XS versions of the most common readsers
[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';
9b522fc4 10use Scalar::Util 'blessed', 'weaken';
2eb717d5 11
2e5c1a3f 12our $VERSION = '0.65';
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 {
649efb63 27 my ( $class, @args ) = @_;
28
29 unshift @args, "name" if @args % 2 == 1;
30 my %options = @args;
31
32 my $name = $options{name};
1d68af04 33
cbd9f942 34 (defined $name && $name)
8b978dd5 35 || confess "You must provide a name for the attribute";
1d68af04 36
37 $options{init_arg} = $name
5659d76e 38 if not exists $options{init_arg};
1d68af04 39 if(exists $options{builder}){
40 confess("builder must be a defined scalar value which is a method name")
41 if ref $options{builder} || !(defined $options{builder});
42 confess("Setting both default and builder is not allowed.")
43 if exists $options{default};
8fe581e5 44 } else {
45 (is_default_a_coderef(\%options))
46 || confess("References are not allowed as default values, you must ".
3c0a8087 47 "wrap the default of '$name' in a CODE reference (ex: sub { [] } and not [])")
8fe581e5 48 if exists $options{default} && ref $options{default};
1d68af04 49 }
2e877f58 50 if( $options{required} and not( defined($options{builder}) || defined($options{init_arg}) || exists $options{default} ) ) {
51 confess("A required attribute must have either 'init_arg', 'builder', or 'default'");
52 }
8683db0e 53
8b978dd5 54 bless {
8683db0e 55 'name' => $name,
56 'accessor' => $options{accessor},
57 'reader' => $options{reader},
58 'writer' => $options{writer},
59 'predicate' => $options{predicate},
60 'clearer' => $options{clearer},
61 'builder' => $options{builder},
62 'init_arg' => $options{init_arg},
63 'default' => $options{default},
64 'initializer' => $options{initializer},
1d68af04 65 # keep a weakened link to the
9ec169fe 66 # class we are associated with
8683db0e 67 'associated_class' => undef,
1d68af04 68 # and a list of the methods
3545c727 69 # associated with this attr
8683db0e 70 'associated_methods' => [],
8b978dd5 71 } => $class;
72}
73
7b31baf4 74# NOTE:
1d68af04 75# this is a primative (and kludgy) clone operation
16e960bd 76# for now, it will be replaced in the Class::MOP
1d68af04 77# bootstrap with a proper one, however we know
5659d76e 78# that this one will work fine for now.
79sub clone {
80 my $self = shift;
81 my %options = @_;
82 (blessed($self))
83 || confess "Can only clone an instance";
84 return bless { %{$self}, %options } => blessed($self);
85}
86
bd4e03f9 87sub initialize_instance_slot {
f892c0f0 88 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $params) = @_;
8683db0e 89 my $init_arg = $self->{'init_arg'};
90
bd4e03f9 91 # try to fetch the init arg from the %params ...
8d2d4c67 92
1d68af04 93 # if nothing was in the %params, we can use the
bd4e03f9 94 # attribute's default value (if it has one)
2e877f58 95 if(defined $init_arg and exists $params->{$init_arg}){
8ee74136 96 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
97 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 98 $instance,
0ab65f99 99 $params->{$init_arg},
0ab65f99 100 );
b7bdffc3 101 }
8683db0e 102 elsif (defined $self->{'default'}) {
8ee74136 103 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
104 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 105 $instance,
0ab65f99 106 $self->default($instance),
0ab65f99 107 );
b7bdffc3 108 }
8683db0e 109 elsif (defined( my $builder = $self->{'builder'})) {
b7bdffc3 110 if ($builder = $instance->can($builder)) {
8ee74136 111 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
112 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 113 $instance,
0ab65f99 114 $instance->$builder,
0ab65f99 115 );
b7bdffc3 116 }
117 else {
8683db0e 118 confess(blessed($instance)." does not support builder method '". $self->{'builder'} ."' for attribute '" . $self->name . "'");
8fe581e5 119 }
1d68af04 120 }
bd4e03f9 121}
122
8ee74136 123sub _set_initial_slot_value {
124 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $value) = @_;
125
126 my $slot_name = $self->name;
127
128 return $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $value)
129 unless $self->has_initializer;
130
131 my $callback = sub {
132 $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $_[0]);
133 };
134
135 my $initializer = $self->initializer;
136
137 # most things will just want to set a value, so make it first arg
138 $instance->$initializer($value, $callback, $self);
139}
140
5659d76e 141# NOTE:
1d68af04 142# the next bunch of methods will get bootstrapped
7b31baf4 143# away in the Class::MOP bootstrapping section
144
8683db0e 145sub name { $_[0]->{'name'} }
146
147sub associated_class { $_[0]->{'associated_class'} }
148sub associated_methods { $_[0]->{'associated_methods'} }
149
150sub has_accessor { defined($_[0]->{'accessor'}) ? 1 : 0 }
151sub has_reader { defined($_[0]->{'reader'}) ? 1 : 0 }
152sub has_writer { defined($_[0]->{'writer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
153sub has_predicate { defined($_[0]->{'predicate'}) ? 1 : 0 }
154sub has_clearer { defined($_[0]->{'clearer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
155sub has_builder { defined($_[0]->{'builder'}) ? 1 : 0 }
156sub has_init_arg { defined($_[0]->{'init_arg'}) ? 1 : 0 }
157sub has_default { defined($_[0]->{'default'}) ? 1 : 0 }
158sub has_initializer { defined($_[0]->{'initializer'}) ? 1 : 0 }
159
160sub accessor { $_[0]->{'accessor'} }
161sub reader { $_[0]->{'reader'} }
162sub writer { $_[0]->{'writer'} }
163sub predicate { $_[0]->{'predicate'} }
164sub clearer { $_[0]->{'clearer'} }
165sub builder { $_[0]->{'builder'} }
166sub init_arg { $_[0]->{'init_arg'} }
167sub initializer { $_[0]->{'initializer'} }
c50c603e 168
7b31baf4 169# end bootstrapped away method section.
170# (all methods below here are kept intact)
171
9e517e01 172sub has_read_method { $_[0]->has_reader || $_[0]->has_accessor }
173sub has_write_method { $_[0]->has_writer || $_[0]->has_accessor }
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 {
def5c0b5 201 my $code = sub { $self->get_value(@_) };
202 if (my $class = $self->associated_class) {
203 return $class->method_metaclass->wrap(
204 $code,
205 package_name => $class->name,
206 name => '__ANON__'
207 );
208 }
209 else {
210 return $code;
211 }
5da16d1b 212 }
213}
214
215sub get_write_method_ref {
216 my $self = shift;
d14f6cbe 217 if ((my $writer = $self->get_write_method) && $self->associated_class) {
742fb371 218 return $self->associated_class->get_method($writer);
5da16d1b 219 }
220 else {
def5c0b5 221 my $code = sub { $self->set_value(@_) };
222 if (my $class = $self->associated_class) {
223 return $class->method_metaclass->wrap(
224 $code,
225 package_name => $class->name,
226 name => '__ANON__'
227 );
228 }
229 else {
230 return $code;
231 }
5da16d1b 232 }
233}
234
1d68af04 235sub is_default_a_coderef {
8683db0e 236 ('CODE' eq ref($_[0]->{'default'} || $_[0]->{default}))
c0cbf4d9 237}
238
1d68af04 239sub default {
c0cbf4d9 240 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
9363ea89 241 if (defined $instance && $self->is_default_a_coderef) {
1d68af04 242 # if the default is a CODE ref, then
727919c5 243 # we pass in the instance and default
1d68af04 244 # can return a value based on that
727919c5 245 # instance. Somewhat crude, but works.
8683db0e 246 return $self->{'default'}->($instance);
1d68af04 247 }
8683db0e 248 $self->{'default'};
c50c603e 249}
8b978dd5 250
c57c8b10 251# slots
252
253sub slots { (shift)->name }
254
1d68af04 255# class association
727919c5 256
9ec169fe 257sub attach_to_class {
258 my ($self, $class) = @_;
259 (blessed($class) && $class->isa('Class::MOP::Class'))
260 || confess "You must pass a Class::MOP::Class instance (or a subclass)";
8683db0e 261 weaken($self->{'associated_class'} = $class);
9ec169fe 262}
263
264sub detach_from_class {
265 my $self = shift;
8683db0e 266 $self->{'associated_class'} = undef;
9ec169fe 267}
268
1d68af04 269# method association
3545c727 270
271sub associate_method {
272 my ($self, $method) = @_;
8683db0e 273 push @{$self->{'associated_methods'}} => $method;
3545c727 274}
275
16e960bd 276## Slot management
277
ef91a0e2 278sub set_initial_value {
279 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
e76b01fb 280 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
da34f054 281 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))->get_meta_instance,
8ee74136 282 $instance,
283 $value
284 );
ef91a0e2 285}
286
16e960bd 287sub set_value {
1396f86b 288 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
16e960bd 289
da34f054 290 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
291 ->get_meta_instance
292 ->set_slot_value($instance, $self->name, $value);
16e960bd 293}
294
295sub get_value {
1396f86b 296 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
16e960bd 297
da34f054 298 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
299 ->get_meta_instance
300 ->get_slot_value($instance, $self->name);
16e960bd 301}
302
3545c727 303sub has_value {
304 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 305
da34f054 306 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
307 ->get_meta_instance
308 ->is_slot_initialized($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 309}
310
311sub clear_value {
312 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 313
da34f054 314 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
315 ->get_meta_instance
316 ->deinitialize_slot($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 317}
318
ba38bf08 319## load em up ...
c0cbf4d9 320
ba38bf08 321sub accessor_metaclass { 'Class::MOP::Method::Accessor' }
c0cbf4d9 322
9ec169fe 323sub process_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 324 my ($self, $type, $accessor, $generate_as_inline_methods) = @_;
9b522fc4 325 if (ref($accessor)) {
326 (ref($accessor) eq 'HASH')
7d28758b 327 || confess "bad accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer format, must be a HASH ref";
4d47b77f 328 my ($name, $method) = %{$accessor};
4c105333 329 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->wrap(
330 $method,
331 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
332 name => $name,
333 );
3545c727 334 $self->associate_method($method);
1d68af04 335 return ($name, $method);
2eb717d5 336 }
9ec169fe 337 else {
1d68af04 338 my $inline_me = ($generate_as_inline_methods && $self->associated_class->instance_metaclass->is_inlinable);
ba38bf08 339 my $method;
340 eval {
341 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->new(
342 attribute => $self,
d90b42a6 343 is_inline => $inline_me,
ba38bf08 344 accessor_type => $type,
4c105333 345 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
346 name => $accessor,
1d68af04 347 );
ba38bf08 348 };
1d68af04 349 confess "Could not create the '$type' method for " . $self->name . " because : $@" if $@;
3545c727 350 $self->associate_method($method);
ba38bf08 351 return ($accessor, $method);
1d68af04 352 }
9ec169fe 353}
354
355sub install_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 356 my $self = shift;
357 my $inline = shift;
358 my $class = $self->associated_class;
1d68af04 359
9ec169fe 360 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 361 $self->process_accessors('accessor' => $self->accessor(), $inline)
9ec169fe 362 ) if $self->has_accessor();
363
1d68af04 364 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 365 $self->process_accessors('reader' => $self->reader(), $inline)
9ec169fe 366 ) if $self->has_reader();
367
368 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 369 $self->process_accessors('writer' => $self->writer(), $inline)
9ec169fe 370 ) if $self->has_writer();
371
372 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 373 $self->process_accessors('predicate' => $self->predicate(), $inline)
9ec169fe 374 ) if $self->has_predicate();
1d68af04 375
7d28758b 376 $class->add_method(
377 $self->process_accessors('clearer' => $self->clearer(), $inline)
378 ) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 379
9ec169fe 380 return;
2eb717d5 381}
382
b51af7f9 383{
384 my $_remove_accessor = sub {
385 my ($accessor, $class) = @_;
9b522fc4 386 if (ref($accessor) && ref($accessor) eq 'HASH') {
c50c603e 387 ($accessor) = keys %{$accessor};
1d68af04 388 }
389 my $method = $class->get_method($accessor);
390 $class->remove_method($accessor)
ba38bf08 391 if (blessed($method) && $method->isa('Class::MOP::Method::Accessor'));
b51af7f9 392 };
1d68af04 393
b51af7f9 394 sub remove_accessors {
9ec169fe 395 my $self = shift;
2367814a 396 # TODO:
1d68af04 397 # we really need to make sure to remove from the
398 # associates methods here as well. But this is
399 # such a slimly used method, I am not worried
2367814a 400 # about it right now.
9ec169fe 401 $_remove_accessor->($self->accessor(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_accessor();
402 $_remove_accessor->($self->reader(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_reader();
403 $_remove_accessor->($self->writer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_writer();
404 $_remove_accessor->($self->predicate(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_predicate();
7d28758b 405 $_remove_accessor->($self->clearer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 406 return;
b51af7f9 407 }
408
8b978dd5 409}
410
4111;
412
413__END__
414
415=pod
416
1d68af04 417=head1 NAME
8b978dd5 418
419Class::MOP::Attribute - Attribute Meta Object
420
421=head1 SYNOPSIS
1d68af04 422
f91a23dd 423 Class::MOP::Attribute->new( foo => (
fe122940 424 accessor => 'foo', # dual purpose get/set accessor
1d68af04 425 predicate => 'has_foo' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 426 init_arg => '-foo', # class->new will look for a -foo key
427 default => 'BAR IS BAZ!' # if no -foo key is provided, use this
8b978dd5 428 ));
1d68af04 429
f91a23dd 430 Class::MOP::Attribute->new( bar => (
fe122940 431 reader => 'bar', # getter
1d68af04 432 writer => 'set_bar', # setter
433 predicate => 'has_bar' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 434 init_arg => ':bar', # class->new will look for a :bar key
8b978dd5 435 # no default value means it is undef
436 ));
437
438=head1 DESCRIPTION
439
fe122940 440The Attribute Protocol is almost entirely an invention of this module,
1d68af04 441and is completely optional to this MOP. This is because Perl 5 does not
442have consistent notion of what is an attribute of a class. There are
443so many ways in which this is done, and very few (if any) are
fe122940 444easily discoverable by this module.
552e3d24 445
1d68af04 446So, all that said, this module attempts to inject some order into this
447chaos, by introducing a consistent API which can be used to create
fe122940 448object attributes.
552e3d24 449
450=head1 METHODS
451
452=head2 Creation
453
454=over 4
455
fe122940 456=item B<new ($name, ?%options)>
457
1d68af04 458An attribute must (at the very least), have a C<$name>. All other
a2e85e6c 459C<%options> are contained added as key-value pairs. Acceptable keys
fe122940 460are as follows:
461
462=over 4
463
464=item I<init_arg>
465
1d68af04 466This should be a string value representing the expected key in
467an initialization hash. For instance, if we have an I<init_arg>
fe122940 468value of C<-foo>, then the following code will Just Work.
469
470 MyClass->meta->construct_instance(-foo => "Hello There");
471
1d68af04 472In an init_arg is not assigned, it will automatically use the
0ef07b33 473value of C<$name>. If an explicit C<undef> is given for an init_arg,
474an attribute value can't be specified during initialization.
7b31baf4 475
1d68af04 476=item I<builder>
477
478The value of this key is the name of the method that will be
479called to obtain the value used to initialize the attribute.
480This should be a method in the class associated with the attribute,
481not a method in the attribute class itself.
fe122940 482
4c4a6c41 483=item I<default>
484
485The value of this key is the default value which
486C<Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance> will initialize the
487attribute to.
488
fe122940 489B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 490If the value is a simple scalar (string or number), then it can
491be just passed as is. However, if you wish to initialize it with
492a HASH or ARRAY ref, then you need to wrap that inside a CODE
fe122940 493reference, like so:
494
495 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('@foo' => (
496 default => sub { [] },
497 ));
1d68af04 498
499 # or ...
500
fe122940 501 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%foo' => (
502 default => sub { {} },
1d68af04 503 ));
fe122940 504
1d68af04 505If you wish to initialize an attribute with a CODE reference
fe122940 506itself, then you need to wrap that in a subroutine as well, like
507so:
1d68af04 508
fe122940 509 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('&foo' => (
510 default => sub { sub { print "Hello World" } },
511 ));
512
1d68af04 513And lastly, if the value of your attribute is dependent upon
514some other aspect of the instance structure, then you can take
515advantage of the fact that when the I<default> value is a CODE
127d39a7 516reference, it is passed the (as yet unfinished) instance structure
fe122940 517as it's only argument. So you can do things like this:
518
519 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$object_identity' => (
520 default => sub { Scalar::Util::refaddr($_[0]) },
521 ));
522
1d68af04 523This last feature is fairly limited as there is no gurantee of
524the order of attribute initializations, so you cannot perform
525any kind of dependent initializations. However, if this is
526something you need, you could subclass B<Class::MOP::Class> and
527this class to acheive it. However, this is currently left as
fe122940 528an exercise to the reader :).
529
0ef07b33 530=item I<initializer>
531
532This may be a method name (referring to a method on the class with this
533attribute) or a CODE ref. The initializer is used to set the attribute value
534on an instance when the attribute is set during instance initialization. When
535called, it is passed the instance (as the invocant), the value to set, a
536slot-setting CODE ref, and the attribute meta-instance. The slot-setting code
537is provided to make it easy to set the (possibly altered) value on the instance
538without going through several more method calls.
539
0ef07b33 540This contrived example shows an initializer that sets the attribute to twice
541the given value.
542
543 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$doubled' => (
544 initializer => sub {
545 my ($instance, $value, $set) = @_;
546 $set->($value * 2);
547 },
548 ));
549
550As method names can be given as initializers, one can easily make
551attribute initialization use the writer:
552
553 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$some_attr' => (
554 writer => 'some_attr',
555 initializer => 'some_attr',
556 ));
557
127d39a7 558Your writer will simply need to examine it's C<@_> and determine under
559which context it is being called.
560
fe122940 561=back
562
7d28758b 563The I<accessor>, I<reader>, I<writer>, I<predicate> and I<clearer> keys can
564contain either; the name of the method and an appropriate default one will be
565generated for you, B<or> a HASH ref containing exactly one key (which will be
566used as the name of the method) and one value, which should contain a CODE
567reference which will be installed as the method itself.
59e7697f 568
569=over 4
570
571=item I<accessor>
572
1d68af04 573The I<accessor> is a standard perl-style read/write accessor. It will
574return the value of the attribute, and if a value is passed as an argument,
fe122940 575it will assign that value to the attribute.
576
577B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 578This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 579C<undef> value to the attribute.
580
581 $object->set_something(undef);
582
59e7697f 583=item I<reader>
584
1d68af04 585This is a basic read-only accessor, it will just return the value of
fe122940 586the attribute.
587
59e7697f 588=item I<writer>
589
1d68af04 590This is a basic write accessor, it accepts a single argument, and
591assigns that value to the attribute. This method does not intentially
592return a value, however perl will return the result of the last
593expression in the subroutine, which returns in this returning the
594same value that it was passed.
59e7697f 595
fe122940 596B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 597This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 598C<undef> value to the attribute.
59e7697f 599
fe122940 600 $object->set_something();
601
602=item I<predicate>
603
07dca7e3 604This is a basic test to see if any value has been set for the
605attribute. It will return true (C<1>) if the attribute has been set
606to any value (even C<undef>), and false (C<0>) otherwise.
607
608B<NOTE:>
609The predicate will return true even when you set an attribute's
610value to C<undef>. This behaviour has changed as of version 0.43. In
611older versions, the predicate (erroneously) checked for attribute
612value definedness, instead of presence as it is now.
613
614If you really want to get rid of the value, you have to define and
615use a I<clearer> (see below).
616
7d28758b 617=item I<clearer>
618
619This is the a method that will uninitialize the attr, reverting lazy values
620back to their "unfulfilled" state.
621
59e7697f 622=back
552e3d24 623
bd4e03f9 624=item B<clone (%options)>
625
127d39a7 626This will return a clone of the attribute instance, allowing the overriding
627of various attributes through the C<%options> supplied.
628
bd4e03f9 629=item B<initialize_instance_slot ($instance, $params)>
630
127d39a7 631This method is used internally to initialize the approriate slot for this
632attribute in a given C<$instance>, the C<$params> passed are those that were
633passed to the constructor.
634
1d68af04 635=back
552e3d24 636
16e960bd 637=head2 Value management
638
1d68af04 639These methods are basically "backdoors" to the instance, which can be used
640to bypass the regular accessors, but still stay within the context of the MOP.
2367814a 641
1d68af04 642These methods are not for general use, and should only be used if you really
2367814a 643know what you are doing.
644
16e960bd 645=over 4
646
3545c727 647=item B<set_value ($instance, $value)>
16e960bd 648
649Set the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done to
650even attributes with just read only accessors.
651
c0921932 652=item B<set_initial_value ($instance, $value)>
653
654This method sets the value without going through the accessor -- but it is only
655called when the instance data is first initialized.
656
3545c727 657=item B<get_value ($instance)>
16e960bd 658
659Return the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done
660even to attributes with just write only accessors.
661
3545c727 662=item B<has_value ($instance)>
663
92d2abfa 664Return a boolean indicating if the item in the C<$instance> has a value in it.
2367814a 665This is basically what the default C<predicate> method calls.
666
3545c727 667=item B<clear_value ($instance)>
668
2367814a 669This will clear the value in the C<$instance>. This is basically what the default
1d68af04 670C<clearer> would call. Note that this may be done even if the attirbute does not
2367814a 671have any associated read, write or clear methods.
672
16e960bd 673=back
674
552e3d24 675=head2 Informational
676
1d68af04 677These are all basic read-only value accessors for the values
fe122940 678passed into C<new>. I think they are pretty much self-explanitory.
679
552e3d24 680=over 4
681
682=item B<name>
683
684=item B<accessor>
685
686=item B<reader>
687
688=item B<writer>
689
c50c603e 690=item B<predicate>
691
7d28758b 692=item B<clearer>
693
0ab65f99 694=item B<initializer>
695
552e3d24 696=item B<init_arg>
697
495af518 698=item B<is_default_a_coderef>
699
fe122940 700=item B<default (?$instance)>
701
92d2abfa 702Return the default value for the attribute.
703
704If you pass in an C<$instance> argument to this accessor and the
705I<default> is a CODE reference, then the CODE reference will be
706executed with the C<$instance> as its argument.
552e3d24 707
c57c8b10 708=item B<slots>
709
92d2abfa 710Return a list of slots required by the attribute. This is usually
c57c8b10 711just one, which is the name of the attribute.
712
b25109b1 713=item B<get_read_method>
714
715=item B<get_write_method>
716
5da16d1b 717Return the name of a method name suitable for reading / writing the value
718of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
719C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
720
721=item B<get_read_method_ref>
722
723=item B<get_write_method_ref>
724
725Return the CODE reference of a method suitable for reading / writing the
726value of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
727C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was specified or not.
728
127d39a7 729NOTE: If no reader/writer/accessor was specified, this will use the
5da16d1b 730attribute get_value/set_value methods, which can be very inefficient.
b25109b1 731
9e517e01 732=item B<has_read_method>
733
734=item B<has_write_method>
735
736Return whether a method exists suitable for reading / writing the value
737of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
738C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
739
552e3d24 740=back
741
742=head2 Informational predicates
743
a2e85e6c 744These are all basic predicate methods for the values passed into C<new>.
fe122940 745
552e3d24 746=over 4
747
748=item B<has_accessor>
749
552e3d24 750=item B<has_reader>
751
552e3d24 752=item B<has_writer>
753
c50c603e 754=item B<has_predicate>
755
7d28758b 756=item B<has_clearer>
757
0ab65f99 758=item B<has_initializer>
759
552e3d24 760=item B<has_init_arg>
761
552e3d24 762=item B<has_default>
763
bf731086 764=item B<has_builder>
765
552e3d24 766=back
767
9ec169fe 768=head2 Class association
769
1d68af04 770These methods allow you to manage the attributes association with
771the class that contains it. These methods should not be used
2367814a 772lightly, nor are they very magical, they are mostly used internally
773and by metaclass instances.
774
9ec169fe 775=over 4
776
777=item B<associated_class>
778
2367814a 779This returns the metaclass this attribute is associated with.
780
9ec169fe 781=item B<attach_to_class ($class)>
782
1d68af04 783This will store a weaken reference to C<$class> internally. You should
2367814a 784note that just changing the class assocation will not remove the attribute
785from it's old class, and initialize it (and it's accessors) in the new
786C<$class>. It is up to you to do this manually.
787
9ec169fe 788=item B<detach_from_class>
789
1d68af04 790This will remove the weakened reference to the class. It does B<not>
791remove the attribute itself from the class (or remove it's accessors),
792you must do that yourself if you want too. Actually if that is what
793you want to do, you should probably be looking at
2367814a 794L<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute> instead.
795
9ec169fe 796=back
797
552e3d24 798=head2 Attribute Accessor generation
799
800=over 4
801
ba38bf08 802=item B<accessor_metaclass>
803
2367814a 804Accessors are generated by an accessor metaclass, which is usually
1d68af04 805a subclass of C<Class::MOP::Method::Accessor>. This method returns
2367814a 806the name of the accessor metaclass that this attribute uses.
807
808=item B<associate_method ($method)>
809
1d68af04 810This will associate a C<$method> with the given attribute which is
811used internally by the accessor generator.
3545c727 812
813=item B<associated_methods>
814
1d68af04 815This will return the list of methods which have been associated with
127d39a7 816the C<associate_method> methods. This is a good way of seeing what
817methods are used to manage a given attribute.
2367814a 818
9ec169fe 819=item B<install_accessors>
2eb717d5 820
1d68af04 821This allows the attribute to generate and install code for it's own
822I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate> methods. This is called by
fe122940 823C<Class::MOP::Class::add_attribute>.
2eb717d5 824
1d68af04 825This method will call C<process_accessors> for each of the possible
9ec169fe 826method types (accessor, reader, writer & predicate).
827
828=item B<process_accessors ($type, $value)>
829
1d68af04 830This takes a C<$type> (accessor, reader, writer or predicate), and
9ec169fe 831a C<$value> (the value passed into the constructor for each of the
1d68af04 832different types). It will then either generate the method itself
833(using the C<generate_*_method> methods listed below) or it will
834use the custom method passed through the constructor.
9ec169fe 835
9ec169fe 836=item B<remove_accessors>
2eb717d5 837
1d68af04 838This allows the attribute to remove the method for it's own
839I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer>. This is called by
fe122940 840C<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute>.
2eb717d5 841
1d68af04 842NOTE: This does not currently remove methods from the list returned
2367814a 843by C<associated_methods>, that is on the TODO list.
844
2eb717d5 845=back
846
847=head2 Introspection
848
849=over 4
552e3d24 850
2eb717d5 851=item B<meta>
552e3d24 852
1d68af04 853This will return a B<Class::MOP::Class> instance which is related
fe122940 854to this class.
855
1d68af04 856It should also be noted that B<Class::MOP> will actually bootstrap
857this module by installing a number of attribute meta-objects into
127d39a7 858it's metaclass. This will allow this class to reap all the benefits
1d68af04 859of the MOP when subclassing it.
fe122940 860
552e3d24 861=back
862
1a09d9cc 863=head1 AUTHORS
8b978dd5 864
a2e85e6c 865Stevan Little E<lt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<gt>
8b978dd5 866
867=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
868
69e3ab0a 869Copyright 2006-2008 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
8b978dd5 870
871L<http://www.iinteractive.com>
872
873This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
1d68af04 874it under the same terms as Perl itself.
8b978dd5 875
16e960bd 876=cut
877
7d28758b 878