From: Damphyr <damphyr@...>
Date: 2005-09-28T01:09:25+09:00
Subject: Re: Class and Iterator Design Question

Jim Freeze wrote:
> This may be a silly design question, but I always balk at the right
> answer when I am confronted with it.
> 
> I have a class that manages a list and users need to iterate over
> that list. The way I see it, I have to basic alternatives:
> 
> # Give user access to the array and let them iterate over Array class
> Pea attr_reader :pods end Pea.new.pods.each { |pod| ..do stuff.. }
> 
> or
> 
> # Provide a custom iterator class Pea def each_pod @pods.each { |pod|
> yield pod } end end Pea.new.each_pod  { |pod| ..do stuff.. } end
> 
> In other words, for classes that manage a list of items, do people
> prefer to see a custom iterator, such as #each_<item>, or do they
> prefer getting back an array and iterating over it themselves, such
> as #<items>.each?
> 
> Pea.new.each_pod  { |pod| ..do stuff.. } Pea.new.pods.each { |pod|
> ..do stuff.. }
> 
Encapsulate, encapsulate, encapsulate!
I prefer not exposing the innards.
Define each, mixin Enumerator and let Ruby do it's magic.
Cheers,
V.-

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