NAME

       Rose::Object::MixIn - A base class for mix-ins.

SYNOPSIS

         package MyMixInClass;

         use Rose::Object::MixIn(); # Use empty parentheses here
         our @ISA = qw(Rose::Object::MixIn);

         __PACKAGE__->export_tag(all => [ qw(my_cool_method my_other_method) ]);

         sub my_cool_method  { ... }
         sub my_other_method { ... }
         ...

         package MyClass;
         # Import methods my_cool_method() and my_other_method()
         use MyMixInClass qw(:all);
         ...

         package MyOtherClass;
         # Import just my_cool_method()
         use MyMixInClass qw(my_cool_method);
         ...

         package YetAnotherClass;
         # Import just my_cool_method() as cool()
         use MyMixInClass { my_cool_method => 'cool' }

DESCRIPTION

       Rose::Object::MixIn is a base class for mix-ins.  A mix-in is a class that exports methods
       into another class.  This export process is controlled with an Exporter-like interface,
       but Rose::Object::MixIn does not inherit from Exporter.

       When you use a Rose::Object::MixIn-derived class, its import method is called at compile
       time.  In other words, this:

           use Rose::Object::MixIn 'a', 'b', { c => 'd' };

       is the same thing as this:

           BEGIN { Rose::Object::MixIn->import('a', 'b', { c => 'd' }) }

       To prevent the import method from being run, put empty parentheses "()" after the package
       name instead of a list of arguments.

           use Rose::Object::MixIn();

       See the synopsis for an example of when this is handy: using Rose::Object::MixIn from
       within a subclass.  Note that the empty parenthesis are important.  The following is not
       equivalent:

           # This is not the same thing as the example above!
           use Rose::Object::MixIn;

       See the documentation for the import method below to learn what arguments it accepts.

CLASS METHODS

       import ARGS
           Import the methods specified by ARGS into the package from which this method was
           called.  If the current class can already perform one of these methods, a fatal error
           will occur.  To override an existing method, you must use the "-force" argument (see
           below).

           Valid formats for ARGS are as follows:

           •   A method name

               Literal method names will be imported as-is.

           •   A tag name

               Tags names are indicated with a leading colon.  For example, ":all" specifies the
               "all" tag.  A tag is a stand-in for a list of methods.  See the export_tag method
               to learn how to create tags.

           •   A reference to a hash

               Each key/value pair in this hash contains a method name and the name that it will
               be imported as.  Use this feature to import methods under different names in order
               to avoid conflicts with existing methods.

           •   "-force"

               The special literal argument "-force" will cause the specified methods to be
               imported even if the calling class can already perform one or more of those
               methods.

           •   "-target_class CLASS"

               The special literal argument "-target-class" followed by a class name will cause
               the specified methods to be imported into CLASS rather than into the calling
               class.

           See the synopsis for several examples of the import method in action.  (Remember, it's
           called implicitly when you use a Rose::Object::MixIn-derived class with anything other
           than an empty set of parenthesis "()" as an argument.)

       clear_export_tags
           Delete the entire list of export tags.

       export_tag NAME [, ARRAYREF]
           Get or set the list of method names associated with a tag.  The tag name should not
           begin with a colon.  If ARRAYREF is passed, then the list of methods associated with
           the specific tag is set.

           Returns a list (in list context) or a reference to an array (in scalar context) of
           method names.  The array reference return value should be treated as read-only.  If no
           such tag exists, and if an ARRAYREF is not passed, then a fatal error will occur.

       export_tags
           Returns a list (in list context) and a reference to an array (in scalar context)
           containing the complete list of export tags.  The array reference return value should
           be treated as read-only.

AUTHOR

       John C. Siracusa (siracusa@gmail.com)

LICENSE

       Copyright (c) 2010 by John C. Siracusa.  All rights reserved.  This program is free
       software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.