From: dblack@...
Date: 2002-10-12T20:50:36+09:00
Subject: Re: Another take on ensuring right args to methods

Hi --

On Mon, 7 Oct 2002, Massimiliano Mirra wrote:

> On Sun, Oct 06, 2002 at 10:43:46PM +0900, dblack@candle.superlink.net wrote:
> > Personally I like #can?  but it doesn't help with the awkward two-headed
> > "obj.meth if obj.can?(:meth)" idiom.
>
> I know, but I'm still convinced that you'd only want to do that when
> calling meth on obj was totally optional to the logic, which happens
> seldom (at least in my experience).

Or if you're branching:

  if obj.respond_to?(x)
    obj.x
  elsif obj.respond_to?(y)
    obj.y
  ...
  end

which is probably a sign of a design flaw... but the project that
originally got me thinking about a lot of this stuff, a year or so
ago, was one where I ended up doing something like the above (and not
liking it :-)


David

-- 
David Alan Black
home: dblack@candle.superlink.net
work: blackdav@shu.edu
Web:  http://pirate.shu.edu/~blackdav