Set an instance variable before and after initialize

M

Martin Jansson

If possible, I would like to set a instance variable in an object before
and after its initialize method is executed.

I've been looking at Class#new but it doesn't seem to have access to a
reference to the object in creation.

A possible workaround would be to place the object in an already created
hashtable. But I need to know if initialize has been completed or not
even if callcc is used.

This behavior must be shared by all objects in classes that inherit
Object.

I try to create Simula style corutines. In Simula all objects have three
states of execution: active, passive and terminated. An active object is
executing it's class body (think: Rubys Object#initialize on steroids).
The first time an object is activated is when it's created with new.
Within the class body you can call detach to make the object passive and
pause execution of the class body. Execution is then continued after the
point where the object was last activated. Within the class body you can
also call resume wich make the object passive and activates another
object. Execution is continued again when the other object become
passive or terminated. Objects can also become active if the procedure
call is called with the object as an argument. When execution reach the
end of the objects class body, the object becomes terminated and can not
be activated anymore.

You can't do all the things you can do with callcc with this kind of
corutines but it makes some otherwise hairy programming easy.
 
D

Dumaiu

The initialize() method, the constructor, is the earliest point at
which you can manipulate an object, because prior to that it does not
exist. Although I know diddly-doo about coroutines, it sounds to me
like you'd be better off using instances of the hypothetical
"Coroutine" class rather than the class body itself. Let an
initialized Coroutine stay dormant until it is sent a call() message,
or something like that, and then do its yielding and whatever else
Coroutines do.
There seems to be a coroutine implementation, according to Wikipedia,
iff you can read Japanese.

-J
 
T

Trans

Martin said:
If possible, I would like to set a instance variable in an object before
and after its initialize method is executed.

I've been looking at Class#new but it doesn't seem to have access to a
reference to the object in creation.

class Klass
def self.new( *args, &blk )
o = allocate
o.instance_variable_set( "@foo", "anything")
o.initialize( *args, &blk )
o.instance_variable_set( "@bar", "anything")
o
end

You could also you #instance_eval { @foo = "anything }

T.
 
M

Martin Jansson

Trans said:
class Klass
def self.new( *args, &blk )
o = allocate
o.instance_variable_set( "@foo", "anything")
o.initialize( *args, &blk )
o.instance_variable_set( "@bar", "anything")
o
end

You could also you #instance_eval { @foo = "anything }

T.

This break the chain of inheritance. You would have to reimplement all
classes that you use; it would be more complicated to use then Thread
even if it would have the advantage that you could circumvent some of
Threads limitations. I'm not even sure that it would behave correctly.
Class#new seem to do more then call allocate and initialize. But I could
be wrong. Here is the C code for Class#new:

VALUE
rb_class_new_instance(argc, argv, klass)
int argc;
VALUE *argv;
VALUE klass;
{
VALUE obj;

obj = rb_obj_alloc(klass);
rb_obj_call_init(obj, argc, argv);

return obj;
}

I've looked at rb_obj_call_init, but I can't seem to find it at the
moment.

My current hack has an ActiveObject class that I use instead of Object.
In this class I have a method called body instead of initialize.
initialize is already used to set that damn variable and to call body
and can not be rewritten. All this of course breaks the chain of
inherritance.
 
E

Erik Veenstra

That won't work: initialize is private. And it might better to
overwrite Object.new, so it works for all classes.

What about singleton? (I mean "include Singleton".)

gegroet,
Erik V. - http://www.erikveen.dds.nl/

----------------------------------------------------------------

class Object
def self.new( *args, &blk )
o = allocate
o.instance_variable_set( "@foo", "anything")
o.instance_eval{initialize( *args, &blk )}
o.instance_variable_set( "@bar", "anything")
o
end
end

class Foo
def initialize(baz)
@baz = baz
end

def bar
p @foo
p @bar
p @baz
end
end

Foo.new(8).bar

----------------------------------------------------------------
 
T

Trans

Damn! You guys are sticklers! You want complete, universally
applicable, 100% bug-free implementations for a general mailing list
question. How much time do I have? ;-)

T.
 
A

ara.t.howard

If possible, I would like to set a instance variable in an object before and
after its initialize method is executed.

let initialize help you do this then:


harp:~ > cat a.rb
module BeforeAfterInit
module InstanceMethods
def before_initialize *a, &b
end
def after_initialize *a, &b
end
def initialize *a, &b
before_initialize *a, &b
r = super
after_initialize *a, &b
r
end
end
module ClassMethods
def before &b
define_method 'before_initialize', &b
end
def after &b
define_method 'after_initialize', &b
end
end
def self.included other
other.module_eval{ include InstanceMethods }
other.extend ClassMethods
super
end
end

class C
include BeforeAfterInit

before{ @a = 40 }
after{ @b = 2 }

def m() @a + @b end
end

p C.new.m



harp:~ > ruby a.rb
42


regards.

-a
 
B

Ben Nagy

I have a couple of questions...
-----Original Message-----
From: (e-mail address removed) [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 9:34 PM
To: ruby-talk ML
Subject: Re: Set an instance variable before and after initialize

If possible, I would like to set a instance variable in an object before and
after its initialize method is executed.

let initialize help you do this then:


harp:~ > cat a.rb
module BeforeAfterInit
module InstanceMethods
def before_initialize *a, &b
end
def after_initialize *a, &b
end
def initialize *a, &b
before_initialize *a, &b
r = super

What does this construction (r=super) do? I tried removing both references
to r and replacing it with a single 'super' and it seemed to behave
identically.
after_initialize *a, &b
r
end
end
module ClassMethods
def before &b
define_method 'before_initialize', &b
end
def after &b
define_method 'after_initialize', &b
end
end
def self.included other
other.module_eval{ include InstanceMethods }
other.extend ClassMethods
super
end
end

class C
include BeforeAfterInit

before{ @a = 40 }
after{ @b = 2 }

When I define an initialize method here without using super, it breaks
(obvious, I guess), When I use super the before and after code gets run at
the same time - in other words:

def initialize
p @a #should be set, but => nil
super
end

So to my naive understanding this doesn't acheive the goal. What am I
missing?
def m() @a + @b end
end

p C.new.m



harp:~ > ruby a.rb
42

Cheers,

ben
 
A

ara.t.howard

What does this construction (r=super) do? I tried removing both references
to r and replacing it with a single 'super' and it seemed to behave
identically.

it says: return whatever super used to. it's just good form when you wrap a
method.
When I define an initialize method here without using super, it breaks
(obvious, I guess), When I use super the before and after code gets run at
the same time - in other words:

def initialize
p @a #should be set, but => nil

but why? you haven't called super yet. try calling it first.

-a
 
B

Ben Nagy

-----Original Message-----
From: (e-mail address removed) [mailto:[email protected]] [...]
def initialize
p @a #should be set, but => nil

but why? you haven't called super yet. try calling it first.

Oh, I did that too. My point is that there is no 'before' and 'after' the
code gets run at the same time and it's not possible to insert other code in
between them, which was presumably the point?

def initialize
super
p @b #should not be set yet, initialize method not finished...
end

ben
 
A

ara.t.howard

Oh, I did that too. My point is that there is no 'before' and 'after' the
code gets run at the same time and it's not possible to insert other code in
between them, which was presumably the point?


hmmm. you can actually do it with my first impl by including the module
__after__ defining initialize. but this makes it easier:


harp:~ > cat a.rb
module BeforeAfterInit
module InstanceMethods
def before_initialize(*a, &b) end
def after_initialize(*a, &b) end
end
module ClassMethods
def before &b
define_method 'before_initialize', &b
private 'before_initialize'
end
def after &b
define_method 'after_initialize', &b
private 'after_initialize'
end
def new(*a, &b)
(obj = allocate).instance_eval{
before_initialize
initialize *a, &b
after_initialize
self
}
end
end
def self.included other
other.module_eval{ include InstanceMethods }
other.extend ClassMethods
super
end
end

class C < ::Array
include BeforeAfterInit

before{ self << :before }
after{ self << :after }

def initialize
self << :initialize
end
end

p C.new


harp:~ > ruby a.rb
[:before, :initialize, :after]


regards.


-a
 

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