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
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
I have a module and would like to mixin some methods as class methods and some as instance methods.
For example:
module Foo
def self.class_method
end
def instance_method
end
end
class Bar
include Foo
end
Usage:
Bar.class_method
Bar.new.instance_method
Is it possible to do this in Ruby?
If not, is it possible to define which methods are class methods and which are instance methods within the Bar class?
I don't want the same method defined as both a class and instance method.
This pattern is very common in Ruby. So common, in fact, that ActiveSupport::Concern abstracts it a bit.
Your typical implementation looks like this:
module Foo
def self.included(other_mod)
other_mod.extend ClassMethods
end
def instance_method
end
module ClassMethods
def class_method
end
end
end
class Bar
include Foo
end
You can't accomplish this easily as you describe without somehow splitting the included module into multiple pieces, though, unfortunately.
You can, but not quite like that. This is a common pattern for including both instance and class methods in one module.
module Foo
def self.included(base)
base.extend ClassMethods
end
def instance_method
puts 'instance'
end
module ClassMethods
def class_method
puts 'class'
end
end
end
class Bar
include Foo
end
bar = Bar.new
Bar.class_method #=> 'class'
bar.instance_method #=> 'instance'
You are close. You probably noticed that the instance method works fine. The problem with the class method is that self => Foo when it's defined, so it does not respond to Bar. If you add the line puts "I'm a module method" in self.class_method, you will find
Foo.class_method => "I'm a module method"
Here's an easy way to accomplish what you want to do:
module Foo_class
attr_accessor :cat
def class_method
puts "I'm a class method"
end
end
module Foo_instance
def instance_method
puts "I'm an instance method"
end
end
class Bar
extend Foo_class
include Foo_instance
end
Bar.class_method #=> I'm a class method
Bar.cat = "meow"
Bar.cat #=> "meow"
Bar.new.instance_method #=> I'm an instance method
I added a class instance variable, #cat, and an accessor for it, just to show how easy that is to do.
Object#extend is great, because you can just add instance variables and methods to a module, just as you would do with Object#include to mixin instance variables and methods, and extend mixes them in as class instance variables and class methods. You can also do this:
bar = Bar.new
bar.extend Foo_class
to have the instance variables and methods in Foo_class apply to the instance bar.
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.
In Ruby, I can do this:
module Foo
end
class Bar
include Foo
end
module Foo
def do_something_instancey
puts "I'm an instance!"
end
end
Then, if I instantiate a Bar object, I can call do_something_instancey on it:
b = Bar.new
b.do_something_instancey
However, if I do this...
module Foo
def self.included(base)
def base.do_something_classy do
puts "I'm a class!"
end
end
end
My understanding is that because I included Foo in Bar before defining that class method, I cannot call Bar.do_something_classy because it never got "attached" to Bar.
I realize that might be slightly inaccurate/not really the right terminology. Regardless, is there a way, in the above example, to attach a class method to Bar from Foo after the module has already been included?
Here's an example for both, class and instance methods:
module Foo
def self.included(base)
base.extend(ClassMethods)
end
module ClassMethods
end
end
class Bar
include Foo
end
module Foo
def do_something_instancey
puts "I'm an instance!"
end
module ClassMethods
def do_something_classy
puts "I'm a class!"
end
end
end
b = Bar.new
b.do_something_instancey
# => I'm an instance!
Bar.do_something_classy
# => I'm a class!
To add class methods to each class that has (already) included a specific module, you could traverse Ruby's ObjectSpace:
ObjectSpace.each_object(Class) do |klass|
if klass.include? Foo
klass.define_singleton_method(:do_something_classy) do
puts "I'm a class!"
end
end
end
Description of retroactive_module_inclusion gem:
This gem circumvents the "dynamic module include" (aka "double
inclusion") problem, which is the fact that M.module_eval { include N
} does not make the methods of module N available to modules and
classes which had included module M beforehand, only to the ones that
include it thereafter. This behaviour hurts the least surprise
principle, specially because if K is a class, then K.class_eval {
include M } does make all methods of M available to all classes
which had previously inherited it.
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)