method.skeleton           package:methods           R Documentation

_C_r_e_a_t_e _a _S_k_e_l_e_t_o_n _F_i_l_e _f_o_r _a _N_e_w _M_e_t_h_o_d

_D_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n:

     This function writes a source file containing a call to
     'setMethod' to define a method for the generic function and
     signature supplied.  By default the method definition is in line
     in the call, but can be made an external function assigned in the
     same source file.

_U_s_a_g_e:

     method.skeleton(generic, signature, file, external = FALSE)

_A_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s:

 generic: the character string name of the generic function, or the
          generic function itself.  In the first case, the function
          need not currently be a generic, as it would not for the
          resulting call to 'setMethod'.

signature: the method signature, as it would be given to 'setMethod'

    file: a character string name for the output file, or a writable
          connection.  By default the generic function name and the
          classes in the signature are concatenated, with separating
          underscore characters.  The file name should normally end in
          '".R"'. 

external: flag to control whether the function definition for the
          method should be a separate external object assigned in the
          source file, or included in line in the call to 'setMethod'.
          If supplied as a character string, this will be used as the
          name for the external function; by default the name
          concatenates the generic and signature names, as in the
          example below.

_V_a_l_u_e:

     The 'file' argument, invisibly, but the function is used for its
     side effect.

_S_e_e _A_l_s_o:

     'setMethod', 'package.skeleton'

_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s:

     ## Not run: 
     setClass("track", representation(x ="numeric", y="numeric"))
     method.skeleton("show", "track")  ## writes show_track.R
     method.skeleton("Ops", c("track", "track")) ##writes "Ops_track_track.R"
     ## write multiple method skeletons to one file
     con = file("./Math_track.R", "w")
     method.skeleton("Math", "track", con)
     method.skeleton("exp", "track", con)
     method.skeleton("log", "track", con)
     close(con)
     ## End(Not run)

