Chapter 13. Object individuation

This chapter covers
  • Singleton methods and classes
  • Class methods
  • The extend method
  • Overriding Ruby core behavior
  • The BasicObject class

One of the cornerstones of Ruby’s design is object individuation—that is, the ability of individual objects to behave differently from other objects of the same class. Every object is a full-fledged citizen of the runtime world of the program and can live the life it needs to.

The freedom of objects to veer away from the conditions of their birth has a kind of philosophical ring to it. On the other hand, it has some important technical implications. A remarkable number of Ruby features and characteristics derive from or converge on the individuality ...

Get The Well-Grounded Rubyist, Third Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial