Method chaining: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:53, 14 June 2020

Revision as of 14:23, 13 September 2020

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A similar syntax is [[method cascading]], where after the method call the expression evaluates to the current object, not the [[return value]] of the method. Cascading can be implemented using method chaining by having the method return the [[this (computer programming)|current object itself]]. Cascading is a key technique in [[fluent interface]]s, and since chaining is widely implemented in object-oriented languages while cascading isn't, this form of "cascading-by-chaining by returning <tt>{{mono|this</tt>}}" is often referred to simply as "chaining". Both chaining and cascading come from the [[Smalltalk]] language.

While chaining is syntax, it has semantic consequences, namely that requires methods to return an object, and if implementing cascading via chaining, this must be the current object. This prevents the return value from being used for some other purpose, such as returning an [[error value]].