1Class::Inspector(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation Class::Inspector(3)
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6 Class::Inspector - Get information about a class and its structure
7
9 version 1.36
10
12 use Class::Inspector;
13 # Is a class installed and/or loaded
15 Class::Inspector->installed( 'Foo::Class' );
16 Class::Inspector->loaded( 'Foo::Class' );
17 # Filename related information
19 Class::Inspector->filename( 'Foo::Class' );
20 Class::Inspector->resolved_filename( 'Foo::Class' );
21 # Get subroutine related information
23 Class::Inspector->functions( 'Foo::Class' );
24 Class::Inspector->function_refs( 'Foo::Class' );
25 Class::Inspector->function_exists( 'Foo::Class', 'bar' );
26 Class::Inspector->methods( 'Foo::Class', 'full', 'public' );
27 # Find all loaded subclasses or something
29 Class::Inspector->subclasses( 'Foo::Class' );
30
32 Class::Inspector allows you to get information about a loaded class.
33 Most or all of this information can be found in other ways, but they
34 aren't always very friendly, and usually involve a relatively high
35 level of Perl wizardry, or strange and unusual looking code.
36 Class::Inspector attempts to provide an easier, more friendly interface
37 to this information.
38
40 installed
41 my $bool = Class::Inspector->installed($class);
42 The "installed" static method tries to determine if a class is
44 installed on the machine, or at least available to Perl. It does this
45 by wrapping around "resolved_filename".
46 Returns true if installed/available, false if the class is not
48 installed, or "undef" if the class name is invalid.
49 loaded
51 my $bool = Class::Inspector->loaded($class);
52 The "loaded" static method tries to determine if a class is loaded by
54 looking for symbol table entries.
55 This method it uses to determine this will work even if the class does
57 not have its own file, but is contained inside a single file with
58 multiple classes in it. Even in the case of some sort of run-time
59 loading class being used, these typically leave some trace in the
60 symbol table, so an Autoload or Class::Autouse-based class should
61 correctly appear loaded.
62 Returns true if the class is loaded, false if not, or "undef" if the
64 class name is invalid.
65 filename
67 my $filename = Class::Inspector->filename($class);
68 For a given class, returns the base filename for the class. This will
70 NOT be a fully resolved filename, just the part of the filename BELOW
71 the @INC entry.
72 print Class->filename( 'Foo::Bar' );
74 > Foo/Bar.pm
75 This filename will be returned with the right separator for the local
77 platform, and should work on all platforms.
78 Returns the filename on success or "undef" if the class name is
80 invalid.
81 resolved_filename
83 my $filename = Class::Inspector->resolved_filename($class);
84 my $filename = Class::Inspector->resolved_filename($class, @try_first);
85 For a given class, the "resolved_filename" static method returns the
87 fully resolved filename for a class. That is, the file that the class
88 would be loaded from.
89 This is not necessarily the file that the class WAS loaded from, as the
91 value returned is determined each time it runs, and the @INC include
92 path may change.
93 To get the actual file for a loaded class, see the "loaded_filename"
95 method.
96 Returns the filename for the class, or "undef" if the class name is
98 invalid.
99 loaded_filename
101 my $filename = Class::Inspector->loaded_filename($class);
102 For a given loaded class, the "loaded_filename" static method
104 determines (via the %INC hash) the name of the file that it was
105 originally loaded from.
106 Returns a resolved file path, or false if the class did not have it's
108 own file.
109 functions
111 my $arrayref = Class::Inspector->functions($class);
112 For a loaded class, the "functions" static method returns a list of the
114 names of all the functions in the classes immediate namespace.
115 Note that this is not the METHODS of the class, just the functions.
117 Returns a reference to an array of the function names on success, or
119 "undef" if the class name is invalid or the class is not loaded.
120 function_refs
122 my $arrayref = Class::Inspector->function_refs($class);
123 For a loaded class, the "function_refs" static method returns
125 references to all the functions in the classes immediate namespace.
126 Note that this is not the METHODS of the class, just the functions.
128 Returns a reference to an array of "CODE" refs of the functions on
130 success, or "undef" if the class is not loaded.
131 function_exists
133 my $bool = Class::Inspector->function_exists($class, $functon);
134 Given a class and function name the "function_exists" static method
136 will check to see if the function exists in the class.
137 Note that this is as a function, not as a method. To see if a method
139 exists for a class, use the "can" method for any class or object.
140 Returns true if the function exists, false if not, or "undef" if the
142 class or function name are invalid, or the class is not loaded.
143 methods
145 my $arrayref = Class::Inspector->methods($class, @options);
146 For a given class name, the "methods" static method will returns ALL
148 the methods available to that class. This includes all methods
149 available from every class up the class' @ISA tree.
150 Returns a reference to an array of the names of all the available
152 methods on success, or "undef" if the class name is invalid or the
153 class is not loaded.
154 A number of options are available to the "methods" method that will
156 alter the results returned. These should be listed after the class
157 name, in any order.
158 # Only get public methods
160 my $method = Class::Inspector->methods( 'My::Class', 'public' );
161 public
163 The "public" option will return only 'public' methods, as defined
164 by the Perl convention of prepending an underscore to any 'private'
165 methods. The "public" option will effectively remove any methods
166 that start with an underscore.
167 private
169 The "private" options will return only 'private' methods, as
170 defined by the Perl convention of prepending an underscore to an
171 private methods. The "private" option will effectively remove an
172 method that do not start with an underscore.
173 Note: The "public" and "private" options are mutually exclusive
175 full
177 "methods" normally returns just the method name. Supplying the
178 "full" option will cause the methods to be returned as the full
179 names. That is, instead of returning "[ 'method1', 'method2',
180 'method3' ]", you would instead get "[ 'Class::method1',
181 'AnotherClass::method2', 'Class::method3' ]".
182 expanded
184 The "expanded" option will cause a lot more information about
185 method to be returned. Instead of just the method name, you will
186 instead get an array reference containing the method name as a
187 single combined name, a la "full", the separate class and method,
188 and a CODE ref to the actual function ( if available ). Please note
189 that the function reference is not guaranteed to be available.
190 "Class::Inspector" is intended at some later time, to work with
191 modules that have some kind of common run-time loader in place (
192 e.g "Autoloader" or "Class::Autouse" for example.
193 The response from "methods( 'Class', 'expanded' )" would look
195 something like the following.
196 [
198 [ 'Class::method1', 'Class', 'method1', \&Class::method1 ],
199 [ 'Another::method2', 'Another', 'method2', \&Another::method2 ],
200 [ 'Foo::bar', 'Foo', 'bar', \&Foo::bar ],
201 ]
202 subclasses
204 my $arrayref = Class::Inspector->subclasses($class);
205 The "subclasses" static method will search then entire namespace (and
207 thus all currently loaded classes) to find all classes that are
208 subclasses of the class provided as a the parameter.
209 The actual test will be done by calling "isa" on the class as a static
211 method. (i.e. "My::Class->isa($class)".
212 Returns a reference to a list of the loaded classes that match the
214 class provided, or false is none match, or "undef" if the class name
215 provided is invalid.
216
218 <http://ali.as/>, Class::Handle, Class::Inspector::Functions
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221 Original author: Adam Kennedy <adamk@cpan.org>
222 Current maintainer: Graham Ollis <plicease@cpan.org>
224 Contributors:
226 Tom Wyant
228 Steffen Müller
230 Kivanc Yazan (KYZN)
232
234 This software is copyright (c) 2002-2019 by Adam Kennedy.
235 This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
237 the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.
238perl v5.38.0 2023-07-20 Class::Inspector(3)