Accessors For All

Today I learned that accessors like attr_reader work in the private and protected visibilities.

class Test
  def initialize(getter, reader)
    @getter = getter
    @reader = reader
  end

  private

  def getter
    @getter
  end

  attr_reader :reader
end

2.2.3 :001 > t = Test.new('foo', 'bar')
 => #<Test:0x007f8f9b259bf8 @getter="foo", @reader="bar">
2.2.3 :002 > t.send(:getter)
 => "foo"
2.2.3 :003 > t.send(:reader)
 => "bar"

This can produce warnings in tests, discussed here:

https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/10967

My current feeling is that these methods are a Ruby convention and should be used whenever appropriate, despite warnings in test.