I can't understand this behavior. Please point me to a detailed answer. I created an object of class Parent:
class Parent
private
def name
'Mommy'
end
end
p = Parent.new
This raises an error:
p.name
# => NoMethodError: private method `name' called for #<Parent:0x0000000182a360>
but, the following gives the value.
p.send(:name)
# => "Mommy"
That is the whole point of private methods. In the first form, you have an explicit receiver. In the second form, you don't.
In Ruby, private methods can't be invoked with an explicit receiver. -- This is a rule hard-coded. If you try, MRI will object/complain as what you got.
But using #send, you are not breaking the rule, thus no objections.
p.send(:name), you are calling method #send on p, and at the same time passing the method name(:name) as a symbol, to call the method. This is indeed a indirect approach. But in p.name, it is a direct method call of the method #name on p. That's all the differences about the 2 approaches.
No where it is written, you can't call private methods, but it is written, not with explicit receiver, you can call it.
The send method can access any method, whether it's public, private, or protected. If you want a method that respects methods' privacy, try public_send.
