Whether or not you use an '_init' method is really just matter of style

I strongly disagree with an '_init' method just being matter of style. That's like saying "Whether or not a language has hashes is just a matter of style".

Suppose you have classes with the following new methods:

package FloorWax;
sub new {
    my $class = shift;
    bless {FW_massage(@_)}, $class;
}

package DessertTopping;
sub new {
    my $class = shift;
    bless {DT_massage(@_)}, $class;
}
[download]

And now you need to create something that's both a DessertTopping and a FloorWax, using two corner stones of object oriented programming: code reuse and encapsulation.

Sure, the start is easy:

package FloorToppingDessertWax;
our @ISA = qw[FloorWax DessertTopping];

sub new {
    my $class = shift;
[download]

But then what? Without breaking encapsulation, how do you set up the object so it's both a FloorWax, and a DessertTopping? If you call FloorWax->new you get a configured FloorWax object, without the DessertTopping attributes. And if you call DessertTopping->new, you will be missing the FloorWax attributes.

If instead, you had:

package FloorWax;
sub new {bless {}, shift}
sub init {
    my $self = shift;
    my %arg = FW_massage @_;
    @$self{keys %arg} = values %arg;
    $self
}
package DessertTopping;
sub new {bless {}, shift}
sub init {
    my $self = shift;
    my %arg = DT_massage @_;
    @$self{keys %arg} = values %arg;
    $self
}
[download]

Things would be a lot easier. You could write a derived class as:

package FloorToppingDessertWax;
our @ISA = qw[FloorWax DessertTopping];
sub new {bless {}, shift}
sub init {
    my $self = shift;
    foreach my $class (@ISA) {
        my $init = "${class}::init";
        $self->$init(@_) if $self->can($init);
    }
    $self;
}
[download]

So, I argue that having or not having an _init method isn't a matter of style. Having an init (not really an _init, as it should be called from the outside) makes your class more (re)usable.

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