Creating class methods from a module - ruby

Given the simple example here:
class Base
#tag = nil
def self.tag(v = nil)
return #tag unless v
#tag = v
end
end
class A < Base
tag :A
end
class B < Base
tag :B
end
class C < Base; end
puts "A: #{A.tag}"
puts "B: #{B.tag}"
puts "A: #{A.tag}"
puts "C: #{C.tag}"
which works as expected
A: A
B: B
A: A
C:
I want to create a module that base will extend to give the same functionality but with all the tag information specified by the class. Eg.
module Tester
def add_ident(v); ....; end
end
class Base
extend Tester
add_ident :tag
end
I've found i can do it with a straight eval, so:
def add_ident(v)
v = v.to_s
eval "def self.#{v}(t = nil); return ##{v} unless t; ##{v} = t; end"
end
but i really dislike using eval string in any language.
Is there a way that i can get this functionality without using eval? I've gone through every combination of define_method and instance_variable_get/set i can think of and i can't get it to work.
Ruby 1.9 without Rails.

You want to define a dynamic method on the singleton class of the class you're extending. The singleton class of a class can be accessed with expression like this: class << self; self end. To open the scope of a class's class, you can use class_eval. Putting all this together, you can write:
module Identification
def add_identifier(identifier)
(class << self; self end).class_eval do
define_method(identifier) do |*args|
value = args.first
if value
instance_variable_set("##{identifier}", value)
else
instance_variable_get("##{identifier}")
end
end
end
end
end
class A
extend Identification
add_identifier :tag
end
If you're using recent versions of Ruby, this approach can be replaced with Module#define_singleton_method:
module Identification
def add_identifier(identifier)
define_singleton_method(identifier) do |value = nil|
if value
instance_variable_set("##{identifier}", value)
else
instance_variable_get("##{identifier}")
end
end
end
end
I don't believe you want to use self.class.send(:define_method), as shown in another answer here; this has the unintended side effect of adding the dynamic method to all child classes of self.class, which in the case of A in my example is Class.

module Tester
def add_ident(var)
self.class.send(:define_method, var) do |val=nil|
return instance_variable_get("##{var}") unless val
instance_variable_set "##{var}", val
end
end
end

My favourite ruby book Metaprogramming Ruby solved these questions like the following way:
module AddIdent
def self.included(base)
base.extend ClassMethods # hook method
end
module ClassMethods
def add_ident(tag)
define_method "#{tag}=" do |value=nil|
instance_variable_set("##{tag}", value)
end
define_method tag do
instance_variable_get "##{tag}"
end
end
end
end
# And use it like this
class Base
include AddIdent
add_ident :tag
end

Bah isn't it always the way that once you get frustrated enough to post you then find the answer :)
The trick seems to be in (class << self; self; end) to give you the class instance without destroying the local scope. Referencing: How do I use define_method to create class methods?
def add_ident(v)
var_name = ('#' + v.to_s).to_sym
(class << self; self; end).send(:define_method, v) do |t = nil|
return instance_variable_get(var_name) unless t
instance_variable_set(var_name, t)
end
end
I'll accept better answers if them come along though.

Related

ruby pass self of caller of method into method being called automaticly

I'm trying to create a method that passes the caller as the default last argument. According to this, I only need:
class A
def initialize(object = self)
# work with object
end
end
so that in:
class B
def initialize
A.new # self is a B instance here
end
end
self will be B rather than A;
However, this doesn't seem to work. Here's some test code:
class A
def self.test test, t=self
puts t
end
end
class B
def test test,t=self
puts t
end
end
class T
def a
A.test 'hey'
end
def b
B.new.test 'hey'
end
def self.a
A.test 'hey'
end
def self.b
B.new.test'hey'
end
end
and I get:
T.new.a # => A
T.new.b # => #<B:0x000000015fef00>
T.a # => A
T.b # => #<B:0x000000015fed98>
whereas I expect it to be T or #<T:0x000000015fdf08>. Is there a way to set the default last argument to the caller?
EDIT:
class Registry
class << self
def add(component, base=self)
self.send(component).update( base.to_s.split('::').last => base)
end
end
end
The idea is pretty simple, you would use it like this
class Asset_Manager
Registry.add :utilities
end
and you access it like:
include Registry.utilities 'Debugger'
I'm trying to de-couple classes by having a middle-man management type class that takes care of inter-class communications, auto-loading of missing classes and erroring when it doesn't exist, it works but I just want to be able to use the above rather than:
class Asset_Manager
Registry.add :utilities, self
end
It just feels cleaner, that and I wanted to know if such a thing was possible.
You can't escape the explicit self. But you can hide it with some ruby magic.
class Registry
def self.add(group, klass)
puts "registering #{klass} in #{group}"
end
end
module Registrable
def self.included(base)
base.extend(ClassMethods)
end
module ClassMethods
def register_in(group)
Registry.add(group, self)
end
end
end
class AssetManager
include Registrable
register_in :utilities
end
# >> registering AssetManager in utilities
In short, you can't.
Ruby resolves the default arguments in the context of the receiver. That is, the object before the . in a method call. What you called the receiver should be the caller, actually.
class A
def test1(value = a)
puts a
end
def test2(value = b)
puts b
end
def a
"a"
end
end
a = A.new
a.test1 #=> a
def a.b; "b" end
a.test2 #=> b
If I were you, I would use the extended (or included) hook, where both the extending class and the extended module can be accessed. You can program what ever logic you want based on the information.
module Registry
module Utilities
def self.extended(cls)
#puts cls
::Registry.send(component).update( cls.to_s.split('::').last => cls)
end
end
end
class Asset_Manager
extend Registry::Utilities
end

How to pass a method to instance_eval?

I want to call instance_eval on this class:
class A
attr_reader :att
end
passing this method b:
class B
def b(*args)
att
end
end
but this is happening:
a = A.new
bb = B.new
a.instance_eval(&bb.method(:b)) # NameError: undefined local variable or method `att' for #<B:0x007fb39ad0d568>
When b is a block it works, but b as a method isn't working. How can I make it work?
It's not clear exactly what you goal is. You can easily share methods between classes by defining them in a module and including the module in each class
module ABCommon
def a
'a'
end
end
class A
include ABCommon
end
Anything = Hash
class B < Anything
include ABCommon
def b(*args)
a
end
def run
puts b
end
end
This answer does not use a real method as asked, but I didn't need to return a Proc or change A. This is a DSL, def_b should have a meaningful name to the domain, like configure, and it is more likely to be defined in a module or base class.
class B
class << self
def def_b(&block)
(#b_blocks ||= []) << block
end
def run
return if #b_blocks.nil?
a = A.new
#b_blocks.each { |block| a.instance_eval(&block) }
end
end
def_b do
a
end
end
And it accepts multiple definitions. It could be made accept only a single definition like this:
class B
class << self
def def_b(&block)
raise "b defined twice!" unless #b_block.nil?
#b_block = block
end
def run
A.new.instance_eval(&#b_block) unless #b_block.nil?
end
end
def_b do
a
end
end

Passing values into a class created with Class.new

I have a list of names and values I'm trying to read in and turn into classes so I'm using Class.new.
The end result I want is a number of classes that work as if defined like:
module MyMod
class AA < Base
def self.value
value1
end
end
class AB < Base
def self.value
value2
end
end
...
end
My current code looks like:
name = 'AA'
value = 'test'
MyMod.const_set name, Class.new(Base) do
???
end
Setting the name works great, but haven't figured out what I need in the block for get value in. Calling def doesn't work because the closure for value gets lost.
I have managed to get things working with:
temp = const_set name, Class.new(Base)
temp.define_singleton_method(:value) { value }
However, it seems like there should be a way to do it with the block of Class.new. Also, I'm really not sure define_singleton_method is actually putting the method in the right place. It works in my tests, but I'm not sure if the method is actually where I think it is or somewhere else up the call chain. I've tried various combinations of class_variable_set, attr_reader, class_eval, instance_eval, and others, but it got to a point where it was just guess and check. I think I still haven't quite wrapped my head around metaprogramming :-/
if i correctly understood your question, this should work for you:
class Base
end
class AA < Base
name = :Blah
klass = self.const_set name, Class.new(Base)
class << klass
def value
__method__
end
end
end
p AA::Blah.value
#=> :value
UPDATE: seems you want it defined in the block:
class Base
end
class AA < Base
name = :Blah
klass = Class.new(Base) do
class << self
def value
__method__
end
end
end
self.const_set name, klass
end
p AA::Blah.value
you trying this:
const_set name, Class.new(Base) do
...
end
it does not work cause the block is referring to const_set rather than to Class.new
If you prefer define_singleton_method over class << self:
class Base
end
class AA < Base
name = :Blah
klass = Class.new(Base) do
self.define_singleton_method :value do
__method__
end
end
self.const_set name, klass
end
And finally if you really want to define them at once, use brackets instead of do...end:
class Base
end
class AA < Base
name = :Blah
self.const_set name, Class.new(Base) {
self.define_singleton_method :value do
__method__
end
}
end
Here is a working demo

Create attr_reader methods while setting the values for the according instance variables in the initialize method?

I am looking for way to create the according attr_reader methods while setting the values for the according instance variables in the initialize method? For example, the following code:
class SomeClass
attr_reader :hello
def initialize( arg)
#hello = arg
end
end
I am looking for way to write as follows:
class SomeClass
def initialize( arg)
some_method_as_described_in_question( #hello, arg)
end
end
Does a method doing what I have described exist in the Ruby built-in Classes and Modules?
You can open the eigenclass from within the method and set the attribute there:
class SomeClass
def initialize(arg)
(class << self; self; end).send(:attr_reader, :hello)
#hello = arg
end
end
That way each instance's eigenclass will have that attribute reader. But really it only makes sense to do things that way if the attribute name is dynamic, and can vary from instance to instance. If it's always hello, I don't see any drawback to just defining it in the class like your original code block.
For example, if you are dynamically passing in the attribute name, you could do it like this:
class SomeClass
def initialize(attr, arg)
(class << self; self; end).send(:attr_reader, attr.to_sym)
instance_variable_set("##{attr}", arg)
end
end
This is compatible with Ruby 1.8. Taking a tip from #HenrikN in the comment to your question, you can use define_singleton_method in Ruby 1.9:
class SomeClass
def initialize(attr, arg)
define_singleton_method(attr) { instance_variable_get("##{attr}") }
instance_variable_set("##{attr}", arg)
end
end
Not sure if I understand the question, but you can use Struct to get an initializer and accessor methods:
class SomeClass < Struct.new(:hello)
end
x = SomeClass.new("yo")
puts x.hello # "yo"
x.hello = "what up"
puts x.hello # "what up"
require 'ostruct'
p = OpenStruct.new
p.hello = 'world'
p.could_be_anything = 'nothing'
puts p.hello #=> 'world'
puts p.could_be_anything #=> 'nothing'

Ruby module with a static method call from includer class

I need to define the constant in the module that use the method from the class that includes this module:
module B
def self.included(base)
class << base
CONST = self.find
end
end
end
class A
def self.find
"AAA"
end
include B
end
puts A::CONST
But the compiler gives the error on the 4th line.
Is there any other way to define the constant?
The more idiomatic way to achieve this in Ruby is:
module B
def self.included(klass)
klass.class_eval <<-ruby_eval
CONST = find
ruby_eval
# note that the block form of class_eval won't work
# because you can't assign a constant inside a method
end
end
class A
def self.find
"AAA"
end
include B
end
puts A::CONST
What you were doing (class << base) actually puts you into the context of A's metaclass, not A itself. The find method is on A itself, not its metaclass. The thing to keep in mind is that classes are themselves objects, and so have their own metaclasses.
To try to make it clearer:
class Human
def parent
# this method is on the Human class and available
# to all instances of Human.
end
class << self
def build
# this method is on the Human metaclass, and
# available to its instance, Human itself.
end
# the "self" here is Human's metaclass, so build
# cannot be called.
end
def self.build
# exactly the same as the above
end
build # the "self" here is Human itself, so build can
# be called
end
Not sure if that helps, but if you don't understand it, you can still use the class_eval idiom above.
In your specific case.
module B
def self.included(base)
base.const_set("CONST", base.find)
end
end
class A
def self.find
"AAA"
end
include B
end
puts A::CONST
Despite it works, it's a little bit messy. Are you sure you can't follow a different way to achieve your goal?
module B
def self.included(base)
class << base
CONST = self.find
end
end
end
class A
class << self
def self.find
"AAA"
end
end
include B
end
then the compiler error is fixed, pls try.

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