0.58, no really this time
[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
b4009dc1 12our $VERSION = '0.25';
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 {
def5c0b5 199 my $code = sub { $self->get_value(@_) };
200 if (my $class = $self->associated_class) {
201 return $class->method_metaclass->wrap(
202 $code,
203 package_name => $class->name,
204 name => '__ANON__'
205 );
206 }
207 else {
208 return $code;
209 }
5da16d1b 210 }
211}
212
213sub get_write_method_ref {
214 my $self = shift;
d14f6cbe 215 if ((my $writer = $self->get_write_method) && $self->associated_class) {
742fb371 216 return $self->associated_class->get_method($writer);
5da16d1b 217 }
218 else {
def5c0b5 219 my $code = sub { $self->set_value(@_) };
220 if (my $class = $self->associated_class) {
221 return $class->method_metaclass->wrap(
222 $code,
223 package_name => $class->name,
224 name => '__ANON__'
225 );
226 }
227 else {
228 return $code;
229 }
5da16d1b 230 }
231}
232
1d68af04 233sub is_default_a_coderef {
234 ('CODE' eq (reftype($_[0]->{'$!default'} || $_[0]->{default}) || ''))
c0cbf4d9 235}
236
1d68af04 237sub default {
c0cbf4d9 238 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
9363ea89 239 if (defined $instance && $self->is_default_a_coderef) {
1d68af04 240 # if the default is a CODE ref, then
727919c5 241 # we pass in the instance and default
1d68af04 242 # can return a value based on that
727919c5 243 # instance. Somewhat crude, but works.
c23184fc 244 return $self->{'$!default'}->($instance);
1d68af04 245 }
c23184fc 246 $self->{'$!default'};
c50c603e 247}
8b978dd5 248
c57c8b10 249# slots
250
251sub slots { (shift)->name }
252
1d68af04 253# class association
727919c5 254
9ec169fe 255sub attach_to_class {
256 my ($self, $class) = @_;
257 (blessed($class) && $class->isa('Class::MOP::Class'))
258 || confess "You must pass a Class::MOP::Class instance (or a subclass)";
1d68af04 259 weaken($self->{'$!associated_class'} = $class);
9ec169fe 260}
261
262sub detach_from_class {
263 my $self = shift;
1d68af04 264 $self->{'$!associated_class'} = undef;
9ec169fe 265}
266
1d68af04 267# method association
3545c727 268
269sub associate_method {
270 my ($self, $method) = @_;
c23184fc 271 push @{$self->{'@!associated_methods'}} => $method;
3545c727 272}
273
16e960bd 274## Slot management
275
ef91a0e2 276sub set_initial_value {
277 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
e76b01fb 278 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
da34f054 279 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))->get_meta_instance,
8ee74136 280 $instance,
281 $value
282 );
ef91a0e2 283}
284
16e960bd 285sub set_value {
1396f86b 286 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
16e960bd 287
da34f054 288 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
289 ->get_meta_instance
290 ->set_slot_value($instance, $self->name, $value);
16e960bd 291}
292
293sub get_value {
1396f86b 294 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
16e960bd 295
da34f054 296 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
297 ->get_meta_instance
298 ->get_slot_value($instance, $self->name);
16e960bd 299}
300
3545c727 301sub has_value {
302 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 303
da34f054 304 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
305 ->get_meta_instance
306 ->is_slot_initialized($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 307}
308
309sub clear_value {
310 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 311
da34f054 312 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
313 ->get_meta_instance
314 ->deinitialize_slot($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 315}
316
ba38bf08 317## load em up ...
c0cbf4d9 318
ba38bf08 319sub accessor_metaclass { 'Class::MOP::Method::Accessor' }
c0cbf4d9 320
9ec169fe 321sub process_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 322 my ($self, $type, $accessor, $generate_as_inline_methods) = @_;
013b1897 323 if (reftype($accessor)) {
324 (reftype($accessor) eq 'HASH')
7d28758b 325 || confess "bad accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer format, must be a HASH ref";
4d47b77f 326 my ($name, $method) = %{$accessor};
4c105333 327 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->wrap(
328 $method,
329 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
330 name => $name,
331 );
3545c727 332 $self->associate_method($method);
1d68af04 333 return ($name, $method);
2eb717d5 334 }
9ec169fe 335 else {
1d68af04 336 my $inline_me = ($generate_as_inline_methods && $self->associated_class->instance_metaclass->is_inlinable);
ba38bf08 337 my $method;
338 eval {
339 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->new(
340 attribute => $self,
d90b42a6 341 is_inline => $inline_me,
ba38bf08 342 accessor_type => $type,
4c105333 343 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
344 name => $accessor,
1d68af04 345 );
ba38bf08 346 };
1d68af04 347 confess "Could not create the '$type' method for " . $self->name . " because : $@" if $@;
3545c727 348 $self->associate_method($method);
ba38bf08 349 return ($accessor, $method);
1d68af04 350 }
9ec169fe 351}
352
353sub install_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 354 my $self = shift;
355 my $inline = shift;
356 my $class = $self->associated_class;
1d68af04 357
9ec169fe 358 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 359 $self->process_accessors('accessor' => $self->accessor(), $inline)
9ec169fe 360 ) if $self->has_accessor();
361
1d68af04 362 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 363 $self->process_accessors('reader' => $self->reader(), $inline)
9ec169fe 364 ) if $self->has_reader();
365
366 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 367 $self->process_accessors('writer' => $self->writer(), $inline)
9ec169fe 368 ) if $self->has_writer();
369
370 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 371 $self->process_accessors('predicate' => $self->predicate(), $inline)
9ec169fe 372 ) if $self->has_predicate();
1d68af04 373
7d28758b 374 $class->add_method(
375 $self->process_accessors('clearer' => $self->clearer(), $inline)
376 ) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 377
9ec169fe 378 return;
2eb717d5 379}
380
b51af7f9 381{
382 my $_remove_accessor = sub {
383 my ($accessor, $class) = @_;
c50c603e 384 if (reftype($accessor) && reftype($accessor) eq 'HASH') {
385 ($accessor) = keys %{$accessor};
1d68af04 386 }
387 my $method = $class->get_method($accessor);
388 $class->remove_method($accessor)
ba38bf08 389 if (blessed($method) && $method->isa('Class::MOP::Method::Accessor'));
b51af7f9 390 };
1d68af04 391
b51af7f9 392 sub remove_accessors {
9ec169fe 393 my $self = shift;
2367814a 394 # TODO:
1d68af04 395 # we really need to make sure to remove from the
396 # associates methods here as well. But this is
397 # such a slimly used method, I am not worried
2367814a 398 # about it right now.
9ec169fe 399 $_remove_accessor->($self->accessor(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_accessor();
400 $_remove_accessor->($self->reader(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_reader();
401 $_remove_accessor->($self->writer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_writer();
402 $_remove_accessor->($self->predicate(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_predicate();
7d28758b 403 $_remove_accessor->($self->clearer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 404 return;
b51af7f9 405 }
406
8b978dd5 407}
408
4091;
410
411__END__
412
413=pod
414
1d68af04 415=head1 NAME
8b978dd5 416
417Class::MOP::Attribute - Attribute Meta Object
418
419=head1 SYNOPSIS
1d68af04 420
8b978dd5 421 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$foo' => (
fe122940 422 accessor => 'foo', # dual purpose get/set accessor
1d68af04 423 predicate => 'has_foo' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 424 init_arg => '-foo', # class->new will look for a -foo key
425 default => 'BAR IS BAZ!' # if no -foo key is provided, use this
8b978dd5 426 ));
1d68af04 427
8b978dd5 428 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$.bar' => (
fe122940 429 reader => 'bar', # getter
1d68af04 430 writer => 'set_bar', # setter
431 predicate => 'has_bar' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 432 init_arg => ':bar', # class->new will look for a :bar key
8b978dd5 433 # no default value means it is undef
434 ));
435
436=head1 DESCRIPTION
437
fe122940 438The Attribute Protocol is almost entirely an invention of this module,
1d68af04 439and is completely optional to this MOP. This is because Perl 5 does not
440have consistent notion of what is an attribute of a class. There are
441so many ways in which this is done, and very few (if any) are
fe122940 442easily discoverable by this module.
552e3d24 443
1d68af04 444So, all that said, this module attempts to inject some order into this
445chaos, by introducing a consistent API which can be used to create
fe122940 446object attributes.
552e3d24 447
448=head1 METHODS
449
450=head2 Creation
451
452=over 4
453
fe122940 454=item B<new ($name, ?%options)>
455
1d68af04 456An attribute must (at the very least), have a C<$name>. All other
a2e85e6c 457C<%options> are contained added as key-value pairs. Acceptable keys
fe122940 458are as follows:
459
460=over 4
461
462=item I<init_arg>
463
1d68af04 464This should be a string value representing the expected key in
465an initialization hash. For instance, if we have an I<init_arg>
fe122940 466value of C<-foo>, then the following code will Just Work.
467
468 MyClass->meta->construct_instance(-foo => "Hello There");
469
1d68af04 470In an init_arg is not assigned, it will automatically use the
0ef07b33 471value of C<$name>. If an explicit C<undef> is given for an init_arg,
472an attribute value can't be specified during initialization.
7b31baf4 473
1d68af04 474=item I<builder>
475
476The value of this key is the name of the method that will be
477called to obtain the value used to initialize the attribute.
478This should be a method in the class associated with the attribute,
479not a method in the attribute class itself.
fe122940 480
4c4a6c41 481=item I<default>
482
483The value of this key is the default value which
484C<Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance> will initialize the
485attribute to.
486
fe122940 487B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 488If the value is a simple scalar (string or number), then it can
489be just passed as is. However, if you wish to initialize it with
490a HASH or ARRAY ref, then you need to wrap that inside a CODE
fe122940 491reference, like so:
492
493 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('@foo' => (
494 default => sub { [] },
495 ));
1d68af04 496
497 # or ...
498
fe122940 499 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%foo' => (
500 default => sub { {} },
1d68af04 501 ));
fe122940 502
1d68af04 503If you wish to initialize an attribute with a CODE reference
fe122940 504itself, then you need to wrap that in a subroutine as well, like
505so:
1d68af04 506
fe122940 507 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('&foo' => (
508 default => sub { sub { print "Hello World" } },
509 ));
510
1d68af04 511And lastly, if the value of your attribute is dependent upon
512some other aspect of the instance structure, then you can take
513advantage of the fact that when the I<default> value is a CODE
127d39a7 514reference, it is passed the (as yet unfinished) instance structure
fe122940 515as it's only argument. So you can do things like this:
516
517 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$object_identity' => (
518 default => sub { Scalar::Util::refaddr($_[0]) },
519 ));
520
1d68af04 521This last feature is fairly limited as there is no gurantee of
522the order of attribute initializations, so you cannot perform
523any kind of dependent initializations. However, if this is
524something you need, you could subclass B<Class::MOP::Class> and
525this class to acheive it. However, this is currently left as
fe122940 526an exercise to the reader :).
527
0ef07b33 528=item I<initializer>
529
530This may be a method name (referring to a method on the class with this
531attribute) or a CODE ref. The initializer is used to set the attribute value
532on an instance when the attribute is set during instance initialization. When
533called, it is passed the instance (as the invocant), the value to set, a
534slot-setting CODE ref, and the attribute meta-instance. The slot-setting code
535is provided to make it easy to set the (possibly altered) value on the instance
536without going through several more method calls.
537
0ef07b33 538This contrived example shows an initializer that sets the attribute to twice
539the given value.
540
541 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$doubled' => (
542 initializer => sub {
543 my ($instance, $value, $set) = @_;
544 $set->($value * 2);
545 },
546 ));
547
548As method names can be given as initializers, one can easily make
549attribute initialization use the writer:
550
551 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$some_attr' => (
552 writer => 'some_attr',
553 initializer => 'some_attr',
554 ));
555
127d39a7 556Your writer will simply need to examine it's C<@_> and determine under
557which context it is being called.
558
fe122940 559=back
560
7d28758b 561The I<accessor>, I<reader>, I<writer>, I<predicate> and I<clearer> keys can
562contain either; the name of the method and an appropriate default one will be
563generated for you, B<or> a HASH ref containing exactly one key (which will be
564used as the name of the method) and one value, which should contain a CODE
565reference which will be installed as the method itself.
59e7697f 566
567=over 4
568
569=item I<accessor>
570
1d68af04 571The I<accessor> is a standard perl-style read/write accessor. It will
572return the value of the attribute, and if a value is passed as an argument,
fe122940 573it will assign that value to the attribute.
574
575B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 576This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 577C<undef> value to the attribute.
578
579 $object->set_something(undef);
580
59e7697f 581=item I<reader>
582
1d68af04 583This is a basic read-only accessor, it will just return the value of
fe122940 584the attribute.
585
59e7697f 586=item I<writer>
587
1d68af04 588This is a basic write accessor, it accepts a single argument, and
589assigns that value to the attribute. This method does not intentially
590return a value, however perl will return the result of the last
591expression in the subroutine, which returns in this returning the
592same value that it was passed.
59e7697f 593
fe122940 594B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 595This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 596C<undef> value to the attribute.
59e7697f 597
fe122940 598 $object->set_something();
599
600=item I<predicate>
601
07dca7e3 602This is a basic test to see if any value has been set for the
603attribute. It will return true (C<1>) if the attribute has been set
604to any value (even C<undef>), and false (C<0>) otherwise.
605
606B<NOTE:>
607The predicate will return true even when you set an attribute's
608value to C<undef>. This behaviour has changed as of version 0.43. In
609older versions, the predicate (erroneously) checked for attribute
610value definedness, instead of presence as it is now.
611
612If you really want to get rid of the value, you have to define and
613use a I<clearer> (see below).
614
7d28758b 615=item I<clearer>
616
617This is the a method that will uninitialize the attr, reverting lazy values
618back to their "unfulfilled" state.
619
59e7697f 620=back
552e3d24 621
bd4e03f9 622=item B<clone (%options)>
623
127d39a7 624This will return a clone of the attribute instance, allowing the overriding
625of various attributes through the C<%options> supplied.
626
bd4e03f9 627=item B<initialize_instance_slot ($instance, $params)>
628
127d39a7 629This method is used internally to initialize the approriate slot for this
630attribute in a given C<$instance>, the C<$params> passed are those that were
631passed to the constructor.
632
1d68af04 633=back
552e3d24 634
16e960bd 635=head2 Value management
636
1d68af04 637These methods are basically "backdoors" to the instance, which can be used
638to bypass the regular accessors, but still stay within the context of the MOP.
2367814a 639
1d68af04 640These methods are not for general use, and should only be used if you really
2367814a 641know what you are doing.
642
16e960bd 643=over 4
644
3545c727 645=item B<set_value ($instance, $value)>
16e960bd 646
647Set the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done to
648even attributes with just read only accessors.
649
c0921932 650=item B<set_initial_value ($instance, $value)>
651
652This method sets the value without going through the accessor -- but it is only
653called when the instance data is first initialized.
654
3545c727 655=item B<get_value ($instance)>
16e960bd 656
657Return the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done
658even to attributes with just write only accessors.
659
3545c727 660=item B<has_value ($instance)>
661
92d2abfa 662Return a boolean indicating if the item in the C<$instance> has a value in it.
2367814a 663This is basically what the default C<predicate> method calls.
664
3545c727 665=item B<clear_value ($instance)>
666
2367814a 667This will clear the value in the C<$instance>. This is basically what the default
1d68af04 668C<clearer> would call. Note that this may be done even if the attirbute does not
2367814a 669have any associated read, write or clear methods.
670
16e960bd 671=back
672
552e3d24 673=head2 Informational
674
1d68af04 675These are all basic read-only value accessors for the values
fe122940 676passed into C<new>. I think they are pretty much self-explanitory.
677
552e3d24 678=over 4
679
680=item B<name>
681
682=item B<accessor>
683
684=item B<reader>
685
686=item B<writer>
687
c50c603e 688=item B<predicate>
689
7d28758b 690=item B<clearer>
691
0ab65f99 692=item B<initializer>
693
552e3d24 694=item B<init_arg>
695
495af518 696=item B<is_default_a_coderef>
697
fe122940 698=item B<default (?$instance)>
699
92d2abfa 700Return the default value for the attribute.
701
702If you pass in an C<$instance> argument to this accessor and the
703I<default> is a CODE reference, then the CODE reference will be
704executed with the C<$instance> as its argument.
552e3d24 705
c57c8b10 706=item B<slots>
707
92d2abfa 708Return a list of slots required by the attribute. This is usually
c57c8b10 709just one, which is the name of the attribute.
710
b25109b1 711=item B<get_read_method>
712
713=item B<get_write_method>
714
5da16d1b 715Return the name of a method name suitable for reading / writing the value
716of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
717C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
718
719=item B<get_read_method_ref>
720
721=item B<get_write_method_ref>
722
723Return the CODE reference of a method suitable for reading / writing the
724value of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
725C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was specified or not.
726
127d39a7 727NOTE: If no reader/writer/accessor was specified, this will use the
5da16d1b 728attribute get_value/set_value methods, which can be very inefficient.
b25109b1 729
9e517e01 730=item B<has_read_method>
731
732=item B<has_write_method>
733
734Return whether a method exists suitable for reading / writing the value
735of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
736C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
737
552e3d24 738=back
739
740=head2 Informational predicates
741
a2e85e6c 742These are all basic predicate methods for the values passed into C<new>.
fe122940 743
552e3d24 744=over 4
745
746=item B<has_accessor>
747
552e3d24 748=item B<has_reader>
749
552e3d24 750=item B<has_writer>
751
c50c603e 752=item B<has_predicate>
753
7d28758b 754=item B<has_clearer>
755
0ab65f99 756=item B<has_initializer>
757
552e3d24 758=item B<has_init_arg>
759
552e3d24 760=item B<has_default>
761
bf731086 762=item B<has_builder>
763
552e3d24 764=back
765
9ec169fe 766=head2 Class association
767
1d68af04 768These methods allow you to manage the attributes association with
769the class that contains it. These methods should not be used
2367814a 770lightly, nor are they very magical, they are mostly used internally
771and by metaclass instances.
772
9ec169fe 773=over 4
774
775=item B<associated_class>
776
2367814a 777This returns the metaclass this attribute is associated with.
778
9ec169fe 779=item B<attach_to_class ($class)>
780
1d68af04 781This will store a weaken reference to C<$class> internally. You should
2367814a 782note that just changing the class assocation will not remove the attribute
783from it's old class, and initialize it (and it's accessors) in the new
784C<$class>. It is up to you to do this manually.
785
9ec169fe 786=item B<detach_from_class>
787
1d68af04 788This will remove the weakened reference to the class. It does B<not>
789remove the attribute itself from the class (or remove it's accessors),
790you must do that yourself if you want too. Actually if that is what
791you want to do, you should probably be looking at
2367814a 792L<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute> instead.
793
9ec169fe 794=back
795
552e3d24 796=head2 Attribute Accessor generation
797
798=over 4
799
ba38bf08 800=item B<accessor_metaclass>
801
2367814a 802Accessors are generated by an accessor metaclass, which is usually
1d68af04 803a subclass of C<Class::MOP::Method::Accessor>. This method returns
2367814a 804the name of the accessor metaclass that this attribute uses.
805
806=item B<associate_method ($method)>
807
1d68af04 808This will associate a C<$method> with the given attribute which is
809used internally by the accessor generator.
3545c727 810
811=item B<associated_methods>
812
1d68af04 813This will return the list of methods which have been associated with
127d39a7 814the C<associate_method> methods. This is a good way of seeing what
815methods are used to manage a given attribute.
2367814a 816
9ec169fe 817=item B<install_accessors>
2eb717d5 818
1d68af04 819This allows the attribute to generate and install code for it's own
820I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate> methods. This is called by
fe122940 821C<Class::MOP::Class::add_attribute>.
2eb717d5 822
1d68af04 823This method will call C<process_accessors> for each of the possible
9ec169fe 824method types (accessor, reader, writer & predicate).
825
826=item B<process_accessors ($type, $value)>
827
1d68af04 828This takes a C<$type> (accessor, reader, writer or predicate), and
9ec169fe 829a C<$value> (the value passed into the constructor for each of the
1d68af04 830different types). It will then either generate the method itself
831(using the C<generate_*_method> methods listed below) or it will
832use the custom method passed through the constructor.
9ec169fe 833
9ec169fe 834=item B<remove_accessors>
2eb717d5 835
1d68af04 836This allows the attribute to remove the method for it's own
837I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer>. This is called by
fe122940 838C<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute>.
2eb717d5 839
1d68af04 840NOTE: This does not currently remove methods from the list returned
2367814a 841by C<associated_methods>, that is on the TODO list.
842
2eb717d5 843=back
844
845=head2 Introspection
846
847=over 4
552e3d24 848
2eb717d5 849=item B<meta>
552e3d24 850
1d68af04 851This will return a B<Class::MOP::Class> instance which is related
fe122940 852to this class.
853
1d68af04 854It should also be noted that B<Class::MOP> will actually bootstrap
855this module by installing a number of attribute meta-objects into
127d39a7 856it's metaclass. This will allow this class to reap all the benefits
1d68af04 857of the MOP when subclassing it.
fe122940 858
552e3d24 859=back
860
1a09d9cc 861=head1 AUTHORS
8b978dd5 862
a2e85e6c 863Stevan Little E<lt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<gt>
8b978dd5 864
865=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
866
69e3ab0a 867Copyright 2006-2008 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
8b978dd5 868
869L<http://www.iinteractive.com>
870
871This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
1d68af04 872it under the same terms as Perl itself.
8b978dd5 873
16e960bd 874=cut
875
7d28758b 876