CSC/ECE 517 Fall 2007/wiki1 4 ar

Private Method Invocation in Ruby

Ruby's private methods can be called only on "self" (the calling object). They can't be applied to other objects of the same class, even from within the class definition. In class today, I opined that it is rarely if ever necessary to call a private method on another object of the same class. Try to find Java or C++ examples on the Web where a private method is called on another object. Decide if this is good design, or if it would be better performed by using accessor functions, from the standpoint of elegance or maintainability. If you cannot find any such examples (or even if you can), try to find arguments about why one should not invoke private methods on other objects. Analyze these arguments; can you find weaknesses?

Ruby’s Access Control Mechanisms

Ruby has three levels of access controls – Public, Protected and Private.

Public methods – can be accessed by anyone. In Ruby, public is default access control, except for initialize method which is private by default.
Protected methods – can be accessed only by the defining class and its subclasses. Access is kept within the family.
Private methods – can be accessed only by the objects of the defining class. The explicit receiver is always self (the current object), which means that it is impossible to invoke another object’s private methods and variables directly even if the object has the same class type as the caller.

Example -1:

   class Base
     private 
       def foo
         puts "foo"
       end
     public
       def test
         foo
       end
       def test1
         self.foo
       end
   end

   Output :
   irb(main):170:0> Base.new.test
   foo
   irb(main):171:0> Base.new.test1
   NoMethodError: private method `foo' called for #<Base:0x695e9d4>

Example -1 shows that private methods can be called only with an implicit receiver. Even calling a private method using self throws NoMethodError.

Private methods cannot be invoked using an explicit receiver. But we use "self" to invoke writer methods else the method will be interpreted as an assignment to a local variable.

Comparing the private method invocation in C++ and Ruby

The private methods in C++ can be invoked by another object of the same class whereas Ruby does not allow explicit receiver for private methods.

Example -2:

   class Base {
   private:
       void foo();
   public:
       void spam(Base *otherObject) {
           foo();              // this is allowed
           otherObject->foo(); // and so is this
       }
   };

Example -2 shows that a private method can be called by any instance of the same class.

Example -3:

   class Base
   private
     def foo; end
   public
     def spam(otherObject)
       foo             # this is allowed in Ruby (self is implicit)
       self.foo        # Throws a error – NoMethodError private method `foo' called for #<Base:0x66b0dcc>
       otherObject.foo # Throws a error 
     end
   end

Example -3 shows that when calling a private method a receiver cannot be specified in Ruby.

So it can be concluded that in C++, “private” defines “private to the class”, while in Ruby it means “private to this instance”.

Bypassing private method invocation in Ruby

Example -4:

   class Test
     private
       def print_hello
         puts "Hello everyone!"
       end
   end
   t = Test.new
   t.send( "print_hello" )

   Output: 
      Hello everyone!

Example -4 shows that it is possible to access private methods in Ruby through “send” function. In Ruby, declaring as private is only a guideline and not a strict rule. There are workarounds to access those private methods. The advantage of such workarounds allows testing of private methods but it is a bad practice since private methods are internals of a class.
Since private methods have a loophole in security, an alternative good practice would be to use accessor functions. In accessor functions, we implement the getter and setter methods for the private attributes, thereby providing the required security.
The advantages of using accessor functions are – Flexibility and Maintainability

Since the implementation is confined to the accessor functions, any future changes needs to be made at a single point.

Any type checking that needs to be done can be included within the accessor function. This prevents the object from getting into an inconsistent state.

In general, it is a good programming practice to use accessor functions instead of invoking private methods in Ruby.