# String constant reference to another class instance variable **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [February 8, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-constant-reference-to-another-class-instance-variable/183119 "2010-02-08T14:36:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/nginxchina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-constant-reference-to-another-class-instance-variable/183119/1 "2010-02-08T14:36:20Z")
Hello. How can I be able to do something like this: class Connection attr\_accessor :socket, :name def initialize name @name = name end def connect @socket = TCPSocket.new end def saysomething ‘phora’.say(‘hi!’) end end class String def say message @socket.puts("#{self} says #{message}") end end conn = Connection.new “Mikkel” conn.connect conn.saysomething String.socket = conn.socket # Something like this… - Without having to use ‘phora’.say(‘hi!’, @socket)? Sincerely, Mikkel K… ---
**Author:** ![nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/nginxchina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-constant-reference-to-another-class-instance-variable/183119/2 "2010-02-08T15:17:26Z")
2010/2/8 Mikkel K. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > @socket = TCPSocket.new > end > end > > conn = Connection.new “Mikkel” > conn.connect > conn.saysomething > > String.socket = conn.socket # Something like this… > > - Without having to use ‘phora’.say(‘hi!’, @socket)? Frankly, you do not want to be doing this. First of all String’s capabilities aren’t really in the area of socket communication. Class String is responsible for manipulating strings in various ways but not for doing IO. Then, making possible what you want to do will make your code hard to impossible to read because you have _implicit_ transfer of information. These things are hard to understand and consequently hard to use and debug. Since you do have your simple abstraction already (method Connection#saysomething) you should stick with that. Btw, I would add at least one parameter to #saysomething, namely the thing you want to say. Kind regards robert ---
**Author:** ![nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/nginxchina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-constant-reference-to-another-class-instance-variable/183119/3 "2010-02-08T15:47:03Z")
class String attr\_accessor :socket end But as Robert already said, you do not want to do this. ---
**Author:** ![nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/nginxchina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-constant-reference-to-another-class-instance-variable/183119/4 "2010-02-08T15:59:23Z")
Thanks for both your answer, but what I want to achieve is something like the following: (This is a early stage irc lib I’m using) #!/usr/bin/env ruby # encoding: utf-8 require File.dirname( **FILE** ) + ‘/lib/irc’ IRC::Connect hostname: ‘[irc.phora.net](http://irc.phora.net)’ do def on\_message(nick, channel, message, \*args) # This is what I want it to be like: # nick.say(“Hello there, #{nick}!”) # or atleast something like that. # but for now, I’m stuck with this: privmsg(nick, “Hello there, #{nick}!”) # is it maybe possible to make some # kind of ‘alias’? end end nick is a string and I think it’s too exaggerated to make nick have it’s own kind of class, just to have this method. Oh, and another thing… How would I be able to create User instances which also should have access to the IRC::Client’s socket? Currently I’m using User.new(“nick”, @socket) which is, well… yeah. Sincerely, Mikkel K… ---
**Author:** ![nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/nginxchina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-constant-reference-to-another-class-instance-variable/183119/5 "2010-02-08T16:39:59Z")
2010/2/8 Robert K. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > 2010/2/8 Mikkel K. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > > > How would I be able to create User instances which also should have > > access to the IRC::Client’s socket? Currently I’m using User.new(“nick”, > > @socket) which is, well… yeah. > > You can do that. What’s best depends of course on your application > design which we don’t know (yet). Maybe you lay out your design - at > least on the high level - and then we can comment further. One more remark: if I would be doing this I would implement this with (at least) two layers. First, I’d look at the IRC protocol and implement classes that abstract this protocol. Then I’d create a “user friendly” layer. In that scenario a socket would not be seen to a User (or Nick) class because sockets would be buried in the IRC protocol layer. Kind regards robert ---
**Author:** ![nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/nginxchina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-constant-reference-to-another-class-instance-variable/183119/6 "2010-02-08T16:31:12Z")
2010/2/8 Mikkel K. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > def on\_message(nick, channel, message, \*args) > nick is a string and I think it’s too exaggerated to make nick have it’s > own kind of class, just to have this method. Oh, and another thing… I would not say that. A nick could have other methods as well, e.g. #state, #online? etc. Actually it’s not so much a nick but rather a User or a Chatter. Software engineering is all about finding proper abstractions. 🙂 > How would I be able to create User instances which also should have > access to the IRC::Client’s socket? Currently I’m using User.new(“nick”, > @socket) which is, well… yeah. You can do that. What’s best depends of course on your application design which we don’t know (yet). Maybe you lay out your design - at least on the high level - and then we can comment further. Kind regards robert ---
**Author:** ![nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nginxchina](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/nginxchina)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-constant-reference-to-another-class-instance-variable/183119/7 "2010-02-08T18:56:44Z")
Mikkel K. wrote: > IRC::Connect hostname: ‘[irc.phora.net](http://irc.phora.net)’ do > def on\_message(nick, channel, message, \*args) > # This is what I want it to be like: > # nick.say(“Hello there, #{nick}!”) > # or atleast something like that. > # but for now, I’m stuck with this: > privmsg(nick, “Hello there, #{nick}!”) > # is it maybe possible to make some > # kind of ‘alias’? > end > end If you just want to send a message to user with nickname “foo”, then privmsg(“foo”, “Hello”) looks to be the right way to go about it. If you want to abstract away the concept of an “IRC user” then create an object for it. One of the great things about Ruby is that it’s only a few lines. > How would I be able to create User instances which also should have > access to the IRC::Client’s socket? Currently I’m using User.new(“nick”, > @socket) which is, well… yeah. That seems like exactly the way to go about it, if you know at user creation time that user “nick” is always reachable through @socket. (But really @socket should be the IRC client connection object, rather than the raw socket)