| Class | Module |
| In: |
object.c
|
A Module is a collection of methods and constants. The methods in a module may be instance methods or module methods. Instance methods appear as methods in a class when the module is included, module methods do not. Conversely, module methods may be called without creating an encapsulating object, while instance methods may not. (See Module#module_function)
In the descriptions that follow, the parameter syml refers to a symbol, which is either a quoted string or a Symbol (such as :name).
module Mod
include Math
CONST = 1
def meth
# ...
end
end
Mod.class #=> Module
Mod.constants #=> ["E", "PI", "CONST"]
Mod.instance_methods #=> ["meth"]
Returns an array of the names of all constants defined in the system. This list includes the names of all modules and classes.
p Module.constants.sort[1..5]
produces:
["ARGV", "ArgumentError", "Array", "Bignum", "Binding"]
Returns the list of Modules nested at the point of call.
module M1
module M2
$a = Module.nesting
end
end
$a #=> [M1::M2, M1]
$a[0].name #=> "M1::M2"
Creates a new anonymous module. If a block is given, it is passed the module object, and the block is evaluated in the context of this module using module_eval.
Fred = Module.new do
def meth1
"hello"
end
def meth2
"bye"
end
end
a = "my string"
a.extend(Fred) #=> "my string"
a.meth1 #=> "hello"
a.meth2 #=> "bye"
Returns true if mod is a subclass of other. Returns nil if there‘s no relationship between the two. (Think of the relationship in terms of the class definition: "class A<B" implies "A<B").
Returns true if mod is a subclass of other or is the same as other. Returns nil if there‘s no relationship between the two. (Think of the relationship in terms of the class definition: "class A<B" implies "A<B").
Comparison—Returns -1 if mod includes other_mod, 0 if mod is the same as other_mod, and +1 if mod is included by other_mod or if mod has no relationship with other_mod. Returns nil if other_mod is not a module.
Equality—At the Object level, == returns true only if obj and other are the same object. Typically, this method is overridden in descendent classes to provide class-specific meaning.
Unlike ==, the equal? method should never be overridden by subclasses: it is used to determine object identity (that is, a.equal?(b) iff a is the same object as b).
The eql? method returns true if obj and anObject have the same value. Used by Hash to test members for equality. For objects of class Object, eql? is synonymous with ==. Subclasses normally continue this tradition, but there are exceptions. Numeric types, for example, perform type conversion across ==, but not across eql?, so:
1 == 1.0 #=> true 1.eql? 1.0 #=> false
Case Equality—Returns true if anObject is an instance of mod or one of mod‘s descendents. Of limited use for modules, but can be used in case statements to classify objects by class.
Returns true if mod is an ancestor of other. Returns nil if there‘s no relationship between the two. (Think of the relationship in terms of the class definition: "class A<B" implies "B>A").
Returns true if mod is an ancestor of other, or the two modules are the same. Returns nil if there‘s no relationship between the two. (Think of the relationship in terms of the class definition: "class A<B" implies "B>A").
Makes new_name a new copy of the method old_name. This can be used to retain access to methods that are overridden.
module Mod
alias_method :orig_exit, :exit
def exit(code=0)
puts "Exiting with code #{code}"
orig_exit(code)
end
end
include Mod
exit(99)
produces:
Exiting with code 99
Returns a list of modules included in mod (including mod itself).
module Mod
include Math
include Comparable
end
Mod.ancestors #=> [Mod, Comparable, Math]
Math.ancestors #=> [Math]
When this module is included in another, Ruby calls append_features in this module, passing it the receiving module in mod. Ruby‘s default implementation is to add the constants, methods, and module variables of this module to mod if this module has not already been added to mod or one of its ancestors. See also Module#include.
Defines a named attribute for this module, where the name is symbol.id2name, creating an instance variable (@name) and a corresponding access method to read it. If the optional writable argument is true, also creates a method called name= to set the attribute.
module Mod
attr :size, true
end
is equivalent to:
module Mod
def size
@size
end
def size=(val)
@size = val
end
end
Equivalent to calling ``attrsymbol, true’’ on each symbol in turn.
module Mod
attr_accessor(:one, :two)
end
Mod.instance_methods.sort #=> ["one", "one=", "two", "two="]
Evaluates the string or block in the context of mod. This can be used to add methods to a class. module_eval returns the result of evaluating its argument. The optional filename and lineno parameters set the text for error messages.
class Thing
end
a = %q{def hello() "Hello there!" end}
Thing.module_eval(a)
puts Thing.new.hello()
Thing.module_eval("invalid code", "dummy", 123)
produces:
Hello there!
dummy:123:in `module_eval': undefined local variable
or method `code' for Thing:Class
Returns true if the given class variable is defined in obj.
class Fred
@@foo = 99
end
Fred.class_variable_defined?(:@@foo) #=> true
Fred.class_variable_defined?(:@@bar) #=> false
Sets the class variable names by symbol to object.
class Fred
@@foo = 99
def foo
@@foo
end
end
def Fred.foo
class_variable_set(:@@foo, 101) #=> 101
end
Fred.foo
Fred.new.foo #=> 101
Returns an array of the names of class variables in mod and the ancestors of mod.
class One
@@var1 = 1
end
class Two < One
@@var2 = 2
end
One.class_variables #=> ["@@var1"]
Two.class_variables #=> ["@@var2", "@@var1"]
Returns true if a constant with the given name is defined by mod.
Math.const_defined? "PI" #=> true
Invoked when a reference is made to an undefined constant in mod. It is passed a symbol for the undefined constant, and returns a value to be used for that constant. The following code is a (very bad) example: if reference is made to an undefined constant, it attempts to load a file whose name is the lowercase version of the constant (thus class Fred is assumed to be in file fred.rb). If found, it returns the value of the loaded class. It therefore implements a perverse kind of autoload facility.
def Object.const_missing(name)
@looked_for ||= {}
str_name = name.to_s
raise "Class not found: #{name}" if @looked_for[str_name]
@looked_for[str_name] = 1
file = str_name.downcase
require file
klass = const_get(name)
return klass if klass
raise "Class not found: #{name}"
end
Defines an instance method in the receiver. The method parameter can be a Proc or Method object. If a block is specified, it is used as the method body. This block is evaluated using instance_eval, a point that is tricky to demonstrate because define_method is private. (This is why we resort to the send hack in this example.)
class A
def fred
puts "In Fred"
end
def create_method(name, &block)
self.class.send(:define_method, name, &block)
end
define_method(:wilma) { puts "Charge it!" }
end
class B < A
define_method(:barney, instance_method(:fred))
end
a = B.new
a.barney
a.wilma
a.create_method(:betty) { p self }
a.betty
produces:
In Fred Charge it! #<B:0x401b39e8>
Extends the specified object by adding this module‘s constants and methods (which are added as singleton methods). This is the callback method used by Object#extend.
module Picky
def Picky.extend_object(o)
if String === o
puts "Can't add Picky to a String"
else
puts "Picky added to #{o.class}"
super
end
end
end
(s = Array.new).extend Picky # Call Object.extend
(s = "quick brown fox").extend Picky
produces:
Picky added to Array Can't add Picky to a String
Callback invoked whenever the receiver is included in another module or class. This should be used in preference to Module.append_features if your code wants to perform some action when a module is included in another.
module A
def A.included(mod)
puts "#{self} included in #{mod}"
end
end
module Enumerable
include A
end
Returns the list of modules included in mod.
module Mixin
end
module Outer
include Mixin
end
Mixin.included_modules #=> []
Outer.included_modules #=> [Mixin]
Returns an UnboundMethod representing the given instance method in mod.
class Interpreter
def do_a() print "there, "; end
def do_d() print "Hello "; end
def do_e() print "!\n"; end
def do_v() print "Dave"; end
Dispatcher = {
?a => instance_method(:do_a),
?d => instance_method(:do_d),
?e => instance_method(:do_e),
?v => instance_method(:do_v)
}
def interpret(string)
string.each_byte {|b| Dispatcher[b].bind(self).call }
end
end
interpreter = Interpreter.new
interpreter.interpret('dave')
produces:
Hello there, Dave!
Returns an array containing the names of public instance methods in the receiver. For a module, these are the public methods; for a class, they are the instance (not singleton) methods. With no argument, or with an argument that is false, the instance methods in mod are returned, otherwise the methods in mod and mod‘s superclasses are returned.
module A
def method1() end
end
class B
def method2() end
end
class C < B
def method3() end
end
A.instance_methods #=> ["method1"]
B.instance_methods(false) #=> ["method2"]
C.instance_methods(false) #=> ["method3"]
C.instance_methods(true).length #=> 43
Returns true if the named method is defined by mod (or its included modules and, if mod is a class, its ancestors). Public and protected methods are matched.
module A
def method1() end
end
class B
def method2() end
end
class C < B
include A
def method3() end
end
A.method_defined? :method1 #=> true
C.method_defined? "method1" #=> true
C.method_defined? "method2" #=> true
C.method_defined? "method3" #=> true
C.method_defined? "method4" #=> false
Evaluates the string or block in the context of mod. This can be used to add methods to a class. module_eval returns the result of evaluating its argument. The optional filename and lineno parameters set the text for error messages.
class Thing
end
a = %q{def hello() "Hello there!" end}
Thing.module_eval(a)
puts Thing.new.hello()
Thing.module_eval("invalid code", "dummy", 123)
produces:
Hello there!
dummy:123:in `module_eval': undefined local variable
or method `code' for Thing:Class
Creates module functions for the named methods. These functions may be called with the module as a receiver, and also become available as instance methods to classes that mix in the module. Module functions are copies of the original, and so may be changed independently. The instance-method versions are made private. If used with no arguments, subsequently defined methods become module functions.
module Mod
def one
"This is one"
end
module_function :one
end
class Cls
include Mod
def callOne
one
end
end
Mod.one #=> "This is one"
c = Cls.new
c.callOne #=> "This is one"
module Mod
def one
"This is the new one"
end
end
Mod.one #=> "This is one"
c.callOne #=> "This is the new one"
Returns true if the named private method is defined by _ mod_ (or its included modules and, if mod is a class, its ancestors).
module A
def method1() end
end
class B
private
def method2() end
end
class C < B
include A
def method3() end
end
A.method_defined? :method1 #=> true
C.private_method_defined? "method1" #=> false
C.private_method_defined? "method2" #=> true
C.method_defined? "method2" #=> false
Returns true if the named protected method is defined by mod (or its included modules and, if mod is a class, its ancestors).
module A
def method1() end
end
class B
protected
def method2() end
end
class C < B
include A
def method3() end
end
A.method_defined? :method1 #=> true
C.protected_method_defined? "method1" #=> false
C.protected_method_defined? "method2" #=> true
C.method_defined? "method2" #=> true
Returns true if the named public method is defined by mod (or its included modules and, if mod is a class, its ancestors).
module A
def method1() end
end
class B
protected
def method2() end
end
class C < B
include A
def method3() end
end
A.method_defined? :method1 #=> true
C.public_method_defined? "method1" #=> true
C.public_method_defined? "method2" #=> false
C.method_defined? "method2" #=> true
Removes the definition of the sym, returning that constant‘s value.
class Dummy
@@var = 99
puts @@var
remove_class_variable(:@@var)
puts(defined? @@var)
end
produces:
99 nil
Removes the definition of the given constant, returning that constant‘s value. Predefined classes and singleton objects (such as true) cannot be removed.
Removes the method identified by symbol from the current class. For an example, see Module.undef_method.
Return a string representing this module or class. For basic classes and modules, this is the name. For singletons, we show information on the thing we‘re attached to as well.
Prevents the current class from responding to calls to the named method. Contrast this with remove_method, which deletes the method from the particular class; Ruby will still search superclasses and mixed-in modules for a possible receiver.
class Parent
def hello
puts "In parent"
end
end
class Child < Parent
def hello
puts "In child"
end
end
c = Child.new
c.hello
class Child
remove_method :hello # remove from child, still in parent
end
c.hello
class Child
undef_method :hello # prevent any calls to 'hello'
end
c.hello
produces:
In child In parent prog.rb:23: undefined method `hello' for #<Child:0x401b3bb4> (NoMethodError)
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