Re: Using ArrayRef data members in Moose

[stvn]

There is nothing magical about an attribute that isa => ArrayRef any more than an attribute that isa => Str. The former holds an array reference, the later a string. That is all, no other magic is done under the covers to make Perl 5's ugly dereferencing syntax go away.

Simply put, I think you are expecting to see magic where none actually exists.

I'm getting very frustrated with the Moose documentation. There is certainly a ton of documentation, but it skips from bare basics, up to the clouds, with very little in between

Yes, Moose documentation is lacking in places, we know this and are working to improve it, help is always appreciated. I run an audreyt/Pugs-style project too, so if you want a commit-bit just come on over to #moose and ask for one and you can start improving the docs right away.

In the meantime here are some suggestions which you may not have seen, all of which are accessible from the Moose homepage http://moose.perl.org:

• merlyns Linux Mag articles Part One and Part Two
• The Moose Quick-Ref Card
• My YAPC::EU talk on Moose, which is very verbose and so might be helpful
• nothingmuchs recent talk at YAPC::Asia with slides and video
• Ben Hengst's recent talk at PDX.pm slides (they are in xul, so FF only) and even a podcast too.

[dmorgo]

OK, thanks. That makes it much more clear (no magic). I was indeed (wrongly) expecting some, but it makes sense now that it's not there. And I will try out the MooseX::AttributeHelpers module(s) someone with a similar first name to yours (and others) suggested.

As far as docs being lacking, what concerned me was that what I saw in the docs was that yes, you are aware that they are still in progress, but the awareness is centered on awareness that all the super-duper advanced usage is not yet documented. I didn't see any hint of awareness that the medium-level stuff is not documented. Maybe because what is obvious to you does not seem to need documenting, because it's so obvious. This feedback is meant to be constructive, and I appreciate the invitation to participate. Will decide later whether to take you up on it, after seeing how much more understanding I achieve.

In the meantime I'm very excited to start making better use of Moose through some of the ways that have been pointed out here. Thanks for all you have put into it.