Method Abstract():classDescribe()

Classes Class Abstract() :classDescribe()

Reflects the class definition

:classDescribe( [<nInfo>] ) --> aReturn

<nInfo>

A #define constant from CLASS.CH must be used for this parameter. It defaults to CLASS_DESCR_ALL and defines the type of information included in the return value.

Constant	Return value
CLASS_DESCR_ALL *)	All available information in one array
CLASS_DESCR_CLASSNAME	Class name as character string
CLASS_DESCR_SUPERCLASSES	One-dimensional array holding the class objects of all superclasses
CLASS_DESCR_MEMBERS	3-column array holding information about member variables
CLASS_DESCR_METHODS	5-column array holding information about methods
CLASS_DESCR_SUPERDETAILS	3-column array holding details about superclasses
default

If <nInfo> is omitted or set to CLASS_DESCR_ALL, an array with four elements is returned. They contain the information resulting from passing one of the following constants to this method:

obj:classDescribe()  -->   { CLASS_DESCR_CLASSNAME   , ; 
                             CLASS_DESCR_SUPERCLASSES, ; 
                             CLASS_DESCR_MEMBERS     , ; 
                             CLASS_DESCR_METHODS       }

The elements of this array reflect the parameter profile of the function ClassCreate().

CLASS_DESCR_CLASSNAME

The class name as character string.

CLASS_DESCR_SUPERCLASSES

One-dimensional array containing the class objects of the superclasses.

CLASS_DESCR_MEMBERS

Two-dimensional array with three columns. It holds information about member variables of the class. Each column can be accessed using the following #define constants:

Constant	Description
CLASS_MEMBER_NAME	Character string representing the name of a single member variable
CLASS_MEMBER_ATTR	Member variable attributes as numeric
CLASS_MEMBER_TYPE	Reserved

CLASS_DESCR_METHODS

Two-dimensional array with five columns. It holds information about methods of the class. Each column can be accessed using the following define constants:

Constant	Description
CLASS_METHOD_NAME	Character string with the name of the method
CLASS_METHOD_ATTR	Method attributes as numeric
CLASS_METHOD_BLOCK	Method code block, if the method was dynamically created with ClassCreate()
CLASS_METHOD_VARNAME	The name of the redirected variable if it is an ACCESS\|ASSIGN method
CLASS_METHOD_TYPE	Reserved

CLASS_DESCR_SUPERDETAILS

Two-dimensional array with three columns. It holds detailed information about the superclasses of the class. Note that this array is not included in the CLASS_DESCR_ALL array. It is only returned when CLASS_DESCR_SUPERDETAILS is passed to :classDescribe().

Constant	Description
CLASS_SUPERCLASS_NAME	Character string representing the name of the superclass
CLASS_SUPERCLASS_ATTR	Class attributes
CLASS_SUPERCLASS_TYPE	Reserved

The generic method :classDescribe() is used to inspect the structure of a class and its superclasses at runtime. Individual information about member variables, methods or superclasses can be obtained by passing the corresponding #define constants to this method. If :classDescribe()is called without a parameter, the returned array reflects the parameter profile of the ClassCreate() function. This allows for easy creation or modification of the structure of dynamic classes.

Method Abstract():classDescribe() Foundation