I am a Ruby starter. I found both of these are quite similar (in output), but i couldn't understand the difference in the below context. For example, I have a class
class Say
def self.hello
puts "hello"
end
end
and can be extended like this
class << Say
def hi
puts "hi"
end
end
and also like this
Say.class_eval do
def self.bye
puts "bye"
end
end
When should I use << and when class_eval?
class_eval doesn't really have anything to do with class << className.
A.class_eval do
...
end
is equivalent to
class A
...
end
with a few differences. class_eval uses a block (or a string, but ignoring that for the moment) which means it closes over the containing lexical scope. In other words you can use local variables from the surrounding scope. The common class block introduces a brand new scope. Likewise you can create the block and pass it to many different class_eval's, and the body of the block will be executed in the context of the class you are calling class_eval on.
class << className opens the singleton class of className, allowing you to define class methods.
class << A
def foo
...
end
end
Is the same as
def A.foo
...
end
Note that they are oly class methods if A happens to be a class (almost) all objects in ruby have singleton classes and you can define methods for them using either of those two syntaxes. The advantage of class << obj is mainly if you're defining many singleton methods in one go.
As already said class_eval has really not much to do with
class <<self
even if they seem to do the same thing in your example (while the effect is similar it does not do the same, there are subtle differences).
Here is another example where the usage of the second form is far more clearer:
class A
end
a = A.new
b = A.new
class <<b
def say_hi
puts "Hi !"
end
end
b.say_hi # will print "Hi !"
a.say_hi # will raise an undefined method
a and b are both objects of the same class A but we added a method to the metaclass of b so the method say_hi is only available to the b object.
Related
My goal is:
class Bermuda
class << self
def grass
puts self.superclass.name
end
end
end
# my goal is that this expression
Bermuda.grass
# will output a string of the class name it resides in
=> "Bermuda"
I cannot display the name of the class that holds a singleton method. I have tried a number of different stabs and standard library searches but haven't found an answer.
This is partially pointless because you would not need a class method to display the information that you would need in the first place to call that method. I'm curious if it's possible or I'm completely missing the scope.
Just call name on self
class Bermuda
class << self
def grass
puts self.name
end
end
end
This sort of an implementation isn't recommended since all you have to do to get the class name is call Bermuda.name
Please see the answer given below by #MatthewCliatt for more info.
It's as simple as:
self.class.name
But, the catch is that this isn't for class methods, it's for instance methods.
That means you don't declare it with self. This was your code:
class Bermuda
class << self
def grass
puts self.superclass.name
end
end
end
And that will make the grass method a class method. You would have to call it like Bermuda.grass.
But, if you can call class methods like the one above, you could just as easily write: Bermuda.name.
I'm assuming you can't call class methods, probably because you're working with an instance. So you want to write this method as such:
class Bermuda
def grass
puts self.class.name
end
end
You say you're creating a singleton method, but I don't think your method is a singleton method in the usual sense (i.e. a method on an object that is an instance of a class, but not itself a class).
I believe the class << self notation you use merely results in a class method being defined, identical to:
def self.grass
puts name
end
In irb:
2.3.0 :003 > class Bermuda; def self.grass; puts name; end; end
=> :grass
2.3.0 :004 > Bermuda.grass
Bermuda
I am unsure about the difference between this.
def String.hello
puts "hello there"
end
and
x = Person.new
def x.hello
puts "hello there"
end
From my understanding the second code block will create an object of class Person. When I do the def x.hello it creates an anonymous class (singleton class) that will be checked first for methods when sending a message to the x object.
Is this the same case for the def String.hello? String is just an instance of class Class correct? I have read that doing def String.hello will add the method as one of String's class methods.... this would be different than an anonymous class being created that sits in between the object and its class where it gets its instance methods.
What happens with both blocks of code above?
I love this part of ruby. There is this beautiful symmetry where most of the core functionality is just sugar over the advanced functionality, so once you fully grok a concept, you can apply that understanding to a lot of the language.
Is this the same case for the def String.hello? String is just an instance of class Class correct?
Yes, you are creating an instance of Class, and assigning it to a constant.
I have read that doing def String.hello will add the method as one of String's class methods.... this would be different than an anonymous class being created that sits in between the object and its class where it gets its instance methods.
Nope, the piece you are missing is thinking its possible to have a class level method WITHOUT adding it to a singleton class. What you have is an object that is an instance of Class, and you are adding methods to an implicit class that sits inbetween it and Class. You will also see this syntax sometimes
class << self
def method
end
end
That is doing the same thing, just being very explicit about it.
Just to add to the Matt's answer:
Both examples do the same thing, Writting them in another way:
String = Class.new # < done inside ruby initialization
def String.hello
puts "hello there"
end
and
x = Person.new
def x.hello
puts "hello there"
end
On Ruby you can add methods to a class, created with A = Class.new or with the syntax sugar class A; ...; end, or to a Eigenclass, that exists for every object. Class methods are, on really, methods of the Eigenclass of an instance of Class, think about what is "self" in def self.method; ...; end. Eigenclasses can be opened with this sintax:
x = Person.new
class << x
# ...
end
As Eigenclasses are also instances of class (try to add p self.class on last example) they also have Eigenclasses and so on. If it appears to be confusing, just remember that Object is a class and Class is an object. This is why I love Ruby!
The following code will add the "hello" method to the String class, that way all following strings will have the "hello" method:
def String.hello
puts "hello there"
end
Whilst the following code, will add the "hello" method, to the instance x of the class Person. If you create a new Person, that object will not have the "hello" method.
x = Person.new
def x.hello
puts "hello there"
end
That is the main difference, as I understand it.
Does this help?
I can't seem to grasp the exact difference between these two "constructs". To my mind, the following small script should output the same thing three times:
class Example
puts self
class << self
puts self
end
instance_eval do
puts self
end
end
However, the output is:
Example
#<Class:Example>
Example
Here's my rationale:
Example is an instance of Class, so self in the class body refers to that;
class << obj sets self to whatever obj is in the given block, which in my case is the instance of Class that is Example (this is where I'm probably wrong);
instance_eval runs the block in the given instance, so, in my case it's pretty much the same as putting the code in the block directly in the class body.
My current guess is that class << self inserts a ghost class between Example and Class and sets self to that, but the output of #<Class:Example> is not confirming that at all.
So what is wrong with my rationale?
class << obj sets self to whatever obj is in the given block, which in my case is the instance of Class that is Example (this is where I'm probably wrong);
No, class << obj opens up the singleton class of obj. As you correctly pointed out, inside of a class declaration, self refers to the class itself, so, in this case, the "inner" self (i.e. the one being passed to puts) refers to the singleton class of Example.
In my opinion, class << self has been one of the most obnoxious bits of syntax in Ruby. People new to the language have little idea what it means, apart from cargo-cult conventions, and even those intimately familiar with the language have only a hazy understanding of what differentiates it from instance_method, as the two do seem to be remarkably similar.
Here's an example of two different ways of defining a class method:
class Example
class << self
def class_def
:class_def
end
end
instance_eval do
def instance_def
:instance_def
end
end
end
You can check that these work by calling the methods:
puts Example.class_def.inspect
# => :class_def
puts Example.instance_def.inspect
# => :instance_def
The difference is when you're dynamically creating methods using define_method since the binding does appear to be incorrect on the instance_eval version:
class Example
class << self
define_method(:class_def) do
:class_def
end
end
instance_eval do
define_method(:instance_def) do
:instance_def
end
end
end
This results in the instance_def method being defined, but not being bound to the class itself:
puts Example.class_def.inspect
# => :class_def
puts Example.instance_def.inspect
# => NoMethodError: undefined method ‘instance_def’ for Example:Class
The only reliable way to create dynamic methods is with class << self. The method instance_def appears to be created and discarded as it doesn't show up in Example.methods even inside that block.
What does class << self do in Ruby?
First, the class << foo syntax opens up foo's singleton class (eigenclass). This allows you to specialise the behaviour of methods called on that specific object.
a = 'foo'
class << a
def inspect
'"bar"'
end
end
a.inspect # => "bar"
a = 'foo' # new object, new singleton class
a.inspect # => "foo"
Now, to answer the question: class << self opens up self's singleton class, so that methods can be redefined for the current self object (which inside a class or module body is the class or module itself). Usually, this is used to define class/module ("static") methods:
class String
class << self
def value_of obj
obj.to_s
end
end
end
String.value_of 42 # => "42"
This can also be written as a shorthand:
class String
def self.value_of obj
obj.to_s
end
end
Or even shorter:
def String.value_of obj
obj.to_s
end
When inside a function definition, self refers to the object the function is being called with. In this case, class << self opens the singleton class for that object; one use of that is to implement a poor man's state machine:
class StateMachineExample
def process obj
process_hook obj
end
private
def process_state_1 obj
# ...
class << self
alias process_hook process_state_2
end
end
def process_state_2 obj
# ...
class << self
alias process_hook process_state_1
end
end
# Set up initial state
alias process_hook process_state_1
end
So, in the example above, each instance of StateMachineExample has process_hook aliased to process_state_1, but note how in the latter, it can redefine process_hook (for self only, not affecting other StateMachineExample instances) to process_state_2. So, each time a caller calls the process method (which calls the redefinable process_hook), the behaviour changes depending on what state it's in.
I found a super simple explanation about class << self , Eigenclass and different type of methods.
In Ruby, there are three types of methods that can be applied to a class:
Instance methods
Singleton methods
Class methods
Instance methods and class methods are almost similar to their homonymous in other programming languages.
class Foo
def an_instance_method
puts "I am an instance method"
end
def self.a_class_method
puts "I am a class method"
end
end
foo = Foo.new
def foo.a_singleton_method
puts "I am a singletone method"
end
Another way of accessing an Eigenclass(which includes singleton methods) is with the following syntax (class <<):
foo = Foo.new
class << foo
def a_singleton_method
puts "I am a singleton method"
end
end
now you can define a singleton method for self which is the class Foo itself in this context:
class Foo
class << self
def a_singleton_and_class_method
puts "I am a singleton method for self and a class method for Foo"
end
end
end
Usually, instance methods are global methods. That means they are available in all instances of the class on which they were defined. In contrast, a singleton method is implemented on a single object.
Ruby stores methods in classes and all methods must be associated with a class. The object on which a singleton method is defined is not a class (it is an instance of a class). If only classes can store methods, how can an object store a singleton method? When a singleton method is created, Ruby automatically creates an anonymous class to store that method. These anonymous classes are called metaclasses, also known as singleton classes or eigenclasses. The singleton method is associated with the metaclass which, in turn, is associated with the object on which the singleton method was defined.
If multiple singleton methods are defined within a single object, they are all stored in the same metaclass.
class Zen
end
z1 = Zen.new
z2 = Zen.new
class << z1
def say_hello
puts "Hello!"
end
end
z1.say_hello # Output: Hello!
z2.say_hello # Output: NoMethodError: undefined method `say_hello'…
In the above example, class << z1 changes the current self to point to the metaclass of the z1 object; then, it defines the say_hello method within the metaclass.
Classes are also objects (instances of the built-in class called Class). Class methods are nothing more than singleton methods associated with a class object.
class Zabuton
class << self
def stuff
puts "Stuffing zabuton…"
end
end
end
All objects may have metaclasses. That means classes can also have metaclasses. In the above example, class << self modifies self so it points to the metaclass of the Zabuton class. When a method is defined without an explicit receiver (the class/object on which the method will be defined), it is implicitly defined within the current scope, that is, the current value of self. Hence, the stuff method is defined within the metaclass of the Zabuton class. The above example is just another way to define a class method. IMHO, it's better to use the def self.my_new_clas_method syntax to define class methods, as it makes the code easier to understand. The above example was included so we understand what's happening when we come across the class << self syntax.
Additional info can be found at this post about Ruby Classes.
What class << thing does:
class Hi
self #=> Hi
class << self #same as 'class << Hi'
self #=> #<Class:Hi>
self == Hi.singleton_class #=> true
end
end
[it makes self == thing.singleton_class in the context of its block].
What is thing.singleton_class?
hi = String.new
def hi.a
end
hi.class.instance_methods.include? :a #=> false
hi.singleton_class.instance_methods.include? :a #=> true
hi object inherits its #methods from its #singleton_class.instance_methods and then from its #class.instance_methods.
Here we gave hi's singleton class instance method :a. It could have been done with class << hi instead.
hi's #singleton_class has all instance methods hi's #class has, and possibly some more (:a here).
[instance methods of thing's #class and #singleton_class can be applied directly to thing. when ruby sees thing.a, it first looks for :a method definition in thing.singleton_class.instance_methods and then in thing.class.instance_methods]
By the way - they call object's singleton class == metaclass == eigenclass.
А singleton method is a method that is defined only for a single object.
Example:
class SomeClass
class << self
def test
end
end
end
test_obj = SomeClass.new
def test_obj.test_2
end
class << test_obj
def test_3
end
end
puts "Singleton's methods of SomeClass"
puts SomeClass.singleton_methods
puts '------------------------------------------'
puts "Singleton's methods of test_obj"
puts test_obj.singleton_methods
Singleton's methods of SomeClass
test
Singleton's methods of test_obj
test_2
test_3
In fact if you write any C extensions for your Ruby projects there is really only one way to define a Module method.
rb_define_singleton_method
I know this self business just opens up all kinds of other questions so you could do better by searching each part.
Objects first.
foo = Object.new
Can I make a method for foo?
Sure
def foo.hello
'hello'
end
What do I do with it?
foo.hello
==>"hello"
Just another object.
foo.methods
You get all the Object methods plus your new one.
def foo.self
self
end
foo.self
Just the foo Object.
Try to see what happens if you make foo from other Objects like Class and Module. The examples from all the answers are nice to play with but you have to work with different ideas or concepts to really understand what is going on with the way the code is written. So now you have lots of terms to go look at.
Singleton,
Class,
Module,
self,
Object,
and Eigenclass was brought up but Ruby doesn't name Object Models that way. It's more like Metaclass.
Richard or __why shows you the idea here.
http://viewsourcecode.org/why/hacking/seeingMetaclassesClearly.html
And if the blows you away then try looking up Ruby Object Model in search.
Two videos that I know of on YouTube are Dave Thomas and Peter Cooper. They try to explain that concept too. It took Dave a long time to get it so don't worry.
I'm still working on it too. Why else would I be here?
Thanks for your question.
Also take a look at the standard library. It has a Singleton Module just as an FYI.
This is pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4uiyWA8eFk
class << self
attr_accessor :n, :totalX, :totalY
end
The syntax above is used for defining class instance variables. But when I think about what syntax implies, it doesn't make any sense to me, so I'm wondering if this type of syntax is used for any other types of definitions. My point of confusion here is this:
class << self
The append operator normally means "add what's on the right to the object on the left". But in the context of this block, how does that add up to "put the contents of this block into the definition of the class instance rather than the instance"?
For the same reason I'm confused as to why in one context class << self can define class instance variables while in another it seems to create class variables such as here:
class Point
# Instance methods go here
class << self
# Class methods go here
end
end
in Ruby you can reopen existing classes and add methods. That is, you can say:
class Foo
def bob
return "hello from bob"
end
end
these methods get stored somewhere in an internal dictionary (maybe an instance variable) of the Foo-class (which is just an instance of the Class-class and therefore has instance variables)
But the suprising thing is, that you can also add methods to instances of existing objects
foo = Foo.new
foo2 = Foo.new
def foo.fred
return "I am fred"
end
foo.fred #=> "I am fred"
foo2.fred #=> NoMethodError
but Where is this method actually stored?
Turns out Ruby creates a new class behind the scenes (sometimes called singleton class, metaclass or eigenclass) which gets inserted in the inheritance heirarchy between the Foo-class and its instance.
So the inheritance relationship looks like that:
foo < (eigenclass of foo) < Foo < Class
(if you say foo.superclass you will not see the singleton class)
the class << X-syntax is a way to get to this special class, so that you can manipulate it directly. The following code blocks are exactly equivalent:
def foo.bar
return "xy"
end
# is exactly the same as
class << foo
def bar
return "xy"
end
end
So the similarity between class Foo < Bar and class << Foo is not accidental, there is inheritance going on in both.
Think of class << X as "open up the metaclass of X"
The thing to remember in Ruby is that classes themselves are just objects. (Instances of the class Class) so if you say:
class Foo
class << self
def k
return "x"
end
end
end
(self is bound to Foo in this code block) so k is an instance method of the eigenclass of Foo, which makes it a class method for Foo
all this is explained more clearly in the chapter about classes of the Pickaxe (the web version does not contain the diagrams, unfortunately) and _whys Seeing Metaclasses Clearly
Think of the class as containing a dictionary of members including all the accessors and instance variables. When you tell the class to "append" to "itself", you're saying "add these to the dictionary of class members."
I'll grant the notation is a little hinky, though.
it's actually confusing to think of it in terms of an "append" operator. a better way to look at it is that just as class Foo opens up class Foo, that is, it sets 'self' to the class object Foo, creating it if necessary, so class << self opens up the eigenclass of the current 'self' object. note that it is not limited to self - for any object bar, you can say class << bar to open up the eigenclass of that object.
class A
def hello
print "hello world"
end
end
a = A.new
b = A.new
class << a
def goodbye
print "goodbye cruel world"
end
end
a.hello
b.hello
a.goodbye
b.goodbye