From: "Shot (Piotr Szotkowski)" <shot@...>
Date: 2009-09-01T06:49:42+09:00
Subject: Private methods’ viability (was: What is the ruby conventions to name private	method?)

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Ryan Davis:

> 4) Don't have private methods if you don't need them.
> 5) You don't need them. No, really.

I=E2=80=99ll bite. Note: I consider myself a beginner Rubyist and I=E2=80=
=99d love to
hear your (and others=E2=80=99!) reasons for the above and/or against the b=
elow. :)

I use private methods when I factor them out of my public methods (once
the public methods have decent spec coverage). This makes me think
harder on the (hopefully =E2=80=93 minimal) public API of my objects and
prevents me from calling such methods =E2=80=98in just that single place
where it would be useful=E2=80=99; a method=E2=80=99s either useful to the =
outside
world (and should be promoted to public API with individual, descriptive
spec coverage) or not, period. Using private methods helps me keep
checks on this.

I also use protected attr_readers so that my objects can tell whether
they =3D=3D others of the same kind without exposing their instance
variables to the outside world; an attr_reader on an Array/Hash/Set
does not guarantee that the given Array/Hash/Set is not modifiable from
the outside world=C2=B9, hence I=E2=80=99d rather not expose such instance =
variables
more than necessary.

=C2=B9 It=E2=80=99s one of the few places where Ruby diverges from the prin=
ciple
of least surprise; I can see certain lovely symmetry and simplicity
in attr_reader working the same for all variables, but I found the name
a bit misleading when I started to learn Ruby =E2=80=93 my thoughts were th=
at
it should either not be called a reader or should return a dup of the
variable in question=E2=80=A6 (I did get used to this since then, though, a=
nd
realised that other languages=E2=80=99 generic getters usually do the same.)

=E2=80=94 Shot
--=20
Born to be mild. [elpanda]

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