From: "vo.x (Vit Ondruch) via ruby-core" <ruby-core@...>
Date: 2024-10-01T09:55:27+00:00
Subject: [ruby-core:119379] [Ruby master Feature#20770] A *new* pipe operator proposal

Issue #20770 has been updated by vo.x (Vit Ondruch).


zverok (Victor Shepelev) wrote in #note-17:
> I don���t think it is realistic, generally. I mean, convert every `f(g(x))` to ���`x` should have method `g`, and the result should have method `f`, so you can write `x.g.f` always (or in most widespread situations)���.

Right, this was far fetched and would not work admittedly. But that is why I proposed the `client_api_url.to(URI)`, because after all, this is IMHO mostly about type conversion. Why would I ever want to call something like `URI.parse(it)`? Why would I need to know there is `parse` method and why would I need to put `it` / `_1` multiple times everywhere and every time in different context.

----------------------------------------
Feature #20770: A *new* pipe operator proposal
https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/20770#change-109995

* Author: AlexandreMagro (Alexandre Magro)
* Status: Open
----------------------------------------
Hello,

This is my first contribution here. I have seen previous discussions around introducing a pipe operator, but it seems the community didn't reach a consensus. I would like to revisit this idea with a simpler approach, more of a syntactic sugar that aligns with how other languages implement the pipe operator, but without making significant changes to Ruby's syntax.

Currently, we often write code like this:

```ruby
value = half(square(add(value, 3)))
```

We can achieve the same result using the `then` method:

```ruby
value = value.then { add(_1, 3) }.then { square(_1) }.then { half(_1) }
```

While `then` helps with readability, we can simplify it further using the proposed pipe operator:

```ruby
value = add(value, 3) |> square(_1) |> half(_1)
```

Moreover, with the upcoming `it` feature in Ruby 3.4 (#18980), the code could look even cleaner:

```ruby
value = add(value, 3) |> square(it) |> half(it)
```

This proposal uses the anonymous block argument `(_1)`, and with `it`, it simplifies the code without introducing complex syntax changes. It would allow us to achieve the same results as in other languages that support pipe operators, but in a way that feels natural to Ruby, using existing constructs like `then` underneath.

I believe this operator would enhance code readability and maintainability, especially in cases where multiple operations are chained together.

Thank you for considering this proposal!






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