Class::MOP fixes
[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
d7b2249e 12our $VERSION = '0.24';
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 ".
44 "wrap then in a CODE reference (ex: sub { [] } and not [])")
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
d14f6cbe 170sub get_read_method {
171 my $self = shift;
172 my $reader = $self->reader || $self->accessor;
173 # normal case ...
174 return $reader unless ref $reader;
175 # the HASH ref case
176 my ($name) = %$reader;
177 return $name;
178}
179
180sub get_write_method {
181 my $self = shift;
182 my $writer = $self->writer || $self->accessor;
183 # normal case ...
184 return $writer unless ref $writer;
185 # the HASH ref case
186 my ($name) = %$writer;
187 return $name;
188}
b25109b1 189
5da16d1b 190sub get_read_method_ref {
191 my $self = shift;
742fb371 192 if ((my $reader = $self->get_read_method) && $self->associated_class) {
5da16d1b 193 return $self->associated_class->get_method($reader);
194 }
195 else {
196 return sub { $self->get_value(@_) };
197 }
198}
199
200sub get_write_method_ref {
201 my $self = shift;
d14f6cbe 202 if ((my $writer = $self->get_write_method) && $self->associated_class) {
742fb371 203 return $self->associated_class->get_method($writer);
5da16d1b 204 }
205 else {
206 return sub { $self->set_value(@_) };
207 }
208}
209
1d68af04 210sub is_default_a_coderef {
211 ('CODE' eq (reftype($_[0]->{'$!default'} || $_[0]->{default}) || ''))
c0cbf4d9 212}
213
1d68af04 214sub default {
c0cbf4d9 215 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
9363ea89 216 if (defined $instance && $self->is_default_a_coderef) {
1d68af04 217 # if the default is a CODE ref, then
727919c5 218 # we pass in the instance and default
1d68af04 219 # can return a value based on that
727919c5 220 # instance. Somewhat crude, but works.
c23184fc 221 return $self->{'$!default'}->($instance);
1d68af04 222 }
c23184fc 223 $self->{'$!default'};
c50c603e 224}
8b978dd5 225
c57c8b10 226# slots
227
228sub slots { (shift)->name }
229
1d68af04 230# class association
727919c5 231
9ec169fe 232sub attach_to_class {
233 my ($self, $class) = @_;
234 (blessed($class) && $class->isa('Class::MOP::Class'))
235 || confess "You must pass a Class::MOP::Class instance (or a subclass)";
1d68af04 236 weaken($self->{'$!associated_class'} = $class);
9ec169fe 237}
238
239sub detach_from_class {
240 my $self = shift;
1d68af04 241 $self->{'$!associated_class'} = undef;
9ec169fe 242}
243
1d68af04 244# method association
3545c727 245
246sub associate_method {
247 my ($self, $method) = @_;
c23184fc 248 push @{$self->{'@!associated_methods'}} => $method;
3545c727 249}
250
16e960bd 251## Slot management
252
ef91a0e2 253sub set_initial_value {
254 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
e76b01fb 255 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
8ee74136 256 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))->get_meta_instance,
257 $instance,
258 $value
259 );
ef91a0e2 260}
261
16e960bd 262sub set_value {
1396f86b 263 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
16e960bd 264
3545c727 265 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
16e960bd 266 ->get_meta_instance
3545c727 267 ->set_slot_value($instance, $self->name, $value);
16e960bd 268}
269
270sub get_value {
1396f86b 271 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
16e960bd 272
3545c727 273 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
16e960bd 274 ->get_meta_instance
1396f86b 275 ->get_slot_value($instance, $self->name);
16e960bd 276}
277
3545c727 278sub has_value {
279 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 280
8d2d4c67 281 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
282 ->get_meta_instance
283 ->is_slot_initialized($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 284}
285
286sub clear_value {
287 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 288
3545c727 289 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(blessed($instance))
290 ->get_meta_instance
1d68af04 291 ->deinitialize_slot($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 292}
293
ba38bf08 294## load em up ...
c0cbf4d9 295
ba38bf08 296sub accessor_metaclass { 'Class::MOP::Method::Accessor' }
c0cbf4d9 297
9ec169fe 298sub process_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 299 my ($self, $type, $accessor, $generate_as_inline_methods) = @_;
013b1897 300 if (reftype($accessor)) {
301 (reftype($accessor) eq 'HASH')
7d28758b 302 || confess "bad accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer format, must be a HASH ref";
4d47b77f 303 my ($name, $method) = %{$accessor};
3545c727 304 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->wrap($method);
305 $self->associate_method($method);
1d68af04 306 return ($name, $method);
2eb717d5 307 }
9ec169fe 308 else {
1d68af04 309 my $inline_me = ($generate_as_inline_methods && $self->associated_class->instance_metaclass->is_inlinable);
ba38bf08 310 my $method;
311 eval {
312 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->new(
313 attribute => $self,
d90b42a6 314 is_inline => $inline_me,
ba38bf08 315 accessor_type => $type,
1d68af04 316 );
ba38bf08 317 };
1d68af04 318 confess "Could not create the '$type' method for " . $self->name . " because : $@" if $@;
3545c727 319 $self->associate_method($method);
ba38bf08 320 return ($accessor, $method);
1d68af04 321 }
9ec169fe 322}
323
324sub install_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 325 my $self = shift;
326 my $inline = shift;
327 my $class = $self->associated_class;
1d68af04 328
9ec169fe 329 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 330 $self->process_accessors('accessor' => $self->accessor(), $inline)
9ec169fe 331 ) if $self->has_accessor();
332
1d68af04 333 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 334 $self->process_accessors('reader' => $self->reader(), $inline)
9ec169fe 335 ) if $self->has_reader();
336
337 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 338 $self->process_accessors('writer' => $self->writer(), $inline)
9ec169fe 339 ) if $self->has_writer();
340
341 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 342 $self->process_accessors('predicate' => $self->predicate(), $inline)
9ec169fe 343 ) if $self->has_predicate();
1d68af04 344
7d28758b 345 $class->add_method(
346 $self->process_accessors('clearer' => $self->clearer(), $inline)
347 ) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 348
9ec169fe 349 return;
2eb717d5 350}
351
b51af7f9 352{
353 my $_remove_accessor = sub {
354 my ($accessor, $class) = @_;
c50c603e 355 if (reftype($accessor) && reftype($accessor) eq 'HASH') {
356 ($accessor) = keys %{$accessor};
1d68af04 357 }
358 my $method = $class->get_method($accessor);
359 $class->remove_method($accessor)
ba38bf08 360 if (blessed($method) && $method->isa('Class::MOP::Method::Accessor'));
b51af7f9 361 };
1d68af04 362
b51af7f9 363 sub remove_accessors {
9ec169fe 364 my $self = shift;
2367814a 365 # TODO:
1d68af04 366 # we really need to make sure to remove from the
367 # associates methods here as well. But this is
368 # such a slimly used method, I am not worried
2367814a 369 # about it right now.
9ec169fe 370 $_remove_accessor->($self->accessor(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_accessor();
371 $_remove_accessor->($self->reader(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_reader();
372 $_remove_accessor->($self->writer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_writer();
373 $_remove_accessor->($self->predicate(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_predicate();
7d28758b 374 $_remove_accessor->($self->clearer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 375 return;
b51af7f9 376 }
377
8b978dd5 378}
379
3801;
381
382__END__
383
384=pod
385
1d68af04 386=head1 NAME
8b978dd5 387
388Class::MOP::Attribute - Attribute Meta Object
389
390=head1 SYNOPSIS
1d68af04 391
8b978dd5 392 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$foo' => (
fe122940 393 accessor => 'foo', # dual purpose get/set accessor
1d68af04 394 predicate => 'has_foo' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 395 init_arg => '-foo', # class->new will look for a -foo key
396 default => 'BAR IS BAZ!' # if no -foo key is provided, use this
8b978dd5 397 ));
1d68af04 398
8b978dd5 399 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$.bar' => (
fe122940 400 reader => 'bar', # getter
1d68af04 401 writer => 'set_bar', # setter
402 predicate => 'has_bar' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 403 init_arg => ':bar', # class->new will look for a :bar key
8b978dd5 404 # no default value means it is undef
405 ));
406
407=head1 DESCRIPTION
408
fe122940 409The Attribute Protocol is almost entirely an invention of this module,
1d68af04 410and is completely optional to this MOP. This is because Perl 5 does not
411have consistent notion of what is an attribute of a class. There are
412so many ways in which this is done, and very few (if any) are
fe122940 413easily discoverable by this module.
552e3d24 414
1d68af04 415So, all that said, this module attempts to inject some order into this
416chaos, by introducing a consistent API which can be used to create
fe122940 417object attributes.
552e3d24 418
419=head1 METHODS
420
421=head2 Creation
422
423=over 4
424
fe122940 425=item B<new ($name, ?%options)>
426
1d68af04 427An attribute must (at the very least), have a C<$name>. All other
a2e85e6c 428C<%options> are contained added as key-value pairs. Acceptable keys
fe122940 429are as follows:
430
431=over 4
432
433=item I<init_arg>
434
1d68af04 435This should be a string value representing the expected key in
436an initialization hash. For instance, if we have an I<init_arg>
fe122940 437value of C<-foo>, then the following code will Just Work.
438
439 MyClass->meta->construct_instance(-foo => "Hello There");
440
1d68af04 441In an init_arg is not assigned, it will automatically use the
0ef07b33 442value of C<$name>. If an explicit C<undef> is given for an init_arg,
443an attribute value can't be specified during initialization.
7b31baf4 444
1d68af04 445=item I<builder>
446
447The value of this key is the name of the method that will be
448called to obtain the value used to initialize the attribute.
449This should be a method in the class associated with the attribute,
450not a method in the attribute class itself.
fe122940 451
4c4a6c41 452=item I<default>
453
454The value of this key is the default value which
455C<Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance> will initialize the
456attribute to.
457
fe122940 458B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 459If the value is a simple scalar (string or number), then it can
460be just passed as is. However, if you wish to initialize it with
461a HASH or ARRAY ref, then you need to wrap that inside a CODE
fe122940 462reference, like so:
463
464 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('@foo' => (
465 default => sub { [] },
466 ));
1d68af04 467
468 # or ...
469
fe122940 470 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%foo' => (
471 default => sub { {} },
1d68af04 472 ));
fe122940 473
1d68af04 474If you wish to initialize an attribute with a CODE reference
fe122940 475itself, then you need to wrap that in a subroutine as well, like
476so:
1d68af04 477
fe122940 478 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('&foo' => (
479 default => sub { sub { print "Hello World" } },
480 ));
481
1d68af04 482And lastly, if the value of your attribute is dependent upon
483some other aspect of the instance structure, then you can take
484advantage of the fact that when the I<default> value is a CODE
127d39a7 485reference, it is passed the (as yet unfinished) instance structure
fe122940 486as it's only argument. So you can do things like this:
487
488 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$object_identity' => (
489 default => sub { Scalar::Util::refaddr($_[0]) },
490 ));
491
1d68af04 492This last feature is fairly limited as there is no gurantee of
493the order of attribute initializations, so you cannot perform
494any kind of dependent initializations. However, if this is
495something you need, you could subclass B<Class::MOP::Class> and
496this class to acheive it. However, this is currently left as
fe122940 497an exercise to the reader :).
498
0ef07b33 499=item I<initializer>
500
501This may be a method name (referring to a method on the class with this
502attribute) or a CODE ref. The initializer is used to set the attribute value
503on an instance when the attribute is set during instance initialization. When
504called, it is passed the instance (as the invocant), the value to set, a
505slot-setting CODE ref, and the attribute meta-instance. The slot-setting code
506is provided to make it easy to set the (possibly altered) value on the instance
507without going through several more method calls.
508
0ef07b33 509This contrived example shows an initializer that sets the attribute to twice
510the given value.
511
512 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$doubled' => (
513 initializer => sub {
514 my ($instance, $value, $set) = @_;
515 $set->($value * 2);
516 },
517 ));
518
519As method names can be given as initializers, one can easily make
520attribute initialization use the writer:
521
522 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$some_attr' => (
523 writer => 'some_attr',
524 initializer => 'some_attr',
525 ));
526
127d39a7 527Your writer will simply need to examine it's C<@_> and determine under
528which context it is being called.
529
fe122940 530=back
531
7d28758b 532The I<accessor>, I<reader>, I<writer>, I<predicate> and I<clearer> keys can
533contain either; the name of the method and an appropriate default one will be
534generated for you, B<or> a HASH ref containing exactly one key (which will be
535used as the name of the method) and one value, which should contain a CODE
536reference which will be installed as the method itself.
59e7697f 537
538=over 4
539
540=item I<accessor>
541
1d68af04 542The I<accessor> is a standard perl-style read/write accessor. It will
543return the value of the attribute, and if a value is passed as an argument,
fe122940 544it will assign that value to the attribute.
545
546B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 547This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 548C<undef> value to the attribute.
549
550 $object->set_something(undef);
551
59e7697f 552=item I<reader>
553
1d68af04 554This is a basic read-only accessor, it will just return the value of
fe122940 555the attribute.
556
59e7697f 557=item I<writer>
558
1d68af04 559This is a basic write accessor, it accepts a single argument, and
560assigns that value to the attribute. This method does not intentially
561return a value, however perl will return the result of the last
562expression in the subroutine, which returns in this returning the
563same value that it was passed.
59e7697f 564
fe122940 565B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 566This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 567C<undef> value to the attribute.
59e7697f 568
fe122940 569 $object->set_something();
570
571=item I<predicate>
572
07dca7e3 573This is a basic test to see if any value has been set for the
574attribute. It will return true (C<1>) if the attribute has been set
575to any value (even C<undef>), and false (C<0>) otherwise.
576
577B<NOTE:>
578The predicate will return true even when you set an attribute's
579value to C<undef>. This behaviour has changed as of version 0.43. In
580older versions, the predicate (erroneously) checked for attribute
581value definedness, instead of presence as it is now.
582
583If you really want to get rid of the value, you have to define and
584use a I<clearer> (see below).
585
7d28758b 586=item I<clearer>
587
588This is the a method that will uninitialize the attr, reverting lazy values
589back to their "unfulfilled" state.
590
59e7697f 591=back
552e3d24 592
bd4e03f9 593=item B<clone (%options)>
594
127d39a7 595This will return a clone of the attribute instance, allowing the overriding
596of various attributes through the C<%options> supplied.
597
bd4e03f9 598=item B<initialize_instance_slot ($instance, $params)>
599
127d39a7 600This method is used internally to initialize the approriate slot for this
601attribute in a given C<$instance>, the C<$params> passed are those that were
602passed to the constructor.
603
1d68af04 604=back
552e3d24 605
16e960bd 606=head2 Value management
607
1d68af04 608These methods are basically "backdoors" to the instance, which can be used
609to bypass the regular accessors, but still stay within the context of the MOP.
2367814a 610
1d68af04 611These methods are not for general use, and should only be used if you really
2367814a 612know what you are doing.
613
16e960bd 614=over 4
615
3545c727 616=item B<set_value ($instance, $value)>
16e960bd 617
618Set the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done to
619even attributes with just read only accessors.
620
c0921932 621=item B<set_initial_value ($instance, $value)>
622
623This method sets the value without going through the accessor -- but it is only
624called when the instance data is first initialized.
625
3545c727 626=item B<get_value ($instance)>
16e960bd 627
628Return the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done
629even to attributes with just write only accessors.
630
3545c727 631=item B<has_value ($instance)>
632
92d2abfa 633Return a boolean indicating if the item in the C<$instance> has a value in it.
2367814a 634This is basically what the default C<predicate> method calls.
635
3545c727 636=item B<clear_value ($instance)>
637
2367814a 638This will clear the value in the C<$instance>. This is basically what the default
1d68af04 639C<clearer> would call. Note that this may be done even if the attirbute does not
2367814a 640have any associated read, write or clear methods.
641
16e960bd 642=back
643
552e3d24 644=head2 Informational
645
1d68af04 646These are all basic read-only value accessors for the values
fe122940 647passed into C<new>. I think they are pretty much self-explanitory.
648
552e3d24 649=over 4
650
651=item B<name>
652
653=item B<accessor>
654
655=item B<reader>
656
657=item B<writer>
658
c50c603e 659=item B<predicate>
660
7d28758b 661=item B<clearer>
662
0ab65f99 663=item B<initializer>
664
552e3d24 665=item B<init_arg>
666
495af518 667=item B<is_default_a_coderef>
668
fe122940 669=item B<default (?$instance)>
670
92d2abfa 671Return the default value for the attribute.
672
673If you pass in an C<$instance> argument to this accessor and the
674I<default> is a CODE reference, then the CODE reference will be
675executed with the C<$instance> as its argument.
552e3d24 676
c57c8b10 677=item B<slots>
678
92d2abfa 679Return a list of slots required by the attribute. This is usually
c57c8b10 680just one, which is the name of the attribute.
681
b25109b1 682=item B<get_read_method>
683
684=item B<get_write_method>
685
5da16d1b 686Return the name of a method name suitable for reading / writing the value
687of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
688C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
689
690=item B<get_read_method_ref>
691
692=item B<get_write_method_ref>
693
694Return the CODE reference of a method suitable for reading / writing the
695value of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
696C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was specified or not.
697
127d39a7 698NOTE: If no reader/writer/accessor was specified, this will use the
5da16d1b 699attribute get_value/set_value methods, which can be very inefficient.
b25109b1 700
552e3d24 701=back
702
703=head2 Informational predicates
704
a2e85e6c 705These are all basic predicate methods for the values passed into C<new>.
fe122940 706
552e3d24 707=over 4
708
709=item B<has_accessor>
710
552e3d24 711=item B<has_reader>
712
552e3d24 713=item B<has_writer>
714
c50c603e 715=item B<has_predicate>
716
7d28758b 717=item B<has_clearer>
718
0ab65f99 719=item B<has_initializer>
720
552e3d24 721=item B<has_init_arg>
722
552e3d24 723=item B<has_default>
724
bf731086 725=item B<has_builder>
726
552e3d24 727=back
728
9ec169fe 729=head2 Class association
730
1d68af04 731These methods allow you to manage the attributes association with
732the class that contains it. These methods should not be used
2367814a 733lightly, nor are they very magical, they are mostly used internally
734and by metaclass instances.
735
9ec169fe 736=over 4
737
738=item B<associated_class>
739
2367814a 740This returns the metaclass this attribute is associated with.
741
9ec169fe 742=item B<attach_to_class ($class)>
743
1d68af04 744This will store a weaken reference to C<$class> internally. You should
2367814a 745note that just changing the class assocation will not remove the attribute
746from it's old class, and initialize it (and it's accessors) in the new
747C<$class>. It is up to you to do this manually.
748
9ec169fe 749=item B<detach_from_class>
750
1d68af04 751This will remove the weakened reference to the class. It does B<not>
752remove the attribute itself from the class (or remove it's accessors),
753you must do that yourself if you want too. Actually if that is what
754you want to do, you should probably be looking at
2367814a 755L<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute> instead.
756
9ec169fe 757=back
758
552e3d24 759=head2 Attribute Accessor generation
760
761=over 4
762
ba38bf08 763=item B<accessor_metaclass>
764
2367814a 765Accessors are generated by an accessor metaclass, which is usually
1d68af04 766a subclass of C<Class::MOP::Method::Accessor>. This method returns
2367814a 767the name of the accessor metaclass that this attribute uses.
768
769=item B<associate_method ($method)>
770
1d68af04 771This will associate a C<$method> with the given attribute which is
772used internally by the accessor generator.
3545c727 773
774=item B<associated_methods>
775
1d68af04 776This will return the list of methods which have been associated with
127d39a7 777the C<associate_method> methods. This is a good way of seeing what
778methods are used to manage a given attribute.
2367814a 779
9ec169fe 780=item B<install_accessors>
2eb717d5 781
1d68af04 782This allows the attribute to generate and install code for it's own
783I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate> methods. This is called by
fe122940 784C<Class::MOP::Class::add_attribute>.
2eb717d5 785
1d68af04 786This method will call C<process_accessors> for each of the possible
9ec169fe 787method types (accessor, reader, writer & predicate).
788
789=item B<process_accessors ($type, $value)>
790
1d68af04 791This takes a C<$type> (accessor, reader, writer or predicate), and
9ec169fe 792a C<$value> (the value passed into the constructor for each of the
1d68af04 793different types). It will then either generate the method itself
794(using the C<generate_*_method> methods listed below) or it will
795use the custom method passed through the constructor.
9ec169fe 796
9ec169fe 797=item B<remove_accessors>
2eb717d5 798
1d68af04 799This allows the attribute to remove the method for it's own
800I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer>. This is called by
fe122940 801C<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute>.
2eb717d5 802
1d68af04 803NOTE: This does not currently remove methods from the list returned
2367814a 804by C<associated_methods>, that is on the TODO list.
805
2eb717d5 806=back
807
808=head2 Introspection
809
810=over 4
552e3d24 811
2eb717d5 812=item B<meta>
552e3d24 813
1d68af04 814This will return a B<Class::MOP::Class> instance which is related
fe122940 815to this class.
816
1d68af04 817It should also be noted that B<Class::MOP> will actually bootstrap
818this module by installing a number of attribute meta-objects into
127d39a7 819it's metaclass. This will allow this class to reap all the benefits
1d68af04 820of the MOP when subclassing it.
fe122940 821
552e3d24 822=back
823
1a09d9cc 824=head1 AUTHORS
8b978dd5 825
a2e85e6c 826Stevan Little E<lt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<gt>
8b978dd5 827
828=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
829
69e3ab0a 830Copyright 2006-2008 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
8b978dd5 831
832L<http://www.iinteractive.com>
833
834This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
1d68af04 835it under the same terms as Perl itself.
8b978dd5 836
16e960bd 837=cut
838
7d28758b 839