immutable refacotring
[gitmo/Class-MOP.git] / lib / Class / MOP.pm
CommitLineData
94b19069 1
2package Class::MOP;
3
4use strict;
5use warnings;
6
727919c5 7use Carp 'confess';
be7677c7 8use Scalar::Util 'weaken';
8b978dd5 9
2eb717d5 10use Class::MOP::Class;
11use Class::MOP::Attribute;
12use Class::MOP::Method;
13
857f87a7 14use Class::MOP::Class::Immutable;
15
b1897d4d 16our $VERSION = '0.35';
f0480c45 17our $AUTHORITY = 'cpan:STEVAN';
94b19069 18
be7677c7 19{
20 # Metaclasses are singletons, so we cache them here.
21 # there is no need to worry about destruction though
22 # because they should die only when the program dies.
23 # After all, do package definitions even get reaped?
24 my %METAS;
25
26 # means of accessing all the metaclasses that have
27 # been initialized thus far (for mugwumps obj browser)
28 sub get_all_metaclasses { %METAS }
29 sub get_all_metaclass_instances { values %METAS }
30 sub get_all_metaclass_names { keys %METAS }
31 sub get_metaclass_by_name { $METAS{$_[0]} }
32 sub store_metaclass_by_name { $METAS{$_[0]} = $_[1] }
33 sub weaken_metaclass { weaken($METAS{$_[0]}) }
34 sub does_metaclass_exist { exists $METAS{$_[0]} && defined $METAS{$_[0]} }
35 sub remove_metaclass_by_name { $METAS{$_[0]} = undef }
36
37 # NOTE:
38 # We only cache metaclasses, meaning instances of
39 # Class::MOP::Class. We do not cache instance of
40 # Class::MOP::Package or Class::MOP::Module. Mostly
41 # because I don't yet see a good reason to do so.
42}
43
aa448b16 44## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
45## Setting up our environment ...
46## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
47## Class::MOP needs to have a few things in the global perl environment so
48## that it can operate effectively. Those things are done here.
49## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
50
3bf7644b 51# ... nothing yet actually ;)
8b978dd5 52
b51af7f9 53## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
54## Bootstrapping
55## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
56## The code below here is to bootstrap our MOP with itself. This is also
57## sometimes called "tying the knot". By doing this, we make it much easier
58## to extend the MOP through subclassing and such since now you can use the
59## MOP itself to extend itself.
60##
61## Yes, I know, thats weird and insane, but it's a good thing, trust me :)
62## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
727919c5 63
64# We need to add in the meta-attributes here so that
65# any subclass of Class::MOP::* will be able to
66# inherit them using &construct_instance
67
f0480c45 68## --------------------------------------------------------
6d5355c3 69## Class::MOP::Package
727919c5 70
6d5355c3 71Class::MOP::Package->meta->add_attribute(
351bd7d4 72 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$:package' => (
b880e0de 73 reader => {
74 # NOTE: we need to do this in order
75 # for the instance meta-object to
76 # not fall into meta-circular death
ce2ae40f 77 #
78 # we just alias the original method
79 # rather than re-produce it here
80 'name' => \&Class::MOP::Package::name
b880e0de 81 },
7b31baf4 82 init_arg => ':package',
727919c5 83 ))
84);
85
a5e51f0b 86Class::MOP::Package->meta->add_attribute(
87 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%:namespace' => (
88 reader => {
56dcfc1a 89 # NOTE:
ce2ae40f 90 # we just alias the original method
91 # rather than re-produce it here
92 'namespace' => \&Class::MOP::Package::namespace
a5e51f0b 93 },
94 # NOTE:
95 # protect this from silliness
a2ee6c61 96 init_arg => '!............( DO NOT DO THIS )............!',
c4260b45 97 default => sub { \undef }
a5e51f0b 98 ))
99);
100
9d6dce77 101# NOTE:
102# use the metaclass to construct the meta-package
103# which is a superclass of the metaclass itself :P
104Class::MOP::Package->meta->add_method('initialize' => sub {
105 my $class = shift;
106 my $package_name = shift;
107 $class->meta->new_object(':package' => $package_name, @_);
108});
109
f0480c45 110## --------------------------------------------------------
111## Class::MOP::Module
112
113# NOTE:
114# yeah this is kind of stretching things a bit,
115# but truthfully the version should be an attribute
116# of the Module, the weirdness comes from having to
117# stick to Perl 5 convention and store it in the
118# $VERSION package variable. Basically if you just
119# squint at it, it will look how you want it to look.
120# Either as a package variable, or as a attribute of
121# the metaclass, isn't abstraction great :)
122
123Class::MOP::Module->meta->add_attribute(
124 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$:version' => (
125 reader => {
ce2ae40f 126 # NOTE:
127 # we just alias the original method
128 # rather than re-produce it here
129 'version' => \&Class::MOP::Module::version
f0480c45 130 },
131 # NOTE:
132 # protect this from silliness
133 init_arg => '!............( DO NOT DO THIS )............!',
c4260b45 134 default => sub { \undef }
f0480c45 135 ))
136);
137
138# NOTE:
139# By following the same conventions as version here,
140# we are opening up the possibility that people can
141# use the $AUTHORITY in non-Class::MOP modules as
142# well.
143
144Class::MOP::Module->meta->add_attribute(
145 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$:authority' => (
146 reader => {
ce2ae40f 147 # NOTE:
148 # we just alias the original method
149 # rather than re-produce it here
150 'authority' => \&Class::MOP::Module::authority
f0480c45 151 },
152 # NOTE:
153 # protect this from silliness
154 init_arg => '!............( DO NOT DO THIS )............!',
c4260b45 155 default => sub { \undef }
f0480c45 156 ))
157);
158
159## --------------------------------------------------------
6d5355c3 160## Class::MOP::Class
161
727919c5 162Class::MOP::Class->meta->add_attribute(
351bd7d4 163 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%:attributes' => (
f7259199 164 reader => {
165 # NOTE: we need to do this in order
166 # for the instance meta-object to
ce2ae40f 167 # not fall into meta-circular death
168 #
169 # we just alias the original method
170 # rather than re-produce it here
171 'get_attribute_map' => \&Class::MOP::Class::get_attribute_map
f7259199 172 },
351bd7d4 173 init_arg => ':attributes',
727919c5 174 default => sub { {} }
175 ))
176);
177
351bd7d4 178Class::MOP::Class->meta->add_attribute(
c4260b45 179 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%:methods' => (
92330ee2 180 reader => {
ce2ae40f 181 # NOTE:
182 # we just alias the original method
183 # rather than re-produce it here
184 'get_method_map' => \&Class::MOP::Class::get_method_map
92330ee2 185 },
7855ddba 186 default => sub { {} }
c4260b45 187 ))
188);
189
190Class::MOP::Class->meta->add_attribute(
351bd7d4 191 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$:attribute_metaclass' => (
6d2118a4 192 reader => {
193 # NOTE:
194 # we just alias the original method
195 # rather than re-produce it here
196 'attribute_metaclass' => \&Class::MOP::Class::attribute_metaclass
197 },
351bd7d4 198 init_arg => ':attribute_metaclass',
199 default => 'Class::MOP::Attribute',
200 ))
201);
202
203Class::MOP::Class->meta->add_attribute(
204 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$:method_metaclass' => (
6d2118a4 205 reader => {
206 # NOTE:
207 # we just alias the original method
208 # rather than re-produce it here
209 'method_metaclass' => \&Class::MOP::Class::method_metaclass
210 },
351bd7d4 211 init_arg => ':method_metaclass',
212 default => 'Class::MOP::Method',
213 ))
214);
215
2bab2be6 216Class::MOP::Class->meta->add_attribute(
217 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$:instance_metaclass' => (
b880e0de 218 reader => {
219 # NOTE: we need to do this in order
220 # for the instance meta-object to
ce2ae40f 221 # not fall into meta-circular death
222 #
223 # we just alias the original method
224 # rather than re-produce it here
225 'instance_metaclass' => \&Class::MOP::Class::instance_metaclass
b880e0de 226 },
2bab2be6 227 init_arg => ':instance_metaclass',
228 default => 'Class::MOP::Instance',
229 ))
230);
231
9d6dce77 232# NOTE:
233# we don't actually need to tie the knot with
234# Class::MOP::Class here, it is actually handled
235# within Class::MOP::Class itself in the
236# construct_class_instance method.
237
f0480c45 238## --------------------------------------------------------
727919c5 239## Class::MOP::Attribute
240
7b31baf4 241Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
242 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('name' => (
b880e0de 243 reader => {
244 # NOTE: we need to do this in order
245 # for the instance meta-object to
ce2ae40f 246 # not fall into meta-circular death
247 #
248 # we just alias the original method
249 # rather than re-produce it here
250 'name' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::name
b880e0de 251 }
7b31baf4 252 ))
253);
254
255Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
256 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('associated_class' => (
b880e0de 257 reader => {
258 # NOTE: we need to do this in order
259 # for the instance meta-object to
ce2ae40f 260 # not fall into meta-circular death
261 #
262 # we just alias the original method
263 # rather than re-produce it here
264 'associated_class' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::associated_class
b880e0de 265 }
7b31baf4 266 ))
267);
268
269Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
270 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('accessor' => (
6d2118a4 271 reader => { 'accessor' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::accessor },
272 predicate => { 'has_accessor' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::has_accessor },
7b31baf4 273 ))
274);
275
276Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
277 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('reader' => (
6d2118a4 278 reader => { 'reader' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::reader },
279 predicate => { 'has_reader' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::has_reader },
7b31baf4 280 ))
281);
282
283Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
284 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('writer' => (
6d2118a4 285 reader => { 'writer' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::writer },
286 predicate => { 'has_writer' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::has_writer },
7b31baf4 287 ))
288);
289
290Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
291 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('predicate' => (
6d2118a4 292 reader => { 'predicate' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::predicate },
293 predicate => { 'has_predicate' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::has_predicate },
7b31baf4 294 ))
295);
296
297Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
7d28758b 298 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('clearer' => (
6d2118a4 299 reader => { 'clearer' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::clearer },
300 predicate => { 'has_clearer' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::has_clearer },
7d28758b 301 ))
302);
303
304Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
7b31baf4 305 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('init_arg' => (
6d2118a4 306 reader => { 'init_arg' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::init_arg },
307 predicate => { 'has_init_arg' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::has_init_arg },
7b31baf4 308 ))
309);
310
311Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
312 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('default' => (
313 # default has a custom 'reader' method ...
6d2118a4 314 predicate => { 'has_default' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::has_default },
7b31baf4 315 ))
316);
317
3545c727 318Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_attribute(
319 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('associated_methods' => (
320 reader => { 'associated_methods' => \&Class::MOP::Attribute::associated_methods },
321 default => sub { [] }
322 ))
323);
727919c5 324
325# NOTE: (meta-circularity)
326# This should be one of the last things done
327# it will "tie the knot" with Class::MOP::Attribute
328# so that it uses the attributes meta-objects
329# to construct itself.
330Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_method('new' => sub {
331 my $class = shift;
332 my $name = shift;
333 my %options = @_;
334
335 (defined $name && $name)
336 || confess "You must provide a name for the attribute";
5659d76e 337 $options{init_arg} = $name
338 if not exists $options{init_arg};
148b4697 339
340 (Class::MOP::Attribute::is_default_a_coderef(\%options))
341 || confess("References are not allowed as default values, you must ".
342 "wrap then in a CODE reference (ex: sub { [] } and not [])")
343 if exists $options{default} && ref $options{default};
651955fb 344
5659d76e 345 # return the new object
346 $class->meta->new_object(name => $name, %options);
347});
348
349Class::MOP::Attribute->meta->add_method('clone' => sub {
a740253a 350 my $self = shift;
a27ae83f 351 $self->meta->clone_object($self, @_);
727919c5 352});
353
f0480c45 354## --------------------------------------------------------
b6164407 355## Class::MOP::Method
356
357Class::MOP::Method->meta->add_attribute(
358 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('body' => (
6d2118a4 359 reader => { 'body' => \&Class::MOP::Method::body },
b6164407 360 ))
361);
362
363## --------------------------------------------------------
364## Class::MOP::Method::Wrapped
365
366# NOTE:
367# the way this item is initialized, this
368# really does not follow the standard
369# practices of attributes, but we put
370# it here for completeness
371Class::MOP::Method::Wrapped->meta->add_attribute(
372 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('modifier_table')
373);
374
375## --------------------------------------------------------
d90b42a6 376## Class::MOP::Method::Accessor
377
378Class::MOP::Method::Accessor->meta->add_attribute(
379 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('attribute' => (
380 reader => {
381 'associated_attribute' => \&Class::MOP::Method::Accessor::associated_attribute
382 },
383 ))
384);
385
386Class::MOP::Method::Accessor->meta->add_attribute(
387 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('accessor_type' => (
388 reader => { 'accessor_type' => \&Class::MOP::Method::Accessor::accessor_type },
389 ))
390);
391
392Class::MOP::Method::Accessor->meta->add_attribute(
393 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('is_inline' => (
394 reader => { 'is_inline' => \&Class::MOP::Method::Accessor::is_inline },
395 ))
396);
397
398## --------------------------------------------------------
399## Class::MOP::Method::Constructor
400
401Class::MOP::Method::Constructor->meta->add_attribute(
402 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('options' => (
403 reader => {
404 'options' => \&Class::MOP::Method::Constructor::options
405 },
406 ))
407);
408
409Class::MOP::Method::Constructor->meta->add_attribute(
410 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('meta_instance' => (
411 reader => {
412 'meta_instance' => \&Class::MOP::Method::Constructor::meta_instance
413 },
414 ))
415);
416
417Class::MOP::Method::Constructor->meta->add_attribute(
418 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('attributes' => (
419 reader => {
420 'attributes' => \&Class::MOP::Method::Constructor::attributes
421 },
422 ))
423);
424
425## --------------------------------------------------------
86482605 426## Class::MOP::Instance
427
428# NOTE:
429# these don't yet do much of anything, but are just
430# included for completeness
431
432Class::MOP::Instance->meta->add_attribute(
433 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('meta')
434);
435
436Class::MOP::Instance->meta->add_attribute(
437 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('slots')
438);
439
440## --------------------------------------------------------
f0480c45 441## Now close all the Class::MOP::* classes
4d47b77f 442
0b9372a2 443# NOTE:
444# we don't need to inline the
445# constructors or the accessors
446# this only lengthens the compile
447# time of the MOP, and gives us
448# no actual benefits.
449
450$_->meta->make_immutable(
451 inline_constructor => 0,
452 inline_accessors => 0,
453) for qw/
454 Class::MOP::Package
455 Class::MOP::Module
456 Class::MOP::Class
86482605 457
0b9372a2 458 Class::MOP::Attribute
459 Class::MOP::Method
460 Class::MOP::Instance
86482605 461
0b9372a2 462 Class::MOP::Object
463
ba38bf08 464 Class::MOP::Method::Accessor
d90b42a6 465 Class::MOP::Method::Constructor
466 Class::MOP::Method::Wrapped
0b9372a2 467/;
b6164407 468
94b19069 4691;
470
471__END__
472
473=pod
474
475=head1 NAME
476
477Class::MOP - A Meta Object Protocol for Perl 5
478
479=head1 SYNOPSIS
480
a2e85e6c 481 # ... This will come later, for now see
482 # the other SYNOPSIS for more information
94b19069 483
484=head1 DESCRIPTON
485
486This module is an attempt to create a meta object protocol for the
487Perl 5 object system. It makes no attempt to change the behavior or
488characteristics of the Perl 5 object system, only to create a
27e31eaf 489protocol for its manipulation and introspection.
94b19069 490
491That said, it does attempt to create the tools for building a rich
492set of extensions to the Perl 5 object system. Every attempt has been
493made for these tools to keep to the spirit of the Perl 5 object
494system that we all know and love.
495
40483095 496This documentation is admittedly sparse on details, as time permits
497I will try to improve them. For now, I suggest looking at the items
498listed in the L<SEE ALSO> section for more information. In particular
499the book "The Art of the Meta Object Protocol" was very influential
500in the development of this system.
501
bfe4d0fc 502=head2 What is a Meta Object Protocol?
503
504A meta object protocol is an API to an object system.
505
506To be more specific, it is a set of abstractions of the components of
507an object system (typically things like; classes, object, methods,
508object attributes, etc.). These abstractions can then be used to both
509inspect and manipulate the object system which they describe.
510
511It can be said that there are two MOPs for any object system; the
512implicit MOP, and the explicit MOP. The implicit MOP handles things
513like method dispatch or inheritance, which happen automatically as
514part of how the object system works. The explicit MOP typically
515handles the introspection/reflection features of the object system.
516All object systems have implicit MOPs, without one, they would not
517work. Explict MOPs however as less common, and depending on the
518language can vary from restrictive (Reflection in Java or C#) to
519wide open (CLOS is a perfect example).
520
e16da3e6 521=head2 Yet Another Class Builder!! Why?
522
523This is B<not> a class builder so much as it is a I<class builder
524B<builder>>. My intent is that an end user does not use this module
525directly, but instead this module is used by module authors to
526build extensions and features onto the Perl 5 object system.
527
94b19069 528=head2 Who is this module for?
529
530This module is specifically for anyone who has ever created or
531wanted to create a module for the Class:: namespace. The tools which
532this module will provide will hopefully make it easier to do more
533complex things with Perl 5 classes by removing such barriers as
534the need to hack the symbol tables, or understand the fine details
535of method dispatch.
536
bfe4d0fc 537=head2 What changes do I have to make to use this module?
538
2eb717d5 539This module was designed to be as unintrusive as possible. Many of
343203ee 540its features are accessible without B<any> change to your existsing
bfe4d0fc 541code at all. It is meant to be a compliment to your existing code and
2eb717d5 542not an intrusion on your code base. Unlike many other B<Class::>
a2e85e6c 543modules, this module B<does not> require you subclass it, or even that
544you C<use> it in within your module's package.
bfe4d0fc 545
2eb717d5 546The only features which requires additions to your code are the
547attribute handling and instance construction features, and these are
a2e85e6c 548both completely optional features. The only reason for this is because
2eb717d5 549Perl 5's object system does not actually have these features built
550in. More information about this feature can be found below.
bfe4d0fc 551
552=head2 A Note about Performance?
553
554It is a common misconception that explict MOPs are performance drains.
555But this is not a universal truth at all, it is an side-effect of
556specific implementations. For instance, using Java reflection is much
557slower because the JVM cannot take advantage of any compiler
558optimizations, and the JVM has to deal with much more runtime type
559information as well. Reflection in C# is marginally better as it was
560designed into the language and runtime (the CLR). In contrast, CLOS
561(the Common Lisp Object System) was built to support an explicit MOP,
562and so performance is tuned for it.
563
564This library in particular does it's absolute best to avoid putting
2eb717d5 565B<any> drain at all upon your code's performance. In fact, by itself
566it does nothing to affect your existing code. So you only pay for
567what you actually use.
bfe4d0fc 568
550d56db 569=head2 About Metaclass compatibility
570
571This module makes sure that all metaclasses created are both upwards
572and downwards compatible. The topic of metaclass compatibility is
573highly esoteric and is something only encountered when doing deep and
574involved metaclass hacking. There are two basic kinds of metaclass
575incompatibility; upwards and downwards.
576
577Upwards metaclass compatibility means that the metaclass of a
578given class is either the same as (or a subclass of) all of the
579class's ancestors.
580
581Downward metaclass compatibility means that the metaclasses of a
582given class's anscestors are all either the same as (or a subclass
583of) that metaclass.
584
585Here is a diagram showing a set of two classes (C<A> and C<B>) and
586two metaclasses (C<Meta::A> and C<Meta::B>) which have correct
587metaclass compatibility both upwards and downwards.
588
589 +---------+ +---------+
590 | Meta::A |<----| Meta::B | <....... (instance of )
591 +---------+ +---------+ <------- (inherits from)
592 ^ ^
593 : :
594 +---------+ +---------+
595 | A |<----| B |
596 +---------+ +---------+
597
598As I said this is a highly esoteric topic and one you will only run
599into if you do a lot of subclassing of B<Class::MOP::Class>. If you
600are interested in why this is an issue see the paper
601I<Uniform and safe metaclass composition> linked to in the
602L<SEE ALSO> section of this document.
603
aa448b16 604=head2 Using custom metaclasses
605
606Always use the metaclass pragma when using a custom metaclass, this
607will ensure the proper initialization order and not accidentely
608create an incorrect type of metaclass for you. This is a very rare
609problem, and one which can only occur if you are doing deep metaclass
610programming. So in other words, don't worry about it.
611
94b19069 612=head1 PROTOCOLS
613
614The protocol is divided into 3 main sub-protocols:
615
616=over 4
617
618=item The Class protocol
619
620This provides a means of manipulating and introspecting a Perl 5
621class. It handles all of symbol table hacking for you, and provides
622a rich set of methods that go beyond simple package introspection.
623
552e3d24 624See L<Class::MOP::Class> for more details.
625
94b19069 626=item The Attribute protocol
627
628This provides a consistent represenation for an attribute of a
629Perl 5 class. Since there are so many ways to create and handle
630atttributes in Perl 5 OO, this attempts to provide as much of a
631unified approach as possible, while giving the freedom and
632flexibility to subclass for specialization.
633
552e3d24 634See L<Class::MOP::Attribute> for more details.
635
94b19069 636=item The Method protocol
637
638This provides a means of manipulating and introspecting methods in
639the Perl 5 object system. As with attributes, there are many ways to
640approach this topic, so we try to keep it pretty basic, while still
641making it possible to extend the system in many ways.
642
552e3d24 643See L<Class::MOP::Method> for more details.
94b19069 644
645=back
646
be7677c7 647=head1 FUNCTIONS
648
649Class::MOP holds a cache of metaclasses, the following are functions
650(B<not methods>) which can be used to access that cache. It is not
651recommended that you mess with this, bad things could happen. But if
652you are brave and willing to risk it, go for it.
653
654=over 4
655
656=item B<get_all_metaclasses>
657
b9d9fc0b 658This will return an hash of all the metaclass instances that have
659been cached by B<Class::MOP::Class> keyed by the package name.
660
be7677c7 661=item B<get_all_metaclass_instances>
662
b9d9fc0b 663This will return an array of all the metaclass instances that have
664been cached by B<Class::MOP::Class>.
665
be7677c7 666=item B<get_all_metaclass_names>
667
b9d9fc0b 668This will return an array of all the metaclass names that have
669been cached by B<Class::MOP::Class>.
670
be7677c7 671=item B<get_metaclass_by_name ($name)>
672
673=item B<store_metaclass_by_name ($name, $meta)>
674
675=item B<weaken_metaclass ($name)>
676
677=item B<does_metaclass_exist ($name)>
678
679=item B<remove_metaclass_by_name ($name)>
680
681=back
682
552e3d24 683=head1 SEE ALSO
8b978dd5 684
552e3d24 685=head2 Books
8b978dd5 686
a2e85e6c 687There are very few books out on Meta Object Protocols and Metaclasses
688because it is such an esoteric topic. The following books are really
689the only ones I have found. If you know of any more, B<I<please>>
690email me and let me know, I would love to hear about them.
691
8b978dd5 692=over 4
693
552e3d24 694=item "The Art of the Meta Object Protocol"
8b978dd5 695
552e3d24 696=item "Advances in Object-Oriented Metalevel Architecture and Reflection"
8b978dd5 697
b51af7f9 698=item "Putting MetaClasses to Work"
699
a2e85e6c 700=item "Smalltalk: The Language"
701
94b19069 702=back
703
550d56db 704=head2 Papers
705
706=over 4
707
708=item Uniform and safe metaclass composition
709
710An excellent paper by the people who brought us the original Traits paper.
711This paper is on how Traits can be used to do safe metaclass composition,
712and offers an excellent introduction section which delves into the topic of
713metaclass compatibility.
714
715L<http://www.iam.unibe.ch/~scg/Archive/Papers/Duca05ySafeMetaclassTrait.pdf>
716
717=item Safe Metaclass Programming
718
719This paper seems to precede the above paper, and propose a mix-in based
720approach as opposed to the Traits based approach. Both papers have similar
721information on the metaclass compatibility problem space.
722
723L<http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/37617.html>
724
725=back
726
552e3d24 727=head2 Prior Art
8b978dd5 728
729=over 4
730
7184ca14 731=item The Perl 6 MetaModel work in the Pugs project
8b978dd5 732
733=over 4
734
552e3d24 735=item L<http://svn.openfoundry.org/pugs/perl5/Perl6-MetaModel>
8b978dd5 736
552e3d24 737=item L<http://svn.openfoundry.org/pugs/perl5/Perl6-ObjectSpace>
8b978dd5 738
739=back
740
94b19069 741=back
742
f8dfcfb7 743=head2 Article
744
745=over 4
746
747=item CPAN Module Review of Class::MOP
748
749L<http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2006/06/cpan_module_review_classmop.html>
750
751=back
752
a2e85e6c 753=head1 SIMILAR MODULES
754
755As I have said above, this module is a class-builder-builder, so it is
756not the same thing as modules like L<Class::Accessor> and
757L<Class::MethodMaker>. That being said there are very few modules on CPAN
758with similar goals to this module. The one I have found which is most
550d56db 759like this module is L<Class::Meta>, although it's philosophy and the MOP it
760creates are very different from this modules.
94b19069 761
a2e85e6c 762=head1 BUGS
763
764All complex software has bugs lurking in it, and this module is no
765exception. If you find a bug please either email me, or add the bug
766to cpan-RT.
767
22286063 768=head1 CODE COVERAGE
769
770I use L<Devel::Cover> to test the code coverage of my tests, below is the
771L<Devel::Cover> report on this module's test suite.
772
773 ---------------------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
774 File stmt bran cond sub pod time total
775 ---------------------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
cf3fa89c 776 Class/MOP.pm 97.7 100.0 88.9 94.7 100.0 3.2 96.6
777 Class/MOP/Attribute.pm 75.5 77.9 82.4 88.3 100.0 4.0 81.5
778 Class/MOP/Class.pm 96.9 88.8 72.1 98.2 100.0 35.8 91.4
779 Class/MOP/Class/Immutable.pm 88.2 60.0 n/a 95.5 100.0 0.5 84.6
780 Class/MOP/Instance.pm 86.4 75.0 33.3 86.2 100.0 1.2 87.5
781 Class/MOP/Method.pm 97.5 75.0 61.5 80.6 100.0 12.7 89.7
782 Class/MOP/Module.pm 100.0 n/a 55.6 100.0 100.0 0.1 90.7
783 Class/MOP/Object.pm 73.3 n/a 20.0 80.0 100.0 0.1 66.7
784 Class/MOP/Package.pm 94.6 71.7 33.3 100.0 100.0 42.2 87.0
785 metaclass.pm 100.0 100.0 83.3 100.0 n/a 0.2 97.7
22286063 786 ---------------------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
cf3fa89c 787 Total 91.3 80.4 69.8 91.9 100.0 100.0 88.1
22286063 788 ---------------------------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
789
a2e85e6c 790=head1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
791
792=over 4
793
b9d9fc0b 794=item Rob Kinyon
a2e85e6c 795
796Thanks to Rob for actually getting the development of this module kick-started.
797
798=back
799
1a09d9cc 800=head1 AUTHORS
94b19069 801
a2e85e6c 802Stevan Little E<lt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<gt>
552e3d24 803
1a09d9cc 804Yuval Kogman E<lt>nothingmuch@woobling.comE<gt>
805
94b19069 806=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
807
808Copyright 2006 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
809
810L<http://www.iinteractive.com>
811
812This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
813it under the same terms as Perl itself.
814
815=cut