attr initializer
[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
0c6f4c4a 12our $VERSION = '0.23';
f0480c45 13our $AUTHORITY = 'cpan:STEVAN';
8b978dd5 14
b1897d4d 15use base 'Class::MOP::Object';
16
1d68af04 17sub meta {
727919c5 18 require Class::MOP::Class;
aa448b16 19 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($_[0]) || $_[0]);
727919c5 20}
2eb717d5 21
727919c5 22# NOTE: (meta-circularity)
1d68af04 23# This method will be replaced in the
24# boostrap section of Class::MOP, by
25# a new version which uses the
727919c5 26# &Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance
27# method to build an attribute meta-object
28# which itself is described with attribute
1d68af04 29# meta-objects.
727919c5 30# - Ain't meta-circularity grand? :)
8b978dd5 31sub new {
32 my $class = shift;
33 my $name = shift;
1d68af04 34 my %options = @_;
35
cbd9f942 36 (defined $name && $name)
8b978dd5 37 || confess "You must provide a name for the attribute";
1d68af04 38
39 $options{init_arg} = $name
5659d76e 40 if not exists $options{init_arg};
1d68af04 41 if(exists $options{builder}){
42 confess("builder must be a defined scalar value which is a method name")
43 if ref $options{builder} || !(defined $options{builder});
44 confess("Setting both default and builder is not allowed.")
45 if exists $options{default};
8fe581e5 46 } else {
47 (is_default_a_coderef(\%options))
48 || confess("References are not allowed as default values, you must ".
49 "wrap then in a CODE reference (ex: sub { [] } and not [])")
50 if exists $options{default} && ref $options{default};
1d68af04 51 }
2e877f58 52 if( $options{required} and not( defined($options{builder}) || defined($options{init_arg}) || exists $options{default} ) ) {
53 confess("A required attribute must have either 'init_arg', 'builder', or 'default'");
54 }
8b978dd5 55 bless {
c23184fc 56 '$!name' => $name,
57 '$!accessor' => $options{accessor},
58 '$!reader' => $options{reader},
8ee74136 59 '$!writer' => $options{writer},
60 '$!predicate' => $options{predicate},
61 '$!clearer' => $options{clearer},
62 '$!builder' => $options{builder},
63 '$!init_arg' => $options{init_arg},
64 '$!default' => $options{default},
65 '$!initializer' => $options{initializer},
1d68af04 66 # keep a weakened link to the
9ec169fe 67 # class we are associated with
c23184fc 68 '$!associated_class' => undef,
1d68af04 69 # and a list of the methods
3545c727 70 # associated with this attr
c23184fc 71 '@!associated_methods' => [],
8ee74136 72 # NOTE:
73 # protect this from silliness
2e5a2a62 74 init_arg => undef,
8b978dd5 75 } => $class;
76}
77
7b31baf4 78# NOTE:
1d68af04 79# this is a primative (and kludgy) clone operation
16e960bd 80# for now, it will be replaced in the Class::MOP
1d68af04 81# bootstrap with a proper one, however we know
5659d76e 82# that this one will work fine for now.
83sub clone {
84 my $self = shift;
85 my %options = @_;
86 (blessed($self))
87 || confess "Can only clone an instance";
88 return bless { %{$self}, %options } => blessed($self);
89}
90
bd4e03f9 91sub initialize_instance_slot {
f892c0f0 92 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $params) = @_;
c23184fc 93 my $init_arg = $self->{'$!init_arg'};
bd4e03f9 94 # try to fetch the init arg from the %params ...
8d2d4c67 95
1d68af04 96 # if nothing was in the %params, we can use the
bd4e03f9 97 # attribute's default value (if it has one)
2e877f58 98 if(defined $init_arg and exists $params->{$init_arg}){
8ee74136 99 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
100 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 101 $instance,
0ab65f99 102 $params->{$init_arg},
0ab65f99 103 );
b7bdffc3 104 }
105 elsif (defined $self->{'$!default'}) {
8ee74136 106 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
107 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 108 $instance,
0ab65f99 109 $self->default($instance),
0ab65f99 110 );
b7bdffc3 111 }
112 elsif (defined( my $builder = $self->{'$!builder'})) {
113 if ($builder = $instance->can($builder)) {
8ee74136 114 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
115 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 116 $instance,
0ab65f99 117 $instance->$builder,
0ab65f99 118 );
b7bdffc3 119 }
120 else {
232c4e13 121 confess(blessed($instance)." does not support builder method '". $self->{'$!builder'} ."' for attribute '" . $self->name . "'");
8fe581e5 122 }
1d68af04 123 }
bd4e03f9 124}
125
8ee74136 126sub _set_initial_slot_value {
127 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $value) = @_;
128
129 my $slot_name = $self->name;
130
131 return $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $value)
132 unless $self->has_initializer;
133
134 my $callback = sub {
135 $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $_[0]);
136 };
137
138 my $initializer = $self->initializer;
139
140 # most things will just want to set a value, so make it first arg
141 $instance->$initializer($value, $callback, $self);
142}
143
5659d76e 144# NOTE:
1d68af04 145# the next bunch of methods will get bootstrapped
7b31baf4 146# away in the Class::MOP bootstrapping section
147
c23184fc 148sub name { $_[0]->{'$!name'} }
c50c603e 149
c23184fc 150sub associated_class { $_[0]->{'$!associated_class'} }
151sub associated_methods { $_[0]->{'@!associated_methods'} }
7b31baf4 152
8ee74136 153sub has_accessor { defined($_[0]->{'$!accessor'}) ? 1 : 0 }
154sub has_reader { defined($_[0]->{'$!reader'}) ? 1 : 0 }
155sub has_writer { defined($_[0]->{'$!writer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
156sub has_predicate { defined($_[0]->{'$!predicate'}) ? 1 : 0 }
157sub has_clearer { defined($_[0]->{'$!clearer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
158sub has_builder { defined($_[0]->{'$!builder'}) ? 1 : 0 }
159sub has_init_arg { defined($_[0]->{'$!init_arg'}) ? 1 : 0 }
160sub has_default { defined($_[0]->{'$!default'}) ? 1 : 0 }
0ab65f99 161sub has_initializer { defined($_[0]->{'$!initializer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
c50c603e 162
8ee74136 163sub accessor { $_[0]->{'$!accessor'} }
164sub reader { $_[0]->{'$!reader'} }
165sub writer { $_[0]->{'$!writer'} }
166sub predicate { $_[0]->{'$!predicate'} }
167sub clearer { $_[0]->{'$!clearer'} }
168sub builder { $_[0]->{'$!builder'} }
169sub init_arg { $_[0]->{'$!init_arg'} }
0ab65f99 170sub initializer { $_[0]->{'$!initializer'} }
c50c603e 171
7b31baf4 172# end bootstrapped away method section.
173# (all methods below here are kept intact)
174
d14f6cbe 175sub get_read_method {
176 my $self = shift;
177 my $reader = $self->reader || $self->accessor;
178 # normal case ...
179 return $reader unless ref $reader;
180 # the HASH ref case
181 my ($name) = %$reader;
182 return $name;
183}
184
185sub get_write_method {
186 my $self = shift;
187 my $writer = $self->writer || $self->accessor;
188 # normal case ...
189 return $writer unless ref $writer;
190 # the HASH ref case
191 my ($name) = %$writer;
192 return $name;
193}
b25109b1 194
5da16d1b 195sub get_read_method_ref {
196 my $self = shift;
742fb371 197 if ((my $reader = $self->get_read_method) && $self->associated_class) {
5da16d1b 198 return $self->associated_class->get_method($reader);
199 }
200 else {
201 return sub { $self->get_value(@_) };
202 }
203}
204
205sub get_write_method_ref {
206 my $self = shift;
d14f6cbe 207 if ((my $writer = $self->get_write_method) && $self->associated_class) {
742fb371 208 return $self->associated_class->get_method($writer);
5da16d1b 209 }
210 else {
211 return sub { $self->set_value(@_) };
212 }
213}
214
1d68af04 215sub is_default_a_coderef {
216 ('CODE' eq (reftype($_[0]->{'$!default'} || $_[0]->{default}) || ''))
c0cbf4d9 217}
218
1d68af04 219sub default {
c0cbf4d9 220 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
9363ea89 221 if (defined $instance && $self->is_default_a_coderef) {
1d68af04 222 # if the default is a CODE ref, then
727919c5 223 # we pass in the instance and default
1d68af04 224 # can return a value based on that
727919c5 225 # instance. Somewhat crude, but works.
c23184fc 226 return $self->{'$!default'}->($instance);
1d68af04 227 }
c23184fc 228 $self->{'$!default'};
c50c603e 229}
8b978dd5 230
c57c8b10 231# slots
232
233sub slots { (shift)->name }
234
1d68af04 235# class association
727919c5 236
9ec169fe 237sub attach_to_class {
238 my ($self, $class) = @_;
239 (blessed($class) && $class->isa('Class::MOP::Class'))
240 || confess "You must pass a Class::MOP::Class instance (or a subclass)";
1d68af04 241 weaken($self->{'$!associated_class'} = $class);
9ec169fe 242}
243
244sub detach_from_class {
245 my $self = shift;
1d68af04 246 $self->{'$!associated_class'} = undef;
9ec169fe 247}
248
1d68af04 249# method association
3545c727 250
251sub associate_method {
252 my ($self, $method) = @_;
c23184fc 253 push @{$self->{'@!associated_methods'}} => $method;
3545c727 254}
255
16e960bd 256## Slot management
257
ef91a0e2 258sub set_initial_value {
259 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
e76b01fb 260 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
8ee74136 261 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))->get_meta_instance,
262 $instance,
263 $value
264 );
ef91a0e2 265}
266
16e960bd 267sub set_value {
1396f86b 268 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
16e960bd 269
3545c727 270 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
16e960bd 271 ->get_meta_instance
3545c727 272 ->set_slot_value($instance, $self->name, $value);
16e960bd 273}
274
275sub get_value {
1396f86b 276 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
16e960bd 277
3545c727 278 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
16e960bd 279 ->get_meta_instance
1396f86b 280 ->get_slot_value($instance, $self->name);
16e960bd 281}
282
3545c727 283sub has_value {
284 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 285
8d2d4c67 286 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
287 ->get_meta_instance
288 ->is_slot_initialized($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 289}
290
291sub clear_value {
292 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 293
3545c727 294 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
295 ->get_meta_instance
1d68af04 296 ->deinitialize_slot($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 297}
298
ba38bf08 299## load em up ...
c0cbf4d9 300
ba38bf08 301sub accessor_metaclass { 'Class::MOP::Method::Accessor' }
c0cbf4d9 302
9ec169fe 303sub process_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 304 my ($self, $type, $accessor, $generate_as_inline_methods) = @_;
013b1897 305 if (reftype($accessor)) {
306 (reftype($accessor) eq 'HASH')
7d28758b 307 || confess "bad accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer format, must be a HASH ref";
4d47b77f 308 my ($name, $method) = %{$accessor};
3545c727 309 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->wrap($method);
310 $self->associate_method($method);
1d68af04 311 return ($name, $method);
2eb717d5 312 }
9ec169fe 313 else {
1d68af04 314 my $inline_me = ($generate_as_inline_methods && $self->associated_class->instance_metaclass->is_inlinable);
ba38bf08 315 my $method;
316 eval {
317 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->new(
318 attribute => $self,
d90b42a6 319 is_inline => $inline_me,
ba38bf08 320 accessor_type => $type,
1d68af04 321 );
ba38bf08 322 };
1d68af04 323 confess "Could not create the '$type' method for " . $self->name . " because : $@" if $@;
3545c727 324 $self->associate_method($method);
ba38bf08 325 return ($accessor, $method);
1d68af04 326 }
9ec169fe 327}
328
329sub install_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 330 my $self = shift;
331 my $inline = shift;
332 my $class = $self->associated_class;
1d68af04 333
9ec169fe 334 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 335 $self->process_accessors('accessor' => $self->accessor(), $inline)
9ec169fe 336 ) if $self->has_accessor();
337
1d68af04 338 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 339 $self->process_accessors('reader' => $self->reader(), $inline)
9ec169fe 340 ) if $self->has_reader();
341
342 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 343 $self->process_accessors('writer' => $self->writer(), $inline)
9ec169fe 344 ) if $self->has_writer();
345
346 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 347 $self->process_accessors('predicate' => $self->predicate(), $inline)
9ec169fe 348 ) if $self->has_predicate();
1d68af04 349
7d28758b 350 $class->add_method(
351 $self->process_accessors('clearer' => $self->clearer(), $inline)
352 ) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 353
9ec169fe 354 return;
2eb717d5 355}
356
b51af7f9 357{
358 my $_remove_accessor = sub {
359 my ($accessor, $class) = @_;
c50c603e 360 if (reftype($accessor) && reftype($accessor) eq 'HASH') {
361 ($accessor) = keys %{$accessor};
1d68af04 362 }
363 my $method = $class->get_method($accessor);
364 $class->remove_method($accessor)
ba38bf08 365 if (blessed($method) && $method->isa('Class::MOP::Method::Accessor'));
b51af7f9 366 };
1d68af04 367
b51af7f9 368 sub remove_accessors {
9ec169fe 369 my $self = shift;
2367814a 370 # TODO:
1d68af04 371 # we really need to make sure to remove from the
372 # associates methods here as well. But this is
373 # such a slimly used method, I am not worried
2367814a 374 # about it right now.
9ec169fe 375 $_remove_accessor->($self->accessor(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_accessor();
376 $_remove_accessor->($self->reader(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_reader();
377 $_remove_accessor->($self->writer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_writer();
378 $_remove_accessor->($self->predicate(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_predicate();
7d28758b 379 $_remove_accessor->($self->clearer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 380 return;
b51af7f9 381 }
382
8b978dd5 383}
384
3851;
386
387__END__
388
389=pod
390
1d68af04 391=head1 NAME
8b978dd5 392
393Class::MOP::Attribute - Attribute Meta Object
394
395=head1 SYNOPSIS
1d68af04 396
8b978dd5 397 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$foo' => (
fe122940 398 accessor => 'foo', # dual purpose get/set accessor
1d68af04 399 predicate => 'has_foo' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 400 init_arg => '-foo', # class->new will look for a -foo key
401 default => 'BAR IS BAZ!' # if no -foo key is provided, use this
8b978dd5 402 ));
1d68af04 403
8b978dd5 404 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$.bar' => (
fe122940 405 reader => 'bar', # getter
1d68af04 406 writer => 'set_bar', # setter
407 predicate => 'has_bar' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 408 init_arg => ':bar', # class->new will look for a :bar key
8b978dd5 409 # no default value means it is undef
410 ));
411
412=head1 DESCRIPTION
413
fe122940 414The Attribute Protocol is almost entirely an invention of this module,
1d68af04 415and is completely optional to this MOP. This is because Perl 5 does not
416have consistent notion of what is an attribute of a class. There are
417so many ways in which this is done, and very few (if any) are
fe122940 418easily discoverable by this module.
552e3d24 419
1d68af04 420So, all that said, this module attempts to inject some order into this
421chaos, by introducing a consistent API which can be used to create
fe122940 422object attributes.
552e3d24 423
424=head1 METHODS
425
426=head2 Creation
427
428=over 4
429
fe122940 430=item B<new ($name, ?%options)>
431
1d68af04 432An attribute must (at the very least), have a C<$name>. All other
a2e85e6c 433C<%options> are contained added as key-value pairs. Acceptable keys
fe122940 434are as follows:
435
436=over 4
437
438=item I<init_arg>
439
1d68af04 440This should be a string value representing the expected key in
441an initialization hash. For instance, if we have an I<init_arg>
fe122940 442value of C<-foo>, then the following code will Just Work.
443
444 MyClass->meta->construct_instance(-foo => "Hello There");
445
1d68af04 446In an init_arg is not assigned, it will automatically use the
0ef07b33 447value of C<$name>. If an explicit C<undef> is given for an init_arg,
448an attribute value can't be specified during initialization.
7b31baf4 449
1d68af04 450=item I<builder>
451
452The value of this key is the name of the method that will be
453called to obtain the value used to initialize the attribute.
454This should be a method in the class associated with the attribute,
455not a method in the attribute class itself.
fe122940 456
4c4a6c41 457=item I<default>
458
459The value of this key is the default value which
460C<Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance> will initialize the
461attribute to.
462
fe122940 463B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 464If the value is a simple scalar (string or number), then it can
465be just passed as is. However, if you wish to initialize it with
466a HASH or ARRAY ref, then you need to wrap that inside a CODE
fe122940 467reference, like so:
468
469 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('@foo' => (
470 default => sub { [] },
471 ));
1d68af04 472
473 # or ...
474
fe122940 475 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%foo' => (
476 default => sub { {} },
1d68af04 477 ));
fe122940 478
1d68af04 479If you wish to initialize an attribute with a CODE reference
fe122940 480itself, then you need to wrap that in a subroutine as well, like
481so:
1d68af04 482
fe122940 483 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('&foo' => (
484 default => sub { sub { print "Hello World" } },
485 ));
486
1d68af04 487And lastly, if the value of your attribute is dependent upon
488some other aspect of the instance structure, then you can take
489advantage of the fact that when the I<default> value is a CODE
490reference, it is passed the raw (unblessed) instance structure
fe122940 491as it's only argument. So you can do things like this:
492
493 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$object_identity' => (
494 default => sub { Scalar::Util::refaddr($_[0]) },
495 ));
496
1d68af04 497This last feature is fairly limited as there is no gurantee of
498the order of attribute initializations, so you cannot perform
499any kind of dependent initializations. However, if this is
500something you need, you could subclass B<Class::MOP::Class> and
501this class to acheive it. However, this is currently left as
fe122940 502an exercise to the reader :).
503
0ef07b33 504=item I<initializer>
505
506This may be a method name (referring to a method on the class with this
507attribute) or a CODE ref. The initializer is used to set the attribute value
508on an instance when the attribute is set during instance initialization. When
509called, it is passed the instance (as the invocant), the value to set, a
510slot-setting CODE ref, and the attribute meta-instance. The slot-setting code
511is provided to make it easy to set the (possibly altered) value on the instance
512without going through several more method calls.
513
514If no initializer is given (as is the common case) initial attribute values are
515set directly, bypassing the writer.
516
517This contrived example shows an initializer that sets the attribute to twice
518the given value.
519
520 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$doubled' => (
521 initializer => sub {
522 my ($instance, $value, $set) = @_;
523 $set->($value * 2);
524 },
525 ));
526
527As method names can be given as initializers, one can easily make
528attribute initialization use the writer:
529
530 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$some_attr' => (
531 writer => 'some_attr',
532 initializer => 'some_attr',
533 ));
534
fe122940 535=back
536
7d28758b 537The I<accessor>, I<reader>, I<writer>, I<predicate> and I<clearer> keys can
538contain either; the name of the method and an appropriate default one will be
539generated for you, B<or> a HASH ref containing exactly one key (which will be
540used as the name of the method) and one value, which should contain a CODE
541reference which will be installed as the method itself.
59e7697f 542
543=over 4
544
545=item I<accessor>
546
1d68af04 547The I<accessor> is a standard perl-style read/write accessor. It will
548return the value of the attribute, and if a value is passed as an argument,
fe122940 549it will assign that value to the attribute.
550
551B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 552This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 553C<undef> value to the attribute.
554
555 $object->set_something(undef);
556
59e7697f 557=item I<reader>
558
1d68af04 559This is a basic read-only accessor, it will just return the value of
fe122940 560the attribute.
561
59e7697f 562=item I<writer>
563
1d68af04 564This is a basic write accessor, it accepts a single argument, and
565assigns that value to the attribute. This method does not intentially
566return a value, however perl will return the result of the last
567expression in the subroutine, which returns in this returning the
568same value that it was passed.
59e7697f 569
fe122940 570B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 571This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 572C<undef> value to the attribute.
59e7697f 573
fe122940 574 $object->set_something();
575
576=item I<predicate>
577
07dca7e3 578This is a basic test to see if any value has been set for the
579attribute. It will return true (C<1>) if the attribute has been set
580to any value (even C<undef>), and false (C<0>) otherwise.
581
582B<NOTE:>
583The predicate will return true even when you set an attribute's
584value to C<undef>. This behaviour has changed as of version 0.43. In
585older versions, the predicate (erroneously) checked for attribute
586value definedness, instead of presence as it is now.
587
588If you really want to get rid of the value, you have to define and
589use a I<clearer> (see below).
590
7d28758b 591=item I<clearer>
592
593This is the a method that will uninitialize the attr, reverting lazy values
594back to their "unfulfilled" state.
595
59e7697f 596=back
552e3d24 597
bd4e03f9 598=item B<clone (%options)>
599
600=item B<initialize_instance_slot ($instance, $params)>
601
1d68af04 602=back
552e3d24 603
16e960bd 604=head2 Value management
605
1d68af04 606These methods are basically "backdoors" to the instance, which can be used
607to bypass the regular accessors, but still stay within the context of the MOP.
2367814a 608
1d68af04 609These methods are not for general use, and should only be used if you really
2367814a 610know what you are doing.
611
16e960bd 612=over 4
613
3545c727 614=item B<set_value ($instance, $value)>
16e960bd 615
616Set the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done to
617even attributes with just read only accessors.
618
c0921932 619=item B<set_initial_value ($instance, $value)>
620
621This method sets the value without going through the accessor -- but it is only
622called when the instance data is first initialized.
623
3545c727 624=item B<get_value ($instance)>
16e960bd 625
626Return the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done
627even to attributes with just write only accessors.
628
3545c727 629=item B<has_value ($instance)>
630
92d2abfa 631Return a boolean indicating if the item in the C<$instance> has a value in it.
2367814a 632This is basically what the default C<predicate> method calls.
633
3545c727 634=item B<clear_value ($instance)>
635
2367814a 636This will clear the value in the C<$instance>. This is basically what the default
1d68af04 637C<clearer> would call. Note that this may be done even if the attirbute does not
2367814a 638have any associated read, write or clear methods.
639
16e960bd 640=back
641
552e3d24 642=head2 Informational
643
1d68af04 644These are all basic read-only value accessors for the values
fe122940 645passed into C<new>. I think they are pretty much self-explanitory.
646
552e3d24 647=over 4
648
649=item B<name>
650
651=item B<accessor>
652
653=item B<reader>
654
655=item B<writer>
656
c50c603e 657=item B<predicate>
658
7d28758b 659=item B<clearer>
660
0ab65f99 661=item B<initializer>
662
552e3d24 663=item B<init_arg>
664
495af518 665=item B<is_default_a_coderef>
666
fe122940 667=item B<default (?$instance)>
668
92d2abfa 669Return the default value for the attribute.
670
671If you pass in an C<$instance> argument to this accessor and the
672I<default> is a CODE reference, then the CODE reference will be
673executed with the C<$instance> as its argument.
552e3d24 674
c57c8b10 675=item B<slots>
676
92d2abfa 677Return a list of slots required by the attribute. This is usually
c57c8b10 678just one, which is the name of the attribute.
679
b25109b1 680=item B<get_read_method>
681
682=item B<get_write_method>
683
5da16d1b 684Return the name of a method name suitable for reading / writing the value
685of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
686C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
687
688=item B<get_read_method_ref>
689
690=item B<get_write_method_ref>
691
692Return the CODE reference of a method suitable for reading / writing the
693value of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
694C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was specified or not.
695
696NOTE: If not reader/writer/accessor was specified, this will use the
697attribute get_value/set_value methods, which can be very inefficient.
b25109b1 698
552e3d24 699=back
700
701=head2 Informational predicates
702
a2e85e6c 703These are all basic predicate methods for the values passed into C<new>.
fe122940 704
552e3d24 705=over 4
706
707=item B<has_accessor>
708
552e3d24 709=item B<has_reader>
710
552e3d24 711=item B<has_writer>
712
c50c603e 713=item B<has_predicate>
714
7d28758b 715=item B<has_clearer>
716
0ab65f99 717=item B<has_initializer>
718
552e3d24 719=item B<has_init_arg>
720
552e3d24 721=item B<has_default>
722
bf731086 723=item B<has_builder>
724
552e3d24 725=back
726
9ec169fe 727=head2 Class association
728
1d68af04 729These methods allow you to manage the attributes association with
730the class that contains it. These methods should not be used
2367814a 731lightly, nor are they very magical, they are mostly used internally
732and by metaclass instances.
733
9ec169fe 734=over 4
735
736=item B<associated_class>
737
2367814a 738This returns the metaclass this attribute is associated with.
739
9ec169fe 740=item B<attach_to_class ($class)>
741
1d68af04 742This will store a weaken reference to C<$class> internally. You should
2367814a 743note that just changing the class assocation will not remove the attribute
744from it's old class, and initialize it (and it's accessors) in the new
745C<$class>. It is up to you to do this manually.
746
9ec169fe 747=item B<detach_from_class>
748
1d68af04 749This will remove the weakened reference to the class. It does B<not>
750remove the attribute itself from the class (or remove it's accessors),
751you must do that yourself if you want too. Actually if that is what
752you want to do, you should probably be looking at
2367814a 753L<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute> instead.
754
9ec169fe 755=back
756
552e3d24 757=head2 Attribute Accessor generation
758
759=over 4
760
ba38bf08 761=item B<accessor_metaclass>
762
2367814a 763Accessors are generated by an accessor metaclass, which is usually
1d68af04 764a subclass of C<Class::MOP::Method::Accessor>. This method returns
2367814a 765the name of the accessor metaclass that this attribute uses.
766
767=item B<associate_method ($method)>
768
1d68af04 769This will associate a C<$method> with the given attribute which is
770used internally by the accessor generator.
3545c727 771
772=item B<associated_methods>
773
1d68af04 774This will return the list of methods which have been associated with
775the C<associate_method> methods.
2367814a 776
9ec169fe 777=item B<install_accessors>
2eb717d5 778
1d68af04 779This allows the attribute to generate and install code for it's own
780I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate> methods. This is called by
fe122940 781C<Class::MOP::Class::add_attribute>.
2eb717d5 782
1d68af04 783This method will call C<process_accessors> for each of the possible
9ec169fe 784method types (accessor, reader, writer & predicate).
785
786=item B<process_accessors ($type, $value)>
787
1d68af04 788This takes a C<$type> (accessor, reader, writer or predicate), and
9ec169fe 789a C<$value> (the value passed into the constructor for each of the
1d68af04 790different types). It will then either generate the method itself
791(using the C<generate_*_method> methods listed below) or it will
792use the custom method passed through the constructor.
9ec169fe 793
9ec169fe 794=item B<remove_accessors>
2eb717d5 795
1d68af04 796This allows the attribute to remove the method for it's own
797I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer>. This is called by
fe122940 798C<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute>.
2eb717d5 799
1d68af04 800NOTE: This does not currently remove methods from the list returned
2367814a 801by C<associated_methods>, that is on the TODO list.
802
2eb717d5 803=back
804
805=head2 Introspection
806
807=over 4
552e3d24 808
2eb717d5 809=item B<meta>
552e3d24 810
1d68af04 811This will return a B<Class::MOP::Class> instance which is related
fe122940 812to this class.
813
1d68af04 814It should also be noted that B<Class::MOP> will actually bootstrap
815this module by installing a number of attribute meta-objects into
816it's metaclass. This will allow this class to reap all the benifits
817of the MOP when subclassing it.
fe122940 818
552e3d24 819=back
820
1a09d9cc 821=head1 AUTHORS
8b978dd5 822
a2e85e6c 823Stevan Little E<lt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<gt>
8b978dd5 824
825=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
826
69e3ab0a 827Copyright 2006-2008 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
8b978dd5 828
829L<http://www.iinteractive.com>
830
831This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
1d68af04 832it under the same terms as Perl itself.
8b978dd5 833
16e960bd 834=cut
835
7d28758b 836