From: Daniel Schierbeck <daniel.schierbeck@...>
Date: 2005-11-26T01:07:26+09:00
Subject: Re: `finalize' method?

Hugh Sasse wrote:
> On Sat, 26 Nov 2005, Daniel Schierbeck wrote:
> 
>> I just think it's weird that PHP has destructors and Ruby doesn't ;)
>>
>>   http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.decon.php
> 
> I find this tricky too: the only model I can think of is that where
> you need destructors, your constructor desstructs, and you get at
> the object with a block, in the style of open("file"){|f| ...}; if
> you see what I mean.

No, not really. I really can't stretch enough that I'm a noob... :)


>> I'm not really into C, neither am I familiar with the Ruby implementation, but
>> doesn't all variables just reference an object? So somewhere, an object is
>> stored, and each variable referencing it really only holds that object's id. I
>> imagine the `finalize' method could be run, and afterwards, the object could
>> be replaced with nil, maybe retaining the old object id. That way any
>> variables that point to the object will be nil.
> 
> But there is only one nil in the system, so it can't have many ids.

Could the object then by replaced by a reference to the nil object? 
Again, I'm talking theoretically...


Cheers,
Daniel