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Name	Size	Permission
applique	[ DIR ]	drwxr-xr-x
00_introduction.rdoc	159 B	-rw-r--r--
01_open_hash.rdoc	1.62 KB	-rw-r--r--
02_query_hash.rdoc	402 B	-rw-r--r--
03_casting_hash.rdoc	260 B	-rw-r--r--
04_static_hash.rdoc	385 B	-rw-r--r--
05_key_hash.rdoc	376 B	-rw-r--r--
06_open_cascade.rdoc	1.49 KB	-rw-r--r--
07_fuzzy_hash.rdoc	2.9 KB	-rw-r--r--
08_propery_hash.rdoc	715 B	-rw-r--r--
10_association.rdoc	1.17 KB	-rw-r--r--

Code Editor : 01_open_hash.rdoc

= OpenHash

An OpenHash is a Hash that provides +open+ access to its entries via method
calls. Writers (methods ending in =-marks) assign entries. Methods without
special puncuation will retrieve entries.

o = OpenHash.new
  o.a = 1
  o.b = 2
  o.a.assert == 1
  o.b.assert == 2

Writers always use a Symbol for keys in the underlying Hash.

o.to_h.assert == { :a=>1, :b=>2 }

All the usual Hash methods are still available in an OpenHash.

c = o.map{ |k,v| [k,v] }
  c.assert.include?([:a,1])
  c.assert.include?([:b,2])

And they are protected from being overridden by writers.

o.map = 3
  o.map.refute == 3

Even so, the underlying Hash object does contain the entry even 
when it cannot be accessed via a reader method.

o.to_h.assert == { :a=>1, :b=>2, :map=>3 }

We can see if a method is open or not via the `#open?` method.

o.open?(:a).assert == true
  o.open?(:map).assert == false

For some usecases it may be necessary to give up access to one or
more Hash methods in favor of access to the hash entries. This can
be done using the `#open!` method.

o.open!(:map, :merge)
  o.map.assert == 3
  o.merge = 4
  o.merge.assert == 4

Becuase of nature of a writer, a certain set of Hash methods are always
protected, in particluar all methods buffered by underscore (e.g. `__id__`).
So these cannot be opened.

expect ArgumentError do
    o.open!(:__id__)
  end

Even though writers alwasy use Symbols as keys, because an OpenHash
is a true Hash object, any object can be used as a key internally.

o = OpenHash.new
  o[nil] = "Nothing"
  o.to_h.assert == { nil=>"Nothing" }

It simply cannot be accessible via a reader method.

${this.title}

Code Editor : 01_open_hash.rdoc