From: Marko Schulz <in6x059@...>
Date: 2001-04-28T19:51:23+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:14373] Re: how change instances class

On Fri, Apr 27, 2001 at 03:20:06AM +0900, Henning VON ROSEN wrote:
> 
> (1) How(if possible) can I change the value of the class attribute?
> 
> Say, that a instance at first is known as belonging to a fairly general
> class, and when we gather more information, it turns out to belong more
> precisely to a subclass.
> 
> Is this part of Ruby 'as is', or do I have to extend. Point is to
> keep instance id, while the knowledge of which class it belongs to
> changes.

Since many objectoriented languages don't allow to change the class an
object is an instance of, there is a special pattern for this: Role Object
(http://www.riehle.org/papers/1997/plop-1997-role-object.html)

Nonetheless it would be interesting to have this in a language, though
I fear it introduces to much trouble. You said this is possible in
python. Do you know of the consequences there? Is it only possible or
also a widely embraced practice?

-- 
marko schulz

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