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Yan Kozlovskiy
Courses Plus Student 13,773 PointsStupid question: What happens if you don't set an attr_reader, writer, or accessor?
Why do you need to use them? I am a bit confused. I tried watching the videos over again and I'm still lost. Could you please list a few examples as to when they'd be used, too? The lesson was a bit too fast paced because I have a low mental capacity.
1 Answer
Brandon Barrette
20,485 PointsYou'll get the following errors if trying to call user.name
For attr_reader, you get a NoMethodError "undefined method `name'" because the method you are calling can't be read, meaning like user.name is undefined. Attr_reader for name is equivalent to:
def name
@name
end
For attr_writer, you get a NoMethodError "undefined method `name='". Notice here the equal sign because ruby is trying to write (or assign) to the instance variable name. Attr_writer is equivalent to:
def name=(value)
@name = value
end
Attr_accessor is just combining attr_reader AND attr_writer. I always start defining them as attr_reader and attr_writer separately, then anywhere I see both an attr_reader and attr_writer, then I combine them to an attr_accessor.
Yan Kozlovskiy
Courses Plus Student 13,773 PointsYan Kozlovskiy
Courses Plus Student 13,773 PointsThank you! This is a nice and clear answer!