[ruby-core:38963] [Ruby 1.9 - Feature #4801] Shorthand Hash Syntax for Strings

Issue #4801 has been updated by Rodrigo Rosenfeld Rosas.


Tom, I agree with you that :something == 'something' returning true would be a good thing in a "clean code" context, but since I don't know about the internal implementation details that originated symbols in the first place, I don't know if :something == 'something' would be as fast as current implementation if it's changed to allow symbols to be compared to strings seamlessly. That's why I suggested the new ### operator for doing this kind of comparison, but maybe you're right and it would be just much simpler if :something == 'something'.
----------------------------------------
Feature #4801: Shorthand Hash Syntax for Strings
http://redmine.ruby-lang.org/issues/4801

Author: Tom Wardrop
Status: Open
Priority: Normal
Assignee: 
Category: 
Target version: 


Assuming there's no technical limitation or ambiguities, I suggest that the shorthand syntax for symbol's in the context of an array, be applied to strings also.

E.g. {'key': 'value'}

I don't believe there are any syntax ambiguous that this would give rise to. The only consideration that may need to be made, is if there are plans to support shorthand syntax for quoted symbols, e.g. {'key': 'value'}. If quoted symbols are off the table, then there's no harm in implementing a shorthand hash syntax for strings. This may stem the growing problem of what I like to call 'symbolitis' , where symbol's are selected as the key type purely for their aesthetics and ease of use, even when strings are a more appropriate choice.

Thoughts?


-- 
http://redmine.ruby-lang.org