Access to constants from instance_eval

Ruby
1

Hi all,

It seems that Ruby won’t allow me to directly access class constants
from instance_eval:

irb(main):001:0> class Foo
irb(main):002:1> BAR = “bar”
irb(main):003:1> def bar
irb(main):004:2> BAR
irb(main):005:2> end
irb(main):006:1> end
=> nil
irb(main):007:0> foo = Foo.new
=> #Foo:0x10d97f0
irb(main):008:0> foo.class.constants
=> [“BAR”]
irb(main):009:0> foo.bar
=> “bar”
irb(main):010:0> foo.instance_eval { bar }
=> “bar”
irb(main):011:0> foo.instance_eval { BAR }
NameError: uninitialized constant BAR
from (irb):11
from (irb):11:in `instance_eval’
from (irb):11

Can anybody explain to me why this might be the case (is there a
philosophical reason that this is correct?) and/or some meta-magic
spell I can use to coerce instance_eval into recognizing foo’s
constants?

Thanks,
David

2

Hi –

On Thu, 8 Feb 2007, David C. wrote:

irb(main):006:1> end
NameError: uninitialized constant BAR
from (irb):11
from (irb):11:in `instance_eval’
from (irb):11

Can anybody explain to me why this might be the case (is there a
philosophical reason that this is correct?) and/or some meta-magic
spell I can use to coerce instance_eval into recognizing foo’s
constants?

foo doesn’t have any constants; only Foo does. instance_eval changes
self, but it’s still in the same scope. So the constants available
inside the block are the same as those available outside the block.

(You can see foo’s instance variables, if any, inside the block, but
that’s because the visibility of instance variables depends on
‘self’.)

David

3

On Feb 8, 2007, at 5:46 AM, David C. wrote:

irb(main):006:1> end
NameError: uninitialized constant BAR
from (irb):11
from (irb):11:in `instance_eval’
from (irb):11

Can anybody explain to me why this might be the case (is there a
philosophical reason that this is correct?) and/or some meta-magic
spell I can use to coerce instance_eval into recognizing foo’s
constants?

I doubt this is what you are after, but:

class Foo
BAR = “bar”
def bar
BAR
end
end
=> nil

foo = Foo.new
=> #Foo:0x11004cc

foo.instance_eval { self.class.const_get(:BAR) }
=> “bar”

James Edward G. II

4

Hi,

Am Donnerstag, 08. Feb 2007, 21:18:40 +0900 schrieb [email protected]:

NameError: uninitialized constant BAR

foo doesn’t have any constants; only Foo does. instance_eval changes
self, but it’s still in the same scope. So the constants available
inside the block are the same as those available outside the block.

`Scope’ is not neccessarily “self”:

irb(main):001:0> class C ; X = “i” ; end
=> “i”
irb(main):002:0> X = “o”
=> “o”
irb(main):003:0> C.instance_eval { X }
=> “o”
irb(main):004:0> C.class_eval { X }
=> “o”
irb(main):005:0> C.instance_eval { self::X }
=> “i”
irb(main):006:0> C.class_eval { self::X }
=> “i”
irb(main):007:0>

Is there a documentation that explains the differences between “scope”,
“context”, “self” and whatelse?

Bertram