DateTime

Return a developer-readable string representation showing fields.

Produces ClassName(field: value, ...) via the canonical structural renderer (ADR 0094). Field values are rendered with their own printString (strings stay quoted, nested values show their structural form), in sorted field order. A class with no fields produces ClassName(). Recursion is bounded by depth/width/length caps with a cycle guard.

Examples

ValuePoint x: 3 y: 4        printString   // => "ValuePoint(x: 3, y: 4)"
ValuePoint new              printString   // => "ValuePoint(x: 0, y: 0)"

Return the class of the receiver.

Examples

42 class              // => Integer
"hello" class         // => String

Test if the receiver is nil. Returns false for all objects except nil.

Examples

42 isNil              // => false
nil isNil             // => true

Test if the receiver is not nil. Returns true for all objects except nil.

Examples

42 notNil             // => true
nil notNil            // => false

If the receiver is nil, evaluate nilBlock. Otherwise return self.

_nilBlock is never evaluated on this Object-level definition (only UndefinedObject's override calls it, with Block(R) -> R), so R is unconstrained here — parameterizing it still documents the zero-arg shape without implying this branch produces R (BT-2834).

Examples

42 ifNil: [0]         // => 42
nil ifNil: [0]        // => 0

If the receiver is not nil, evaluate notNilBlock with self.

Left as a bare Block deliberately (BT-2834): notNilBlock is invoked one-arg with self and its result becomes the method's own result, so a precise signature needs a Self-in-Block(...) type-arg form (Block(Self, R) -> R) with no precedent elsewhere in stdlib. The type checker doesn't consult this declared signature for ifNotNil: anyway — it narrows the block's parameter from the receiver's own type via infer_args_for_if_not_nil in inference.rs (BT-2046), independent of this stdlib declaration.

Examples

42 ifNotNil: [:v | v + 1]   // => 43
nil ifNotNil: [:v | v + 1]  // => nil

If nil, evaluate nilBlock; otherwise evaluate notNilBlock with self.

Bare Block params here (unlike UndefinedObject's Block(R) -> R override, BT-2824) are intentional, not an oversight: the type checker never consults this declared signature for these two selectors — it reads the block arguments' actual inferred return types directly (if_nil_branch_union_ret_ty in inference.rs, BT-2047) since a bare -> R here can't express "whatever the block returns" without a Self-in-Block(...) type-arg form with no precedent elsewhere in stdlib.

Examples

42 ifNil: [0] ifNotNil: [:v | v + 1]    // => 43
nil ifNil: [0] ifNotNil: [:v | v + 1]   // => 0

If not nil, evaluate notNilBlock with self; otherwise evaluate nilBlock.

See ifNil:ifNotNil: above — the bare Block params are intentional.

Examples

42 ifNotNil: [:v | v + 1] ifNil: [0]    // => 43
nil ifNotNil: [:v | v + 1] ifNil: [0]   // => 0

Return the developer-readable (Debug) string representation.

printString is the Debug protocol (ADR 0094): the self-describing, structural form used by the REPL, logs, and by any other printString that nests this object. It is the REPL default — evaluating an expression shows its printString.

This default returns the bare class name (no a/an article — the old "a ClassName" form was dropped in ADR 0094). Value overrides it with the structural ClassName(field: value, ...) form, actors render as Actor(ClassName, pid), supervisors as Supervisor(ClassName, pid) / DynamicSupervisor(ClassName, pid), and primitive types (Integer, String, List, …) override it with their own richer output. Authors rarely override printString directly — the default is derived.

Examples

42 printString            // => "42"

Return the user-facing (Display) string representation.

displayString is the Display protocol (ADR 0094): the human-facing form. It is the hook the language pulls during string interpolation — every {...} segment renders via the value's displayString. Developers rarely call it directly; they override it when a value has a natural human rendering (e.g. Money → $10.50, where printString would still show the Debug form).

It defaults to printString, so most types need no override. String and Symbol demonstrate the split: "hi" printString → "\"hi\"" (quoted, Debug) while "hi" displayString → "hi" (plain, Display); likewise #foo drops its # prefix under displayString.

displayString is not part of the Printable protocol (deferred per ADR 0094 §5).

Examples

42 displayString             // => "42"

Open a navigable Inspector cursor on the receiver.

ADR 0095 Phase 3 (BT-2504). inspect is repurposed from -> String (the ADR-0094 deferral) to the verb that produces an Inspector — a live, immutable cursor for drilling into the object (Inspector on: self). anObject inspect is the shorthand; Inspector on: anObject is the explicit spelling. The cursor exposes fields/at:/path/refresh/ printString (an indented text tree) and asDictionaries (the MCP/browser wire form); see Inspector.

This is a breaking change: code that used inspect for its old String result must switch to printString (the structural Debug string, ADR 0094) — a transitional lint flags inspect used directly in ++/ string position.

Examples

42 inspect kind                  // => #value
(Point x: 3 y: 4) inspect fields size   // => 2
(Point x: 3 y: 4) printString    // => "Point(x: 3, y: 4)"  (the old inspect string)

Return the receiver itself. Useful for cascading side effects.

Examples

42 yourself            // => 42

Return a hash value for the receiver.

Examples

42 hash

Test value equality — the overridable counterpart to =:=.

Defaults to =:= (Erlang structural term equality), so for most classes the two agree. Unlike =:=, this is an ordinary message send, so a class whose logical value is not its representation can override it: a persistent structure whose shape depends on construction history, a timestamp that should compare by instant rather than by wall-clock fields, or a type with a normalising form. =:=, =/=, == and /= are lowered straight to Erlang BIFs (ADR 0002) and cannot be overridden — the compiler rejects any attempt (BT-2997).

What honours it

The linear scans: includes: on Collection, List, Array and Dictionary (which searches values), plus List>>indexOf: and TestCase>>assert:equals:.

Contract

An override must agree with =:= wherever =:= holds — a =:= b must imply a equals: b. It may only make more values equal, never fewer. The scans above rely on this: each tries raw =:= first and dispatches only on a miss, so a fast-path hit is always a genuine equals: hit.

Caveat

Set, Dictionary keys, and List>>unique decide identity in the VM with raw =:=, never through this method — keying and deduplication need an order or a hash that a user-defined equals: cannot supply. A class that overrides equals: still deduplicates by representation when used as a key or element. Normalise the representation if that matters.

Examples

42 equals: 42           // => true
42 equals: 42.0         // => false (defaults to strict `=:=`)
"ab" equals: "ab"       // => true

Test if the receiver responds to the given selector.

Examples

42 respondsTo: #abs    // => true

Return the names of fields.

Examples

42 fieldNames             // => #()

Return the value of the named field.

Examples

object fieldAt: #name

Set the value of the named field (returns new state).

Examples

object fieldAt: #name put: "Alice"

Send a unary message dynamically.

Examples

42 perform: #abs       // => 42

Send a message dynamically with arguments.

Examples

3 perform: #max: withArguments: #(5)   // => 5

Raise an error indicating this method must be overridden by a subclass.

Examples

self subclassResponsibility

Raise an error indicating this method has not yet been implemented.

Use this for work-in-progress stubs. Distinct from subclassResponsibility, which signals an interface contract violation.

Examples

self notImplemented

Send aValue to the current transcript without a trailing newline.

Nil-safe: does nothing when no transcript is set (batch compile, tests).

Examples

42 show: "value: "

Send aValue to the current transcript followed by a newline.

Nil-safe: does nothing when no transcript is set (batch compile, tests).

Examples

42 showCr: "hello world"

Test if the receiver is an instance of aClass or any of its subclasses.

For class-object receivers, follows Smalltalk semantics: self class is the metaclass, so the check walks the parallel metaclass hierarchy. The parallel chain is grounded at ProtoObject class superclass == Class (ADR 0036), so the metaclass tower merges into the instance-side Class → Behaviour → Object → ProtoObject chain. As a result, Integer isKindOf: Object and Integer isKindOf: Class both return true.

Examples

42 isKindOf: Integer        // => true
42 isKindOf: Object         // => true
#foo isKindOf: Symbol       // => true
#foo isKindOf: String       // => false
Integer isKindOf: Number    // => false (metaclass chain, not instance chain)
Integer isKindOf: Number class  // => true  (Number class is in the parallel chain)
Integer isKindOf: Object    // => true (grounded — Object is reachable via the metaclass tower)
Integer isKindOf: Class     // => true (Integer class inherits from Class)

Raise an error with the given message.

Examples

self error: "something went wrong"

Delegate message dispatch to the backing Erlang module (ADR 0101, BT-2720).

This method is a sentinel — a plain Object has no backing Erlang module, so calling delegate raises an Error at runtime. Stateless Objects declared with native: have their self delegate method bodies rewritten by the compiler's codegen phase to call the backing module directly, so the sentinel is never reached on a native: class.

Unlike Actor's delegate (visible only to Actor subclasses), this Object-base sentinel is visible to every class, so delegate is a reserved selector on the Object protocol.

Examples

42 delegate   // => ERROR: delegate called on a non-native Object

Test value equality (Erlang ==, non-strict — 1 == 1.0 is true).

Examples

42 == 42           // => true
"abc" == "abc"     // => true

Test value inequality (negation of ==).

Examples

1 /= 2             // => true
42 /= 42           // => false

Test strict value equality (Erlang =:= — 1 =:= 1.0 is false, unlike ==).

Every object supports this at runtime (it lowers directly to Erlang's =:= operator regardless of receiver type, ADR 0002) — declared here, once, so it is visible in method listings/completions/respondsTo: for every class, not just the handful (Integer, String, ...) that separately redeclare it with a narrower, class-typed other for documentation purposes.

Examples

1 =:= 1             // => true
1 =:= 1.0           // => false (strict — different types)
(Dictionary new) =:= #{}   // => true

Test strict value inequality (negation of =:=).

Examples

1 =/= 1.0           // => true (strict — different types)
1 =/= 1             // => false

Return the class of the receiver.

Examples

42 class            // => Integer
"hello" class       // => String

Handle messages the receiver does not understand. Override for custom dispatch.

Examples

42 unknownMessage   // => ERROR: does_not_understand

Send a message dynamically with an arguments list.

Examples

42 perform: #abs withArguments: #()   // => 42

Execute a class method in the caller's process, bypassing gen_server dispatch.

The caller takes responsibility for knowing the method does not mutate class state. Useful for long-running class methods that would otherwise block the class object's gen_server.

Limitations: only resolves methods defined directly on the target class module (does not walk the superclass chain). Class variables and self are not available to the method (nil and #{} are passed).

Examples

MyClass performLocally: #run:ctx: withArguments: #(input, ctx)

Send a message dynamically with an arguments list and explicit timeout.

The timeout (in milliseconds or #infinity) applies to the gen_server:call when the receiver is an actor. For value types, timeout is ignored.

Examples

actor perform: #query withArguments: #(sql) timeout: 30000