NAME
Class::XSAccessor::Array - Generate fast XS accessors without runtime compilation
SYNOPSIS
package MyClassUsingArraysAsInternalStorage;
use Class::XSAccessor::Array
getters => {
get_foo => 0, # 0 is the array index to access
get_bar => 1,
},
setters => {
set_foo => 0,
set_bar => 1,
},
accessors => { # a mutator
buz => 2,
},
predicates => { # test for definedness
has_buz => 2,
};
# The imported methods are implemented in fast XS.
# normal class code here.DESCRIPTION
The module implements fast XS accessors both for getting at and setting an object attribute. Additionally, the module supports mutators and simple predicates (has_foo() like tests for definedness of an attributes). The module works only with objects that are implemented as arrays. Using it on hash-based objects is bound to make your life miserable. Refer to Class::XSAccessor for an implementation that works with hash-based objects.
A simple benchmark showed more than a factor of two performance advantage over writing accessors in Perl.
While generally more obscure than hash-based objects, objects using blessed arrays as internal representation are a bit faster as its somewhat faster to access arrays than hashes. Accordingly, this module is slightly faster (~10-15%) than Class::XSAccessor, which works on hash-based objects.
The method names may be fully qualified. In the example of the synopsis, you could have written MyClass::get_foo instead of get_foo.
OPTIONS
In addition to specifying the types and names of accessors, you can add options which modify behaviour. The options are specified as key/value pairs just as the accessor declaration. Example:
use Class::XSAccessor::Array
getters => {
get_foo => 0,
},
replace => 1;The list of available options is:
replace
Set this to a true value to prevent Class::XSAccessor::Array from complaining about replacing existing subroutines.
chained
Set this to a true value to change the return value of setters and mutators (when called with an argument). If chained is enabled, the setters and accessors/mutators will return the object. Mutators called without an argument still return the value of the associated attribute.
As with the other options, chained affects all methods generated in the same use Class::XSAccessor::Array ... statement.
CAVEATS
Probably wouldn't work if your objects are tied. But that's a strange thing to do anyway.
Scary code exploiting strange XS features.
If you think writing an accessor in XS should be a laughably simple exercise, then please contemplate how you could instantiate a new XS accessor for a new hash key or array index that's only known at run-time. Note that compiling C code at run-time a la Inline::C is a no go.
SEE ALSO
AUTHOR
Steffen Mueller, <smueller@cpan.org>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright (C) 2008 by Steffen Mueller
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8 or, at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.