Class: PrivateMetaclass

• Inheritance
• Description
• Related information
• Instance protocol
  • accessing
  • queries

Inheritance:

   Object
   |
   +--Behavior
      |
      +--ClassDescription
         |
         +--Metaclass
            |
            +--PrivateMetaclass

Package:

stx:libbasic

Category:

Kernel-Classes

Version:

rev: 1.13 date: 2004/03/05 17:53:16

user: cg

file: PrivateMetaclass.st directory: libbasic

module: stx stc-classLibrary: libbasic

Author:

Claus Gittinger

Description:

A PrivateMetaclass is much like a regular Metaclass, but it is only visible (known)
to some owningClass (which is also true for the PrivateMetaclasses sole instance).

Its sourceCode, package and revision is forced to be the same as the owning classes'.
Therefore, privateClasses delegate some queries to their owning class.

Caution: support for private classes is an ST/X special feature.
         This mechanism may not be provided by other smalltalk systems,
         making your code unportable.
         (However, private classes can be simulated pretty easily, using classVariables
          or classInstance variables ...)

Related information:

    Behavior
    ClassDescription
    Class
    Metaclass

Instance protocol:

 nameSpace

return the nameSpace I am contained in.
For private classes, this is my owning class

 owningClass

return my owningClass

 setOwningClass: something

set my owningClass - this is not a public entry

 topOwningClass

return my outermost owningClass; that is the first non-private
class along the owner-chain.

 isBuiltInClass

 package

return my package-id