Allows attributes to be declared as lazy, meaning that they won't be # computed until they are asked for

lazily calculated mixin.rb

# pseudoforked from mojombo: http://rubyisawesome.com/2007/10/13/lazy-mixin

# Before you ask--yes, this has a very specific use case and is not
# generally applicable to the problem of fine-grained lazy evaluation.
# But it does *exactly* what I need it to do. =)

# Allows attributes to be declared as lazy, meaning that they won't be
# computed until they are asked for. Just mix this module in:
#
#   class Foo
#     include Lazy
#     ...
#   end
#
# To specify a lazy reader:
#
#   lazy_reader :att
#
# Then, define a method called __bake__ that computes all your lazy
# attributes:
#
#   def __bake__
#     @att = ...
#   end
#
# That's it! (Tom Preston-Werner: rubyisawesome.com)
module Lazy
  module ClassMethods
    def lazy_reader(*args)
      args.each do |arg|
        define_method(arg) do
          self.__prebake__
          instance_variable_get(('@' + arg.to_s).intern)
        end
      end
    end
  end
  
  def __prebake__
    return if @__baked__
    self.__bake__
    @__baked__ = true
  end
  
  def self.included(base)
    base.extend(ClassMethods)
  end 
end

# A pedagogical class with a lazy attribute
class Foo
  include Lazy
  
  attr_reader :id
  lazy_reader :body
  
  def initialize(id)
    @id = id
  end
  
  def __bake__
    puts "__baking__"
    @body = "The 30th fibonacci is #{self.fib(30)}"
  end
  
  def fib(n)
    return 1 if n == 0 || n == 1
    return fib(n-1) + fib(n-2)
  end
end

t = Foo.new('abc')

puts t.id      # => (immediate) "abc"
puts t.body    # => (short pause) The 30th fibonacci is 1346269
puts t.body    # => (immediate) The 30th fibonacci is 1346269