# Object.object.method() **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [October 3, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/object-object-method/195943 "2010-10-03T17:29:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/db5fbb/32.png) [@withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/withaspoon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/object-object-method/195943/1 "2010-10-03T17:29:38Z")
Hello, obviously it’s a time for a noobie question. What the following statement means? Object.object.method() Sample code: window = Gtk::Window.new(Gtk::Window::TOPLEVEL) area = Gtk::DrawingArea.new() area.window.set\_cursor(Gdk::Cursor.new(Gdk::Cursor::PENCIL)) I’m confused. Can anyone enlight me? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/db5fbb/32.png) [@withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/withaspoon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/object-object-method/195943/2 "2010-10-03T17:56:00Z")
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 11:29 AM, Johan S. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Hello, obviously it’s a time for a noobie question. What the following > statement means? > > Object.object.method() > Sample code: > > window = Gtk::Window.new(Gtk:🪟:TOPLEVEL) > area = Gtk::DrawingArea.new() > area.window.set\_cursor(Gdk::Cursor.new(Gdk::Cursor::PENCIL)) I assume you are talking about that last line. area.window.set\_cursor(dk::Cursor::PENCIL) What that means is: 1. send the message window to the object referenced by the variable area (which in the above code would be an instance of Gtk::DrawingArea. This will return a result object. 2. send the result object which was returned in step 1 the message set\_cursor with the argument dk::Cursor::PENCIL – Rick DeNatale Blog: [http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/](http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/) Github: [rubyredrick (Rick DeNatale) · GitHub](http://github.com/rubyredrick) Twitter: @RickDeNatale WWR: [http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale](http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale) LinkedIn: [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale](http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale) ---
**Author:** ![withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/db5fbb/32.png) [@withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/withaspoon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/object-object-method/195943/3 "2010-10-04T11:50:25Z")
2010/10/3 Johan S. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > I’m confused. Can anyone enlight me? To complete Rick’s answer, the “window” in the last line has (normally) _nothing_ to do with your window variable. Ruby sees that you are trying to talk to the object “area” (because of the dot) so it politely ask “area” if it has a method named “window” (which I assume it has). You could try fenetre = Gtk::Window.new(Gtk:🪟:TOPLEVEL) area = Gtk::DrawingArea.new() area.window.set\_cursor(Gdk::Cursor.new(Gdk::Cursor::PENCIL)) it should still work (assuming you change all the other occurence of _variable_ “window” into “fenetre”) On the contrary, the code fenetre = Gtk::Window.new(Gtk:🪟:TOPLEVEL) area = Gtk::DrawingArea.new() area.fenetre.set\_cursor(Gdk::Cursor.new(Gdk::Cursor::PENCIL)) should not work: ruby should complain with a “NoMethodError” Cheers, ---
**Author:** ![withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/db5fbb/32.png) [@withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/withaspoon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/object-object-method/195943/4 "2010-10-04T12:12:38Z")
Rick Denatale wrote: > I assume you are talking about that last line. > > area.window.set\_cursor(dk::Cursor::PENCIL) > > What that means is: > > 1. send the message window to the object referenced by the variable > area (which in the above code would be an instance of > Gtk::DrawingArea. This will return a result object. > > 2. send the result object which was returned in step 1 the message > set\_cursor with the argument dk::Cursor::PENCIL Or to put it another way, it’s the same as this: tmp = area.window tmp.set\_cursor(dk::Cursor::PENCIL) ---
**Author:** ![withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/db5fbb/32.png) [@withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/withaspoon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/object-object-method/195943/5 "2010-10-04T15:10:36Z")
Alors! GTK ne parle pas français? And in Ruby 1.9 you could spell it properly as fenêtre, but it would still cause a “No Method” error. On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 5:49 AM, Jean-Julien F. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > > area.window.set\_cursor(Gdk::Cursor.new(Gdk::Cursor::PENCIL)) > > area = Gtk::DrawingArea.new() > > should not work: ruby should complain with a “NoMethodError” > > Cheers, > > – > JJ Fleck > PCSI1 Lycée Kléber – Rick DeNatale Blog: [http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/](http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/) Github: [rubyredrick (Rick DeNatale) · GitHub](http://github.com/rubyredrick) Twitter: @RickDeNatale WWR: [http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale](http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale) LinkedIn: [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale](http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale) ---
**Author:** ![withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/db5fbb/32.png) [@withaspoon](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/withaspoon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/object-object-method/195943/6 "2010-10-04T21:54:30Z")
2010/10/4 Rick DeNatale [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > Alors! GTK ne parle pas français? What a shame, isn’t it ? ;o) I almost wrote Fenster to avoid the use of ê but for one my german is not even close to what I was able to do in highshool (and I didn’t do much at that time…) and secondly I thought that the use of the uppercase (although autorised when defining a method) would be even more misleading on that matter. Cheers !