I understand that when you define a new class it´s an instance of
Class...
class Test
end
So you can treat "Test" as an object and asks its class :
Test.class
Class
Is this Class itself an object ?
Because when i do Class.class, ruby gives me 'Class'
So is Class an instance of itself? I don´t understand the logic behind
this 
Thanks
--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
Hi --
I understand that when you define a new class it´s an instance of
Class...class Test
endSo you can treat "Test" as an object and asks its class :
Test.class
Class
Is this Class itself an object ?
Because when i do Class.class, ruby gives me 'Class'
So is Class an instance of itself? I don´t understand the logic behind
this
Yes; Class is an instance of itself. Also, Object is an instance of
Class... but Class is a subclass of Object.
There's a bit of circularity at the top of the class/instance diagram,
in other words. It's all in the interest of bootstrapping the object
model into existence, so that everything fits in: classes (including
Class) are instances of Class; all classes descend from Object; etc.
David
On Fri, 17 Jul 2009, Rubynewbie Rubynewbie wrote:
--
David A. Black / Ruby Power and Light, LLC
Ruby/Rails consulting & training: http://www.rubypal.com
Now available: The Well-Grounded Rubyist (http://manning.com/black2\)
Training! Intro to Ruby, with Black & Kastner, September 14-17
(More info: http://rubyurl.com/vmzN\)
Hi,
I understand that when you define a new class it´s an instance of
Class...class Test
endSo you can treat "Test" as an object and asks its class :
Test.class
Class
Is this Class itself an object ?
Yes, it is:
Test.class.ancestors
# => [Class, Module, Object, Kernel]
Class.class
# => Class
Class.class.ancestors
# => [Class, Module, Object, Kernel]
Bertram
Am Freitag, 17. Jul 2009, 20:54:26 +0900 schrieb Rubynewbie Rubynewbie:
--
Bertram Scharpf
Stuttgart, Deutschland/Germany
http://www.bertram-scharpf.de
So is Class an instance of itself? I don´t understand the logic behind
this
Well then you'll love this:
Class.class
#=> Class
Class.superclass
#=> Module
Class.superclass.superclass
#=> Object
Module.class
#=> Class
Object.class
#=> Class
Object.ancestors
#=> [Object, Kernel]
Kernel.class
#=> Module
So Object and Module are instances of a subclass of themselves, and Object
inherits from Kernel, which is a Module, a subclass of Object. Fun!
The way this actually works is that a Ruby interpreter will implement Object
using low-level building blocks, then implement Module and Class on top of
that, then perform a bunch of voodoo to make Object and Module *look* like
first-class Class instances.
Some quick rules on Ruby's type system that I find helpful:
* Object is the base type. Everything is an Object.
* Module is a type of Object that stores Methods. A module contains a list
of methods, and possibly pointers to one or more 'parent' modules mixed in
using `include`.
* Class is a type of Module that not only stores Methods but can also spawn
new Objects that have the class's methods. Additionally, classes have extra
inheritance semantics in that subclassing is more restrictive than mixins,
and class methods are inherited when subclassing.
* Kernel is an *instance* of Module that stores the core methods common to
all Objects. It is mixed into Object after Module is created, thereby adding
the core methods to all extant objects in the Ruby runtime.
--
James Coglan
http://jcoglan.com
Thanks for the responses...
I´m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...
Still...I need to do more experimentation with the language because i
still have that "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" feeling 
--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
Ellie
Eleanor McHugh
Games With Brains
http://slides.games-with-brains.net
On 17 Jul 2009, at 13:25, Rubynewbie 72 wrote:
Thanks for the responses...
I´m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...
Still...I need to do more experimentation with the language because i
still have that "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" feeling
A: the omelette 
----
raise ArgumentError unless @reality.responds_to? :reason
Object comes first from (object.c):
rb_cObject = boot_defclass("Object", 0);
rb_cModule = boot_defclass("Module", rb_cObject);
rb_cClass = boot_defclass("Class", rb_cModule);
In 1.9, it's BasicObject that comes first.
On Jul 17, 2009, at 05:25, Rubynewbie 72 wrote:
Thanks for the responses...
I´m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...
Still...I need to do more experimentation with the language because i
still have that "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" feeling
