Friday, April 20, 2007

In Ruby, Not All Objects Are Created Equally

Try this:
irb(main):001:0> class << :a
irb(main):002:1> def foo; "bar"; end
irb(main):003:1> end
TypeError: no virtual class for Symbol
from (irb):1
But.. but.. but.. I thought adding instance-specific methods was a hallmark of Ruby metaprogramming?

I ran into this problem while trying to create "smart" symbols, symbols that I could hang methods off of to, say, change their textual representation when displayed to the user.

What other objects lack virtual classes? Well, String and Fixnum for two. I'm guessing that this is true of any objects that are accessible as literals.

At first, you might think this is disappointing, an imperfection in the otherwise glittering consistency of Ruby. But consider the alternative.

For one, Ruby would have to keep an object in memory representing the number 7 -- a virtual class just for every token of 7. It would have to create such an object when you tried to access its virtual class. If you had def voyages_of_sinbad; 4 + 3; end, that would have to return not just the result of computation, but then look up the possible virtual class. Whether or not a virtual class for 7 had been created, it would have to at least check. So this look up would be a requirement of any numerical computation.

For another, what distinguishes literals is that they can be accessed directly without clients being passed a reference. In essence, literals are the objects we all share. Literals, as true first-class objects, pulverize encapsulation! (And I ask you to imagine for the moment a insano-pattern of using Fixnums like 7.secret_info to pass messages between objects!)

So be thankful that not all objects are created equally in the Ruby world.

It would be an interesting thought experiment to try to imagine a sensible language without literals.

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