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comp.lang.ruby

ruby/smalltalk: method_missing/doesNotUnderstand

Giles Bowkett

6/11/2007 1:14:00 AM

Hi all - this is for the Smalltalkers and the people interested in
Ruby's genealogy, as it were. Is it fair for me to tell people that
method_missing is a Ruby translation of Smalltalk's doesNotUnderstand?
Or is it more a totally unique feature? I was going to say the first,
but now I think it's the latter. I don't think you can rewrite
doesNotUnderstand the way you can rewrite method_missing - or,
actually, I think you **can**, but I think in practice it happens much
less. Anyway, help me out if you know the answer to this one.

--
Giles Bowkett

Blog: http://gilesbowkett.bl...
Portfolio: http://www.gilesg...
3 Answers

Rick DeNatale

6/11/2007 3:26:00 PM

0

On 6/10/07, Giles Bowkett <gilesb@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all - this is for the Smalltalkers and the people interested in
> Ruby's genealogy, as it were. Is it fair for me to tell people that
> method_missing is a Ruby translation of Smalltalk's doesNotUnderstand?
> Or is it more a totally unique feature? I was going to say the first,
> but now I think it's the latter. I don't think you can rewrite
> doesNotUnderstand the way you can rewrite method_missing - or,
> actually, I think you **can**, but I think in practice it happens much
> less. Anyway, help me out if you know the answer to this one.

Actually overriding doeNotUnderstand: in Smalltalk is rather common
for much the same reasons it's used in Ruby.

For example, when I wrote the Smalltalk distributed feature for IBM
Smalltalk about 10 years ago, doesNotUnderstand was a key underpinning
of the implementation.

As to where Matz got the idea you'd have to ask him, but it's very
much the same mechanism.

--
Rick DeNatale

My blog on Ruby
http://talklikeaduck.denh...

Giles Bowkett

6/12/2007 9:55:00 PM

0

> Actually overriding doeNotUnderstand: in Smalltalk is rather common
> for much the same reasons it's used in Ruby.
>
> For example, when I wrote the Smalltalk distributed feature for IBM
> Smalltalk about 10 years ago, doesNotUnderstand was a key underpinning
> of the implementation.
>
> As to where Matz got the idea you'd have to ask him, but it's very
> much the same mechanism.

Gracias! That's kind of what I suspected.

--
Giles Bowkett

Blog: http://gilesbowkett.bl...
Portfolio: http://www.gilesg...

Ryan Davis

6/14/2007 5:04:00 PM

0


On Jun 11, 2007, at 08:26 , Rick DeNatale wrote:

> Actually overriding doeNotUnderstand: in Smalltalk is rather common
> for much the same reasons it's used in Ruby.
>
> For example, when I wrote the Smalltalk distributed feature for IBM
> Smalltalk about 10 years ago, doesNotUnderstand was a key underpinning
> of the implementation.

seconded.