From: "Esteban Manchado Velázquez" <zoso@...>
Date: 2005-12-15T03:01:00+09:00
Subject: Re: #methods and #public_instance_methods

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Hi Jeff,

On Thu, Dec 15, 2005 at 02:24:10AM +0900, Jeff Cohen wrote:
> I'm trying to understand #methods and #public_instance_methods as I=20
> learn about introspection in Ruby.
>=20
> If I do String.methods in irb, I get a lot fewer listed than if I try=20
> String.public_instance_methods.  I would have guessed that=20
> String.public_instance_methods would be a subset of String.methods.
>=20
> Also, ri String.public_instance_methods has no information, and=20
> public_instance_methods is not listed on ruby-doc.org/core.  I only=20
> found it by doing a String.methods.
>=20
> Can anyone shed some light here?

    #methods returns the list of methods callable for that _object_. That i=
s,
if you call String.methods, you get the methods for the String object (the
object of class Class, if you prefer :-P ).

    #public_instance_methods, on the other hand, is a method defined for Cl=
ass
objects (perhaps some other, but anyway). It returns the methods callable f=
or
the _objects of that class_.

    E.g.: if String.methods return ['a', 'b', 'c'] and
String.public_instance_methods return ['d', 'e', 'f'], you can call String.=
a,
String.b, String.c, "foo".d, "bar".e, "qux".f.

    You can also call String.public_instance_methods(false) if you only want
the methods defined in the class String, but not inherited from
String.superclass.

    HTH,

--=20
Esteban Manchado Vel=E1zquez <zoso@foton.es> - http://www.foton.es
EuropeSwPatentFree - http://EuropeSwPatentFree.hispalinux.es

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