Is it possible in Ruby to get a reference to methods of an object ( I would like to know if this can be done without procs/lambdas ) , for example , consider the following code :
class X
def initialize
@map = {}
setup_map
end
private
def setup_map
# @map["a"] = get reference to a method
# @map["b"] = get reference to b method
# @map["c"] = get referebce to c method
end
public
def call(a)
@map["a"](a) if a > 10
@map["b"](a) if a > 20
@map["c"](a) if a > 30
end
def a(arg)
puts "a was called with #{arg}"
end
def b(arg)
puts "b was called with #{arg}"
end
def c(arg)
puts "c was called with #{arg}"
end
end
Is it possible to do such thing ? I would like to avoid procs/lambdas because I want to be able to change the behaviour of A,B,C by subclassing .
You want Object#method
:
---------------------------------------------------------- Object#method
obj.method(sym) => method
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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"
Now your code becomes:
private
def setup_map
@map = {
'a' => method(:a),
'b' => method(:b),
'c' => method(:c)
}
# or, more succinctly
# @map = Hash.new { |_map,name| _map[name] = method(name.to_sym) }
end
public
def call(arg)
@map["a"][arg] if arg > 10
@map["b"][arg] if arg > 20
@map["c"][arg] if arg > 30
end
You can do this with lambdas while maintaining the ability to change behavior in subclasses:
class X
def initialize
@map = {}
setup_map
end
private
def setup_map
@map["a"] = lambda { |a| a(a) }
@map["b"] = lambda { |a| b(a) }
@map["c"] = lambda { |a| c(a) }
end
public
def call(a)
@map["a"].call(a) if a > 10
@map["b"].call(a) if a > 20
@map["c"].call(a) if a > 30
end
def a(arg)
puts "a was called with #{arg}"
end
def b(arg)
puts "b was called with #{arg}"
end
def c(arg)
puts "c was called with #{arg}"
end
end
Ruby methods aren't first-class objects; it implements OO with message passing.
class X
def call(a)
self.send(:a, a) if a > 10
self.send(:b, a) if a > 20
self.send(:c, a) if a > 30
end
def a(arg)
puts "a was called with #{arg}"
end
def b(arg)
puts "b was called with #{arg}"
end
def c(arg)
puts "c was called with #{arg}"
end
end
Or just call them directly:
def call(a)
self.a(a) if a > 10
self.b(a) if a > 20
self.c(a) if a > 30
end
You can get a reference to the method by object.method(:method_name)
.
Eg: To get a reference to system
method.
m = self.method(:system)
m.call('ls)