[Bioperl-l] Auto-method caller proposal

[Nathan (Nat) Goodman]

>Sendu Bala wrote:
> As a generally useful thing I'd like to see all Bioperl modules have
> easy access to this functionality, just as they can currently call
> _rearrange(). So yes, we would impose AutoClass on everyone. This may
> not be a major burden since it is already an optional
> pre-requisite. So, before I investigate using Class::AutoClass instead
> of my own proposed method, does anyone feel there are good benefits of
> Class::AutoClass over my proposed method (considering I already added
> a -synonym option to it), and do those benefits outweigh having
> Class::AutoClass as a Bioperl installation requirement?

Just to be clear.  Based on my understanding of your requirements, I appears
you don't really want the full-blown auto-generation and auto-initialization
capabilities of AutoClass.  My suggestion is that you look at the code in
AutoClass and its companion Args handler, and extract any pieces that are
relevant to what you're trying to do.  I'd be happy to help with this. 

If I've mis-understood your requirements and you do want the full AutoClass
capabilities, I'd be happy to assist with adapting it to fit the BioPerl
framework. 

A lot depends on whether you need the initialization to include things like
default values and to work correctly in the presence of inheritance.  These
requirements really complicate the picture.

Best, 
Nat