adding Sub::Identify 0.03 stuff
[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';
9ec169fe 10use Scalar::Util 'blessed', 'reftype', 'weaken';
2eb717d5 11
d7b2249e 12our $VERSION = '0.24';
f0480c45 13our $AUTHORITY = 'cpan:STEVAN';
8b978dd5 14
b1897d4d 15use base 'Class::MOP::Object';
16
727919c5 17# NOTE: (meta-circularity)
1d68af04 18# This method will be replaced in the
19# boostrap section of Class::MOP, by
20# a new version which uses the
727919c5 21# &Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance
22# method to build an attribute meta-object
23# which itself is described with attribute
1d68af04 24# meta-objects.
727919c5 25# - Ain't meta-circularity grand? :)
8b978dd5 26sub new {
27 my $class = shift;
28 my $name = shift;
1d68af04 29 my %options = @_;
30
cbd9f942 31 (defined $name && $name)
8b978dd5 32 || confess "You must provide a name for the attribute";
1d68af04 33
34 $options{init_arg} = $name
5659d76e 35 if not exists $options{init_arg};
1d68af04 36 if(exists $options{builder}){
37 confess("builder must be a defined scalar value which is a method name")
38 if ref $options{builder} || !(defined $options{builder});
39 confess("Setting both default and builder is not allowed.")
40 if exists $options{default};
8fe581e5 41 } else {
42 (is_default_a_coderef(\%options))
43 || confess("References are not allowed as default values, you must ".
3c0a8087 44 "wrap the default of '$name' in a CODE reference (ex: sub { [] } and not [])")
8fe581e5 45 if exists $options{default} && ref $options{default};
1d68af04 46 }
2e877f58 47 if( $options{required} and not( defined($options{builder}) || defined($options{init_arg}) || exists $options{default} ) ) {
48 confess("A required attribute must have either 'init_arg', 'builder', or 'default'");
49 }
8b978dd5 50 bless {
c23184fc 51 '$!name' => $name,
52 '$!accessor' => $options{accessor},
53 '$!reader' => $options{reader},
8ee74136 54 '$!writer' => $options{writer},
55 '$!predicate' => $options{predicate},
56 '$!clearer' => $options{clearer},
57 '$!builder' => $options{builder},
58 '$!init_arg' => $options{init_arg},
59 '$!default' => $options{default},
60 '$!initializer' => $options{initializer},
1d68af04 61 # keep a weakened link to the
9ec169fe 62 # class we are associated with
c23184fc 63 '$!associated_class' => undef,
1d68af04 64 # and a list of the methods
3545c727 65 # associated with this attr
c23184fc 66 '@!associated_methods' => [],
8ee74136 67 # NOTE:
68 # protect this from silliness
2e5a2a62 69 init_arg => undef,
8b978dd5 70 } => $class;
71}
72
7b31baf4 73# NOTE:
1d68af04 74# this is a primative (and kludgy) clone operation
16e960bd 75# for now, it will be replaced in the Class::MOP
1d68af04 76# bootstrap with a proper one, however we know
5659d76e 77# that this one will work fine for now.
78sub clone {
79 my $self = shift;
80 my %options = @_;
81 (blessed($self))
82 || confess "Can only clone an instance";
83 return bless { %{$self}, %options } => blessed($self);
84}
85
bd4e03f9 86sub initialize_instance_slot {
f892c0f0 87 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $params) = @_;
c23184fc 88 my $init_arg = $self->{'$!init_arg'};
bd4e03f9 89 # try to fetch the init arg from the %params ...
8d2d4c67 90
1d68af04 91 # if nothing was in the %params, we can use the
bd4e03f9 92 # attribute's default value (if it has one)
2e877f58 93 if(defined $init_arg and exists $params->{$init_arg}){
8ee74136 94 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
95 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 96 $instance,
0ab65f99 97 $params->{$init_arg},
0ab65f99 98 );
b7bdffc3 99 }
100 elsif (defined $self->{'$!default'}) {
8ee74136 101 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
102 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 103 $instance,
0ab65f99 104 $self->default($instance),
0ab65f99 105 );
b7bdffc3 106 }
107 elsif (defined( my $builder = $self->{'$!builder'})) {
108 if ($builder = $instance->can($builder)) {
8ee74136 109 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
110 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 111 $instance,
0ab65f99 112 $instance->$builder,
0ab65f99 113 );
b7bdffc3 114 }
115 else {
232c4e13 116 confess(blessed($instance)." does not support builder method '". $self->{'$!builder'} ."' for attribute '" . $self->name . "'");
8fe581e5 117 }
1d68af04 118 }
bd4e03f9 119}
120
8ee74136 121sub _set_initial_slot_value {
122 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $value) = @_;
123
124 my $slot_name = $self->name;
125
126 return $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $value)
127 unless $self->has_initializer;
128
129 my $callback = sub {
130 $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $_[0]);
131 };
132
133 my $initializer = $self->initializer;
134
135 # most things will just want to set a value, so make it first arg
136 $instance->$initializer($value, $callback, $self);
137}
138
5659d76e 139# NOTE:
1d68af04 140# the next bunch of methods will get bootstrapped
7b31baf4 141# away in the Class::MOP bootstrapping section
142
c23184fc 143sub name { $_[0]->{'$!name'} }
c50c603e 144
c23184fc 145sub associated_class { $_[0]->{'$!associated_class'} }
146sub associated_methods { $_[0]->{'@!associated_methods'} }
7b31baf4 147
8ee74136 148sub has_accessor { defined($_[0]->{'$!accessor'}) ? 1 : 0 }
149sub has_reader { defined($_[0]->{'$!reader'}) ? 1 : 0 }
150sub has_writer { defined($_[0]->{'$!writer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
151sub has_predicate { defined($_[0]->{'$!predicate'}) ? 1 : 0 }
152sub has_clearer { defined($_[0]->{'$!clearer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
153sub has_builder { defined($_[0]->{'$!builder'}) ? 1 : 0 }
154sub has_init_arg { defined($_[0]->{'$!init_arg'}) ? 1 : 0 }
155sub has_default { defined($_[0]->{'$!default'}) ? 1 : 0 }
0ab65f99 156sub has_initializer { defined($_[0]->{'$!initializer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
c50c603e 157
8ee74136 158sub accessor { $_[0]->{'$!accessor'} }
159sub reader { $_[0]->{'$!reader'} }
160sub writer { $_[0]->{'$!writer'} }
161sub predicate { $_[0]->{'$!predicate'} }
162sub clearer { $_[0]->{'$!clearer'} }
163sub builder { $_[0]->{'$!builder'} }
164sub init_arg { $_[0]->{'$!init_arg'} }
0ab65f99 165sub initializer { $_[0]->{'$!initializer'} }
c50c603e 166
7b31baf4 167# end bootstrapped away method section.
168# (all methods below here are kept intact)
169
9e517e01 170sub has_read_method { $_[0]->has_reader || $_[0]->has_accessor }
171sub has_write_method { $_[0]->has_writer || $_[0]->has_accessor }
172
d14f6cbe 173sub get_read_method {
174 my $self = shift;
175 my $reader = $self->reader || $self->accessor;
176 # normal case ...
177 return $reader unless ref $reader;
178 # the HASH ref case
179 my ($name) = %$reader;
180 return $name;
181}
182
183sub get_write_method {
184 my $self = shift;
185 my $writer = $self->writer || $self->accessor;
186 # normal case ...
187 return $writer unless ref $writer;
188 # the HASH ref case
189 my ($name) = %$writer;
190 return $name;
191}
b25109b1 192
5da16d1b 193sub get_read_method_ref {
194 my $self = shift;
742fb371 195 if ((my $reader = $self->get_read_method) && $self->associated_class) {
5da16d1b 196 return $self->associated_class->get_method($reader);
197 }
198 else {
199 return sub { $self->get_value(@_) };
200 }
201}
202
203sub get_write_method_ref {
204 my $self = shift;
d14f6cbe 205 if ((my $writer = $self->get_write_method) && $self->associated_class) {
742fb371 206 return $self->associated_class->get_method($writer);
5da16d1b 207 }
208 else {
209 return sub { $self->set_value(@_) };
210 }
211}
212
1d68af04 213sub is_default_a_coderef {
214 ('CODE' eq (reftype($_[0]->{'$!default'} || $_[0]->{default}) || ''))
c0cbf4d9 215}
216
1d68af04 217sub default {
c0cbf4d9 218 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
9363ea89 219 if (defined $instance && $self->is_default_a_coderef) {
1d68af04 220 # if the default is a CODE ref, then
727919c5 221 # we pass in the instance and default
1d68af04 222 # can return a value based on that
727919c5 223 # instance. Somewhat crude, but works.
c23184fc 224 return $self->{'$!default'}->($instance);
1d68af04 225 }
c23184fc 226 $self->{'$!default'};
c50c603e 227}
8b978dd5 228
c57c8b10 229# slots
230
231sub slots { (shift)->name }
232
1d68af04 233# class association
727919c5 234
9ec169fe 235sub attach_to_class {
236 my ($self, $class) = @_;
237 (blessed($class) && $class->isa('Class::MOP::Class'))
238 || confess "You must pass a Class::MOP::Class instance (or a subclass)";
1d68af04 239 weaken($self->{'$!associated_class'} = $class);
9ec169fe 240}
241
242sub detach_from_class {
243 my $self = shift;
1d68af04 244 $self->{'$!associated_class'} = undef;
9ec169fe 245}
246
1d68af04 247# method association
3545c727 248
249sub associate_method {
250 my ($self, $method) = @_;
c23184fc 251 push @{$self->{'@!associated_methods'}} => $method;
3545c727 252}
253
16e960bd 254## Slot management
255
ef91a0e2 256sub set_initial_value {
257 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
e76b01fb 258 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
da34f054 259 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))->get_meta_instance,
8ee74136 260 $instance,
261 $value
262 );
ef91a0e2 263}
264
16e960bd 265sub set_value {
1396f86b 266 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
16e960bd 267
da34f054 268 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
269 ->get_meta_instance
270 ->set_slot_value($instance, $self->name, $value);
16e960bd 271}
272
273sub get_value {
1396f86b 274 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
16e960bd 275
da34f054 276 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
277 ->get_meta_instance
278 ->get_slot_value($instance, $self->name);
16e960bd 279}
280
3545c727 281sub has_value {
282 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 283
da34f054 284 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
285 ->get_meta_instance
286 ->is_slot_initialized($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 287}
288
289sub clear_value {
290 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 291
da34f054 292 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
293 ->get_meta_instance
294 ->deinitialize_slot($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 295}
296
ba38bf08 297## load em up ...
c0cbf4d9 298
ba38bf08 299sub accessor_metaclass { 'Class::MOP::Method::Accessor' }
c0cbf4d9 300
9ec169fe 301sub process_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 302 my ($self, $type, $accessor, $generate_as_inline_methods) = @_;
013b1897 303 if (reftype($accessor)) {
304 (reftype($accessor) eq 'HASH')
7d28758b 305 || confess "bad accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer format, must be a HASH ref";
4d47b77f 306 my ($name, $method) = %{$accessor};
4c105333 307 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->wrap(
308 $method,
309 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
310 name => $name,
311 );
3545c727 312 $self->associate_method($method);
1d68af04 313 return ($name, $method);
2eb717d5 314 }
9ec169fe 315 else {
1d68af04 316 my $inline_me = ($generate_as_inline_methods && $self->associated_class->instance_metaclass->is_inlinable);
ba38bf08 317 my $method;
318 eval {
319 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->new(
320 attribute => $self,
d90b42a6 321 is_inline => $inline_me,
ba38bf08 322 accessor_type => $type,
4c105333 323 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
324 name => $accessor,
1d68af04 325 );
ba38bf08 326 };
1d68af04 327 confess "Could not create the '$type' method for " . $self->name . " because : $@" if $@;
3545c727 328 $self->associate_method($method);
ba38bf08 329 return ($accessor, $method);
1d68af04 330 }
9ec169fe 331}
332
333sub install_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 334 my $self = shift;
335 my $inline = shift;
336 my $class = $self->associated_class;
1d68af04 337
9ec169fe 338 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 339 $self->process_accessors('accessor' => $self->accessor(), $inline)
9ec169fe 340 ) if $self->has_accessor();
341
1d68af04 342 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 343 $self->process_accessors('reader' => $self->reader(), $inline)
9ec169fe 344 ) if $self->has_reader();
345
346 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 347 $self->process_accessors('writer' => $self->writer(), $inline)
9ec169fe 348 ) if $self->has_writer();
349
350 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 351 $self->process_accessors('predicate' => $self->predicate(), $inline)
9ec169fe 352 ) if $self->has_predicate();
1d68af04 353
7d28758b 354 $class->add_method(
355 $self->process_accessors('clearer' => $self->clearer(), $inline)
356 ) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 357
9ec169fe 358 return;
2eb717d5 359}
360
b51af7f9 361{
362 my $_remove_accessor = sub {
363 my ($accessor, $class) = @_;
c50c603e 364 if (reftype($accessor) && reftype($accessor) eq 'HASH') {
365 ($accessor) = keys %{$accessor};
1d68af04 366 }
367 my $method = $class->get_method($accessor);
368 $class->remove_method($accessor)
ba38bf08 369 if (blessed($method) && $method->isa('Class::MOP::Method::Accessor'));
b51af7f9 370 };
1d68af04 371
b51af7f9 372 sub remove_accessors {
9ec169fe 373 my $self = shift;
2367814a 374 # TODO:
1d68af04 375 # we really need to make sure to remove from the
376 # associates methods here as well. But this is
377 # such a slimly used method, I am not worried
2367814a 378 # about it right now.
9ec169fe 379 $_remove_accessor->($self->accessor(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_accessor();
380 $_remove_accessor->($self->reader(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_reader();
381 $_remove_accessor->($self->writer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_writer();
382 $_remove_accessor->($self->predicate(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_predicate();
7d28758b 383 $_remove_accessor->($self->clearer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 384 return;
b51af7f9 385 }
386
8b978dd5 387}
388
3891;
390
391__END__
392
393=pod
394
1d68af04 395=head1 NAME
8b978dd5 396
397Class::MOP::Attribute - Attribute Meta Object
398
399=head1 SYNOPSIS
1d68af04 400
8b978dd5 401 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$foo' => (
fe122940 402 accessor => 'foo', # dual purpose get/set accessor
1d68af04 403 predicate => 'has_foo' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 404 init_arg => '-foo', # class->new will look for a -foo key
405 default => 'BAR IS BAZ!' # if no -foo key is provided, use this
8b978dd5 406 ));
1d68af04 407
8b978dd5 408 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$.bar' => (
fe122940 409 reader => 'bar', # getter
1d68af04 410 writer => 'set_bar', # setter
411 predicate => 'has_bar' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 412 init_arg => ':bar', # class->new will look for a :bar key
8b978dd5 413 # no default value means it is undef
414 ));
415
416=head1 DESCRIPTION
417
fe122940 418The Attribute Protocol is almost entirely an invention of this module,
1d68af04 419and is completely optional to this MOP. This is because Perl 5 does not
420have consistent notion of what is an attribute of a class. There are
421so many ways in which this is done, and very few (if any) are
fe122940 422easily discoverable by this module.
552e3d24 423
1d68af04 424So, all that said, this module attempts to inject some order into this
425chaos, by introducing a consistent API which can be used to create
fe122940 426object attributes.
552e3d24 427
428=head1 METHODS
429
430=head2 Creation
431
432=over 4
433
fe122940 434=item B<new ($name, ?%options)>
435
1d68af04 436An attribute must (at the very least), have a C<$name>. All other
a2e85e6c 437C<%options> are contained added as key-value pairs. Acceptable keys
fe122940 438are as follows:
439
440=over 4
441
442=item I<init_arg>
443
1d68af04 444This should be a string value representing the expected key in
445an initialization hash. For instance, if we have an I<init_arg>
fe122940 446value of C<-foo>, then the following code will Just Work.
447
448 MyClass->meta->construct_instance(-foo => "Hello There");
449
1d68af04 450In an init_arg is not assigned, it will automatically use the
0ef07b33 451value of C<$name>. If an explicit C<undef> is given for an init_arg,
452an attribute value can't be specified during initialization.
7b31baf4 453
1d68af04 454=item I<builder>
455
456The value of this key is the name of the method that will be
457called to obtain the value used to initialize the attribute.
458This should be a method in the class associated with the attribute,
459not a method in the attribute class itself.
fe122940 460
4c4a6c41 461=item I<default>
462
463The value of this key is the default value which
464C<Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance> will initialize the
465attribute to.
466
fe122940 467B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 468If the value is a simple scalar (string or number), then it can
469be just passed as is. However, if you wish to initialize it with
470a HASH or ARRAY ref, then you need to wrap that inside a CODE
fe122940 471reference, like so:
472
473 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('@foo' => (
474 default => sub { [] },
475 ));
1d68af04 476
477 # or ...
478
fe122940 479 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%foo' => (
480 default => sub { {} },
1d68af04 481 ));
fe122940 482
1d68af04 483If you wish to initialize an attribute with a CODE reference
fe122940 484itself, then you need to wrap that in a subroutine as well, like
485so:
1d68af04 486
fe122940 487 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('&foo' => (
488 default => sub { sub { print "Hello World" } },
489 ));
490
1d68af04 491And lastly, if the value of your attribute is dependent upon
492some other aspect of the instance structure, then you can take
493advantage of the fact that when the I<default> value is a CODE
127d39a7 494reference, it is passed the (as yet unfinished) instance structure
fe122940 495as it's only argument. So you can do things like this:
496
497 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$object_identity' => (
498 default => sub { Scalar::Util::refaddr($_[0]) },
499 ));
500
1d68af04 501This last feature is fairly limited as there is no gurantee of
502the order of attribute initializations, so you cannot perform
503any kind of dependent initializations. However, if this is
504something you need, you could subclass B<Class::MOP::Class> and
505this class to acheive it. However, this is currently left as
fe122940 506an exercise to the reader :).
507
0ef07b33 508=item I<initializer>
509
510This may be a method name (referring to a method on the class with this
511attribute) or a CODE ref. The initializer is used to set the attribute value
512on an instance when the attribute is set during instance initialization. When
513called, it is passed the instance (as the invocant), the value to set, a
514slot-setting CODE ref, and the attribute meta-instance. The slot-setting code
515is provided to make it easy to set the (possibly altered) value on the instance
516without going through several more method calls.
517
0ef07b33 518This contrived example shows an initializer that sets the attribute to twice
519the given value.
520
521 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$doubled' => (
522 initializer => sub {
523 my ($instance, $value, $set) = @_;
524 $set->($value * 2);
525 },
526 ));
527
528As method names can be given as initializers, one can easily make
529attribute initialization use the writer:
530
531 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$some_attr' => (
532 writer => 'some_attr',
533 initializer => 'some_attr',
534 ));
535
127d39a7 536Your writer will simply need to examine it's C<@_> and determine under
537which context it is being called.
538
fe122940 539=back
540
7d28758b 541The I<accessor>, I<reader>, I<writer>, I<predicate> and I<clearer> keys can
542contain either; the name of the method and an appropriate default one will be
543generated for you, B<or> a HASH ref containing exactly one key (which will be
544used as the name of the method) and one value, which should contain a CODE
545reference which will be installed as the method itself.
59e7697f 546
547=over 4
548
549=item I<accessor>
550
1d68af04 551The I<accessor> is a standard perl-style read/write accessor. It will
552return the value of the attribute, and if a value is passed as an argument,
fe122940 553it will assign that value to the attribute.
554
555B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 556This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 557C<undef> value to the attribute.
558
559 $object->set_something(undef);
560
59e7697f 561=item I<reader>
562
1d68af04 563This is a basic read-only accessor, it will just return the value of
fe122940 564the attribute.
565
59e7697f 566=item I<writer>
567
1d68af04 568This is a basic write accessor, it accepts a single argument, and
569assigns that value to the attribute. This method does not intentially
570return a value, however perl will return the result of the last
571expression in the subroutine, which returns in this returning the
572same value that it was passed.
59e7697f 573
fe122940 574B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 575This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 576C<undef> value to the attribute.
59e7697f 577
fe122940 578 $object->set_something();
579
580=item I<predicate>
581
07dca7e3 582This is a basic test to see if any value has been set for the
583attribute. It will return true (C<1>) if the attribute has been set
584to any value (even C<undef>), and false (C<0>) otherwise.
585
586B<NOTE:>
587The predicate will return true even when you set an attribute's
588value to C<undef>. This behaviour has changed as of version 0.43. In
589older versions, the predicate (erroneously) checked for attribute
590value definedness, instead of presence as it is now.
591
592If you really want to get rid of the value, you have to define and
593use a I<clearer> (see below).
594
7d28758b 595=item I<clearer>
596
597This is the a method that will uninitialize the attr, reverting lazy values
598back to their "unfulfilled" state.
599
59e7697f 600=back
552e3d24 601
bd4e03f9 602=item B<clone (%options)>
603
127d39a7 604This will return a clone of the attribute instance, allowing the overriding
605of various attributes through the C<%options> supplied.
606
bd4e03f9 607=item B<initialize_instance_slot ($instance, $params)>
608
127d39a7 609This method is used internally to initialize the approriate slot for this
610attribute in a given C<$instance>, the C<$params> passed are those that were
611passed to the constructor.
612
1d68af04 613=back
552e3d24 614
16e960bd 615=head2 Value management
616
1d68af04 617These methods are basically "backdoors" to the instance, which can be used
618to bypass the regular accessors, but still stay within the context of the MOP.
2367814a 619
1d68af04 620These methods are not for general use, and should only be used if you really
2367814a 621know what you are doing.
622
16e960bd 623=over 4
624
3545c727 625=item B<set_value ($instance, $value)>
16e960bd 626
627Set the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done to
628even attributes with just read only accessors.
629
c0921932 630=item B<set_initial_value ($instance, $value)>
631
632This method sets the value without going through the accessor -- but it is only
633called when the instance data is first initialized.
634
3545c727 635=item B<get_value ($instance)>
16e960bd 636
637Return the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done
638even to attributes with just write only accessors.
639
3545c727 640=item B<has_value ($instance)>
641
92d2abfa 642Return a boolean indicating if the item in the C<$instance> has a value in it.
2367814a 643This is basically what the default C<predicate> method calls.
644
3545c727 645=item B<clear_value ($instance)>
646
2367814a 647This will clear the value in the C<$instance>. This is basically what the default
1d68af04 648C<clearer> would call. Note that this may be done even if the attirbute does not
2367814a 649have any associated read, write or clear methods.
650
16e960bd 651=back
652
552e3d24 653=head2 Informational
654
1d68af04 655These are all basic read-only value accessors for the values
fe122940 656passed into C<new>. I think they are pretty much self-explanitory.
657
552e3d24 658=over 4
659
660=item B<name>
661
662=item B<accessor>
663
664=item B<reader>
665
666=item B<writer>
667
c50c603e 668=item B<predicate>
669
7d28758b 670=item B<clearer>
671
0ab65f99 672=item B<initializer>
673
552e3d24 674=item B<init_arg>
675
495af518 676=item B<is_default_a_coderef>
677
fe122940 678=item B<default (?$instance)>
679
92d2abfa 680Return the default value for the attribute.
681
682If you pass in an C<$instance> argument to this accessor and the
683I<default> is a CODE reference, then the CODE reference will be
684executed with the C<$instance> as its argument.
552e3d24 685
c57c8b10 686=item B<slots>
687
92d2abfa 688Return a list of slots required by the attribute. This is usually
c57c8b10 689just one, which is the name of the attribute.
690
b25109b1 691=item B<get_read_method>
692
693=item B<get_write_method>
694
5da16d1b 695Return the name of a method name suitable for reading / writing the value
696of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
697C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
698
699=item B<get_read_method_ref>
700
701=item B<get_write_method_ref>
702
703Return the CODE reference of a method suitable for reading / writing the
704value of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
705C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was specified or not.
706
127d39a7 707NOTE: If no reader/writer/accessor was specified, this will use the
5da16d1b 708attribute get_value/set_value methods, which can be very inefficient.
b25109b1 709
9e517e01 710=item B<has_read_method>
711
712=item B<has_write_method>
713
714Return whether a method exists suitable for reading / writing the value
715of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
716C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
717
552e3d24 718=back
719
720=head2 Informational predicates
721
a2e85e6c 722These are all basic predicate methods for the values passed into C<new>.
fe122940 723
552e3d24 724=over 4
725
726=item B<has_accessor>
727
552e3d24 728=item B<has_reader>
729
552e3d24 730=item B<has_writer>
731
c50c603e 732=item B<has_predicate>
733
7d28758b 734=item B<has_clearer>
735
0ab65f99 736=item B<has_initializer>
737
552e3d24 738=item B<has_init_arg>
739
552e3d24 740=item B<has_default>
741
bf731086 742=item B<has_builder>
743
552e3d24 744=back
745
9ec169fe 746=head2 Class association
747
1d68af04 748These methods allow you to manage the attributes association with
749the class that contains it. These methods should not be used
2367814a 750lightly, nor are they very magical, they are mostly used internally
751and by metaclass instances.
752
9ec169fe 753=over 4
754
755=item B<associated_class>
756
2367814a 757This returns the metaclass this attribute is associated with.
758
9ec169fe 759=item B<attach_to_class ($class)>
760
1d68af04 761This will store a weaken reference to C<$class> internally. You should
2367814a 762note that just changing the class assocation will not remove the attribute
763from it's old class, and initialize it (and it's accessors) in the new
764C<$class>. It is up to you to do this manually.
765
9ec169fe 766=item B<detach_from_class>
767
1d68af04 768This will remove the weakened reference to the class. It does B<not>
769remove the attribute itself from the class (or remove it's accessors),
770you must do that yourself if you want too. Actually if that is what
771you want to do, you should probably be looking at
2367814a 772L<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute> instead.
773
9ec169fe 774=back
775
552e3d24 776=head2 Attribute Accessor generation
777
778=over 4
779
ba38bf08 780=item B<accessor_metaclass>
781
2367814a 782Accessors are generated by an accessor metaclass, which is usually
1d68af04 783a subclass of C<Class::MOP::Method::Accessor>. This method returns
2367814a 784the name of the accessor metaclass that this attribute uses.
785
786=item B<associate_method ($method)>
787
1d68af04 788This will associate a C<$method> with the given attribute which is
789used internally by the accessor generator.
3545c727 790
791=item B<associated_methods>
792
1d68af04 793This will return the list of methods which have been associated with
127d39a7 794the C<associate_method> methods. This is a good way of seeing what
795methods are used to manage a given attribute.
2367814a 796
9ec169fe 797=item B<install_accessors>
2eb717d5 798
1d68af04 799This allows the attribute to generate and install code for it's own
800I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate> methods. This is called by
fe122940 801C<Class::MOP::Class::add_attribute>.
2eb717d5 802
1d68af04 803This method will call C<process_accessors> for each of the possible
9ec169fe 804method types (accessor, reader, writer & predicate).
805
806=item B<process_accessors ($type, $value)>
807
1d68af04 808This takes a C<$type> (accessor, reader, writer or predicate), and
9ec169fe 809a C<$value> (the value passed into the constructor for each of the
1d68af04 810different types). It will then either generate the method itself
811(using the C<generate_*_method> methods listed below) or it will
812use the custom method passed through the constructor.
9ec169fe 813
9ec169fe 814=item B<remove_accessors>
2eb717d5 815
1d68af04 816This allows the attribute to remove the method for it's own
817I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer>. This is called by
fe122940 818C<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute>.
2eb717d5 819
1d68af04 820NOTE: This does not currently remove methods from the list returned
2367814a 821by C<associated_methods>, that is on the TODO list.
822
2eb717d5 823=back
824
825=head2 Introspection
826
827=over 4
552e3d24 828
2eb717d5 829=item B<meta>
552e3d24 830
1d68af04 831This will return a B<Class::MOP::Class> instance which is related
fe122940 832to this class.
833
1d68af04 834It should also be noted that B<Class::MOP> will actually bootstrap
835this module by installing a number of attribute meta-objects into
127d39a7 836it's metaclass. This will allow this class to reap all the benefits
1d68af04 837of the MOP when subclassing it.
fe122940 838
552e3d24 839=back
840
1a09d9cc 841=head1 AUTHORS
8b978dd5 842
a2e85e6c 843Stevan Little E<lt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<gt>
8b978dd5 844
845=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
846
69e3ab0a 847Copyright 2006-2008 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
8b978dd5 848
849L<http://www.iinteractive.com>
850
851This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
1d68af04 852it under the same terms as Perl itself.
8b978dd5 853
16e960bd 854=cut
855
7d28758b 856