Allow attribute defaults to be objects with overloaded codification.
[gitmo/Class-MOP.git] / lib / Class / MOP / Attribute.pm
CommitLineData
8b978dd5 1
2package Class::MOP::Attribute;
3
4use strict;
5use warnings;
6
ba38bf08 7use Class::MOP::Method::Accessor;
8
2eb717d5 9use Carp 'confess';
9b522fc4 10use Scalar::Util 'blessed', 'weaken';
2eb717d5 11
cacb672e 12our $VERSION = '0.72';
d519662a 13$VERSION = eval $VERSION;
f0480c45 14our $AUTHORITY = 'cpan:STEVAN';
8b978dd5 15
b1897d4d 16use base 'Class::MOP::Object';
17
727919c5 18# NOTE: (meta-circularity)
1d68af04 19# This method will be replaced in the
20# boostrap section of Class::MOP, by
21# a new version which uses the
727919c5 22# &Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance
23# method to build an attribute meta-object
24# which itself is described with attribute
1d68af04 25# meta-objects.
727919c5 26# - Ain't meta-circularity grand? :)
8b978dd5 27sub new {
649efb63 28 my ( $class, @args ) = @_;
29
30 unshift @args, "name" if @args % 2 == 1;
31 my %options = @args;
32
33 my $name = $options{name};
1d68af04 34
cbd9f942 35 (defined $name && $name)
8b978dd5 36 || confess "You must provide a name for the attribute";
1d68af04 37
38 $options{init_arg} = $name
5659d76e 39 if not exists $options{init_arg};
1d68af04 40 if(exists $options{builder}){
41 confess("builder must be a defined scalar value which is a method name")
42 if ref $options{builder} || !(defined $options{builder});
43 confess("Setting both default and builder is not allowed.")
44 if exists $options{default};
8fe581e5 45 } else {
46 (is_default_a_coderef(\%options))
47 || confess("References are not allowed as default values, you must ".
3c0a8087 48 "wrap the default of '$name' in a CODE reference (ex: sub { [] } and not [])")
8fe581e5 49 if exists $options{default} && ref $options{default};
1d68af04 50 }
2e877f58 51 if( $options{required} and not( defined($options{builder}) || defined($options{init_arg}) || exists $options{default} ) ) {
52 confess("A required attribute must have either 'init_arg', 'builder', or 'default'");
53 }
8683db0e 54
cb75020f 55 $class->_new(\%options);
4b698b1a 56}
57
58sub _new {
0bfc85b8 59 my $class = shift;
60 my $options = @_ == 1 ? $_[0] : {@_};
4b698b1a 61
8b978dd5 62 bless {
0bfc85b8 63 'name' => $options->{name},
64 'accessor' => $options->{accessor},
65 'reader' => $options->{reader},
66 'writer' => $options->{writer},
67 'predicate' => $options->{predicate},
68 'clearer' => $options->{clearer},
69 'builder' => $options->{builder},
70 'init_arg' => $options->{init_arg},
71 'default' => $options->{default},
72 'initializer' => $options->{initializer},
1d68af04 73 # keep a weakened link to the
9ec169fe 74 # class we are associated with
8683db0e 75 'associated_class' => undef,
1d68af04 76 # and a list of the methods
3545c727 77 # associated with this attr
8683db0e 78 'associated_methods' => [],
0bfc85b8 79 }, $class;
8b978dd5 80}
81
7b31baf4 82# NOTE:
1d68af04 83# this is a primative (and kludgy) clone operation
16e960bd 84# for now, it will be replaced in the Class::MOP
1d68af04 85# bootstrap with a proper one, however we know
5659d76e 86# that this one will work fine for now.
87sub clone {
88 my $self = shift;
89 my %options = @_;
90 (blessed($self))
91 || confess "Can only clone an instance";
b3fa93c7 92 return bless { %{$self}, %options } => ref($self);
5659d76e 93}
94
bd4e03f9 95sub initialize_instance_slot {
f892c0f0 96 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $params) = @_;
8683db0e 97 my $init_arg = $self->{'init_arg'};
98
bd4e03f9 99 # try to fetch the init arg from the %params ...
8d2d4c67 100
1d68af04 101 # if nothing was in the %params, we can use the
bd4e03f9 102 # attribute's default value (if it has one)
2e877f58 103 if(defined $init_arg and exists $params->{$init_arg}){
8ee74136 104 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
105 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 106 $instance,
0ab65f99 107 $params->{$init_arg},
0ab65f99 108 );
b7bdffc3 109 }
8683db0e 110 elsif (defined $self->{'default'}) {
8ee74136 111 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
112 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 113 $instance,
0ab65f99 114 $self->default($instance),
0ab65f99 115 );
b7bdffc3 116 }
8683db0e 117 elsif (defined( my $builder = $self->{'builder'})) {
b7bdffc3 118 if ($builder = $instance->can($builder)) {
8ee74136 119 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
120 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 121 $instance,
0ab65f99 122 $instance->$builder,
0ab65f99 123 );
b7bdffc3 124 }
125 else {
b3fa93c7 126 confess(ref($instance)." does not support builder method '". $self->{'builder'} ."' for attribute '" . $self->name . "'");
8fe581e5 127 }
1d68af04 128 }
bd4e03f9 129}
130
8ee74136 131sub _set_initial_slot_value {
132 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $value) = @_;
133
134 my $slot_name = $self->name;
135
136 return $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $value)
137 unless $self->has_initializer;
138
139 my $callback = sub {
140 $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $_[0]);
141 };
142
143 my $initializer = $self->initializer;
144
145 # most things will just want to set a value, so make it first arg
146 $instance->$initializer($value, $callback, $self);
147}
148
5659d76e 149# NOTE:
1d68af04 150# the next bunch of methods will get bootstrapped
7b31baf4 151# away in the Class::MOP bootstrapping section
152
8683db0e 153sub name { $_[0]->{'name'} }
154
155sub associated_class { $_[0]->{'associated_class'} }
156sub associated_methods { $_[0]->{'associated_methods'} }
157
b3fa93c7 158sub has_accessor { defined($_[0]->{'accessor'}) }
159sub has_reader { defined($_[0]->{'reader'}) }
160sub has_writer { defined($_[0]->{'writer'}) }
161sub has_predicate { defined($_[0]->{'predicate'}) }
162sub has_clearer { defined($_[0]->{'clearer'}) }
163sub has_builder { defined($_[0]->{'builder'}) }
164sub has_init_arg { defined($_[0]->{'init_arg'}) }
165sub has_default { defined($_[0]->{'default'}) }
166sub has_initializer { defined($_[0]->{'initializer'}) }
8683db0e 167
168sub accessor { $_[0]->{'accessor'} }
169sub reader { $_[0]->{'reader'} }
170sub writer { $_[0]->{'writer'} }
171sub predicate { $_[0]->{'predicate'} }
172sub clearer { $_[0]->{'clearer'} }
173sub builder { $_[0]->{'builder'} }
174sub init_arg { $_[0]->{'init_arg'} }
175sub initializer { $_[0]->{'initializer'} }
c50c603e 176
7b31baf4 177# end bootstrapped away method section.
178# (all methods below here are kept intact)
179
9e517e01 180sub has_read_method { $_[0]->has_reader || $_[0]->has_accessor }
181sub has_write_method { $_[0]->has_writer || $_[0]->has_accessor }
182
d14f6cbe 183sub get_read_method {
184 my $self = shift;
185 my $reader = $self->reader || $self->accessor;
186 # normal case ...
187 return $reader unless ref $reader;
188 # the HASH ref case
189 my ($name) = %$reader;
190 return $name;
191}
192
193sub get_write_method {
194 my $self = shift;
195 my $writer = $self->writer || $self->accessor;
196 # normal case ...
197 return $writer unless ref $writer;
198 # the HASH ref case
199 my ($name) = %$writer;
200 return $name;
201}
b25109b1 202
5da16d1b 203sub get_read_method_ref {
204 my $self = shift;
742fb371 205 if ((my $reader = $self->get_read_method) && $self->associated_class) {
5da16d1b 206 return $self->associated_class->get_method($reader);
207 }
208 else {
def5c0b5 209 my $code = sub { $self->get_value(@_) };
210 if (my $class = $self->associated_class) {
211 return $class->method_metaclass->wrap(
212 $code,
213 package_name => $class->name,
214 name => '__ANON__'
215 );
216 }
217 else {
218 return $code;
219 }
5da16d1b 220 }
221}
222
223sub get_write_method_ref {
224 my $self = shift;
d14f6cbe 225 if ((my $writer = $self->get_write_method) && $self->associated_class) {
742fb371 226 return $self->associated_class->get_method($writer);
5da16d1b 227 }
228 else {
def5c0b5 229 my $code = sub { $self->set_value(@_) };
230 if (my $class = $self->associated_class) {
231 return $class->method_metaclass->wrap(
232 $code,
233 package_name => $class->name,
234 name => '__ANON__'
235 );
236 }
237 else {
238 return $code;
239 }
5da16d1b 240 }
241}
242
1d68af04 243sub is_default_a_coderef {
3d4db6ec 244 my ($value) = $_[0]->{'default'};
245 return unless ref($value);
246 return ref($value) eq 'CODE' || (blessed($value) && $value->can('(&{}'));
c0cbf4d9 247}
248
1d68af04 249sub default {
c0cbf4d9 250 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
9363ea89 251 if (defined $instance && $self->is_default_a_coderef) {
1d68af04 252 # if the default is a CODE ref, then
727919c5 253 # we pass in the instance and default
1d68af04 254 # can return a value based on that
727919c5 255 # instance. Somewhat crude, but works.
8683db0e 256 return $self->{'default'}->($instance);
1d68af04 257 }
8683db0e 258 $self->{'default'};
c50c603e 259}
8b978dd5 260
c57c8b10 261# slots
262
263sub slots { (shift)->name }
264
1d68af04 265# class association
727919c5 266
9ec169fe 267sub attach_to_class {
268 my ($self, $class) = @_;
269 (blessed($class) && $class->isa('Class::MOP::Class'))
270 || confess "You must pass a Class::MOP::Class instance (or a subclass)";
8683db0e 271 weaken($self->{'associated_class'} = $class);
9ec169fe 272}
273
274sub detach_from_class {
275 my $self = shift;
8683db0e 276 $self->{'associated_class'} = undef;
9ec169fe 277}
278
1d68af04 279# method association
3545c727 280
281sub associate_method {
282 my ($self, $method) = @_;
8683db0e 283 push @{$self->{'associated_methods'}} => $method;
3545c727 284}
285
16e960bd 286## Slot management
287
ef91a0e2 288sub set_initial_value {
289 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
e76b01fb 290 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
b3fa93c7 291 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))->get_meta_instance,
8ee74136 292 $instance,
293 $value
294 );
ef91a0e2 295}
296
16e960bd 297sub set_value {
1396f86b 298 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
16e960bd 299
b3fa93c7 300 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))
da34f054 301 ->get_meta_instance
302 ->set_slot_value($instance, $self->name, $value);
16e960bd 303}
304
305sub get_value {
1396f86b 306 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
16e960bd 307
b3fa93c7 308 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))
da34f054 309 ->get_meta_instance
310 ->get_slot_value($instance, $self->name);
16e960bd 311}
312
3545c727 313sub has_value {
314 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 315
b3fa93c7 316 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))
da34f054 317 ->get_meta_instance
318 ->is_slot_initialized($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 319}
320
321sub clear_value {
322 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 323
b3fa93c7 324 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))
da34f054 325 ->get_meta_instance
326 ->deinitialize_slot($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 327}
328
ba38bf08 329## load em up ...
c0cbf4d9 330
ba38bf08 331sub accessor_metaclass { 'Class::MOP::Method::Accessor' }
c0cbf4d9 332
9ec169fe 333sub process_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 334 my ($self, $type, $accessor, $generate_as_inline_methods) = @_;
9b522fc4 335 if (ref($accessor)) {
336 (ref($accessor) eq 'HASH')
7d28758b 337 || confess "bad accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer format, must be a HASH ref";
4d47b77f 338 my ($name, $method) = %{$accessor};
4c105333 339 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->wrap(
340 $method,
341 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
342 name => $name,
343 );
3545c727 344 $self->associate_method($method);
1d68af04 345 return ($name, $method);
2eb717d5 346 }
9ec169fe 347 else {
1d68af04 348 my $inline_me = ($generate_as_inline_methods && $self->associated_class->instance_metaclass->is_inlinable);
ba38bf08 349 my $method;
350 eval {
351 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->new(
352 attribute => $self,
d90b42a6 353 is_inline => $inline_me,
ba38bf08 354 accessor_type => $type,
4c105333 355 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
356 name => $accessor,
1d68af04 357 );
ba38bf08 358 };
1d68af04 359 confess "Could not create the '$type' method for " . $self->name . " because : $@" if $@;
3545c727 360 $self->associate_method($method);
ba38bf08 361 return ($accessor, $method);
1d68af04 362 }
9ec169fe 363}
364
365sub install_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 366 my $self = shift;
367 my $inline = shift;
368 my $class = $self->associated_class;
1d68af04 369
9ec169fe 370 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 371 $self->process_accessors('accessor' => $self->accessor(), $inline)
9ec169fe 372 ) if $self->has_accessor();
373
1d68af04 374 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 375 $self->process_accessors('reader' => $self->reader(), $inline)
9ec169fe 376 ) if $self->has_reader();
377
378 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 379 $self->process_accessors('writer' => $self->writer(), $inline)
9ec169fe 380 ) if $self->has_writer();
381
382 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 383 $self->process_accessors('predicate' => $self->predicate(), $inline)
9ec169fe 384 ) if $self->has_predicate();
1d68af04 385
7d28758b 386 $class->add_method(
387 $self->process_accessors('clearer' => $self->clearer(), $inline)
388 ) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 389
9ec169fe 390 return;
2eb717d5 391}
392
b51af7f9 393{
394 my $_remove_accessor = sub {
395 my ($accessor, $class) = @_;
9b522fc4 396 if (ref($accessor) && ref($accessor) eq 'HASH') {
c50c603e 397 ($accessor) = keys %{$accessor};
1d68af04 398 }
399 my $method = $class->get_method($accessor);
400 $class->remove_method($accessor)
b3fa93c7 401 if (ref($method) && $method->isa('Class::MOP::Method::Accessor'));
b51af7f9 402 };
1d68af04 403
b51af7f9 404 sub remove_accessors {
9ec169fe 405 my $self = shift;
2367814a 406 # TODO:
1d68af04 407 # we really need to make sure to remove from the
408 # associates methods here as well. But this is
409 # such a slimly used method, I am not worried
2367814a 410 # about it right now.
9ec169fe 411 $_remove_accessor->($self->accessor(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_accessor();
412 $_remove_accessor->($self->reader(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_reader();
413 $_remove_accessor->($self->writer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_writer();
414 $_remove_accessor->($self->predicate(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_predicate();
7d28758b 415 $_remove_accessor->($self->clearer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 416 return;
b51af7f9 417 }
418
8b978dd5 419}
420
4211;
422
423__END__
424
425=pod
426
1d68af04 427=head1 NAME
8b978dd5 428
429Class::MOP::Attribute - Attribute Meta Object
430
431=head1 SYNOPSIS
1d68af04 432
f91a23dd 433 Class::MOP::Attribute->new( foo => (
fe122940 434 accessor => 'foo', # dual purpose get/set accessor
1d68af04 435 predicate => 'has_foo' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 436 init_arg => '-foo', # class->new will look for a -foo key
437 default => 'BAR IS BAZ!' # if no -foo key is provided, use this
8b978dd5 438 ));
1d68af04 439
f91a23dd 440 Class::MOP::Attribute->new( bar => (
fe122940 441 reader => 'bar', # getter
1d68af04 442 writer => 'set_bar', # setter
443 predicate => 'has_bar' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 444 init_arg => ':bar', # class->new will look for a :bar key
8b978dd5 445 # no default value means it is undef
446 ));
447
448=head1 DESCRIPTION
449
fe122940 450The Attribute Protocol is almost entirely an invention of this module,
1d68af04 451and is completely optional to this MOP. This is because Perl 5 does not
452have consistent notion of what is an attribute of a class. There are
453so many ways in which this is done, and very few (if any) are
fe122940 454easily discoverable by this module.
552e3d24 455
1d68af04 456So, all that said, this module attempts to inject some order into this
457chaos, by introducing a consistent API which can be used to create
fe122940 458object attributes.
552e3d24 459
460=head1 METHODS
461
462=head2 Creation
463
464=over 4
465
fe122940 466=item B<new ($name, ?%options)>
467
1d68af04 468An attribute must (at the very least), have a C<$name>. All other
a2e85e6c 469C<%options> are contained added as key-value pairs. Acceptable keys
fe122940 470are as follows:
471
472=over 4
473
474=item I<init_arg>
475
1d68af04 476This should be a string value representing the expected key in
477an initialization hash. For instance, if we have an I<init_arg>
fe122940 478value of C<-foo>, then the following code will Just Work.
479
480 MyClass->meta->construct_instance(-foo => "Hello There");
481
1d68af04 482In an init_arg is not assigned, it will automatically use the
0ef07b33 483value of C<$name>. If an explicit C<undef> is given for an init_arg,
484an attribute value can't be specified during initialization.
7b31baf4 485
1d68af04 486=item I<builder>
487
488The value of this key is the name of the method that will be
489called to obtain the value used to initialize the attribute.
490This should be a method in the class associated with the attribute,
491not a method in the attribute class itself.
fe122940 492
4c4a6c41 493=item I<default>
494
495The value of this key is the default value which
496C<Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance> will initialize the
497attribute to.
498
fe122940 499B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 500If the value is a simple scalar (string or number), then it can
501be just passed as is. However, if you wish to initialize it with
502a HASH or ARRAY ref, then you need to wrap that inside a CODE
fe122940 503reference, like so:
504
505 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('@foo' => (
506 default => sub { [] },
507 ));
1d68af04 508
509 # or ...
510
fe122940 511 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%foo' => (
512 default => sub { {} },
1d68af04 513 ));
fe122940 514
1d68af04 515If you wish to initialize an attribute with a CODE reference
fe122940 516itself, then you need to wrap that in a subroutine as well, like
517so:
1d68af04 518
fe122940 519 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('&foo' => (
520 default => sub { sub { print "Hello World" } },
521 ));
522
1d68af04 523And lastly, if the value of your attribute is dependent upon
524some other aspect of the instance structure, then you can take
525advantage of the fact that when the I<default> value is a CODE
127d39a7 526reference, it is passed the (as yet unfinished) instance structure
fe122940 527as it's only argument. So you can do things like this:
528
529 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$object_identity' => (
530 default => sub { Scalar::Util::refaddr($_[0]) },
531 ));
532
1d68af04 533This last feature is fairly limited as there is no gurantee of
534the order of attribute initializations, so you cannot perform
535any kind of dependent initializations. However, if this is
536something you need, you could subclass B<Class::MOP::Class> and
537this class to acheive it. However, this is currently left as
fe122940 538an exercise to the reader :).
539
0ef07b33 540=item I<initializer>
541
542This may be a method name (referring to a method on the class with this
543attribute) or a CODE ref. The initializer is used to set the attribute value
544on an instance when the attribute is set during instance initialization. When
545called, it is passed the instance (as the invocant), the value to set, a
546slot-setting CODE ref, and the attribute meta-instance. The slot-setting code
547is provided to make it easy to set the (possibly altered) value on the instance
548without going through several more method calls.
549
0ef07b33 550This contrived example shows an initializer that sets the attribute to twice
551the given value.
552
553 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$doubled' => (
554 initializer => sub {
555 my ($instance, $value, $set) = @_;
556 $set->($value * 2);
557 },
558 ));
559
560As method names can be given as initializers, one can easily make
561attribute initialization use the writer:
562
563 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$some_attr' => (
564 writer => 'some_attr',
565 initializer => 'some_attr',
566 ));
567
127d39a7 568Your writer will simply need to examine it's C<@_> and determine under
569which context it is being called.
570
fe122940 571=back
572
7d28758b 573The I<accessor>, I<reader>, I<writer>, I<predicate> and I<clearer> keys can
574contain either; the name of the method and an appropriate default one will be
575generated for you, B<or> a HASH ref containing exactly one key (which will be
576used as the name of the method) and one value, which should contain a CODE
577reference which will be installed as the method itself.
59e7697f 578
579=over 4
580
581=item I<accessor>
582
1d68af04 583The I<accessor> is a standard perl-style read/write accessor. It will
584return the value of the attribute, and if a value is passed as an argument,
fe122940 585it will assign that value to the attribute.
586
587B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 588This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 589C<undef> value to the attribute.
590
591 $object->set_something(undef);
592
59e7697f 593=item I<reader>
594
1d68af04 595This is a basic read-only accessor, it will just return the value of
fe122940 596the attribute.
597
59e7697f 598=item I<writer>
599
1d68af04 600This is a basic write accessor, it accepts a single argument, and
601assigns that value to the attribute. This method does not intentially
602return a value, however perl will return the result of the last
603expression in the subroutine, which returns in this returning the
604same value that it was passed.
59e7697f 605
fe122940 606B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 607This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 608C<undef> value to the attribute.
59e7697f 609
fe122940 610 $object->set_something();
611
612=item I<predicate>
613
07dca7e3 614This is a basic test to see if any value has been set for the
615attribute. It will return true (C<1>) if the attribute has been set
616to any value (even C<undef>), and false (C<0>) otherwise.
617
618B<NOTE:>
619The predicate will return true even when you set an attribute's
620value to C<undef>. This behaviour has changed as of version 0.43. In
621older versions, the predicate (erroneously) checked for attribute
622value definedness, instead of presence as it is now.
623
624If you really want to get rid of the value, you have to define and
625use a I<clearer> (see below).
626
7d28758b 627=item I<clearer>
628
629This is the a method that will uninitialize the attr, reverting lazy values
630back to their "unfulfilled" state.
631
59e7697f 632=back
552e3d24 633
bd4e03f9 634=item B<clone (%options)>
635
127d39a7 636This will return a clone of the attribute instance, allowing the overriding
637of various attributes through the C<%options> supplied.
638
bd4e03f9 639=item B<initialize_instance_slot ($instance, $params)>
640
127d39a7 641This method is used internally to initialize the approriate slot for this
642attribute in a given C<$instance>, the C<$params> passed are those that were
643passed to the constructor.
644
1d68af04 645=back
552e3d24 646
16e960bd 647=head2 Value management
648
1d68af04 649These methods are basically "backdoors" to the instance, which can be used
650to bypass the regular accessors, but still stay within the context of the MOP.
2367814a 651
1d68af04 652These methods are not for general use, and should only be used if you really
2367814a 653know what you are doing.
654
16e960bd 655=over 4
656
3545c727 657=item B<set_value ($instance, $value)>
16e960bd 658
659Set the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done to
660even attributes with just read only accessors.
661
c0921932 662=item B<set_initial_value ($instance, $value)>
663
664This method sets the value without going through the accessor -- but it is only
665called when the instance data is first initialized.
666
3545c727 667=item B<get_value ($instance)>
16e960bd 668
669Return the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done
670even to attributes with just write only accessors.
671
3545c727 672=item B<has_value ($instance)>
673
92d2abfa 674Return a boolean indicating if the item in the C<$instance> has a value in it.
2367814a 675This is basically what the default C<predicate> method calls.
676
3545c727 677=item B<clear_value ($instance)>
678
2367814a 679This will clear the value in the C<$instance>. This is basically what the default
1d68af04 680C<clearer> would call. Note that this may be done even if the attirbute does not
2367814a 681have any associated read, write or clear methods.
682
16e960bd 683=back
684
552e3d24 685=head2 Informational
686
1d68af04 687These are all basic read-only value accessors for the values
fe122940 688passed into C<new>. I think they are pretty much self-explanitory.
689
552e3d24 690=over 4
691
692=item B<name>
693
694=item B<accessor>
695
696=item B<reader>
697
698=item B<writer>
699
c50c603e 700=item B<predicate>
701
7d28758b 702=item B<clearer>
703
0ab65f99 704=item B<initializer>
705
552e3d24 706=item B<init_arg>
707
495af518 708=item B<is_default_a_coderef>
709
fe122940 710=item B<default (?$instance)>
711
92d2abfa 712Return the default value for the attribute.
713
714If you pass in an C<$instance> argument to this accessor and the
715I<default> is a CODE reference, then the CODE reference will be
716executed with the C<$instance> as its argument.
552e3d24 717
c57c8b10 718=item B<slots>
719
92d2abfa 720Return a list of slots required by the attribute. This is usually
c57c8b10 721just one, which is the name of the attribute.
722
b25109b1 723=item B<get_read_method>
724
725=item B<get_write_method>
726
5da16d1b 727Return the name of a method name suitable for reading / writing the value
728of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
729C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
730
731=item B<get_read_method_ref>
732
733=item B<get_write_method_ref>
734
735Return the CODE reference of a method suitable for reading / writing the
736value of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
737C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was specified or not.
738
127d39a7 739NOTE: If no reader/writer/accessor was specified, this will use the
5da16d1b 740attribute get_value/set_value methods, which can be very inefficient.
b25109b1 741
9e517e01 742=item B<has_read_method>
743
744=item B<has_write_method>
745
746Return whether a method exists suitable for reading / writing the value
747of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
748C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
749
552e3d24 750=back
751
752=head2 Informational predicates
753
a2e85e6c 754These are all basic predicate methods for the values passed into C<new>.
fe122940 755
552e3d24 756=over 4
757
758=item B<has_accessor>
759
552e3d24 760=item B<has_reader>
761
552e3d24 762=item B<has_writer>
763
c50c603e 764=item B<has_predicate>
765
7d28758b 766=item B<has_clearer>
767
0ab65f99 768=item B<has_initializer>
769
552e3d24 770=item B<has_init_arg>
771
552e3d24 772=item B<has_default>
773
bf731086 774=item B<has_builder>
775
552e3d24 776=back
777
9ec169fe 778=head2 Class association
779
1d68af04 780These methods allow you to manage the attributes association with
781the class that contains it. These methods should not be used
2367814a 782lightly, nor are they very magical, they are mostly used internally
783and by metaclass instances.
784
9ec169fe 785=over 4
786
787=item B<associated_class>
788
2367814a 789This returns the metaclass this attribute is associated with.
790
9ec169fe 791=item B<attach_to_class ($class)>
792
1d68af04 793This will store a weaken reference to C<$class> internally. You should
2367814a 794note that just changing the class assocation will not remove the attribute
795from it's old class, and initialize it (and it's accessors) in the new
796C<$class>. It is up to you to do this manually.
797
9ec169fe 798=item B<detach_from_class>
799
1d68af04 800This will remove the weakened reference to the class. It does B<not>
801remove the attribute itself from the class (or remove it's accessors),
802you must do that yourself if you want too. Actually if that is what
803you want to do, you should probably be looking at
2367814a 804L<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute> instead.
805
9ec169fe 806=back
807
552e3d24 808=head2 Attribute Accessor generation
809
810=over 4
811
ba38bf08 812=item B<accessor_metaclass>
813
2367814a 814Accessors are generated by an accessor metaclass, which is usually
1d68af04 815a subclass of C<Class::MOP::Method::Accessor>. This method returns
2367814a 816the name of the accessor metaclass that this attribute uses.
817
818=item B<associate_method ($method)>
819
1d68af04 820This will associate a C<$method> with the given attribute which is
821used internally by the accessor generator.
3545c727 822
823=item B<associated_methods>
824
1d68af04 825This will return the list of methods which have been associated with
127d39a7 826the C<associate_method> methods. This is a good way of seeing what
827methods are used to manage a given attribute.
2367814a 828
9ec169fe 829=item B<install_accessors>
2eb717d5 830
1d68af04 831This allows the attribute to generate and install code for it's own
832I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate> methods. This is called by
fe122940 833C<Class::MOP::Class::add_attribute>.
2eb717d5 834
1d68af04 835This method will call C<process_accessors> for each of the possible
9ec169fe 836method types (accessor, reader, writer & predicate).
837
838=item B<process_accessors ($type, $value)>
839
1d68af04 840This takes a C<$type> (accessor, reader, writer or predicate), and
9ec169fe 841a C<$value> (the value passed into the constructor for each of the
1d68af04 842different types). It will then either generate the method itself
843(using the C<generate_*_method> methods listed below) or it will
844use the custom method passed through the constructor.
9ec169fe 845
9ec169fe 846=item B<remove_accessors>
2eb717d5 847
1d68af04 848This allows the attribute to remove the method for it's own
849I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer>. This is called by
fe122940 850C<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute>.
2eb717d5 851
1d68af04 852NOTE: This does not currently remove methods from the list returned
2367814a 853by C<associated_methods>, that is on the TODO list.
854
2eb717d5 855=back
856
857=head2 Introspection
858
859=over 4
552e3d24 860
2eb717d5 861=item B<meta>
552e3d24 862
1d68af04 863This will return a B<Class::MOP::Class> instance which is related
fe122940 864to this class.
865
1d68af04 866It should also be noted that B<Class::MOP> will actually bootstrap
867this module by installing a number of attribute meta-objects into
127d39a7 868it's metaclass. This will allow this class to reap all the benefits
1d68af04 869of the MOP when subclassing it.
fe122940 870
552e3d24 871=back
872
1a09d9cc 873=head1 AUTHORS
8b978dd5 874
a2e85e6c 875Stevan Little E<lt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<gt>
8b978dd5 876
877=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
878
69e3ab0a 879Copyright 2006-2008 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
8b978dd5 880
881L<http://www.iinteractive.com>
882
883This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
1d68af04 884it under the same terms as Perl itself.
8b978dd5 885
16e960bd 886=cut
887
7d28758b 888