Lifecycle Hooks

SelfAgency provides a lifecycle hook that fires each time a method is generated. Override it in your class to persist, log, or react to generated methods.

on_method_generated

def on_method_generated(method_name, scope, code)

Parameter	Type	Description
method_name	Symbol	Name of the generated method
scope	Symbol	:instance, :singleton, or :class
code	String	The generated source code

By default, on_method_generated is a no-op. Override it in your class:

class PersistentCalculator
  include SelfAgency

  attr_reader :generation_log

  def initialize
    @generation_log = []
  end

  def on_method_generated(method_name, scope, code)
    @generation_log << { method_name: method_name, scope: scope, code: code }
    puts "[hook] Generated :#{method_name} (scope: #{scope})"
  end
end

When It Fires

The hook fires once per method after successful validation and installation. If _() generates multiple methods in a single call, the hook fires for each one:

calc = PersistentCalculator.new

calc._("an instance method named 'increment' that returns n + 1")
# [hook] Generated :increment (scope: instance)

calc._(
  "two methods: 'min_of(a, b)' returns the smaller, " \
  "'max_of(a, b)' returns the larger"
)
# [hook] Generated :min_of (scope: instance)
# [hook] Generated :max_of (scope: instance)

Common Patterns

Save to Files

def on_method_generated(method_name, scope, code)
  filepath = "generated/#{method_name}_#{scope}.rb"
  File.write(filepath, code)
end

Log to a Database

def on_method_generated(method_name, scope, code)
  GeneratedMethod.create!(
    name: method_name.to_s,
    scope: scope.to_s,
    source: code,
    class_name: self.class.name
  )
end

Collect for Later Inspection

def on_method_generated(method_name, scope, code)
  @generation_log << { method_name: method_name, scope: scope, code: code }
end

This pattern is used in the collaborative robots and autonomous robots examples.