From: dblack@... Date: 2006-09-28T09:42:49+09:00 Subject: Re: String starts? and ends? methods Hi -- On Thu, 28 Sep 2006, Pete Yandell wrote: > > On 28/09/2006, at 12:33 AM, Yukihiro Matsumoto wrote: > >> In message "Re: String starts? and ends? methods" >> on Wed, 27 Sep 2006 23:05:44 +0900, Jonas Hartmann >> writes: >> >> |but what about puralization? >> >> As a convention, Ruby method names use plain verb with singular form, >> with several exceptions, e.g. is_a? etc. So we use start_with? not >> starts_with? > > "Starts" is not the plural form of "start", it's just a conjugation. > > I start/you start/he, she, it starts/we start/you start/they start > > You would never say in English "a start with b", you say "a starts with b", > even when both a and b are singular. I would argue that it should be the same > in Ruby, and the method name should be "starts_with?" I believe the rationale is that it's in the second person: do you start with ... ? I realize Matz mentioned singular vs. plural, but I think that was just shorthand for with/without an 's'. In the past, if I remember correctly, he's talked about it as a function of person. David -- David A. Black | dblack@wobblini.net Author of "Ruby for Rails" [1] | Ruby/Rails training & consultancy [3] DABlog (DAB's Weblog) [2] | Co-director, Ruby Central, Inc. [4] [1] http://www.manning.com/black | [3] http://www.rubypowerandlight.com [2] http://dablog.rubypal.com | [4] http://www.rubycentral.org