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I was doing some debugging on a Rails application the other day, and I noticed the following in script/console:

>> (MonkeysController.new.methods - ActionController::Base.new.methods).sort
=> ["check_for_buildout", "filter_parameters", "index", "inform_hoptoad",
    "notify_hoptoad", "rescue_action_in_public_with_hoptoad",
    "rescue_action_in_public_without_hoptoad"]

My MonkeysController (name changed to protect the innocent) has only one action, index—but it’s got all these other things publicly available. Clearly, several of them are coming from the Hoptoad plugin, and one (check_for_buildout) is from my own IntegratedBuildouts plugin… I’m less concerned about where these methods came from, however, than I am about why they show up in the public interface of my controller. Ideally, the only methods a controller should advertise are its actions; anything else is subject to abuse (especially if you’ve left the heinous default route in your app).

Obviously, these methods are being added by the inclusion of some modules (include HoptoadNotifier::Catcher, for instance), so I thought a bit and realized that I’ve never really looked for a way to add visibility-limited methods (protected and private) to a class from a module.

So I tried the following:

module Primate
  def m1; end

  protected
  def m2; end

  private
  def m3; end
end

class Monkey
  include Primate

  def c1; end

  protected
  def c2; end

  private
  def c3; end
end

Lo and behold, it works!

(Monkey.new.public_methods - Object.new.public_methods).sort        # [c1, m1]
(Monkey.new.protected_methods - Object.new.protected_methods).sort  # [c2, m2]
(Monkey.new.private_methods - Object.new.private_methods).sort      # [c3, m3]

So, for all you plugin and library writers out there—add the correct visibility markers to your modules! It’s so easy (and obvious) that there’s no excuse not to.

Ack! In the process of writing that quick post on my Rubyconf presentation, I noticed that I’ve completely neglected talking about the Rails Rumble. As it turns out, I kind of won the solo division… again.

I love the Rumble; it’s one of the most inspiring competitions I’ve ever been a part of (including the create-your-own-He-Man-character one that I did when I was ten or so, which ’til the Rumble came along had been the high point for me :). There’s just something about sitting down to an empty project on Friday night, hacking away for 2 straight days, and deploying something useful (or cool or whatever) at the end. This year in particular I’m gratified that people liked my entry, Forever Home, because it represents a cause close to my heart (dogs needing adoption). I’m also amazed that I pulled out the win over the course of the last day, since the other solo entries were extraordinary.

Oh, and there’s a rumor in the air that there could be more frequent Rumbles in the future—that’d be an exciting thing. Why limit the fun to just once a year?