Class construction

The metaclass object for a given class is a singleton. If you attempt to create a metaclass for the same class twice, you will just get the existing object.

Class::MOP::Class->create($package_name, %options)

This method creates a new "Class::MOP::Class" object with the given package name. It accepts a number of options:

Class::MOP::Class->create_anon_class(%options)

This method works just like "Class::MOP::Class->create" but it creates an "anonymous" class. In fact, the class does have a name, but that name is a unique name generated internally by this module.

It accepts the same "superclasses", "methods", and "attributes" parameters that "create" accepts.

It also accepts a "cache" option. If this is "true", then the anonymous class will be cached based on its superclasses and roles. If an existing anonymous class in the cache has the same superclasses and roles, it will be reused.

Anonymous classes default to "weaken => 1" if cache is "false", although this can be overridden.

Class::MOP::Class->initialize($package_name, %options)

This method will initialize a "Class::MOP::Class" object for the named package. Unlike "create", this method will not create a new class.

The purpose of this method is to retrieve a "Class::MOP::Class" object for introspecting an existing class.

If an existing "Class::MOP::Class" object exists for the named package, it will be returned, and any options provided will be ignored!

If the object does not yet exist, it will be created.

The valid options that can be passed to this method are "attribute_metaclass", "method_metaclass", "wrapped_method_metaclass", and "instance_metaclass". These are all optional, and default to the appropriate class in the "Class::MOP" distribution.

Object instance construction and cloning

$metaclass->clone_object($instance, %params)

This method clones an existing object instance. Any parameters you provide are will override existing attribute values in the object.

This is a convenience method for cloning an object instance, then blessing it into the appropriate package.

You could implement a clone method in your class, using this method:

  sub clone {
      my ($self, %params) = @_;
      $self->meta->clone_object($self, %params);
  }
    

$metaclass->rebless_instance($instance, %params )

This method changes the class of $instance to the metaclass's class.

You can only rebless an instance into a subclass of its current class. If you pass any additional parameters, these will be treated like constructor parameters and used to initialize the object's attributes. Any existing attributes that are already set will be overwritten.

Before reblessing the instance, this method will call "rebless_instance_away" on the instance's current metaclass. This method will be passed the instance, the new metaclass, and any parameters specified to "rebless_instance". By default, "rebless_instance_away" does nothing; it is merely a hook.

$metaclass->rebless_instance_back($instance)

Does the same thing as "rebless_instance", except that you can only rebless an instance into one of its superclasses. Any attributes that do not exist in the superclass will be deinitialized.

This is a much more dangerous operation than "rebless_instance", especially when multiple inheritance is involved, so use this carefully!

$metaclass->new_object(%params)

This method is used to create a new object of the metaclass's class. Any parameters you provide are used to initialize the instance's attributes. A special "__INSTANCE__" key can be passed to provide an already generated instance, rather than having Class::MOP generate it for you. This is mostly useful for using Class::MOP with foreign classes which generate instances using their own constructors.

$metaclass->instance_metaclass

Returns the class name of the instance metaclass. See Class::MOP::Instance for more information on the instance metaclass.

$metaclass->get_meta_instance

Returns an instance of the "instance_metaclass" to be used in the construction of a new instance of the class.

Informational predicates

$metaclass->is_anon_class

This returns true if the class was created by calling "Class::MOP::Class->create_anon_class".

$metaclass->is_mutable

This returns true if the class is still mutable.

$metaclass->is_immutable

This returns true if the class has been made immutable.

$metaclass->is_pristine

A class is not pristine if it has non-inherited attributes or if it has any generated methods.

Inheritance Relationships

$metaclass->superclasses(@superclasses)

This is a read-write accessor which represents the superclass relationships of the metaclass's class.

This is basically sugar around getting and setting @ISA.

$metaclass->class_precedence_list

This returns a list of all of the class's ancestor classes. The classes are returned in method dispatch order.

$metaclass->linearized_isa

This returns a list based on "class_precedence_list" but with all duplicates removed.

$metaclass->subclasses

This returns a list of all subclasses for this class, even indirect subclasses.

$metaclass->direct_subclasses

This returns a list of immediate subclasses for this class, which does not include indirect subclasses.

Method introspection and creation

Determining what is truly a method in a Perl 5 class requires some heuristics (aka guessing).

Methods defined outside the package with a fully qualified name ("sub Package::name { ... }") will be included. Similarly, methods named with a fully qualified name using Sub::Util are also included.

However, we attempt to ignore imported functions.

Ultimately, we are using heuristics to determine what truly is a method in a class, and these heuristics may get the wrong answer in some edge cases. However, for most "normal" cases the heuristics work correctly.

$metaclass->get_method($method_name)

This will return a Class::MOP::Method for the specified $method_name. If the class does not have the specified method, it returns "undef"

$metaclass->has_method($method_name)

Returns a boolean indicating whether or not the class defines the named method. It does not include methods inherited from parent classes.

$metaclass->get_method_list

This will return a list of method names for all methods defined in this class.

$metaclass->add_method($method_name, $method )

This method takes a method name and a subroutine reference, and adds the method to the class.

The subroutine reference can be a Class::MOP::Method, and you are strongly encouraged to pass a meta method object instead of a code reference. If you do so, that object gets stored as part of the class's method map directly. If not, the meta information will have to be recreated later, and may be incorrect.

If you provide a method object, this method will clone that object if the object's package name does not match the class name. This lets us track the original source of any methods added from other classes (notably Moose roles).

$metaclass->remove_method($method_name)

Remove the named method from the class. This method returns the Class::MOP::Method object for the method.

$metaclass->method_metaclass

Returns the class name of the method metaclass, see Class::MOP::Method for more information on the method metaclass.

$metaclass->wrapped_method_metaclass

Returns the class name of the wrapped method metaclass, see Class::MOP::Method::Wrapped for more information on the wrapped method metaclass.

$metaclass->get_all_methods

This will traverse the inheritance hierarchy and return a list of all the Class::MOP::Method objects for this class and its parents.

$metaclass->find_method_by_name($method_name)

This will return a Class::MOP::Method for the specified $method_name. If the class does not have the specified method, it returns "undef"

Unlike "get_method", this method will look for the named method in superclasses.

$metaclass->get_all_method_names

This will return a list of method names for all of this class's methods, including inherited methods.

$metaclass->find_all_methods_by_name($method_name)

This method looks for the named method in the class and all of its parents. It returns every matching method it finds in the inheritance tree, so it returns a list of methods.

Each method is returned as a hash reference with three keys. The keys are "name", "class", and "code". The "code" key has a Class::MOP::Method object as its value.

The list of methods is distinct.

$metaclass->find_next_method_by_name($method_name)

This method returns the first method in any superclass matching the given name. It is effectively the method that "SUPER::$method_name" would dispatch to.

Attribute introspection and creation

$metaclass->get_attribute($attribute_name)

This will return a Class::MOP::Attribute for the specified $attribute_name. If the class does not have the specified attribute, it returns "undef".

NOTE that get_attribute does not search superclasses, for that you need to use "find_attribute_by_name".

$metaclass->has_attribute($attribute_name)

Returns a boolean indicating whether or not the class defines the named attribute. It does not include attributes inherited from parent classes.

$metaclass->get_attribute_list

This will return a list of attributes names for all attributes defined in this class. Note that this operates on the current class only, it does not traverse the inheritance hierarchy.

$metaclass->get_all_attributes

This will traverse the inheritance hierarchy and return a list of all the Class::MOP::Attribute objects for this class and its parents.

$metaclass->find_attribute_by_name($attribute_name)

This will return a Class::MOP::Attribute for the specified $attribute_name. If the class does not have the specified attribute, it returns "undef".

Unlike "get_attribute", this attribute will look for the named attribute in superclasses.

$metaclass->add_attribute(...)

This method accepts either an existing Class::MOP::Attribute object or parameters suitable for passing to that class's "new" method.

The attribute provided will be added to the class.

Any accessor methods defined by the attribute will be added to the class when the attribute is added.

If an attribute of the same name already exists, the old attribute will be removed first.

$metaclass->remove_attribute($attribute_name)

This will remove the named attribute from the class, and Class::MOP::Attribute object.

Removing an attribute also removes any accessor methods defined by the attribute.

However, note that removing an attribute will only affect future object instances created for this class, not existing instances.

$metaclass->attribute_metaclass

Returns the class name of the attribute metaclass for this class. By default, this is Class::MOP::Attribute.

Overload introspection and creation

$metaclass->is_overloaded

Returns true if overloading is enabled for this class. Corresponds to "is_overloaded" in Devel::OverloadInfo.

$metaclass->get_overloaded_operator($op)

Returns the Class::MOP::Overload object corresponding to the operator named $op, if one exists for this class.

$metaclass->has_overloaded_operator($op)

Returns whether or not the operator $op is overloaded for this class.

$metaclass->get_overload_list

Returns a list of operator names which have been overloaded (see "Overloadable Operations" in overload for the list of valid operator names).

$metaclass->get_all_overloaded_operators

Returns a list of Class::MOP::Overload objects corresponding to the operators that have been overloaded.

$metaclass->add_overloaded_operator($op, $impl )

Overloads the operator $op for this class. The $impl can be a coderef, a method name, or a Class::MOP::Overload object. Corresponds to "use overload $op => $impl;"

$metaclass->remove_overloaded_operator($op)

Remove overloading for operator $op. Corresponds to "no overload $op;"

$metaclass->get_overload_fallback_value

Returns the overload "fallback" setting for the package.

$metaclass->set_overload_fallback_value($fallback)

Sets the overload "fallback" setting for the package.

Class Immutability

Making a class immutable lets us optimize the class by inlining some methods, and also allows us to optimize some methods on the metaclass object itself.

After immutabilization, the metaclass object will cache most informational methods that returns information about methods or attributes. Methods which would alter the class, such as "add_attribute" and "add_method", will throw an error on an immutable metaclass object.

The immutabilization system in Moose takes much greater advantage of the inlining features than Class::MOP itself does.

$metaclass->make_immutable(%options)

This method will create an immutable transformer and use it to make the class and its metaclass object immutable, and returns true (you should not rely on the details of this value apart from its truth).

This method accepts the following options:

$metaclass->immutable_options

Returns a hash of the options used when making the class immutable, including both defaults and anything supplied by the user in the call to "$metaclass->make_immutable". This is useful if you need to temporarily make a class mutable and then restore immutability as it was before.

$metaclass->make_mutable

Calling this method reverse the immutabilization transformation.

Method Modifiers

A class can modify its own methods, as well as methods defined in parent classes.

How method modifiers work?

Method modifiers work by wrapping the original method and then replacing it in the class's symbol table. The wrappers will handle calling all the modifiers in the appropriate order and preserving the calling context for the original method.

The return values of "before" and "after" modifiers are ignored. This is because their purpose is not to filter the input and output of the primary method (this is done with an around modifier).

This may seem like an odd restriction to some, but doing this allows for simple code to be added at the beginning or end of a method call without altering the function of the wrapped method or placing any extra responsibility on the code of the modifier.

Of course if you have more complex needs, you can use the "around" modifier which allows you to change both the parameters passed to the wrapped method, as well as its return value.

Before and around modifiers are called in last-defined-first-called order, while after modifiers are called in first-defined-first-called order. So the call tree might looks something like this:

  before 2
   before 1
    around 2
     around 1
      primary
     around 1
    around 2
   after 1
  after 2

What is the performance impact?

Of course there is a performance cost associated with method modifiers, but we have made every effort to make that cost directly proportional to the number of modifier features you use.

The wrapping method does its best to only do as much work as it absolutely needs to. In order to do this we have moved some of the performance costs to set-up time, where they are easier to amortize.

All this said, our benchmarks have indicated the following:

  simple wrapper with no modifiers             100% slower
  simple wrapper with simple before modifier   400% slower
  simple wrapper with simple after modifier    450% slower
  simple wrapper with simple around modifier   500-550% slower
  simple wrapper with all 3 modifiers          1100% slower

These numbers may seem daunting, but you must remember, every feature comes with some cost. To put things in perspective, just doing a simple "AUTOLOAD" which does nothing but extract the name of the method called and return it costs about 400% over a normal method call.

$metaclass->add_before_method_modifier($method_name, $code)

This wraps the specified method with the supplied subroutine reference. The modifier will be called as a method itself, and will receive the same arguments as are passed to the method.

When the modifier exits, the wrapped method will be called.

The return value of the modifier will be ignored.

$metaclass->add_after_method_modifier($method_name, $code)

This wraps the specified method with the supplied subroutine reference. The modifier will be called as a method itself, and will receive the same arguments as are passed to the method.

When the wrapped methods exits, the modifier will be called.

The return value of the modifier will be ignored.

$metaclass->add_around_method_modifier($method_name, $code)

This wraps the specified method with the supplied subroutine reference.

The first argument passed to the modifier will be a subroutine reference to the wrapped method. The second argument is the object, and after that come any arguments passed when the method is called.

The around modifier can choose to call the original method, as well as what arguments to pass if it does so.

The return value of the modifier is what will be seen by the caller.

Introspection

Class::MOP::Class->meta

This will return a Class::MOP::Class instance for this class.

It should also be noted that Class::MOP will actually bootstrap this module by installing a number of attribute meta-objects into its metaclass.