NAME
Pony::Object the object system.
OVERVIEW
Pony::Object is an object system, which provides simple way to use cute objects.
SYNOPSIS
use Pony::Object;DESCRIPTION
When some package uses Pony::Object, it's becomes strict (and shows warnings) and modern (can use perl 5.10 features like as say). Also dump function is redefined and shows data structure. It's useful for debugging.
Specific moments
Besides new function dump Pony::Object has other specific moments.
has
Keyword has declares new fields. All fields are public. You can also describe object methods via has... If you want.
package News;
use Pony::Object;
# Fields
has 'title';
has text => '';
has authors => [ qw/Alice Bob/ ];
# Methods
sub printTitle
{
my $this = shift;
say $this->title;
}
sub printAuthors
{
my $this = shift;
print @{ $this->authors };
}
1;
package main;
my $news = new News;
$news->printAuthors();
$news->title = 'Something important';
$news->printTitle();Pony::Object fields assigned via "=". For example: $obj->field = 'a'.
new
Pony::Object doesn't have method new. In fact, of course it has. But new is an internal function, so you should not use it if you want not have additional fun. Instead of this Pony::Object has init function, where you can write the same, what you wish write in new. init is after-hook for new.
package News;
use Pony::Object;
has title => undef;
has lower => undef;
sub init
{
my $this = shift;
$this->title = shift;
$this->lower = lc $this->title;
}
1;
package main;
my $news = new News('Big Event!');
print $news->lower;ALL
If you wanna get all default values of Pony::Object-based class (fields, of course), you can call ALL method. I don't know why you need them, but you can do it.
package News;
use Pony::Object;
has 'title';
has text => '';
has authors => [ qw/Alice Bob/ ];
1;
package main;
my $news = new News;
print for keys %{ $news->ALL() };META
One more internal method. It provides access to special hash %META. You can use it for Pony::Object introspection but do not trust it. It can be changed in next versions.
my $news = new News;
say dump $news->META;toHash
Get object's data structure and return it in hash.
package News;
use Pony::Object;
has title => 'World';
has text => 'Hello';
1;
package main;
my $news = new News;
print $news->toHash()->{text};
print $news->toHash()->{title};dump
Return string which shows object current struct.
package News;
use Pony::Object;
has title => 'World';
has text => 'Hello';
1;
package main;
my $news = new News;
$news->text = 'Hi';
print $news->dump();Returns
$VAR1 = bless( {
'text' => 'Hi',
'title' => 'World'
}, 'News' );protected, private properties
For properties you can use has keyword if your variable starts with _ (for protected) or __ (for private).
package News;
use Pony::Object;
has text => '';
has __authors => [ qw/Alice Bob/ ];
sub getAuthorString
{
my $this = shift;
return join(' ', @{ $this->__authors });
}
1;
package main;
my $news = new News;
say $news->getAuthorString();Or the same but with keywords public, protected and private.
package News;
use Pony::Object;
public text => '';
private authors => [ qw/Alice Bob/ ];
sub getAuthorString
{
my $this = shift;
return join(' ', @{ $this->authors });
}
1;
package main;
my $news = new News;
say $news->getAuthorString();protected, private method
To define access for methods you can use attributes Public, Private and Protected.
package News;
use Pony::Object;
public text => '';
private authors => [ qw/Alice Bob/ ];
sub getAuthorString : Public
{
return shift->joinAuthors(', ');
}
sub joinAuthors : Private
{
my $this = shift;
my $delim = shift;
return join( $delim, @{ $this->authors } );
}
1;
package main;
my $news = new News;
say $news->getAuthorString();Inheritance
To define base classes you should set them as params on Pony::Object use. For example, use Pony::Object 'Base::Class';
package FirstPonyClass;
use Pony::Object;
# properties
has a => 'a';
has d => 'd';
# method
has b => sub
{
my $this = shift;
$this->a = 'b';
return ( @_ ?
shift:
'b' );
};
# traditional perl method
sub c { 'c' }
1;
package SecondPonyClass;
# extends FirstPonyClass
use Pony::Object qw/FirstPonyClass/;
# Redefine property.
has d => 'dd';
# Redefine method.
has b => sub
{
my $this = shift;
$this->a = 'bb';
return ( @_ ?
shift:
'bb' );
};
# New method.
has e => sub {'e'};
1;Singletons
For singletons Pony::Object has simple syntax. You just should declare that on use Pony::Object;
package Notes;
use Pony::Object 'singleton';
has list => [];
sub add
{
my $this = shift;
push @{ $this->list }, @_;
}
sub flush
{
my $this = shift;
$this->list = [];
}
1;
package main;
use Notes;
my $n1 = new Notes;
my $n2 = new Notes;
$n1->add( qw/eat sleep/ );
$n1->add( 'Meet with Mary at 8 o`clock' );
$n2->flush;
# Em... When I must meet Mary? Abstract methods and classes
You can use use abstract methods and classes in the following way:
# Let's define simple interface for texts.
package Text::Interface;
use Pony::Object -abstract; # Use 'abstract' or '-abstract'
# params to define abstract class.
sub getText : Abstract; # Use 'Abstract' attribute to
sub setText : Abstract; # define abstract method.
1;
# Now we can define base class for texts.
# It's abstract too but now it has some code.
package Text::Base;
use Pony::Object abstract => 'Text::Interface';
protected text => '';
sub getText : Public
{
my $this = shift;
return $this->text;
}
1;
# And in the end we can write Text class.
package Text;
use Pony::Object 'Text::Base';
sub setText : Public
{
my $this = shift;
$this->text = shift;
}
1;
# Main file.
package main;
use Text;
use Text::Base;
my $text = new Text::Base; # Raises an error!
my $text = new Text;
$text->setText('some text');
print $text->getText(); # Returns 'some text';Don't forget, that perl looking for function from left to right in list of inheritance packages. You should define abstract classes in the end of Pony::Object param list.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright (C) 2011 - 2012, Georgy Bazhukov.
This program is free software, you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Artistic License version 2.0.