From: Daniel Schierbeck <daniel.schierbeck@...>
Date: 2005-11-25T22:47:27+09:00
Subject: Re: `finalize' method?

Jim Weirich wrote:
> dasch wrote:
>> Yeah, it's me again, your friendly neighbourhood power-suggester!
>>
>> I'm wondering why there isn't a `finalize' method classes can define,
>> that will be called immediately before instances of that class are
>> garbage collected? I'm aware of ObjectSpace.define_finalizer, but it
>> seems un-OO, and it doesn't seem to work when being called from within
>> the instance methods. It also seems as if the Proc sent to
>> `define_finalizer' isn't called until *after* the object has been 
>> destroyed.
> 
> That's correct, it prevents problems like the following code:
> 
>   class Klass
>     def finalize
>       $global_reference = self
>     end
>   end
> 

In that case I'd expect $global_reference to be nil after the `finalize' 
method is done executing, since the Klass instance has already been 
deemed ready for destruction.


Cheers,
Daniel