note dws <i> If we need to change those names, this code will be break pretty quickly.</i> <p> Not only that, but forcing a client to write <code> if ($po->status->name eq 'Pending') { ... </code> requires them to know that a purchase order has a status, and that the status has a name. Both of those details are probably inappropriate for client code that deals with purchase orders to have to know. It also makes purchase orders harder to unit test, since you then have to either unit test a Status at the same time, or rig up mock objects to use in places of a Status. By structuring the API like <code> if ($po->can_send) { ... </code> you reduce the complexity of testing. <p> There's a design principle--whose name I'm blanking on (Demeter's Law -- thanks, [lachoy])--that says that if you find yourself writing expressions that navigate more than one level into an object structure, the top-level object needs a different protocol. In the case above, <code>can_send</code> is that new protocol, and <code>status</code> can be made private (e.g., by renaming it to <code>_status</code>). <p> <p> 259306 259306