods.include?(:a_class_method)