From: Sebastian Hungerecker <sepp2k@...>
Date: 2007-09-02T17:13:50+09:00
Subject: Re: attr_reader

7stud -- wrote:
> Logan Capaldo wrote:

> > Nope. It's just that an undefined instance variable is treated as
> > though it were nil.
>
> Then why isn't song.fake treated as though it were nil?

song.fake isn't an instance variable, it's a method (well actually it's not, 
it's nothing, but if it did exists, it'd be a method).
attr_reader :duration creates the method duration, which returns the
instance variable @duration, even if the latter doesn't exist yet.
song.fake throws an error because there is no method fake, independantly
of whether or not an instance variable @fake exists.
song.instance_variable_get "@fake" would return nil.

HTH,
Sebastian
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