Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide

# Programming Ruby ### The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide
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class Object |
Parent: |
Version: | 1.6

### Index:

== === =~ __id__ __send__ class clone display dup eql? equal? extend freeze frozen? hash id inspect instance_eval instance_of? instance_variables is_a? kind_of? method method_missing methods nil? private_methods protected_methods public_methods respond_to? send singleton_methods taint tainted? to_a to_s type untaint

Subclasses: Array, Binding, Continuation, Data, Dir, Exception, FalseClass, File::Stat, Hash, IO, MatchingData, Method, Module, NilClass, Numeric, Proc, Range, Regexp, String, Struct, Symbol, Thread, Time, TrueClass

`Object` is the parent class of all classes in Ruby. Its methods are therefore available to all objects unless explicitly overridden.

`Object` mixes in the `Kernel` module, making the built-in kernel functions globally accessible. Although the instance methods of `Object` are defined by the `Kernel` module, we have chosen to document them here for clarity.

In the descriptions that follow, the parameter aSymbol refers to a symbol, which is either a quoted string or a `Symbol` (such as `:name`).

instance methods
== | obj == anObject -> `true` or `false`
|  | Equality---At the `Object` level, `==` returns `true` only if obj and anObject are the same object. Typically, this method is overridden in descendent classes to provide class-specific meaning.
=== | obj === anObject -> `true` or `false`
|  | Case Equality---A synonym for `Object#==` , but typically overridden by descendents to provide meaningful semantics in `case` statements.
=~ | obj =~ anObject -> `false`
|  | Pattern Match---Overridden by descendents (notably `Regexp` and `String`) to provide meaningful pattern-match semantics.
__id__ | obj.__id__ -> aFixnum
|  | Synonym for `Object#id` .
__send__ | obj.__send__( aSymbol [, args ]+ ) -> anObject
|  | Synonym for `Object#send` .
class | obj.class -> aClass
|  | Returns the class of obj (synonym for `Object#type` ).
clone | obj.clone -> anObject
|  | Produces a shallow copy of obj---the instance variables of obj are copied, but not the objects they reference. Copies the frozen and tainted state of obj. See also the discussion under `Object#dup` .
`class Klass`
`attr_accessor :str`
`end`
`s1 = Klass.new` | » | `#<Klass:0x401b5478>`
`s1.str = "Hello"` | » | `"Hello"`
`s2 = s1.clone` | » | `#<Klass:0x401b5194 @str="Hello">`
`s2.str[1,4] = "i"` | » | `"i"`
`s1.inspect` | » | `"#<Klass:0x401b5478 @str=\"Hi\">"`
`s2.inspect` | » | `"#<Klass:0x401b5194 @str=\"Hi\">"`
display | obj.display( port=`$>` ) -> `nil`
|  | Prints obj on the given port (default `$>`). Equivalent to:
    def display(port=$>)
      port.write self
    end
dup | obj.dup -> anObject
|  | Produces a shallow copy of obj---the instance variables of obj are copied, but not the objects they reference. `dup` copies the tainted state of obj. See also the discussion under `Object#clone` . In general, `clone` and `dup` may have different semantics in descendent classes. While `clone` is used to duplicate an object, including its internal state, `dup` typically uses the class of the descendent object to create the new instance.
eql? | obj.eql?( anObject ) -> `true` or `false`
|  | Returns `true` if obj and anObject have the same value. Used by `Hash` to test members for equality. For objects of class `Object`, `eql?` is synonymous with `==`. Subclasses normally continue this tradition, but there are exceptions. `Numeric` types, for example, perform type conversion across `==`, but not across `eql?`, so:
`1 == 1.0` | » | `true`
`1.eql? 1.0` | » | `false`
equal? | obj.equal?( anObject ) -> `true` or `false`
|  | Returns `true` if obj and anObject have the same object ID. This method should not be overridden by subclasses.
`a = [ 'cat', 'dog' ]`
`b = [ 'cat', 'dog' ]`
`a == b` | » | `true`
`a.id == b.id` | » | `false`
`a.eql?(b)` | » | `true`
`a.equal?(b)` | » | `false`
extend | obj.extend( [ aModule ]+ ) -> obj
|  | Adds to obj the instance methods from each module given as a parameter.
`module Mod`
`def hello`
`"Hello from Mod.\n"`
`end`
`end`
``
`class Klass`
`def hello`
`"Hello from Klass.\n"`
`end`
`end`
``
`k = Klass.new`
`k.hello` | » | `"Hello from Klass.\n"`
`k.extend(Mod)` | » | `#<Klass:0x401b598c>`
`k.hello` | » | `"Hello from Mod.\n"`
freeze | obj.freeze -> obj
|  | Prevents further modifications to obj. A `TypeError` will be raised if modification is attempted. There is no way to unfreeze a frozen object. See also `Object#frozen?` .
    a = [ "a", "b", "c" ]
    a.freeze
    a << "z"
produces:
    prog.rb:3:in `<<': can't modify frozen array (TypeError)
    	from prog.rb:3
frozen? | obj.frozen? -> `true` or `false`
|  | Returns the freeze status of obj.
`a = [ "a", "b", "c" ]`
`a.freeze` | » | `["a", "b", "c"]`
`a.frozen?` | » | `true`
hash | obj.hash -> aFixnum
|  | Generates a `Fixnum` hash value for this object. This function must have the property that `a.eql?(b)` implies `a.hash == b.hash`. The hash value is used by class `Hash`. Any hash value that exceeds the capacity of a `Fixnum` will be truncated before being used.
id | obj.id -> aFixnum
|  | Returns an integer identifier for obj. The same number will be returned on all calls to `id` for a given object, and no two active objects will share an id. `Object#id` is a different concept from the `:name` notation, which returns the symbol id of `name`.
inspect | obj.inspect -> aString
|  | Returns a string containing a human-readable representation of obj. If not overridden, uses the `to_s` method to generate the string.
`[ 1, 2, 3..4, 'five' ].inspect` | » | `"[1, 2, 3..4, \"five\"]"`
`Time.new.inspect` | » | `"Sun Jun 09 00:18:15 CDT 2002"`
instance_eval | obj.instance_eval(aString [, file [ line ] ] ) -> anObject obj.instance_eval {| | block } -> anObject
|  | Evaluates a string containing Ruby source code, or the given block, within the context of the receiver (obj). In order to set the context, the variable `self` is set to obj while the code is executing, giving the code access to obj's instance variables. In the version of `instance_eval` that takes a `String`, the optional second and third parameters supply a filename and starting line number that are used when reporting compilation errors.
`class Klass`
`def initialize`
`@secret = 99`
`end`
`end`
`k = Klass.new`
`k.instance_eval { @secret }` | » | `99`
instance_of? | obj.instance_of?( aClass ) -> `true` or `false`
|  | Returns `true` if obj is an instance of the given class. See also `Object#kind_of?` .
instance_variables | obj.instance_variables -> anArray
|  | Returns an array of instance variable names for the receiver.
is_a? | obj.is_a?( aClass ) -> `true` or `false`
|  | Synonym for `Object#kind_of?` .
kind_of? | obj.kind_of?( aClass ) -> `true` or `false`
|  | Returns `true` if aClass is the class of obj, or if aClass is one of the superclasses of obj or modules included in obj.
`a = 1`
`a.instance_of? Numeric` | » | `false`
`a.instance_of? Integer` | » | `false`
`a.instance_of? Fixnum` | » | `true`
`a.instance_of? Comparable` | » | `false`
`a.kind_of? Numeric` | » | `true`
`a.kind_of? Integer` | » | `true`
`a.kind_of? Fixnum` | » | `true`
`a.kind_of? Comparable` | » | `true`
method | obj.method( aSymbol ) -> aMethod
|  | Looks up the named method as a receiver in obj, returning a `Method` object (or raising `NameError`). The `Method` object acts as a closure in obj's object instance, so instance variables and the value of `self` remain available.
`class Demo`
`def initialize(n)`
`@iv = n`
`end`
`def hello()`
`"Hello, @iv = #{@iv}"`
`end`
`end`
``
`k = Demo.new(99)`
`m = k.method(:hello)`
`m.call` | » | `"Hello, @iv = 99"`
``
`l = Demo.new('Fred')`
`m = l.method("hello")`
`m.call` | » | `"Hello, @iv = Fred"`
method_missing | obj.method_missing( aSymbol [, *args ] ) -> anObject
|  | Invoked by Ruby when obj is sent a message it cannot handle. aSymbol is the symbol for the method called, and args are any arguments that were passed to it. The example below creates a class `Roman`, which responds to methods with names consisting of roman numerals, returning the corresponding integer values.
    class Roman
      def romanToInt(str)
        # ...
      end
      def method_missing(methId)
        str = methId.id2name
        romanToInt(str)
      end
    end
`r = Roman.new`
`r.iv` | » | `4`
`r.xxiii` | » | `23`
`r.mm` | » | `2000`
methods | obj.methods -> anArray
|  | Returns a list of the names of methods publicly accessible in obj. This will include all the methods accessible in obj's ancestors.
`class Klass`
`def kMethod()`
`end`
`end`
`k = Klass.new`
`k.methods[0..9]` | » | `["kMethod", "dup", "eql?", "protected_methods", "==", "frozen?", "===", "respond_to?", "class", "kind_of?"]`
`k.methods.length` | » | `38`
nil? | obj.nil? -> `true` or `false`
|  | All objects except `nil` return `false`.
private_methods | obj.private_methods -> anArray
|  | Returns a list of private methods accessible within obj. This will include the private methods in obj's ancestors, along with any mixed-in module functions.
protected_methods | obj.protected_methods -> anArray
|  | Returns the list of protected methods accessible to obj.
public_methods | obj.public_methods -> anArray
|  | Synonym for `Object#methods` .
respond_to? | obj.respond_to?( aSymbol, includePriv=`false` ) -> `true` or `false`
|  | Returns `true` if obj responds to the given method. Private methods are included in the search only if the optional second parameter evaluates to `true`.
send | obj.send( aSymbol [, args ]* ) -> anObject
|  | Invokes the method identified by aSymbol, passing it any arguments specified. You can use `__send__` if the name `send` clashes with an existing method in obj.
`class Klass`
`def hello(*args)`
`"Hello " + args.join(' ')`
`end`
`end`
`k = Klass.new`
`k.send :hello, "gentle", "readers"` | » | `"Hello gentle readers"`
singleton_methods | obj.singleton_methods -> anArray
|  | Returns an array of the names of singleton methods for obj.
`class Klass`
`def Klass.classMethod`
`end`
`end`
`k = Klass.new`
`def k.sm()`
`end`
`Klass.singleton_methods` | » | `["classMethod"]`
`k.singleton_methods` | » | `["sm"]`
taint | obj.taint -> obj
|  | Marks obj as tainted (see Chapter 20, which begins on page 253).
tainted? | obj.tainted? -> `true` or `false`
|  | Returns `true` if the object is tainted.
to_a | obj.to_a -> anArray
|  | Returns an array representation of obj. For objects of class `Object` and others that don't explicitly override the method, the return value is an array containing `self`.
`self.to_a` | » | `[main]`
`"hello".to_a` | » | `["hello"]`
`Time.new.to_a` | » | `[15, 18, 0, 9, 6, 2002, 0, 160, true, "CDT"]`
to_s | obj.to_s -> aString
|  | Returns a string representing obj. The default `to_s` prints the object's class and an encoding of the object id. As a special case, the top-level object that is the initial execution context of Ruby programs returns ``main.''
type | obj.type -> aClass
|  | Returns the class of obj.
untaint | obj.untaint -> obj
|  | Removes the taint from obj.

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Extracted from the book "Programming Ruby - The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide"
Copyright © 2001 by Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later (the latest version is presently available at http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/)).

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