Question

I’m thinking in:

class X
    def new()
        @a = 1
    end
    def m( other ) 
         @a == other.@a
    end
end

x = X.new()
y = X.new()
x.m( y ) 

But it doesn’t works.

The error message is:

syntax error, unexpected tIVAR

How can I compare two private attributes from the same class then?

Answer 1

There are several methods

Getter:

class X
  attr_reader :a
  def m( other )
    a == other.a
  end
end

instance_eval:

class X
  def m( other )
    @a == other.instance_eval { @a }
  end
end

instance_variable_get:

class X
  def m( other )
    @a == other.instance_variable_get :@a
  end
end

I don’t think ruby has a concept of “friend” or “protected” access, and even “private” is easily hacked around. Using a getter creates a read-only property, and instance_eval means you have to know the name of the instance variable, so the connotation is similar.