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).