From: ara.t.howard@...
Date: 2006-03-27T02:04:55+09:00
Subject: Re: Noob: use of the double colon

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 dblack@wobblini.net wrote:

>> it does though - you know c __must__ be a module (classes being modules).
>
> Why?
>
>  c = "abc"
>  c::split(//)  # ["a", "b", "c"]


wow.  i never noticed that!


>>    harp:~ > ruby a.rb
>>    A::B::C::D
>>    42
>>    42
>> 
>> and i think it's why '::' can call methods - though this is a w.a.g.
>
> To each his own.  My brain has to parse "namespace::foo" twice: the first
> time it says, "Didn't he mean namespace::Foo?" and the second time it says,
> "Oh right, Ruby's superfluous message-sending operator" :-)

funny - i guess my old c-- habits are showing through!

> Absolutely -- indeed, it can be anything.  (My String example was meant to
> evoke the specific case of a well-know class.)  That's why I don't find it
> informative.  I don't know; I guess I just see the notion of "sending a
> message to an object" fully covered, on the operator side (as opposed to the
> "send" side), by the dot, and no clear rationale for Ruby having two such
> operators.

yeah - i really do see that.  i bounce back and forth sometimes.  i guess
there are just cases where, to me, the '::' seems to look better - but it is
certainly non-essentially and non-orthogonal.  fortunately we are not
programming python or all such fluff would be removed!  ;-)

regards.

-a
-- 
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- h.h. the 14th dali lama