Values: Immutable Value Objects in Ruby

Values offers a lightweight solution for creating immutable value objects in Ruby. It addresses shortcomings in Ruby's built-in Struct and OpenStruct classes by ensuring immutability and explicitly requiring arguments during object creation. This design promotes predictable behavior and reduces potential errors stemming from unintended mutations. The library achieves this through a modified Value.new constructor and a focus on data integrity.

Values enforces immutability, preventing accidental modifications to object state. It provides a constructor that requires specific arguments, enhancing code clarity and reducing errors. It also offers a convenient with method for creating instances from hashes and selectively replacing fields. Customization via inheritance from Value.new allows for extending functionality.

• Immutability: Instances cannot be modified after creation, ensuring data integrity.
• Argument Validation: Constructors require all expected arguments, preventing accidental omissions.
• Hash Construction: Supports creating instances from hashes for flexibility.
• Selective Updates: Allows replacing specific fields using the with method.
• Customizable: Enables extending [Value](/ValueCell-ai/valuecell) classes to add custom behavior.
• JSON Conversion: Value classes can be converted to hashes, compatible with JSON serialization.
• Concise API: Offers a simple and intuitive API for creating and manipulating value objects.

The Values library was created in 2011 and has been maintained sporadically since. It has a modest number of forks and stars, suggesting a stable but not actively growing project. The last commit was in 2017, indicating a period of inactivity, but the core functionality remains functional and reliable. The documentation is primarily sourced from the README file.

Values is beneficial for developers needing immutable data structures in Ruby, particularly when working with data-intensive applications or complex object models. It simplifies data management, reduces the risk of unintended side effects, and improves code maintainability compared to alternatives. It's particularly useful for scenarios where data integrity is paramount, and predictable object behavior is required.