class. It handles all of symbol table hacking for you, and provides
a rich set of methods that go beyond simple package introspection.
+See L<Class::MOP::Class> for more details.
+
=item The Attribute protocol
This provides a consistent represenation for an attribute of a
unified approach as possible, while giving the freedom and
flexibility to subclass for specialization.
+See L<Class::MOP::Attribute> for more details.
+
=item The Method protocol
This provides a means of manipulating and introspecting methods in
approach this topic, so we try to keep it pretty basic, while still
making it possible to extend the system in many ways.
-=back
-
-What follows is a more detailed documentation on each specific sub
-protocol.
-
-=head2 The Class protocol
-
-=head3 Class construction
-
-These methods handle creating Class objects, which can be used to
-both create new classes, and analyze pre-existing ones.
-
-Class::MOP will internally store weakened references to all the
-instances you create with these methods, so that they do not need
-to be created any more than nessecary.
-
-=over 4
-
-=item B<create ($package_name, ?$package_version,
- superclasses => ?@superclasses,
- methods => ?%methods,
- attributes => ?%attributes)>
-
-This returns the basic Class object, bringing the specified
-C<$package_name> into existence and adding any of the
-C<$package_version>, C<@superclasses>, C<%methods> and C<%attributes>
-to it.
-
-=item B<initialize ($package_name)>
-
-This initializes a Class object for a given a C<$package_name>.
-
-=back
-
-=head3 Instance construction
-
-=over 4
-
-=item B<construct_instance ($canidate, %params)>
-
-This will construct and instance using the C<$canidate> as storage
-(currently only HASH references are supported). This will collect all
-the applicable attribute meta-objects and layout out the fields in the
-C<$canidate>, it will then initialize them using either use the
-corresponding key in C<%params> or any default value or initializer
-found in the attribute meta-object.
-
-=back
-
-=head3 Informational
-
-=over 4
-
-=item B<name>
-
-This is a read-only attribute which returns the package name that
-the Class is stored in.
-
-=item B<version>
-
-This is a read-only attribute which returns the C<$VERSION> of the
-package the Class is stored in.
-
-=back
-
-=head3 Inheritance Relationships
-
-=over 4
-
-=item B<superclasses (?@superclasses)>
-
-This is a read-write attribute which represents the superclass
-relationships of this Class. Basically, it can get and set the
-C<@ISA> for you.
-
-=item B<class_precedence_list>
-
-This computes the a list of the Class's ancestors in the same order
-in which method dispatch will be done.
+See L<Class::MOP::Method> for more details.
=back
-=head3 Methods
-
-=over 4
-
-=item B<add_method ($method_name, $method)>
-
-This will take a C<$method_name> and CODE reference to that
-C<$method> and install it into the Class.
-
-B<NOTE> : This does absolutely nothing special to C<$method>
-other than use B<Sub::Name> to make sure it is tagged with the
-correct name, and therefore show up correctly in stack traces and
-such.
-
-=item B<has_method ($method_name)>
-
-This just provides a simple way to check if the Class implements
-a specific C<$method_name>. It will I<not> however, attempt to check
-if the class inherits the method.
-
-This will correctly handle functions defined outside of the package
-that use a fully qualified name (C<sub Package::name { ... }>).
-
-This will correctly handle functions renamed with B<Sub::Name> and
-installed using the symbol tables. However, if you are naming the
-subroutine outside of the package scope, you must use the fully
-qualified name, including the package name, for C<has_method> to
-correctly identify it.
-
-This will attempt to correctly ignore functions imported from other
-packages using B<Exporter>. It breaks down if the function imported
-is an C<__ANON__> sub (such as with C<use constant>), which very well
-may be a valid method being applied to the class.
-
-In short, this method cannot always be trusted to determine if the
-C<$method_name> is actually a method. However, it will DWIM about
-90% of the time, so it's a small trade off IMO.
-
-=item B<get_method ($method_name)>
-
-This will return a CODE reference of the specified C<$method_name>,
-or return undef if that method does not exist.
-
-=item B<remove_method ($method_name)>
-
-This will attempt to remove a given C<$method_name> from the Class.
-It will return the CODE reference that it has removed, and will
-attempt to use B<Sub::Name> to clear the methods associated name.
-
-=item B<get_method_list>
-
-This will return a list of method names for all I<locally> defined
-methods. It does B<not> provide a list of all applicable methods,
-including any inherited ones. If you want a list of all applicable
-methods, use the C<compute_all_applicable_methods> method.
-
-=item B<compute_all_applicable_methods>
-
-This will return a list of all the methods names this Class will
-support, taking into account inheritance. The list will be a list of
-HASH references, each one containing the following information; method
-name, the name of the class in which the method lives and a CODE
-reference for the actual method.
-
-=item B<find_all_methods_by_name ($method_name)>
-
-This will traverse the inheritence hierarchy and locate all methods
-with a given C<$method_name>. Similar to
-C<compute_all_applicable_methods> it returns a list of HASH references
-with the following information; method name (which will always be the
-same as C<$method_name>), the name of the class in which the method
-lives and a CODE reference for the actual method.
-
-The list of methods produced is a distinct list, meaning there are no
-duplicates in it. This is especially useful for things like object
-initialization and destruction where you only want the method called
-once, and in the correct order.
-
-=back
-
-=head3 Attributes
-
-It should be noted that since there is no one consistent way to define
-the attributes of a class in Perl 5. These methods can only work with
-the information given, and can not easily discover information on
-their own.
-
-=over 4
-
-=item B<add_attribute ($attribute_name, $attribute_meta_object)>
-
-This stores a C<$attribute_meta_object> in the Class object and
-associates it with the C<$attribute_name>. Unlike methods, attributes
-within the MOP are stored as meta-information only. They will be used
-later to construct instances from (see C<construct_instance> above).
-More details about the attribute meta-objects can be found in the
-L<The Attribute protocol> section of this document.
-
-=item B<has_attribute ($attribute_name)>
-
-Checks to see if this Class has an attribute by the name of
-C<$attribute_name> and returns a boolean.
-
-=item B<get_attribute ($attribute_name)>
-
-Returns the attribute meta-object associated with C<$attribute_name>,
-if none is found, it will return undef.
-
-=item B<remove_attribute ($attribute_name)>
-
-This will remove the attribute meta-object stored at
-C<$attribute_name>, then return the removed attribute meta-object.
-
-B<NOTE:> Removing an attribute will only affect future instances of
-the class, it will not make any attempt to remove the attribute from
-any existing instances of the class.
-
-=item B<get_attribute_list>
-
-This returns a list of attribute names which are defined in the local
-class. If you want a list of all applicable attributes for a class,
-use the C<compute_all_applicable_attributes> method.
-
-=item B<compute_all_applicable_attributes>
-
-This will traverse the inheritance heirachy and return a list of HASH
-references for all the applicable attributes for this class. The HASH
-references will contain the following information; the attribute name,
-the class which the attribute is associated with and the actual
-attribute meta-object
-
-=item B<create_all_accessors>
-
-This will communicate with all of the classes attributes to create
-and install the appropriate accessors. (see L<The Attribute Protocol>
-below for more details).
-
-=back
-
-=head2 The Attribute Protocol
-
-This protocol is almost entirely an invention of this module. This is
-because Perl 5 does not have consistent notion of what is an attribute
-of a class. There are so many ways in which this is done, and very few
-(if any) are discoverable by this module.
-
-So, all that said, this module attempts to inject some order into this
-chaos, by introducing a more consistent approach.
-
-=head3 Creation
-
-=over 4
-
-=item B<new ($name, %accessor_description, $class_initialization_arg, $default_value)>
-
- Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$foo' => (
- accessor => 'foo', # dual purpose get/set accessor
- init_arg => '-foo', # class->new will look for a -foo key
- default => 'BAR IS BAZ!' # if no -foo key is provided, use this
- ));
-
- Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$.bar' => (
- reader => 'bar', # getter
- writer => 'set_bar', # setter
- init_arg => '-bar', # class->new will look for a -bar key
- # no default value means it is undef
- ));
-
-=back
+=head1 SEE ALSO
-=head3 Informational
+=head2 Books
=over 4
-=item B<name>
-
-=item B<accessor>
-
-=item B<reader>
-
-=item B<writer>
-
-=item B<init_arg>
+=item "The Art of the Meta Object Protocol"
-=item B<default>
+=item "Advances in Object-Oriented Metalevel Architecture and Reflection"
=back
-=head3 Informational predicates
+=head2 Prior Art
=over 4
-=item B<has_accessor>
-
-Returns true if this attribute uses a get/set accessor, and false
-otherwise
-
-=item B<has_reader>
-
-Returns true if this attribute has a reader, and false otherwise
-
-=item B<has_writer>
-
-Returns true if this attribute has a writer, and false otherwise
-
-=item B<has_init_arg>
-
-Returns true if this attribute has a class intialization argument, and
-false otherwise
-
-=item B<has_default>
-
-Returns true if this attribute has a default value, and false
-otherwise.
-
-=back
-
-=head3 Attribute Accessor generation
+=item The Perl 6 MetaModel work
=over 4
-=item B<generate_accessors>
+=item L<http://svn.openfoundry.org/pugs/perl5/Perl6-MetaModel>
-This allows the attribute to generate code for it's own accessor
-methods. This is mostly part of an internal protocol between the class
-and it's own attributes, see the C<create_all_accessors> method above.
+=item L<http://svn.openfoundry.org/pugs/perl5/Perl6-ObjectSpace>
=back
-=head2 The Method Protocol
-
-This protocol is very small, since methods in Perl 5 are just
-subroutines within the particular package. Basically all we do is to
-bless the subroutine and provide some very simple introspection
-methods for it.
-
-=head1 SEE ALSO
-
-=over 4
-
-=item "The Art of the Meta Object Protocol"
-
-=item "Advances in Object-Oriented Metalevel Architecture and Reflection"
-
=back
=head1 AUTHOR
Stevan Little E<gt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<lt>
+Rob Kinyon E<gt>rob@iinteractive.comE<lt>
+
=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright 2006 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
}
+## Attributes
+
+sub has_attribute {}
+sub get_attribute {}
+sub add_attribute {}
+sub remove_attribute {}
+sub get_attribute_list {}
+sub compute_all_applicable_attributes {}
+sub create_all_accessors {}
+
1;
__END__
=head1 DESCRIPTION
+=head1 METHODS
+
+=head2 Class construction
+
+These methods handle creating Class objects, which can be used to
+both create new classes, and analyze pre-existing ones.
+
+This module will internally store references to all the instances
+you create with these methods, so that they do not need to be
+created any more than nessecary. Basically, they are singletons.
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<create ($package_name, ?$package_version,
+ superclasses => ?@superclasses,
+ methods => ?%methods,
+ attributes => ?%attributes)>
+
+This returns the basic Class object, bringing the specified
+C<$package_name> into existence and adding any of the
+C<$package_version>, C<@superclasses>, C<%methods> and C<%attributes>
+to it.
+
+=item B<initialize ($package_name)>
+
+This initializes a Class object for a given a C<$package_name>.
+
+=back
+
+=head2 Instance construction
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<construct_instance ($canidate, %params)>
+
+This will construct and instance using the C<$canidate> as storage
+(currently only HASH references are supported). This will collect all
+the applicable attribute meta-objects and layout out the fields in the
+C<$canidate>, it will then initialize them using either use the
+corresponding key in C<%params> or any default value or initializer
+found in the attribute meta-object.
+
+=back
+
+=head2 Informational
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<name>
+
+This is a read-only attribute which returns the package name that
+the Class is stored in.
+
+=item B<version>
+
+This is a read-only attribute which returns the C<$VERSION> of the
+package the Class is stored in.
+
+=back
+
+=head2 Inheritance Relationships
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<superclasses (?@superclasses)>
+
+This is a read-write attribute which represents the superclass
+relationships of this Class. Basically, it can get and set the
+C<@ISA> for you.
+
+=item B<class_precedence_list>
+
+This computes the a list of the Class's ancestors in the same order
+in which method dispatch will be done.
+
+=back
+
+=head2 Methods
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<add_method ($method_name, $method)>
+
+This will take a C<$method_name> and CODE reference to that
+C<$method> and install it into the Class.
+
+B<NOTE> : This does absolutely nothing special to C<$method>
+other than use B<Sub::Name> to make sure it is tagged with the
+correct name, and therefore show up correctly in stack traces and
+such.
+
+=item B<has_method ($method_name)>
+
+This just provides a simple way to check if the Class implements
+a specific C<$method_name>. It will I<not> however, attempt to check
+if the class inherits the method.
+
+This will correctly handle functions defined outside of the package
+that use a fully qualified name (C<sub Package::name { ... }>).
+
+This will correctly handle functions renamed with B<Sub::Name> and
+installed using the symbol tables. However, if you are naming the
+subroutine outside of the package scope, you must use the fully
+qualified name, including the package name, for C<has_method> to
+correctly identify it.
+
+This will attempt to correctly ignore functions imported from other
+packages using B<Exporter>. It breaks down if the function imported
+is an C<__ANON__> sub (such as with C<use constant>), which very well
+may be a valid method being applied to the class.
+
+In short, this method cannot always be trusted to determine if the
+C<$method_name> is actually a method. However, it will DWIM about
+90% of the time, so it's a small trade off IMO.
+
+=item B<get_method ($method_name)>
+
+This will return a CODE reference of the specified C<$method_name>,
+or return undef if that method does not exist.
+
+=item B<remove_method ($method_name)>
+
+This will attempt to remove a given C<$method_name> from the Class.
+It will return the CODE reference that it has removed, and will
+attempt to use B<Sub::Name> to clear the methods associated name.
+
+=item B<get_method_list>
+
+This will return a list of method names for all I<locally> defined
+methods. It does B<not> provide a list of all applicable methods,
+including any inherited ones. If you want a list of all applicable
+methods, use the C<compute_all_applicable_methods> method.
+
+=item B<compute_all_applicable_methods>
+
+This will return a list of all the methods names this Class will
+support, taking into account inheritance. The list will be a list of
+HASH references, each one containing the following information; method
+name, the name of the class in which the method lives and a CODE
+reference for the actual method.
+
+=item B<find_all_methods_by_name ($method_name)>
+
+This will traverse the inheritence hierarchy and locate all methods
+with a given C<$method_name>. Similar to
+C<compute_all_applicable_methods> it returns a list of HASH references
+with the following information; method name (which will always be the
+same as C<$method_name>), the name of the class in which the method
+lives and a CODE reference for the actual method.
+
+The list of methods produced is a distinct list, meaning there are no
+duplicates in it. This is especially useful for things like object
+initialization and destruction where you only want the method called
+once, and in the correct order.
+
+=back
+
+=head2 Attributes
+
+It should be noted that since there is no one consistent way to define
+the attributes of a class in Perl 5. These methods can only work with
+the information given, and can not easily discover information on
+their own.
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<add_attribute ($attribute_name, $attribute_meta_object)>
+
+This stores a C<$attribute_meta_object> in the Class object and
+associates it with the C<$attribute_name>. Unlike methods, attributes
+within the MOP are stored as meta-information only. They will be used
+later to construct instances from (see C<construct_instance> above).
+More details about the attribute meta-objects can be found in the
+L<The Attribute protocol> section of this document.
+
+=item B<has_attribute ($attribute_name)>
+
+Checks to see if this Class has an attribute by the name of
+C<$attribute_name> and returns a boolean.
+
+=item B<get_attribute ($attribute_name)>
+
+Returns the attribute meta-object associated with C<$attribute_name>,
+if none is found, it will return undef.
+
+=item B<remove_attribute ($attribute_name)>
+
+This will remove the attribute meta-object stored at
+C<$attribute_name>, then return the removed attribute meta-object.
+
+B<NOTE:> Removing an attribute will only affect future instances of
+the class, it will not make any attempt to remove the attribute from
+any existing instances of the class.
+
+=item B<get_attribute_list>
+
+This returns a list of attribute names which are defined in the local
+class. If you want a list of all applicable attributes for a class,
+use the C<compute_all_applicable_attributes> method.
+
+=item B<compute_all_applicable_attributes>
+
+This will traverse the inheritance heirachy and return a list of HASH
+references for all the applicable attributes for this class. The HASH
+references will contain the following information; the attribute name,
+the class which the attribute is associated with and the actual
+attribute meta-object
+
+=item B<create_all_accessors>
+
+This will communicate with all of the classes attributes to create
+and install the appropriate accessors. (see L<The Attribute Protocol>
+below for more details).
+
+=back
+
=head1 AUTHOR
Stevan Little E<gt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<lt>
projects / gitmo/Class-MOP.git / commitdiff