Class::Meta::Method(3)

NAME
Class::Meta::Method - Class::Meta class method introspection

SYNOPSIS
  # Assuming MyApp::Thingy was generated by Class::Meta.
  my $class = MyApp::Thingy->my_class;
  my $thingy = MyApp::Thingy->new;

  print "\nMethods:\n";
  for my $meth ($class->methods) {
      print "  o ", $meth->name, $/;
      $meth->call($thingy);
  }

DESCRIPTION
This class provides an interface to the "Class::Meta" objects that describe methods. It supports a simple description of the method, a label, and its visibility (private, protected, trusted, or public).

Class::Meta::Method objects are created by Class::Meta; they are never instantiated directly in client code. To access the method objects for a Class::Meta-generated class, simply call its "my_class()" method to retrieve its Class::Meta::Class object, and then call the "methods()" method on the Class::Meta::Class object.

INTERFACE

  Constructors
new

A protected method for constructing a Class::Meta::Method object. Do not call this method directly; Call the "add_method()" method on a Class::Meta object, instead.

  Instance Methods
name

  my $name = $meth->name;

Returns the method name.

package

  my $package = $meth->package;

Returns the method package.

desc

  my $desc = $meth->desc;

Returns the description of the method.

label

  my $desc = $meth->label;

Returns label for the method.

view

  my $view = $meth->view;

Returns the view of the method, reflecting its visibility. The possible values are defined by the following constants:

Class::Meta::PUBLIC
Class::Meta::PRIVATE
Class::Meta::TRUSTED
Class::Meta::PROTECTED

context

  my $context = $meth->context;

Returns the context of the method, essentially whether it is a class or object method. The possible values are defined by the following constants:

Class::Meta::CLASS
Class::Meta::OBJECT

args

A description of the arguments to the method. This can be anything you like, but I recommend something like a string for a single argument, an array reference for a list of arguments, or a hash reference for parameter arguments.

returns

A description of the return value or values of the method.

class

  my $class = $meth->class;

Returns the Class::Meta::Class object that this method is associated with. Note that this object will always represent the class in which the method is defined, and not any of its subclasses.

call

  my $ret = $meth->call($obj, @args);

Calls the method on the $obj object, passing in any arguments. Note that it uses a "goto" to execute the method, so the call to "call()" itself will not appear in a call stack trace.

build

  $meth->build($class);

This is a protected method, designed to be called only by the Class::Meta class or a subclass of Class::Meta. It takes a single argument, the Class::Meta::Class object for the class in which the method was defined. Once it checks to make sure that it is only called by Class::Meta or a subclass of Class::Meta or of Class::Meta::Method, "build()" installs the method if it was specified via the "code" parameter to "new()".

Although you should never call this method directly, subclasses of Class::Meta::Method may need to override it in order to add behavior.

SUPPORT
This module is stored in an open GitHub repository <http://github.com/theory/class-meta/>. Feel free to fork and contribute!

Please file bug reports via GitHub Issues <http://github.com/theory/class-meta/issues/> or by sending mail to bug-Class-Meta@rt.cpan.org <mailto:bug-Class-Meta@rt.cpan.org>.

AUTHOR
David E. Wheeler <david@justatheory.com>

SEE ALSO
Other classes of interest within the Class::Meta distribution include:

Class::Meta
Class::Meta::Class
Class::Meta::Constructor
Class::Meta::Attribute

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright (c) 2002-2011, David E. Wheeler. Some Rights Reserved.

This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.