Add a test to ensure that the get_write_method returns undef for a read-only attribute
[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
eca95e04 12our $VERSION = '0.78';
d519662a 13$VERSION = eval $VERSION;
f0480c45 14our $AUTHORITY = 'cpan:STEVAN';
8b978dd5 15
b1897d4d 16use base 'Class::MOP::Object';
17
727919c5 18# NOTE: (meta-circularity)
1d68af04 19# This method will be replaced in the
20# boostrap section of Class::MOP, by
21# a new version which uses the
727919c5 22# &Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance
23# method to build an attribute meta-object
24# which itself is described with attribute
1d68af04 25# meta-objects.
727919c5 26# - Ain't meta-circularity grand? :)
8b978dd5 27sub new {
649efb63 28 my ( $class, @args ) = @_;
29
30 unshift @args, "name" if @args % 2 == 1;
31 my %options = @args;
32
33 my $name = $options{name};
1d68af04 34
cbd9f942 35 (defined $name && $name)
8b978dd5 36 || confess "You must provide a name for the attribute";
1d68af04 37
38 $options{init_arg} = $name
5659d76e 39 if not exists $options{init_arg};
1d68af04 40 if(exists $options{builder}){
41 confess("builder must be a defined scalar value which is a method name")
42 if ref $options{builder} || !(defined $options{builder});
43 confess("Setting both default and builder is not allowed.")
44 if exists $options{default};
8fe581e5 45 } else {
46 (is_default_a_coderef(\%options))
47 || confess("References are not allowed as default values, you must ".
3c0a8087 48 "wrap the default of '$name' in a CODE reference (ex: sub { [] } and not [])")
8fe581e5 49 if exists $options{default} && ref $options{default};
1d68af04 50 }
2e877f58 51 if( $options{required} and not( defined($options{builder}) || defined($options{init_arg}) || exists $options{default} ) ) {
52 confess("A required attribute must have either 'init_arg', 'builder', or 'default'");
53 }
8683db0e 54
cb75020f 55 $class->_new(\%options);
4b698b1a 56}
57
58sub _new {
0bfc85b8 59 my $class = shift;
60 my $options = @_ == 1 ? $_[0] : {@_};
4b698b1a 61
8b978dd5 62 bless {
d9d99689 63 'name' => $options->{name},
64 'accessor' => $options->{accessor},
65 'reader' => $options->{reader},
66 'writer' => $options->{writer},
67 'predicate' => $options->{predicate},
68 'clearer' => $options->{clearer},
69 'builder' => $options->{builder},
70 'init_arg' => $options->{init_arg},
71 'default' => $options->{default},
72 'initializer' => $options->{initializer},
73 'definition_context' => $options->{definition_context},
1d68af04 74 # keep a weakened link to the
9ec169fe 75 # class we are associated with
8683db0e 76 'associated_class' => undef,
1d68af04 77 # and a list of the methods
3545c727 78 # associated with this attr
8683db0e 79 'associated_methods' => [],
0bfc85b8 80 }, $class;
8b978dd5 81}
82
7b31baf4 83# NOTE:
1d68af04 84# this is a primative (and kludgy) clone operation
16e960bd 85# for now, it will be replaced in the Class::MOP
1d68af04 86# bootstrap with a proper one, however we know
5659d76e 87# that this one will work fine for now.
88sub clone {
89 my $self = shift;
90 my %options = @_;
91 (blessed($self))
92 || confess "Can only clone an instance";
b3fa93c7 93 return bless { %{$self}, %options } => ref($self);
5659d76e 94}
95
bd4e03f9 96sub initialize_instance_slot {
f892c0f0 97 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $params) = @_;
8683db0e 98 my $init_arg = $self->{'init_arg'};
99
bd4e03f9 100 # try to fetch the init arg from the %params ...
8d2d4c67 101
1d68af04 102 # if nothing was in the %params, we can use the
bd4e03f9 103 # attribute's default value (if it has one)
2e877f58 104 if(defined $init_arg and exists $params->{$init_arg}){
8ee74136 105 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
106 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 107 $instance,
0ab65f99 108 $params->{$init_arg},
0ab65f99 109 );
b7bdffc3 110 }
8683db0e 111 elsif (defined $self->{'default'}) {
8ee74136 112 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
113 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 114 $instance,
0ab65f99 115 $self->default($instance),
0ab65f99 116 );
b7bdffc3 117 }
8683db0e 118 elsif (defined( my $builder = $self->{'builder'})) {
b7bdffc3 119 if ($builder = $instance->can($builder)) {
8ee74136 120 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
121 $meta_instance,
0ab65f99 122 $instance,
0ab65f99 123 $instance->$builder,
0ab65f99 124 );
b7bdffc3 125 }
126 else {
b3fa93c7 127 confess(ref($instance)." does not support builder method '". $self->{'builder'} ."' for attribute '" . $self->name . "'");
8fe581e5 128 }
1d68af04 129 }
bd4e03f9 130}
131
8ee74136 132sub _set_initial_slot_value {
133 my ($self, $meta_instance, $instance, $value) = @_;
134
135 my $slot_name = $self->name;
136
137 return $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $value)
138 unless $self->has_initializer;
139
140 my $callback = sub {
141 $meta_instance->set_slot_value($instance, $slot_name, $_[0]);
142 };
143
144 my $initializer = $self->initializer;
145
146 # most things will just want to set a value, so make it first arg
147 $instance->$initializer($value, $callback, $self);
148}
149
5659d76e 150# NOTE:
1d68af04 151# the next bunch of methods will get bootstrapped
7b31baf4 152# away in the Class::MOP bootstrapping section
153
8683db0e 154sub associated_class { $_[0]->{'associated_class'} }
155sub associated_methods { $_[0]->{'associated_methods'} }
156
b3fa93c7 157sub has_accessor { defined($_[0]->{'accessor'}) }
158sub has_reader { defined($_[0]->{'reader'}) }
159sub has_writer { defined($_[0]->{'writer'}) }
160sub has_predicate { defined($_[0]->{'predicate'}) }
161sub has_clearer { defined($_[0]->{'clearer'}) }
162sub has_builder { defined($_[0]->{'builder'}) }
163sub has_init_arg { defined($_[0]->{'init_arg'}) }
164sub has_default { defined($_[0]->{'default'}) }
165sub has_initializer { defined($_[0]->{'initializer'}) }
8683db0e 166
d9d99689 167sub accessor { $_[0]->{'accessor'} }
168sub reader { $_[0]->{'reader'} }
169sub writer { $_[0]->{'writer'} }
170sub predicate { $_[0]->{'predicate'} }
171sub clearer { $_[0]->{'clearer'} }
172sub builder { $_[0]->{'builder'} }
173sub init_arg { $_[0]->{'init_arg'} }
174sub initializer { $_[0]->{'initializer'} }
175sub definition_context { $_[0]->{'definition_context'} }
c50c603e 176
7b31baf4 177# end bootstrapped away method section.
178# (all methods below here are kept intact)
179
9e517e01 180sub has_read_method { $_[0]->has_reader || $_[0]->has_accessor }
181sub has_write_method { $_[0]->has_writer || $_[0]->has_accessor }
182
d14f6cbe 183sub get_read_method {
184 my $self = shift;
185 my $reader = $self->reader || $self->accessor;
186 # normal case ...
187 return $reader unless ref $reader;
188 # the HASH ref case
189 my ($name) = %$reader;
190 return $name;
191}
192
193sub get_write_method {
194 my $self = shift;
195 my $writer = $self->writer || $self->accessor;
196 # normal case ...
197 return $writer unless ref $writer;
198 # the HASH ref case
199 my ($name) = %$writer;
200 return $name;
201}
b25109b1 202
5da16d1b 203sub get_read_method_ref {
204 my $self = shift;
742fb371 205 if ((my $reader = $self->get_read_method) && $self->associated_class) {
5da16d1b 206 return $self->associated_class->get_method($reader);
207 }
208 else {
def5c0b5 209 my $code = sub { $self->get_value(@_) };
210 if (my $class = $self->associated_class) {
211 return $class->method_metaclass->wrap(
212 $code,
213 package_name => $class->name,
214 name => '__ANON__'
215 );
216 }
217 else {
218 return $code;
219 }
5da16d1b 220 }
221}
222
223sub get_write_method_ref {
224 my $self = shift;
d14f6cbe 225 if ((my $writer = $self->get_write_method) && $self->associated_class) {
742fb371 226 return $self->associated_class->get_method($writer);
5da16d1b 227 }
228 else {
def5c0b5 229 my $code = sub { $self->set_value(@_) };
230 if (my $class = $self->associated_class) {
231 return $class->method_metaclass->wrap(
232 $code,
233 package_name => $class->name,
234 name => '__ANON__'
235 );
236 }
237 else {
238 return $code;
239 }
5da16d1b 240 }
241}
242
1d68af04 243sub is_default_a_coderef {
4e55a580 244 ('CODE' eq ref($_[0]->{'default'}))
c0cbf4d9 245}
246
1d68af04 247sub default {
c0cbf4d9 248 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
9363ea89 249 if (defined $instance && $self->is_default_a_coderef) {
1d68af04 250 # if the default is a CODE ref, then
727919c5 251 # we pass in the instance and default
1d68af04 252 # can return a value based on that
727919c5 253 # instance. Somewhat crude, but works.
8683db0e 254 return $self->{'default'}->($instance);
1d68af04 255 }
8683db0e 256 $self->{'default'};
c50c603e 257}
8b978dd5 258
c57c8b10 259# slots
260
261sub slots { (shift)->name }
262
1d68af04 263# class association
727919c5 264
9ec169fe 265sub attach_to_class {
266 my ($self, $class) = @_;
267 (blessed($class) && $class->isa('Class::MOP::Class'))
268 || confess "You must pass a Class::MOP::Class instance (or a subclass)";
8683db0e 269 weaken($self->{'associated_class'} = $class);
9ec169fe 270}
271
272sub detach_from_class {
273 my $self = shift;
8683db0e 274 $self->{'associated_class'} = undef;
9ec169fe 275}
276
1d68af04 277# method association
3545c727 278
279sub associate_method {
280 my ($self, $method) = @_;
8683db0e 281 push @{$self->{'associated_methods'}} => $method;
3545c727 282}
283
16e960bd 284## Slot management
285
ef91a0e2 286sub set_initial_value {
287 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
e76b01fb 288 $self->_set_initial_slot_value(
b3fa93c7 289 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))->get_meta_instance,
8ee74136 290 $instance,
291 $value
292 );
ef91a0e2 293}
294
16e960bd 295sub set_value {
1396f86b 296 my ($self, $instance, $value) = @_;
16e960bd 297
b3fa93c7 298 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))
da34f054 299 ->get_meta_instance
300 ->set_slot_value($instance, $self->name, $value);
16e960bd 301}
302
303sub get_value {
1396f86b 304 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
16e960bd 305
b3fa93c7 306 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))
da34f054 307 ->get_meta_instance
308 ->get_slot_value($instance, $self->name);
16e960bd 309}
310
3545c727 311sub has_value {
312 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 313
b3fa93c7 314 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))
da34f054 315 ->get_meta_instance
316 ->is_slot_initialized($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 317}
318
319sub clear_value {
320 my ($self, $instance) = @_;
1d68af04 321
b3fa93c7 322 Class::MOP::Class->initialize(ref($instance))
da34f054 323 ->get_meta_instance
324 ->deinitialize_slot($instance, $self->name);
3545c727 325}
326
ba38bf08 327## load em up ...
c0cbf4d9 328
ba38bf08 329sub accessor_metaclass { 'Class::MOP::Method::Accessor' }
c0cbf4d9 330
9ec169fe 331sub process_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 332 my ($self, $type, $accessor, $generate_as_inline_methods) = @_;
d9d99689 333
334 my $method_ctx;
335
336 if ( my $ctx = $self->definition_context ) {
337 $method_ctx = { %$ctx };
338 }
339
9b522fc4 340 if (ref($accessor)) {
341 (ref($accessor) eq 'HASH')
7d28758b 342 || confess "bad accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer format, must be a HASH ref";
4d47b77f 343 my ($name, $method) = %{$accessor};
4c105333 344 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->wrap(
345 $method,
346 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
347 name => $name,
d9d99689 348 definition_context => $method_ctx,
4c105333 349 );
3545c727 350 $self->associate_method($method);
1d68af04 351 return ($name, $method);
2eb717d5 352 }
9ec169fe 353 else {
1d68af04 354 my $inline_me = ($generate_as_inline_methods && $self->associated_class->instance_metaclass->is_inlinable);
ba38bf08 355 my $method;
356 eval {
d9d99689 357 if ( $method_ctx ) {
358 my $desc = "accessor $accessor";
359 if ( $accessor ne $self->name ) {
360 $desc .= " of attribute " . $self->name;
361 }
362
363 $method_ctx->{description} = $desc;
364 }
365
ba38bf08 366 $method = $self->accessor_metaclass->new(
367 attribute => $self,
d90b42a6 368 is_inline => $inline_me,
ba38bf08 369 accessor_type => $type,
4c105333 370 package_name => $self->associated_class->name,
371 name => $accessor,
d9d99689 372 definition_context => $method_ctx,
1d68af04 373 );
ba38bf08 374 };
1d68af04 375 confess "Could not create the '$type' method for " . $self->name . " because : $@" if $@;
3545c727 376 $self->associate_method($method);
ba38bf08 377 return ($accessor, $method);
1d68af04 378 }
9ec169fe 379}
380
381sub install_accessors {
c0cbf4d9 382 my $self = shift;
383 my $inline = shift;
384 my $class = $self->associated_class;
1d68af04 385
9ec169fe 386 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 387 $self->process_accessors('accessor' => $self->accessor(), $inline)
9ec169fe 388 ) if $self->has_accessor();
389
1d68af04 390 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 391 $self->process_accessors('reader' => $self->reader(), $inline)
9ec169fe 392 ) if $self->has_reader();
393
394 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 395 $self->process_accessors('writer' => $self->writer(), $inline)
9ec169fe 396 ) if $self->has_writer();
397
398 $class->add_method(
c0cbf4d9 399 $self->process_accessors('predicate' => $self->predicate(), $inline)
9ec169fe 400 ) if $self->has_predicate();
1d68af04 401
7d28758b 402 $class->add_method(
403 $self->process_accessors('clearer' => $self->clearer(), $inline)
404 ) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 405
9ec169fe 406 return;
2eb717d5 407}
408
b51af7f9 409{
410 my $_remove_accessor = sub {
411 my ($accessor, $class) = @_;
9b522fc4 412 if (ref($accessor) && ref($accessor) eq 'HASH') {
c50c603e 413 ($accessor) = keys %{$accessor};
1d68af04 414 }
415 my $method = $class->get_method($accessor);
416 $class->remove_method($accessor)
b3fa93c7 417 if (ref($method) && $method->isa('Class::MOP::Method::Accessor'));
b51af7f9 418 };
1d68af04 419
b51af7f9 420 sub remove_accessors {
9ec169fe 421 my $self = shift;
2367814a 422 # TODO:
1d68af04 423 # we really need to make sure to remove from the
424 # associates methods here as well. But this is
425 # such a slimly used method, I am not worried
2367814a 426 # about it right now.
9ec169fe 427 $_remove_accessor->($self->accessor(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_accessor();
428 $_remove_accessor->($self->reader(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_reader();
429 $_remove_accessor->($self->writer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_writer();
430 $_remove_accessor->($self->predicate(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_predicate();
7d28758b 431 $_remove_accessor->($self->clearer(), $self->associated_class()) if $self->has_clearer();
1d68af04 432 return;
b51af7f9 433 }
434
8b978dd5 435}
436
4371;
438
439__END__
440
441=pod
442
1d68af04 443=head1 NAME
8b978dd5 444
445Class::MOP::Attribute - Attribute Meta Object
446
447=head1 SYNOPSIS
1d68af04 448
f91a23dd 449 Class::MOP::Attribute->new( foo => (
fe122940 450 accessor => 'foo', # dual purpose get/set accessor
1d68af04 451 predicate => 'has_foo' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 452 init_arg => '-foo', # class->new will look for a -foo key
453 default => 'BAR IS BAZ!' # if no -foo key is provided, use this
8b978dd5 454 ));
1d68af04 455
f91a23dd 456 Class::MOP::Attribute->new( bar => (
fe122940 457 reader => 'bar', # getter
1d68af04 458 writer => 'set_bar', # setter
459 predicate => 'has_bar' # predicate check for defined-ness
fe122940 460 init_arg => ':bar', # class->new will look for a :bar key
8b978dd5 461 # no default value means it is undef
462 ));
463
464=head1 DESCRIPTION
465
fe122940 466The Attribute Protocol is almost entirely an invention of this module,
1d68af04 467and is completely optional to this MOP. This is because Perl 5 does not
468have consistent notion of what is an attribute of a class. There are
469so many ways in which this is done, and very few (if any) are
fe122940 470easily discoverable by this module.
552e3d24 471
1d68af04 472So, all that said, this module attempts to inject some order into this
473chaos, by introducing a consistent API which can be used to create
fe122940 474object attributes.
552e3d24 475
476=head1 METHODS
477
478=head2 Creation
479
480=over 4
481
fe122940 482=item B<new ($name, ?%options)>
483
1d68af04 484An attribute must (at the very least), have a C<$name>. All other
a2e85e6c 485C<%options> are contained added as key-value pairs. Acceptable keys
fe122940 486are as follows:
487
488=over 4
489
490=item I<init_arg>
491
1d68af04 492This should be a string value representing the expected key in
493an initialization hash. For instance, if we have an I<init_arg>
fe122940 494value of C<-foo>, then the following code will Just Work.
495
496 MyClass->meta->construct_instance(-foo => "Hello There");
497
1d68af04 498In an init_arg is not assigned, it will automatically use the
0ef07b33 499value of C<$name>. If an explicit C<undef> is given for an init_arg,
500an attribute value can't be specified during initialization.
7b31baf4 501
1d68af04 502=item I<builder>
503
504The value of this key is the name of the method that will be
505called to obtain the value used to initialize the attribute.
506This should be a method in the class associated with the attribute,
507not a method in the attribute class itself.
fe122940 508
4c4a6c41 509=item I<default>
510
511The value of this key is the default value which
512C<Class::MOP::Class::construct_instance> will initialize the
513attribute to.
514
fe122940 515B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 516If the value is a simple scalar (string or number), then it can
517be just passed as is. However, if you wish to initialize it with
518a HASH or ARRAY ref, then you need to wrap that inside a CODE
fe122940 519reference, like so:
520
521 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('@foo' => (
522 default => sub { [] },
523 ));
1d68af04 524
525 # or ...
526
fe122940 527 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('%foo' => (
528 default => sub { {} },
1d68af04 529 ));
fe122940 530
1d68af04 531If you wish to initialize an attribute with a CODE reference
fe122940 532itself, then you need to wrap that in a subroutine as well, like
533so:
1d68af04 534
fe122940 535 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('&foo' => (
536 default => sub { sub { print "Hello World" } },
537 ));
538
1d68af04 539And lastly, if the value of your attribute is dependent upon
540some other aspect of the instance structure, then you can take
541advantage of the fact that when the I<default> value is a CODE
127d39a7 542reference, it is passed the (as yet unfinished) instance structure
fe122940 543as it's only argument. So you can do things like this:
544
545 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$object_identity' => (
546 default => sub { Scalar::Util::refaddr($_[0]) },
547 ));
548
1d68af04 549This last feature is fairly limited as there is no gurantee of
550the order of attribute initializations, so you cannot perform
551any kind of dependent initializations. However, if this is
552something you need, you could subclass B<Class::MOP::Class> and
553this class to acheive it. However, this is currently left as
fe122940 554an exercise to the reader :).
555
0ef07b33 556=item I<initializer>
557
558This may be a method name (referring to a method on the class with this
559attribute) or a CODE ref. The initializer is used to set the attribute value
560on an instance when the attribute is set during instance initialization. When
561called, it is passed the instance (as the invocant), the value to set, a
562slot-setting CODE ref, and the attribute meta-instance. The slot-setting code
563is provided to make it easy to set the (possibly altered) value on the instance
564without going through several more method calls.
565
0ef07b33 566This contrived example shows an initializer that sets the attribute to twice
567the given value.
568
569 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$doubled' => (
570 initializer => sub {
571 my ($instance, $value, $set) = @_;
572 $set->($value * 2);
573 },
574 ));
575
576As method names can be given as initializers, one can easily make
577attribute initialization use the writer:
578
579 Class::MOP::Attribute->new('$some_attr' => (
580 writer => 'some_attr',
581 initializer => 'some_attr',
582 ));
583
127d39a7 584Your writer will simply need to examine it's C<@_> and determine under
585which context it is being called.
586
fe122940 587=back
588
7d28758b 589The I<accessor>, I<reader>, I<writer>, I<predicate> and I<clearer> keys can
590contain either; the name of the method and an appropriate default one will be
591generated for you, B<or> a HASH ref containing exactly one key (which will be
592used as the name of the method) and one value, which should contain a CODE
593reference which will be installed as the method itself.
59e7697f 594
595=over 4
596
597=item I<accessor>
598
1d68af04 599The I<accessor> is a standard perl-style read/write accessor. It will
600return the value of the attribute, and if a value is passed as an argument,
fe122940 601it will assign that value to the attribute.
602
603B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 604This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 605C<undef> value to the attribute.
606
607 $object->set_something(undef);
608
59e7697f 609=item I<reader>
610
1d68af04 611This is a basic read-only accessor, it will just return the value of
fe122940 612the attribute.
613
59e7697f 614=item I<writer>
615
1d68af04 616This is a basic write accessor, it accepts a single argument, and
617assigns that value to the attribute. This method does not intentially
618return a value, however perl will return the result of the last
619expression in the subroutine, which returns in this returning the
620same value that it was passed.
59e7697f 621
fe122940 622B<NOTE:>
1d68af04 623This method will properly handle the following code, by assigning an
fe122940 624C<undef> value to the attribute.
59e7697f 625
fe122940 626 $object->set_something();
627
628=item I<predicate>
629
07dca7e3 630This is a basic test to see if any value has been set for the
631attribute. It will return true (C<1>) if the attribute has been set
632to any value (even C<undef>), and false (C<0>) otherwise.
633
634B<NOTE:>
635The predicate will return true even when you set an attribute's
636value to C<undef>. This behaviour has changed as of version 0.43. In
637older versions, the predicate (erroneously) checked for attribute
638value definedness, instead of presence as it is now.
639
640If you really want to get rid of the value, you have to define and
641use a I<clearer> (see below).
642
7d28758b 643=item I<clearer>
644
645This is the a method that will uninitialize the attr, reverting lazy values
646back to their "unfulfilled" state.
647
59e7697f 648=back
552e3d24 649
bd4e03f9 650=item B<clone (%options)>
651
127d39a7 652This will return a clone of the attribute instance, allowing the overriding
653of various attributes through the C<%options> supplied.
654
bd4e03f9 655=item B<initialize_instance_slot ($instance, $params)>
656
127d39a7 657This method is used internally to initialize the approriate slot for this
658attribute in a given C<$instance>, the C<$params> passed are those that were
659passed to the constructor.
660
1d68af04 661=back
552e3d24 662
16e960bd 663=head2 Value management
664
1d68af04 665These methods are basically "backdoors" to the instance, which can be used
666to bypass the regular accessors, but still stay within the context of the MOP.
2367814a 667
1d68af04 668These methods are not for general use, and should only be used if you really
2367814a 669know what you are doing.
670
16e960bd 671=over 4
672
3545c727 673=item B<set_value ($instance, $value)>
16e960bd 674
675Set the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done to
676even attributes with just read only accessors.
677
c0921932 678=item B<set_initial_value ($instance, $value)>
679
680This method sets the value without going through the accessor -- but it is only
681called when the instance data is first initialized.
682
3545c727 683=item B<get_value ($instance)>
16e960bd 684
685Return the value without going through the accessor. Note that this may be done
686even to attributes with just write only accessors.
687
3545c727 688=item B<has_value ($instance)>
689
92d2abfa 690Return a boolean indicating if the item in the C<$instance> has a value in it.
2367814a 691This is basically what the default C<predicate> method calls.
692
3545c727 693=item B<clear_value ($instance)>
694
2367814a 695This will clear the value in the C<$instance>. This is basically what the default
1d68af04 696C<clearer> would call. Note that this may be done even if the attirbute does not
2367814a 697have any associated read, write or clear methods.
698
16e960bd 699=back
700
552e3d24 701=head2 Informational
702
1d68af04 703These are all basic read-only value accessors for the values
fe122940 704passed into C<new>. I think they are pretty much self-explanitory.
705
552e3d24 706=over 4
707
708=item B<name>
709
710=item B<accessor>
711
712=item B<reader>
713
714=item B<writer>
715
c50c603e 716=item B<predicate>
717
7d28758b 718=item B<clearer>
719
0ab65f99 720=item B<initializer>
721
552e3d24 722=item B<init_arg>
723
495af518 724=item B<is_default_a_coderef>
725
fe122940 726=item B<default (?$instance)>
727
92d2abfa 728Return the default value for the attribute.
729
730If you pass in an C<$instance> argument to this accessor and the
731I<default> is a CODE reference, then the CODE reference will be
732executed with the C<$instance> as its argument.
552e3d24 733
c57c8b10 734=item B<slots>
735
92d2abfa 736Return a list of slots required by the attribute. This is usually
c57c8b10 737just one, which is the name of the attribute.
738
b25109b1 739=item B<get_read_method>
740
741=item B<get_write_method>
742
5da16d1b 743Return the name of a method name suitable for reading / writing the value
744of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
745C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
746
747=item B<get_read_method_ref>
748
749=item B<get_write_method_ref>
750
751Return the CODE reference of a method suitable for reading / writing the
752value of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
753C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was specified or not.
754
127d39a7 755NOTE: If no reader/writer/accessor was specified, this will use the
5da16d1b 756attribute get_value/set_value methods, which can be very inefficient.
b25109b1 757
9e517e01 758=item B<has_read_method>
759
760=item B<has_write_method>
761
762Return whether a method exists suitable for reading / writing the value
763of the attribute in the associated class. Suitable for use whether
764C<reader> and C<writer> or C<accessor> was used.
765
552e3d24 766=back
767
768=head2 Informational predicates
769
a2e85e6c 770These are all basic predicate methods for the values passed into C<new>.
fe122940 771
552e3d24 772=over 4
773
774=item B<has_accessor>
775
552e3d24 776=item B<has_reader>
777
552e3d24 778=item B<has_writer>
779
c50c603e 780=item B<has_predicate>
781
7d28758b 782=item B<has_clearer>
783
0ab65f99 784=item B<has_initializer>
785
552e3d24 786=item B<has_init_arg>
787
552e3d24 788=item B<has_default>
789
bf731086 790=item B<has_builder>
791
552e3d24 792=back
793
9ec169fe 794=head2 Class association
795
1d68af04 796These methods allow you to manage the attributes association with
797the class that contains it. These methods should not be used
2367814a 798lightly, nor are they very magical, they are mostly used internally
799and by metaclass instances.
800
9ec169fe 801=over 4
802
803=item B<associated_class>
804
2367814a 805This returns the metaclass this attribute is associated with.
806
9ec169fe 807=item B<attach_to_class ($class)>
808
1d68af04 809This will store a weaken reference to C<$class> internally. You should
2367814a 810note that just changing the class assocation will not remove the attribute
811from it's old class, and initialize it (and it's accessors) in the new
812C<$class>. It is up to you to do this manually.
813
9ec169fe 814=item B<detach_from_class>
815
1d68af04 816This will remove the weakened reference to the class. It does B<not>
817remove the attribute itself from the class (or remove it's accessors),
818you must do that yourself if you want too. Actually if that is what
819you want to do, you should probably be looking at
2367814a 820L<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute> instead.
821
9ec169fe 822=back
823
552e3d24 824=head2 Attribute Accessor generation
825
826=over 4
827
ba38bf08 828=item B<accessor_metaclass>
829
2367814a 830Accessors are generated by an accessor metaclass, which is usually
1d68af04 831a subclass of C<Class::MOP::Method::Accessor>. This method returns
2367814a 832the name of the accessor metaclass that this attribute uses.
833
834=item B<associate_method ($method)>
835
1d68af04 836This will associate a C<$method> with the given attribute which is
837used internally by the accessor generator.
3545c727 838
839=item B<associated_methods>
840
1d68af04 841This will return the list of methods which have been associated with
127d39a7 842the C<associate_method> methods. This is a good way of seeing what
843methods are used to manage a given attribute.
2367814a 844
9ec169fe 845=item B<install_accessors>
2eb717d5 846
1d68af04 847This allows the attribute to generate and install code for it's own
848I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate> methods. This is called by
fe122940 849C<Class::MOP::Class::add_attribute>.
2eb717d5 850
1d68af04 851This method will call C<process_accessors> for each of the possible
9ec169fe 852method types (accessor, reader, writer & predicate).
853
854=item B<process_accessors ($type, $value)>
855
1d68af04 856This takes a C<$type> (accessor, reader, writer or predicate), and
9ec169fe 857a C<$value> (the value passed into the constructor for each of the
1d68af04 858different types). It will then either generate the method itself
859(using the C<generate_*_method> methods listed below) or it will
860use the custom method passed through the constructor.
9ec169fe 861
9ec169fe 862=item B<remove_accessors>
2eb717d5 863
1d68af04 864This allows the attribute to remove the method for it's own
865I<accessor/reader/writer/predicate/clearer>. This is called by
fe122940 866C<Class::MOP::Class::remove_attribute>.
2eb717d5 867
1d68af04 868NOTE: This does not currently remove methods from the list returned
2367814a 869by C<associated_methods>, that is on the TODO list.
870
2eb717d5 871=back
872
873=head2 Introspection
874
875=over 4
552e3d24 876
2eb717d5 877=item B<meta>
552e3d24 878
1d68af04 879This will return a B<Class::MOP::Class> instance which is related
fe122940 880to this class.
881
1d68af04 882It should also be noted that B<Class::MOP> will actually bootstrap
883this module by installing a number of attribute meta-objects into
127d39a7 884it's metaclass. This will allow this class to reap all the benefits
1d68af04 885of the MOP when subclassing it.
fe122940 886
552e3d24 887=back
888
1a09d9cc 889=head1 AUTHORS
8b978dd5 890
a2e85e6c 891Stevan Little E<lt>stevan@iinteractive.comE<gt>
8b978dd5 892
893=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
894
69e3ab0a 895Copyright 2006-2008 by Infinity Interactive, Inc.
8b978dd5 896
897L<http://www.iinteractive.com>
898
899This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
1d68af04 900it under the same terms as Perl itself.
8b978dd5 901
16e960bd 902=cut
903
7d28758b 904