Closures - this/delegate/owner

[Thom Nichols]

Hi,

I'm looking for a good definition of this vs delegate vs owner.  I
think I understand --

'this' refers to the enclosing object where the closure is defined;
'delegate' refers to the enclosing object when the closure is executed, right?

Then does 'owner' refer to the method scope if the closure is defined
w/in a method?

The wiki documentation has this example on the Closures page:
class HiddenMember {
  private String name;

  getClosure (String name)
  {
    return { name -> println ("Argument: ${name}, Object: ${owner.name}")}
  }
}

Which for me doesn't compile, because it's missing the "def" before
the method definition.  Adding "def" in, I get this:

org.codehaus.groovy.control.MultipleCompilationErrorsException:
startup failed, Script6: 6: The current scope does already contain a
variable of the name name
 @ line 6, column 12.

(Under the Groovy 1.1 snapshot included w/ Grails SVN HEAD)

I scanned GINA briefly and didn't find a great explanation either
(maybe I missed it).  So if someone can clarify for me, I'd be happy
to update the wiki documentation.

Thanks.
-Tom

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[Jochen Theodorou]

Tom Nichols schrieb:

> Hi,
>
> I'm looking for a good definition of this vs delegate vs owner.  I
> think I understand --
>
> 'this' refers to the enclosing object where the closure is defined;
> 'delegate' refers to the enclosing object when the closure is executed, right?
>
> Then does 'owner' refer to the method scope if the closure is defined
> w/in a method?

I would say it different...

this -> refers to the enclosing class instance
owner -> refers to the enclosing object (a closure or this)
delegate -> by default the same as owner, but changeable for example in
a builder

> The wiki documentation has this example on the Closures page:
> class HiddenMember {
>   private String name;
>
>   getClosure (String name)
>   {
>     return { name -> println ("Argument: ${name}, Object: ${owner.name}")}
>   }
> }
>
> Which for me doesn't compile, because it's missing the "def" before
> the method definition.

can you please post the link? the example is extremely out of date.

> Adding "def" in, I get this:
>
> org.codehaus.groovy.control.MultipleCompilationErrorsException:
> startup failed, Script6: 6: The current scope does already contain a
> variable of the name name
>  @ line 6, column 12.
>
> (Under the Groovy 1.1 snapshot included w/ Grails SVN HEAD)

yes, the closure defines another variable name... I guess the example is
from before beta-9! that's very old.

bye blackdrag

--
Jochen "blackdrag" Theodorou
Groovy Tech Lead (http://groovy.codehaus.org)
http://blackdragsview.blogspot.com/

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[Thom Nichols]

It's the main "Closures" page on the user guide:
http://groovy.codehaus.org/Closures

Do a page search for "owner," it's the code example directly below the
first occurrence.

If you happen to update that page, I'd suggest refactoring that wiki
page into a number of smaller pages.  That page has _a_lot_ of content
and it's a bit unwieldy to scroll through.

It's on my list to work on if nobody else gets around to it.

Thanks!
-Tom

On 9/7/07, Jochen Theodorou <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Tom Nichols schrieb:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm looking for a good definition of this vs delegate vs owner.  I
> > think I understand --
> >
> > 'this' refers to the enclosing object where the closure is defined;
> > 'delegate' refers to the enclosing object when the closure is executed, right?
> >
> > Then does 'owner' refer to the method scope if the closure is defined
> > w/in a method?
>
> I would say it different...
>
> this -> refers to the enclosing class instance
> owner -> refers to the enclosing object (a closure or this)
> delegate -> by default the same as owner, but changeable for example in
> a builder
>
> > The wiki documentation has this example on the Closures page:
> > class HiddenMember {
> >   private String name;
> >
> >   getClosure (String name)
> >   {
> >     return { name -> println ("Argument: ${name}, Object: ${owner.name}")}
> >   }
> > }
> >
> > Which for me doesn't compile, because it's missing the "def" before
> > the method definition.
>
> can you please post the link? the example is extremely out of date.
>
> > Adding "def" in, I get this:
> >
> > org.codehaus.groovy.control.MultipleCompilationErrorsException:
> > startup failed, Script6: 6: The current scope does already contain a
> > variable of the name name
> >  @ line 6, column 12.
> >
> > (Under the Groovy 1.1 snapshot included w/ Grails SVN HEAD)
>
> yes, the closure defines another variable name... I guess the example is
> from before beta-9! that's very old.
>
> bye blackdrag
>
> --
> Jochen "blackdrag" Theodorou
> Groovy Tech Lead (http://groovy.codehaus.org)
> http://blackdragsview.blogspot.com/
>
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> To unsubscribe from this list please visit:
>
>     http://xircles.codehaus.org/manage_email
>
>

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[Alex Popescu]

On 9/7/07, Jochen Theodorou <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Tom Nichols schrieb:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm looking for a good definition of this vs delegate vs owner.  I
> > think I understand --
> >
> > 'this' refers to the enclosing object where the closure is defined;
> > 'delegate' refers to the enclosing object when the closure is executed, right?
> >
> > Then does 'owner' refer to the method scope if the closure is defined
> > w/in a method?
>
> I would say it different...
>
> this -> refers to the enclosing class instance
> owner -> refers to the enclosing object (a closure or this)
> delegate -> by default the same as owner, but changeable for example in
> a builder
>

Can you please exemplify when owner is different from this, and give a
pointer for changing the delegate usage.

tia,

./alex
--
.w( the_mindstorm )p.

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[Jochen Theodorou]

Tom Nichols schrieb:
> It's the main "Closures" page on the user guide:
> http://groovy.codehaus.org/Closures
>
> Do a page search for "owner," it's the code example directly below the
> first occurrence.

thank you very much, I added the def.

> If you happen to update that page, I'd suggest refactoring that wiki
> page into a number of smaller pages.  That page has _a_lot_ of content
> and it's a bit unwieldy to scroll through.

while I am not into one page web sites I agree with you that the page is
a bit too big...

> It's on my list to work on if nobody else gets around to it.

We encourage our users to modify the documentation. Because as a creator
you see some things different, you read the page without reading it and
then you see no big content at all ;)

bye blackdrag

--
Jochen "blackdrag" Theodorou
Groovy Tech Lead (http://groovy.codehaus.org)
http://blackdragsview.blogspot.com/

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[Jochen Theodorou]

Alexandru Popescu ☀ schrieb:
[...]
> Can you please exemplify when owner is different from this, and give a
> pointer for changing the delegate usage.

1) owner/this

class X {
   def myMethod() {
     def c0 = {
       def c1 = {}
     }
     co
   }
}

values (not legal code!)

c0.this = instance of X
c0.owner = c0.this

c1.this = instance of X
c1.owner = c0

while "this" will always be a reference to the class X here, owner
refers to the enclosing closure or class, whatever comes first.

2) delegate:

def c = { foo() }

try {
   c()
   assert false, "should have thrown an exception"
} catch (MissingMethodException mme) {
   assert true
}

class X{
     def foo(){1}
}

c.delegate = new X()
assert c()==1

Usually the delegate is changed in a builder, but that is not enforced.

bye blackdrag

--
Jochen "blackdrag" Theodorou
Groovy Tech Lead (http://groovy.codehaus.org)
http://blackdragsview.blogspot.com/

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[Thom Nichols]

Hi Graeme,

So when an ExpandoMetaClass is extended with a closure, it is setting
the delegate to the instance on which the method is called?  I didn't
notice this mentioned on the wiki documentation, but it is a very
handy thing to note since you can't use "this" as you would if you
were writing a method definition.  Please correct me if it is
documented somewhere.

i.e.
class Book {
   String title
}

Book.metaClass.printTitle << {
    //println owner.title
    //println this.title
    println delegate.title
}

new Book( title:"GINA" ).printTitle()

Thanks.
-Tom


On 9/7/07, Tom Nichols <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm looking for a good definition of this vs delegate vs owner.  I
> think I understand --
>
> 'this' refers to the enclosing object where the closure is defined;
> 'delegate' refers to the enclosing object when the closure is executed, right?
>
> Then does 'owner' refer to the method scope if the closure is defined
> w/in a method?
>
> The wiki documentation has this example on the Closures page:
> class HiddenMember {
>   private String name;
>
>   getClosure (String name)
>   {
>     return { name -> println ("Argument: ${name}, Object: ${owner.name}")}
>   }
> }
>
> Which for me doesn't compile, because it's missing the "def" before
> the method definition.  Adding "def" in, I get this:
>
> org.codehaus.groovy.control.MultipleCompilationErrorsException:
> startup failed, Script6: 6: The current scope does already contain a
> variable of the name name
>  @ line 6, column 12.
>
> (Under the Groovy 1.1 snapshot included w/ Grails SVN HEAD)
>
> I scanned GINA briefly and didn't find a great explanation either
> (maybe I missed it).  So if someone can clarify for me, I'd be happy
> to update the wiki documentation.
>
> Thanks.
> -Tom
>

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