[ruby-core:119386] [Ruby master Feature#20770] A *new* pipe operator proposal

Issue #20770 has been updated by AlexandreMagro (Alexandre Magro).


ufuk (Ufuk Kayserilioglu) wrote in #note-21:
> I tend to agree with @Dan0042 on this one, this seems to go against the nature of Ruby. In Ruby, an expression like `URI.parse(it)` is always eagerly evaluated, except when it is inside a block. This is not true in other languages; ones that make a distinction between `Foo.bar` and `Foo.bar()`, for example. This proposal, however, is adding a new conceptual context in which the evaluation would be delayed, which would be in a sequence of pipeline operators. I am not sure if I like that, to be honest.

Actually, with the pipe operator, `URI.parse(it)` is also inside a block, but the block is implicit.

The block spans from the pipe operator itself to the next pipe operator or a new line, making it simpler and more concise without changing the evaluation flow.

----------------------------------------
Feature #20770: A *new* pipe operator proposal
https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/20770#change-110003

* 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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