From: nothinghappens@...
Date: 2006-07-29T06:41:07+09:00
Subject: Re: does ":" have an anolog in another language?


 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: dblack@wobblini.net
> Ruby symbols aren't exactly used as variable names, though.  If you
> assign to a variable:
> 
>     a = 1
> 
> then Ruby creates and stores an :a symbol.  But if you use the symbol
> :a, like this:
> 
>    b = :a
> 
> there's no direct semantic connection to your variable called 'a'.

Well, that just makes it even *more* like Lisp than I was thinking.  It hadn't occurred to me
that Ruby creates a symbol for a variable.  But I guess it makes sense given some code I've seen that uses symbols to name methods and attributes and the like.  assigning b = :a is like doing (setf b 'a) in Lisp, b contains a symbol, not 1 or a reference to the variable a itself or anything like that.  What I wonder then, is what happens in Ruby if you were to then call eval(b) ?  I haven't tried it.

--ch--