From: Gavin Sinclair <gsinclair@...>
Date: 2004-07-15T17:49:42+09:00
Subject: Re: Question about right way to use module

Sam wrote (edited):
> [I want to write a module, which] won't be used for a mixin, only
> for a function container.
>
> Q1) Which of the following two is the better way for the
> purpose: 'module_function' or 'def self.method'?

Personally, I find 'module_function' unintuitive, so I stick with 'self'. 
There's another idiom I sometimes employ:

  module X
    def f
    end
    extend self
  end

  X.f  # -> nil, which is better than "error"

I don't know the answer to Q2 or Q3, so they're snipped.

> Q4) Let's say that I created functions in a deeply nested module, is
> there a short-cut to call the function besides 'include module'?

That's easy!

  module M1::M2::M3::M4       # Only works if M1-3 already exist.
    def self.foo; 5; end
  end

  M4 = M1::M2::M3::M4         # Here's your shortcut.

  M4.foo                      # -> 5


Cheers,
Gavin