From: Mike Hall <mghallNO@...>
Date: 2004-09-10T04:40:02+09:00
Subject: Re: Q: Should String.upcase! work on a segment of a string?

Gavin Sinclair  wrote:


>> We can assign to a sub-string, so I thought that a bang-method might
>> also work on a sub-string.

>>   s = 'AA11zz'		# define a string
>>
>>   > s[4..5].upcase!		# try to change part of it
>>   => "ZZ"			# yeah, ok, the new string is changed,
>> but...
>>   > s
>>   => "AA11zz"		# the original string wasn't affected
>
>s is one object; s[4..5] is another.  What you do to the second object is
>none of the first's business.

I don't understand that... we can outright assign to the substring and it _does_ affect the original string.

I agree that pulling out s[4..5] (using it on the RHS) will give me a new object, that's cool.  

But -- if the string range reference is on the LHS, then it refers to a segment of 's', not some new object.  That's what I'm after.  If s.upcase! affects s, then it would be cool if s[4..5].upcase! also affected (a portion) of s.

But it doesn't, and I guess it won't.  
OK.  Thanks, everyone!