makeClassRepresentation       package:methods       R Documentation

Create a Class Definition

Description:

     Constructs a 'classRepresentation-class' object to describe a
     particular class.  Mostly a utility function, but you can call it
     to create a class definition without assigning it, as 'setClass'
     would do.

Usage:

     makeClassRepresentation(name, slots=list(), superClasses=character(),
                             prototype=NULL, package, validity, access,
                             version, sealed, virtual=NA, where)

Arguments:

    name: character string name for the class

   slots: named list of slot classes as would be supplied to
          'setClass', but _without_ the unnamed arguments for
          superClasses if any.

superClasses: what classes does this class extend

prototype: an object providing the default data for the class, e.g, the
          result of a call to 'prototype'.

 package: The character string name for the package in which the class
          will be stored; see 'getPackageName'.

validity: Optional validity method.  See 'validObject', and the
          discussion of validity methods in the reference.

  access: Access information.  Not currently used.

 version: Optional version key for version control.  Currently
          generated, but not used.

  sealed: Is the class sealed? See 'setClass'.

 virtual: Is this known to be a virtual class?

   where: The environment from which to look for class definitions
          needed (e.g., for slots or superclasses). See the discussion
          of this argument under GenericFunctions.

References:

     The R package 'methods' implements, with a few exceptions, the
     programming interface for classes and methods in the book
     _Programming with Data_ (John M. Chambers, Springer, 1998), in
     particular sections 1.6, 2.7, 2.8, and chapters 7 and 8.

     While the programming interface for the 'methods' package follows
     the reference, the R software is an original implementation, so
     details in the reference that reflect the S4 implementation may
     appear differently in R.  Also, there are extensions to the
     programming interface developed more recently than the reference. 
     For a discussion of details and ongoing development, see the web
     page <URL: http://developer.r-project.org/methodsPackage.html> and
     the pointers from that page.

See Also:

     'setClass'

