From: mathew <meta@...>
Date: 2005-06-30T05:15:42+09:00
Subject: Re: yield does not take a block

Eric Mahurin wrote:
> You could say the same thing about passing too many arguments
> to a method.  Why does Ruby check this case now?

I think a another similar question is why ruby doesn't allow you to 
declare the variables you're actually planning to use in a given 
context, allowing the system to give a helpful error if you accidentally 
mistype one of them, instead of leaving you to track down why variables 
don't have the value you expect.

Actually, it's not really a question, as I know the answer: the language 
developers have a religious objection to declarations, and think nobody 
should be allowed to use them, even if they want to. (See 
<URL:http://rcrchive.net/rejected.html#rcr8>)

Why is it good to have to declare the arguments you expect, but bad to 
have to declare the variables or code blocks you expect? I don't know...

 > I have no idea what this has to do with static typing.

Probably nothing, though you could wax philosophical over whether a 
block of code is a 'type' or not.  Variable declaration has nothing to 
do with static typing either; however, some people seem to see 
everything as a clandestine attempt to introduce static typing... It's 
some kind of Post Java Trauma Disorder I think.


mathew