NAME

AI::MicroStructure::MultiList - Base class for structures with multiple lists

SYNOPSIS

    package AI::MicroStructure::digits;
    use AI::MicroStructure::MultiList;
    our @ISA = ( AI::MicroStructure::MultiList );
    __PACKAGE__->init();
    1;

    =head1 NAME

    AI::MicroStructure::digits - The numbers structure

    =head1 DESCRIPTION

    You can count on this module. Almost.

    =cut

    __DATA__
    # default
    :all
    # names primes even
    two
    # names primes odd
    three five seven
    # names composites even
    four six eight
    # names composites odd
    nine
    # names other
    zero one

DESCRIPTION

AI::MicroStructure::MultiList is the base class for all structures that are meant to return a random excerpt from a predefined list divided in categories.

The category is selected at construction time from:

1. the given category parameter,

2. the default category for the selected structure.

Categories and sub-categories are separated by a / character.

METHODS

AI::MicroStructure::MultiList offers several methods, so that the subclasses are easy to write (see full example in SYNOPSIS):

new( category => $category )

The constructor of a single instance. An instance will not repeat items until the list is exhausted.

    $meta = AI::MicroStructure::digits->new( category => 'primes' );
    $meta = AI::MicroStructure::digits->new( category => 'primes/odd' );

The special category :all will use all the items in all categories.

    $meta = AI::MicroStructure::digits->new( category => ':all' );

If no category parameter is given, AI::MicroStructure::MultiList will use the class default. If the class doesn't define a default, then :all is used.

init()

init() must be called when the subclass is loaded, so as to read the __DATA__ section and fully initialise it.

name( $count )

Return $count names (default: 1).

Using 0 will return the whole list in list context, and the size of the list in scalar context (according to the category parameter passed to the constructor).

category()

Return the selected category for this instance.

categories()

Return the categories supported by the structure (except :all).

has_category( $category )

Return a boolean value indicating if the structure contains the given category.

structure()

Return the structure name.

AUTHOR

Philippe 'BooK' Bruhat, <book@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT & LICENSE

Copyright 2006 Philippe 'BooK' Bruhat, All Rights Reserved.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.