From: James Britt <james_b@...>
Date: 2006-05-01T23:17:15+09:00
Subject: Re: More explicit Ruby code

Brad wrote:
> I'm not a long time Ruby coder, but I have coded for quite some time. I 
> wanted to ask the groups' opinion on being more explicit with Ruby code. 
> I like to code like this:
> 
> Kernel.puts("Print this string")
> 
> instead of this:
> 
> puts "Print this string"
> 
> To me, the first version is easier to read as I know where puts is 
> coming from (Kernel) and what it is encapsulating. I just wonder what 
> more experienced Ruby coders think of this? What would they think if 
> they saw several hundred lines of code written this way? Do most find 
> this type of explicitness unnecessary?

You write code to express ideas and intentions to other developers. 
That includes your future self.  If you have reason to think this amount 
of information is appropriate, then go for it.

But I suspect that, fairly soon, you'll internalize many Rubyisms, and 
then leaving out implicit receivers will seem to enhance, not degrade, 
communication.

If you think that that readers may have a problem with your code, it may 
be sufficient to leave comments explaining that all methods have a 
receiver, but in many cases the receiver may be omitted because the Ruby 
  interpreter is smart enough to infer the correct one.  And include a 
link to a basic tutorial.

The Ruby ground rules are fairly easy to pick up.  There are subtleties 
in their application, of course, but most people do not need much 
reminder for common cases.

-- 
James Britt

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