package UNIVERSAL;
-our $VERSION = '1.03';
+our $VERSION = '1.04';
# UNIVERSAL should not contain any extra subs/methods beyond those
# that it exists to define. The use of Exporter below is a historical
=head1 SYNOPSIS
- $is_io = $fd->isa("IO::Handle");
- $is_io = Class->isa("IO::Handle");
+ $is_io = $fd->isa("IO::Handle");
+ $is_io = Class->isa("IO::Handle");
- $sub = $obj->can("print");
- $sub = Class->can("print");
+ $does_log = $obj->DOES("Logger");
+ $does_log = Class->DOES("Logger");
- $sub = eval { $ref->can("fandango") };
- $ver = $obj->VERSION;
+ $sub = $obj->can("print");
+ $sub = Class->can("print");
+
+ $sub = eval { $ref->can("fandango") };
+ $ver = $obj->VERSION;
# but never do this!
- $is_io = UNIVERSAL::isa($fd, "IO::Handle");
- $sub = UNIVERSAL::can($obj, "print");
+ $is_io = UNIVERSAL::isa($fd, "IO::Handle");
+ $sub = UNIVERSAL::can($obj, "print");
=head1 DESCRIPTION
...
}
+=item C<< $obj->DOES( ROLE ) >>
+
+=item C<< CLASS->DOES( ROLE ) >>
+
+C<DOES> checks if the object or class performs the role C<ROLE>. A role is a
+named group of specific behavior (often methods of particular names and
+signatures), similar to a class, but not necessarily a complete class by
+itself. For example, logging or serialization may be roles.
+
+C<DOES> and C<isa> are similar, in that if either is true, you know that the
+object or class on which you call the method can perform specific behavior.
+However, C<DOES> is different from C<isa> in that it does not care I<how> the
+invocant performs the operations, merely that it does. (C<isa> of course
+mandates an inheritance relationship. Other relationships include aggregation,
+delegation, and mocking.)
+
+By default, classes in Perl only perform the C<UNIVERSAL> role. To mark that
+your own classes perform other roles, override C<DOES> appropriately.
+
+There is a relationship between roles and classes, as each class implies the
+existence of a role of the same name. There is also a relationship between
+inheritance and roles, in that a subclass that inherits from an ancestor class
+implicitly performs any roles its parent performs. Thus you can use C<DOES> in
+place of C<isa> safely, as it will return true in all places where C<isa> will
+return true (provided that any overridden C<DOES> I<and> C<isa> methods behave
+appropriately).
+
=item C<< $obj->can( METHOD ) >>
=item C<< CLASS->can( METHOD ) >>
None by default.
-You may request the import of all three functions (C<isa>, C<can>, and
-C<VERSION>), however it is usually harmful to do so. Please don't do this in
-new code.
+You may request the import of three functions (C<isa>, C<can>, and C<VERSION>),
+however it is usually harmful to do so. Please don't do this in new code.
For example, previous versions of this documentation suggested using C<isa> as
a function to determine the type of a reference: