Rails - Dec 2005 - Rails namespace help requested

Hi all -

I posted yesterday with the subject "namespace pollution" and with the
high traffic on this list, it''s kind of disappeared and I''m in
need of
a quick answer so i can move on.   To recap quickly, can someone tell
if Rails is somehow forcing all modules into a single namespace?   I
have a model class StateProvince and inside a webservice module in my
lib/ directory I have a StateProvince as well but no matter what I do
when running under Rails I get a superclass mismatch error.   This
doesn''t happen when I have standalone ruby code in similar situations.

Thanks for any help
Mike

Michael Engelhart wrote:
> Hi all -
> 
> I posted yesterday with the subject "namespace pollution" and
with the
> high traffic on this list, it''s kind of disappeared and
I''m in need of
> a quick answer so i can move on.   To recap quickly, can someone tell
> if Rails is somehow forcing all modules into a single namespace?   I
> have a model class StateProvince and inside a webservice module in my
> lib/ directory I have a StateProvince as well but no matter what I do
> when running under Rails I get a superclass mismatch error.   This
> doesn''t happen when I have standalone ruby code in similar
situations.
> 
By default Rails classes are using toplevel namespace; ie: ActiveRecord,
ActionController,
ActionView, etc..

Rails also does not put your models into a separate namespace (though i wish it
would =), and those
also are toplevel. ie: User, Account, Session, Group, Article.

If you have any classes that you wrote that have the same names as your models
or other toplevel
classes/modules that Rails is using you need to either a) rename them or b) move
them inside of
another namespace.

The problem you are having is that the first time you define/open a class it has
to define it''s
superclass.

class A ; end
class B < A; end

You cannot define/open a class and then later try to subclass it, ie:

class A; end
class B; end
class B < A; end # error!!

This is the scenario you''re hitting with your namespace clash. Your
StateProvince class is being
initalized, then when it gets around to loading your StateProvince module it
seems you''re trying to
define inheritance, and you can''t do that now.

If you have namespace clashes but you are in your namespace you can use ::
syntax to ensure you get
the toplevel class/module. For example:

class StateProvince
end

module MyNameSpace
    class StateProvince
    end

    module MoreModules
       class MyStateProvinceModel < StateProvince
       end
    end
end

In the above code code your MyStateProvinceModel is going to subclass
MyNameSpace::StateProvince
because that is the first constant ruby finds while it is looking for
"StateProvince". This may be
wrong because your MyStateProvinceModel might need to subclass the toplevel
StateProvince class.
This is where the "::" comes in handy:

class StateProvince
end

module MyNameSpace
    class StateProvince
    end

    module MoreModules
       class MyStateProvinceModel < ::StateProvince
       end
    end
end

The leading :: on any constant will force ruby to look at the most toplevel
constant.

I hope this helps more then it confuses,

Zach

zdennis wrote:
> Michael Engelhart wrote:
> 
> The problem you are having is that the first time you define/open a 
> class it has to define it''s superclass.
> 
> class A ; end
> class B < A; end
> 
> You cannot define/open a class and then later try to subclass it, ie:
> 
> class A; end
> class B; end
> class B < A; end # error!!
> 
> This is the scenario you''re hitting with your namespace clash.
Your
> StateProvince class is being initalized, then when it gets around to 
> loading your StateProvince module it seems you''re trying to define
> inheritance, and you can''t do that now.
> 
I don''t mean to say it''s anything you''re doing on
purpose. I think ruby finds your StateProvince
class definition first, then it finds the StateProvince model definition, which
is where it tries to
subclass ActiveRecord::Base. At this point Ruby already has a definition for
StateProvince, and
although ruby lets us reopen the class we can''t subclass it because
Ruby defines the superclass of a
class when the class is first read in.

Zach

HI Zach -

THanks very much for your help.    I''m not sure I understand why my
clash exists though because I have this exact scenario:

class StateProvince < ActiveRecord::Base
end

# this is in a directory of lib/ws
module WebServiceModule
   class StateProvince
   end
end

Isn''t the  namespace declared for the class inside the module as
::WebServiceModule::StateProvince and the Rails model as
::StateProvince?   Aren''t those different objects in the eyes or Ruby?

Also I''m not doing inheritance in my WebServiceModule, I''m
just
declaring a namespace right?

I''m a bit new to Ruby so it''s possible I''m mixing
this up but this is
what I understood from reading the pickaxe book.

Thanks again for your help.

MIke


On 12/14/05, zdennis <zdennis-aRAREQmnvsAAvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
wrote:
> zdennis wrote:
> > Michael Engelhart wrote:
>
> >
> > The problem you are having is that the first time you define/open a
> > class it has to define it''s superclass.
> >
> > class A ; end
> > class B < A; end
> >
> > You cannot define/open a class and then later try to subclass it, ie:
> >
> > class A; end
> > class B; end
> > class B < A; end # error!!
> >
> > This is the scenario you''re hitting with your namespace
clash. Your
> > StateProvince class is being initalized, then when it gets around to
> > loading your StateProvince module it seems you''re trying to
define
> > inheritance, and you can''t do that now.
> >
>
> I don''t mean to say it''s anything you''re doing
on purpose. I think ruby finds your StateProvince
> class definition first, then it finds the StateProvince model definition,
which is where it tries to
> subclass ActiveRecord::Base. At this point Ruby already has a definition
for StateProvince, and
> although ruby lets us reopen the class we can''t subclass it
because Ruby defines the superclass of a
> class when the class is first read in.
>
> Zach
> _______________________________________________
> Rails mailing list
> Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org
> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
>

Michael Engelhart wrote:
> HI Zach -
> 
> THanks very much for your help.    I''m not sure I understand why
my
> clash exists though because I have this exact scenario:
> 
> class StateProvince < ActiveRecord::Base
> end
> 
> # this is in a directory of lib/ws
> module WebServiceModule
>    class StateProvince
>    end
> end
> 
> Isn''t the  namespace declared for the class inside the module as
> ::WebServiceModule::StateProvince and the Rails model as
> ::StateProvince?   Aren''t those different objects in the eyes or
Ruby?
Yes.
> 
> Also I''m not doing inheritance in my WebServiceModule,
I''m just
> declaring a namespace right?
In your WebServiceModule you aren''t doing any explicit inheritance.
From your post from yesterday:

    but when I run my code in Rails, I get a superclass mismatch error
    when I include the module.

If you include you WebServiceModule in your top level, it will have a problem
when it finds the
StateProvince model. By saying:

    include WebServiceModule

It will move WebServiceModule::StateProvince (and all other constants) to scope
that your "include"
statement is in. In this case it is in the toplevel/global scope and it will be
accessible as
::StateProvince.

So now that it is toplevel accessible and ruby finds your StateService model
which tries to subclass
ActiveRecord::Base you get your superclass problem!

I hope this helps!
> 
> I''m a bit new to Ruby so it''s possible I''m
mixing this up but this is
> what I understood from reading the pickaxe book.
ooh, good book. =)

Zach

AH!!!  Thank you!!!   I guess I needed to get whacked with a 2x4
regarding mixing in a module...The pickaxe booking didn''t explain it
as concisely.    Thanks again

Mike

On 12/14/05, zdennis <zdennis-aRAREQmnvsAAvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
wrote:
> Michael Engelhart wrote:
> > HI Zach -
> >
> > THanks very much for your help.    I''m not sure I understand
why my
> > clash exists though because I have this exact scenario:
> >
> > class StateProvince < ActiveRecord::Base
> > end
> >
> > # this is in a directory of lib/ws
> > module WebServiceModule
> >    class StateProvince
> >    end
> > end
> >
> > Isn''t the  namespace declared for the class inside the module
as
> > ::WebServiceModule::StateProvince and the Rails model as
> > ::StateProvince?   Aren''t those different objects in the eyes
or Ruby?
>
> Yes.
>
> >
> > Also I''m not doing inheritance in my WebServiceModule,
I''m just
> > declaring a namespace right?
>
> In your WebServiceModule you aren''t doing any explicit
inheritance. From your post from yesterday:
>
>     but when I run my code in Rails, I get a superclass mismatch error
>     when I include the module.
>
> If you include you WebServiceModule in your top level, it will have a
problem when it finds the
> StateProvince model. By saying:
>
>     include WebServiceModule
>
> It will move WebServiceModule::StateProvince (and all other constants) to
scope that your "include"
> statement is in. In this case it is in the toplevel/global scope and it
will be accessible as
> ::StateProvince.
>
> So now that it is toplevel accessible and ruby finds your StateService
model which tries to subclass
> ActiveRecord::Base you get your superclass problem!
>
> I hope this helps!
>
> >
> > I''m a bit new to Ruby so it''s possible I''m
mixing this up but this is
> > what I understood from reading the pickaxe book.
>
> ooh, good book. =)
>
> Zach
> _______________________________________________
> Rails mailing list
> Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org
> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
>