class UnboundMethod

Ruby supports two forms of objectified methods. Class Method is used to represent methods that are associated with a particular object: these method objects are bound to that object. Bound method objects for an object can be created using Object#method.

Ruby also supports unbound methods; methods objects that are not associated with a particular object. These can be created either by calling Module#instance_method or by calling unbind on a bound method object. The result of both of these is an UnboundMethod object.

Unbound methods can only be called after they are bound to an object. That object must be a kind_of? the method's original class.

class Square
  def area
    @side * @side
  end
  def initialize(side)
    @side = side
  end
end

area_un = Square.instance_method(:area)

s = Square.new(12)
area = area_un.bind(s)
area.call   #=> 144

Unbound methods are a reference to the method at the time it was objectified: subsequent changes to the underlying class will not affect the unbound method.

class Test
  def test
    :original
  end
end
um = Test.instance_method(:test)
class Test
  def test
    :modified
  end
end
t = Test.new
t.test            #=> :modified
um.bind(t).call   #=> :original

Public Instance Methods

meth == other_meth → true or false click to toggle source

Two method objects are equal if they are bound to the same object and refer to the same method definition and their owners are the same class or module.

static VALUE
method_eq(VALUE method, VALUE other)
{
    struct METHOD *m1, *m2;
    VALUE klass1, klass2;

    if (!rb_obj_is_method(other))
        return Qfalse;
    if (CLASS_OF(method) != CLASS_OF(other))
        return Qfalse;

    Check_TypedStruct(method, &method_data_type);
    m1 = (struct METHOD *)DATA_PTR(method);
    m2 = (struct METHOD *)DATA_PTR(other);

    klass1 = method_entry_defined_class(m1->me);
    klass2 = method_entry_defined_class(m2->me);

    if (!rb_method_entry_eq(m1->me, m2->me) ||
        klass1 != klass2 ||
        m1->klass != m2->klass ||
        m1->recv != m2->recv) {
        return Qfalse;
    }

    return Qtrue;
}
arity → integer click to toggle source

Returns an indication of the number of arguments accepted by a method. Returns a nonnegative integer for methods that take a fixed number of arguments. For Ruby methods that take a variable number of arguments, returns -n-1, where n is the number of required arguments. Keyword arguments will be considered as a single additional argument, that argument being mandatory if any keyword argument is mandatory. For methods written in C, returns -1 if the call takes a variable number of arguments.

class C
  def one;    end
  def two(a); end
  def three(*a);  end
  def four(a, b); end
  def five(a, b, *c);    end
  def six(a, b, *c, &d); end
  def seven(a, b, x:0); end
  def eight(x:, y:); end
  def nine(x:, y:, **z); end
  def ten(*a, x:, y:); end
end
c = C.new
c.method(:one).arity     #=> 0
c.method(:two).arity     #=> 1
c.method(:three).arity   #=> -1
c.method(:four).arity    #=> 2
c.method(:five).arity    #=> -3
c.method(:six).arity     #=> -3
c.method(:seven).arity   #=> -3
c.method(:eight).arity   #=> 1
c.method(:nine).arity    #=> 1
c.method(:ten).arity     #=> -2

"cat".method(:size).arity      #=> 0
"cat".method(:replace).arity   #=> 1
"cat".method(:squeeze).arity   #=> -1
"cat".method(:count).arity     #=> -1

static VALUE
method_arity_m(VALUE method)
{
    int n = method_arity(method);
    return INT2FIX(n);
}
bind(obj) → method click to toggle source

Bind umeth to obj. If Klass was the class from which umeth was obtained, obj.kind_of?(Klass) must be true.

class A
  def test
    puts "In test, class = #{self.class}"
  end
end
class B < A
end
class C < B
end

um = B.instance_method(:test)
bm = um.bind(C.new)
bm.call
bm = um.bind(B.new)
bm.call
bm = um.bind(A.new)
bm.call

produces:

In test, class = C
In test, class = B
prog.rb:16:in `bind': bind argument must be an instance of B (TypeError)
 from prog.rb:16
static VALUE
umethod_bind(VALUE method, VALUE recv)
{
    VALUE methclass, klass, iclass;
    const rb_method_entry_t *me;
    convert_umethod_to_method_components(method, recv, &methclass, &klass, &iclass, &me);

    struct METHOD *bound;
    method = TypedData_Make_Struct(rb_cMethod, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, bound);
    RB_OBJ_WRITE(method, &bound->recv, recv);
    RB_OBJ_WRITE(method, &bound->klass, klass);
    RB_OBJ_WRITE(method, &bound->iclass, iclass);
    RB_OBJ_WRITE(method, &bound->me, me);

    return method;
}
bind_call(recv, args, ...) → obj click to toggle source

Bind umeth to recv and then invokes the method with the specified arguments. This is semantically equivalent to umeth.bind(recv).call(args, ...).

static VALUE
umethod_bind_call(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE method)
{
    rb_check_arity(argc, 1, UNLIMITED_ARGUMENTS);
    VALUE recv = argv[0];
    argc--;
    argv++;

    VALUE methclass, klass, iclass;
    const rb_method_entry_t *me;
    convert_umethod_to_method_components(method, recv, &methclass, &klass, &iclass, &me);
    struct METHOD bound = { recv, klass, 0, me };

    VALUE passed_procval = rb_block_given_p() ? rb_block_proc() : Qnil;

    rb_execution_context_t *ec = GET_EC();
    return call_method_data(ec, &bound, argc, argv, passed_procval, RB_PASS_CALLED_KEYWORDS);
}
clone → new_method click to toggle source

Returns a clone of this method.

class A
  def foo
    return "bar"
  end
end

m = A.new.method(:foo)
m.call # => "bar"
n = m.clone.call # => "bar"

static VALUE
method_clone(VALUE self)
{
    VALUE clone;
    struct METHOD *orig, *data;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(self, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, orig);
    clone = TypedData_Make_Struct(CLASS_OF(self), struct METHOD, &method_data_type, data);
    CLONESETUP(clone, self);
    RB_OBJ_WRITE(clone, &data->recv, orig->recv);
    RB_OBJ_WRITE(clone, &data->klass, orig->klass);
    RB_OBJ_WRITE(clone, &data->iclass, orig->iclass);
    RB_OBJ_WRITE(clone, &data->me, rb_method_entry_clone(orig->me));
    return clone;
}
eql?(other_meth) → true or false click to toggle source

Two method objects are equal if they are bound to the same object and refer to the same method definition and their owners are the same class or module.

static VALUE
method_eq(VALUE method, VALUE other)
{
    struct METHOD *m1, *m2;
    VALUE klass1, klass2;

    if (!rb_obj_is_method(other))
        return Qfalse;
    if (CLASS_OF(method) != CLASS_OF(other))
        return Qfalse;

    Check_TypedStruct(method, &method_data_type);
    m1 = (struct METHOD *)DATA_PTR(method);
    m2 = (struct METHOD *)DATA_PTR(other);

    klass1 = method_entry_defined_class(m1->me);
    klass2 = method_entry_defined_class(m2->me);

    if (!rb_method_entry_eq(m1->me, m2->me) ||
        klass1 != klass2 ||
        m1->klass != m2->klass ||
        m1->recv != m2->recv) {
        return Qfalse;
    }

    return Qtrue;
}
hash → integer click to toggle source

Returns a hash value corresponding to the method object.

See also Object#hash.

static VALUE
method_hash(VALUE method)
{
    struct METHOD *m;
    st_index_t hash;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(method, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, m);
    hash = rb_hash_start((st_index_t)m->recv);
    hash = rb_hash_method_entry(hash, m->me);
    hash = rb_hash_end(hash);

    return ST2FIX(hash);
}
inspect → string click to toggle source

Returns a human-readable description of the underlying method.

"cat".method(:count).inspect   #=> "#<Method: String#count(*)>"
(1..3).method(:map).inspect    #=> "#<Method: Range(Enumerable)#map()>"

In the latter case, the method description includes the “owner” of the original method (Enumerable module, which is included into Range).

inspect also provides, when possible, method argument names (call sequence) and source location.

require 'net/http'
Net::HTTP.method(:get).inspect
#=> "#<Method: Net::HTTP.get(uri_or_host, path=..., port=...) <skip>/lib/ruby/2.7.0/net/http.rb:457>"

... in argument definition means argument is optional (has some default value).

For methods defined in C (language core and extensions), location and argument names can't be extracted, and only generic information is provided in form of * (any number of arguments) or _ (some positional argument).

"cat".method(:count).inspect   #=> "#<Method: String#count(*)>"
"cat".method(:+).inspect       #=> "#<Method: String#+(_)>""

static VALUE
method_inspect(VALUE method)
{
    struct METHOD *data;
    VALUE str;
    const char *sharp = "#";
    VALUE mklass;
    VALUE defined_class;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(method, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, data);
    str = rb_sprintf("#<% "PRIsVALUE": ", rb_obj_class(method));

    mklass = data->klass;

    if (RB_TYPE_P(mklass, T_ICLASS)) {
        /* TODO: I'm not sure why mklass is T_ICLASS.
         * UnboundMethod#bind() can set it as T_ICLASS at convert_umethod_to_method_components()
         * but not sure it is needed.
         */
        mklass = RBASIC_CLASS(mklass);
    }

    if (data->me->def->type == VM_METHOD_TYPE_ALIAS) {
        defined_class = data->me->def->body.alias.original_me->owner;
    }
    else {
        defined_class = method_entry_defined_class(data->me);
    }

    if (RB_TYPE_P(defined_class, T_ICLASS)) {
        defined_class = RBASIC_CLASS(defined_class);
    }

    if (FL_TEST(mklass, FL_SINGLETON)) {
        VALUE v = rb_ivar_get(mklass, attached);

        if (data->recv == Qundef) {
            rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(mklass));
        }
        else if (data->recv == v) {
            rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(v));
            sharp = ".";
        }
        else {
            rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(data->recv));
            rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "(");
            rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(v));
            rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ")");
            sharp = ".";
        }
    }
    else {
        rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(mklass));
        if (defined_class != mklass) {
            rb_str_catf(str, "(% "PRIsVALUE")", defined_class);
        }
    }
    rb_str_buf_cat2(str, sharp);
    rb_str_append(str, rb_id2str(data->me->called_id));
    if (data->me->called_id != data->me->def->original_id) {
        rb_str_catf(str, "(%"PRIsVALUE")",
                    rb_id2str(data->me->def->original_id));
    }
    if (data->me->def->type == VM_METHOD_TYPE_NOTIMPLEMENTED) {
        rb_str_buf_cat2(str, " (not-implemented)");
    }

    // parameter information
    {
        VALUE params = rb_method_parameters(method);
        VALUE pair, name, kind;
        const VALUE req = ID2SYM(rb_intern("req"));
        const VALUE opt = ID2SYM(rb_intern("opt"));
        const VALUE keyreq = ID2SYM(rb_intern("keyreq"));
        const VALUE key = ID2SYM(rb_intern("key"));
        const VALUE rest = ID2SYM(rb_intern("rest"));
        const VALUE keyrest = ID2SYM(rb_intern("keyrest"));
        const VALUE block = ID2SYM(rb_intern("block"));
        const VALUE nokey = ID2SYM(rb_intern("nokey"));
        int forwarding = 0;

        rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "(");

        for (int i = 0; i < RARRAY_LEN(params); i++) {
            pair = RARRAY_AREF(params, i);
            kind = RARRAY_AREF(pair, 0);
            name = RARRAY_AREF(pair, 1);
            // FIXME: in tests it turns out that kind, name = [:req] produces name to be false. Why?..
            if (NIL_P(name) || name == Qfalse) {
                // FIXME: can it be reduced to switch/case?
                if (kind == req || kind == opt) {
                    name = rb_str_new2("_");
                }
                else if (kind == rest || kind == keyrest) {
                    name = rb_str_new2("");
                }
                else if (kind == block) {
                    name = rb_str_new2("block");
                }
                else if (kind == nokey) {
                    name = rb_str_new2("nil");
                }
            }

            if (kind == req) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "%"PRIsVALUE, name);
            }
            else if (kind == opt) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "%"PRIsVALUE"=...", name);
            }
            else if (kind == keyreq) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "%"PRIsVALUE":", name);
            }
            else if (kind == key) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "%"PRIsVALUE": ...", name);
            }
            else if (kind == rest) {
                if (name == ID2SYM('*')) {
                    forwarding = 1;
                    rb_str_cat_cstr(str, "...");
                }
                else {
                    rb_str_catf(str, "*%"PRIsVALUE, name);
                }
            }
            else if (kind == keyrest) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "**%"PRIsVALUE, name);
            }
            else if (kind == block) {
                if (name == ID2SYM('&')) {
                    if (forwarding) {
                        rb_str_set_len(str, RSTRING_LEN(str) - 2);
                    }
                    else {
                        rb_str_cat_cstr(str, "...");
                    }
                }
                else {
                    rb_str_catf(str, "&%"PRIsVALUE, name);
                }
            }
            else if (kind == nokey) {
                rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "**nil");
            }

            if (i < RARRAY_LEN(params) - 1) {
                rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ", ");
            }
        }
        rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ")");
    }

    { // source location
        VALUE loc = rb_method_location(method);
        if (!NIL_P(loc)) {
            rb_str_catf(str, " %"PRIsVALUE":%"PRIsVALUE,
                        RARRAY_AREF(loc, 0), RARRAY_AREF(loc, 1));
        }
    }

    rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ">");

    return str;
}
name → symbol click to toggle source

Returns the name of the method.

static VALUE
method_name(VALUE obj)
{
    struct METHOD *data;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(obj, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, data);
    return ID2SYM(data->me->called_id);
}
original_name → symbol click to toggle source

Returns the original name of the method.

class C
  def foo; end
  alias bar foo
end
C.instance_method(:bar).original_name # => :foo

static VALUE
method_original_name(VALUE obj)
{
    struct METHOD *data;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(obj, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, data);
    return ID2SYM(data->me->def->original_id);
}
owner → class_or_module click to toggle source

Returns the class or module that defines the method. See also Method#receiver.

(1..3).method(:map).owner #=> Enumerable

static VALUE
method_owner(VALUE obj)
{
    struct METHOD *data;
    TypedData_Get_Struct(obj, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, data);
    return data->me->owner;
}
parameters → array click to toggle source

Returns the parameter information of this method.

def foo(bar); end
method(:foo).parameters #=> [[:req, :bar]]

def foo(bar, baz, bat, &blk); end
method(:foo).parameters #=> [[:req, :bar], [:req, :baz], [:req, :bat], [:block, :blk]]

def foo(bar, *args); end
method(:foo).parameters #=> [[:req, :bar], [:rest, :args]]

def foo(bar, baz, *args, &blk); end
method(:foo).parameters #=> [[:req, :bar], [:req, :baz], [:rest, :args], [:block, :blk]]

static VALUE
rb_method_parameters(VALUE method)
{
    const rb_iseq_t *iseq = rb_method_iseq(method);
    if (!iseq) {
        return rb_unnamed_parameters(method_arity(method));
    }
    return rb_iseq_parameters(iseq, 0);
}
source_location → [String, Integer] click to toggle source

Returns the Ruby source filename and line number containing this method or nil if this method was not defined in Ruby (i.e. native).

VALUE
rb_method_location(VALUE method)
{
    return method_def_location(rb_method_def(method));
}
super_method → method click to toggle source

Returns a Method of superclass which would be called when super is used or nil if there is no method on superclass.

static VALUE
method_super_method(VALUE method)
{
    const struct METHOD *data;
    VALUE super_class, iclass;
    ID mid;
    const rb_method_entry_t *me;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(method, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, data);
    iclass = data->iclass;
    if (!iclass) return Qnil;
    if (data->me->def->type == VM_METHOD_TYPE_ALIAS && data->me->defined_class) {
        super_class = RCLASS_SUPER(rb_find_defined_class_by_owner(data->me->defined_class,
            data->me->def->body.alias.original_me->owner));
        mid = data->me->def->body.alias.original_me->def->original_id;
    }
    else {
        super_class = RCLASS_SUPER(RCLASS_ORIGIN(iclass));
        mid = data->me->def->original_id;
    }
    if (!super_class) return Qnil;
    me = (rb_method_entry_t *)rb_callable_method_entry_with_refinements(super_class, mid, &iclass);
    if (!me) return Qnil;
    return mnew_internal(me, me->owner, iclass, data->recv, mid, rb_obj_class(method), FALSE, FALSE);
}
to_s → string click to toggle source

Returns a human-readable description of the underlying method.

"cat".method(:count).inspect   #=> "#<Method: String#count(*)>"
(1..3).method(:map).inspect    #=> "#<Method: Range(Enumerable)#map()>"

In the latter case, the method description includes the “owner” of the original method (Enumerable module, which is included into Range).

inspect also provides, when possible, method argument names (call sequence) and source location.

require 'net/http'
Net::HTTP.method(:get).inspect
#=> "#<Method: Net::HTTP.get(uri_or_host, path=..., port=...) <skip>/lib/ruby/2.7.0/net/http.rb:457>"

... in argument definition means argument is optional (has some default value).

For methods defined in C (language core and extensions), location and argument names can't be extracted, and only generic information is provided in form of * (any number of arguments) or _ (some positional argument).

"cat".method(:count).inspect   #=> "#<Method: String#count(*)>"
"cat".method(:+).inspect       #=> "#<Method: String#+(_)>""

static VALUE
method_inspect(VALUE method)
{
    struct METHOD *data;
    VALUE str;
    const char *sharp = "#";
    VALUE mklass;
    VALUE defined_class;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(method, struct METHOD, &method_data_type, data);
    str = rb_sprintf("#<% "PRIsVALUE": ", rb_obj_class(method));

    mklass = data->klass;

    if (RB_TYPE_P(mklass, T_ICLASS)) {
        /* TODO: I'm not sure why mklass is T_ICLASS.
         * UnboundMethod#bind() can set it as T_ICLASS at convert_umethod_to_method_components()
         * but not sure it is needed.
         */
        mklass = RBASIC_CLASS(mklass);
    }

    if (data->me->def->type == VM_METHOD_TYPE_ALIAS) {
        defined_class = data->me->def->body.alias.original_me->owner;
    }
    else {
        defined_class = method_entry_defined_class(data->me);
    }

    if (RB_TYPE_P(defined_class, T_ICLASS)) {
        defined_class = RBASIC_CLASS(defined_class);
    }

    if (FL_TEST(mklass, FL_SINGLETON)) {
        VALUE v = rb_ivar_get(mklass, attached);

        if (data->recv == Qundef) {
            rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(mklass));
        }
        else if (data->recv == v) {
            rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(v));
            sharp = ".";
        }
        else {
            rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(data->recv));
            rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "(");
            rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(v));
            rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ")");
            sharp = ".";
        }
    }
    else {
        rb_str_buf_append(str, rb_inspect(mklass));
        if (defined_class != mklass) {
            rb_str_catf(str, "(% "PRIsVALUE")", defined_class);
        }
    }
    rb_str_buf_cat2(str, sharp);
    rb_str_append(str, rb_id2str(data->me->called_id));
    if (data->me->called_id != data->me->def->original_id) {
        rb_str_catf(str, "(%"PRIsVALUE")",
                    rb_id2str(data->me->def->original_id));
    }
    if (data->me->def->type == VM_METHOD_TYPE_NOTIMPLEMENTED) {
        rb_str_buf_cat2(str, " (not-implemented)");
    }

    // parameter information
    {
        VALUE params = rb_method_parameters(method);
        VALUE pair, name, kind;
        const VALUE req = ID2SYM(rb_intern("req"));
        const VALUE opt = ID2SYM(rb_intern("opt"));
        const VALUE keyreq = ID2SYM(rb_intern("keyreq"));
        const VALUE key = ID2SYM(rb_intern("key"));
        const VALUE rest = ID2SYM(rb_intern("rest"));
        const VALUE keyrest = ID2SYM(rb_intern("keyrest"));
        const VALUE block = ID2SYM(rb_intern("block"));
        const VALUE nokey = ID2SYM(rb_intern("nokey"));
        int forwarding = 0;

        rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "(");

        for (int i = 0; i < RARRAY_LEN(params); i++) {
            pair = RARRAY_AREF(params, i);
            kind = RARRAY_AREF(pair, 0);
            name = RARRAY_AREF(pair, 1);
            // FIXME: in tests it turns out that kind, name = [:req] produces name to be false. Why?..
            if (NIL_P(name) || name == Qfalse) {
                // FIXME: can it be reduced to switch/case?
                if (kind == req || kind == opt) {
                    name = rb_str_new2("_");
                }
                else if (kind == rest || kind == keyrest) {
                    name = rb_str_new2("");
                }
                else if (kind == block) {
                    name = rb_str_new2("block");
                }
                else if (kind == nokey) {
                    name = rb_str_new2("nil");
                }
            }

            if (kind == req) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "%"PRIsVALUE, name);
            }
            else if (kind == opt) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "%"PRIsVALUE"=...", name);
            }
            else if (kind == keyreq) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "%"PRIsVALUE":", name);
            }
            else if (kind == key) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "%"PRIsVALUE": ...", name);
            }
            else if (kind == rest) {
                if (name == ID2SYM('*')) {
                    forwarding = 1;
                    rb_str_cat_cstr(str, "...");
                }
                else {
                    rb_str_catf(str, "*%"PRIsVALUE, name);
                }
            }
            else if (kind == keyrest) {
                rb_str_catf(str, "**%"PRIsVALUE, name);
            }
            else if (kind == block) {
                if (name == ID2SYM('&')) {
                    if (forwarding) {
                        rb_str_set_len(str, RSTRING_LEN(str) - 2);
                    }
                    else {
                        rb_str_cat_cstr(str, "...");
                    }
                }
                else {
                    rb_str_catf(str, "&%"PRIsVALUE, name);
                }
            }
            else if (kind == nokey) {
                rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "**nil");
            }

            if (i < RARRAY_LEN(params) - 1) {
                rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ", ");
            }
        }
        rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ")");
    }

    { // source location
        VALUE loc = rb_method_location(method);
        if (!NIL_P(loc)) {
            rb_str_catf(str, " %"PRIsVALUE":%"PRIsVALUE,
                        RARRAY_AREF(loc, 0), RARRAY_AREF(loc, 1));
        }
    }

    rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ">");

    return str;
}