MAGE::Base(3pm) 					User Contributed Perl Documentation					   MAGE::Base(3pm)

NAME

       Bio::MAGE::Base - generic base class

SYNOPSIS

	 use Bio::MAGE::Base;

	 # create an empty instance
	 my $obj = Bio::MAGE::Base->new();

	 # create an instance and populate with data
	 my $obj = Bio::MAGE::Base->new(attr1=>$val1, attr2=>$val2);

	 # copy an existing instance
	 my $obj_copy = $obj->new();

DESCRIPTION

       The base class for all other Bio::MAGE classes

CLASS METHODS

       The following methods can all be called without first having an instance of the class via the Namespace::Class->methodname() syntax, i.e.
       the class name must be given as an argument to the method.

       $obj = class->new(%params)
	   The "new()" method is the class constructor.

	   Parameters: if given a list of name/value parameters the corresponding slots, attributes, or associations will have their initial
	   values set by the constructor.

	   Return value: It returns a reference to an object of the class.

	   Side effects: It invokes the "initialize()" method if it is defined by the class.

       The following methods can all be called with either the Namespace::Class->methodname() and $obj->methodname() syntaxes.

       @names = get_slot_names()
	   The "get_slot_names()" method is used to retrieve the name of all slots defined for a given object.

	   NOTE: the list of names does not include attribute or association names.

	   Return value: A list of the names of all slots defined for this class.

	   Side effects: none

       @name_list = get_attribute_names()
	   returns the list of attribute data members for this class.

       @name_list = get_association_names()
	   returns the list of association data members for this class.

       @class_list = get_superclasses()
	   returns the list of superclasses for this class.

       @class_list = get_subclasses()
	   returns the list of subclasses for this class.

       $name = class_name()
	   Returns the full class name for this class.

       $package_name = package_name()
	   Returns the base package name (i.e. no 'namespace::') of the package that contains this class.

       %assns = associations()
	   returns the association meta-information in a hash where the keys are the association names and the values are "Association" objects
	   that provide the meta-information for the association.

INSTANCE METHODS

       These methods must be invoked with the direct object syntax using an existing instance, i.e. $object->method_name().

       $obj_copy = $obj->new()
	   When invoked with an existing object reference and not a class name, the "new()" method acts as a copy constructor - with the new
	   object's initial values set to be those of the existing object.

	   Parameters: No input parameters  are used in the copy  constructor, the initial values are taken directly from the object to be copied.

	   Return value: It returns a reference to an object of the class.

	   Side effects: It invokes the "initialize()" method if it is defined by the class.

       $obj->set_slots(%parameters)
       $obj->set_slots(@name_list, @value_list)
	   The "set_slots()" method is used to set a number of slots at the same time. It has two different invocation methods. The first takes a
	   named parameter list, and the second takes two array references.

	   Return value: none

	   Side effects: will call "croak()" if a slot_name is used that the class does not define.

       $obj->get_slots(@name_list)
	   The "get_slots()" method is used to get the values of a number of slots at the same time.

	   Return value: a list of instance objects

	   Side effects: none

       $val = $obj->set_slot($name,$val)
	   The "set_slot()" method sets the slot $name to the value $val

	   Return value: the new value of the slot, i.e. $val

	   Side effects: none

       $val = $obj->get_slot($name)
	   The "get_slot()" method is used to get the values of a number of slots at the same time.

	   Return value: a single slot value, or undef if the slot has not been initialized.

	   Side effects: none

       throw
	    Title   : throw
	    Usage   :
	    Function:
	    Example :
	    Returns :
	    Args    :

       throw_not_implemented
	    Title   : throw_not_implemented
	    Usage   :
	    Function:
	    Example :
	    Returns :
	    Args    :

BUGS

       Please send bug reports to the project mailing list: ()

AUTHOR

SEE ALSO

       perl(1).

perl v5.10.1							    2006-08-23							   MAGE::Base(3pm)