From: dblack@...
Date: 2007-09-03T19:24:01+09:00
Subject: Re: assigning to hash keys when there is a default value?

Hi --

On Mon, 3 Sep 2007, 7stud -- wrote:

> unknown wrote:
>> x ||= y is, I think, always supposed to be exactly equivalent to
>> x = x || y, so that line in your first hash should be equivalent to:
>>
>>    h[2] = 5 || 10
>>
>> which should assign 5 to h[2]. It looks to me like you've found a bug.
>> I can't think of any reason (and I really hope there isn't one,
>> because having an exception to that ||= rule would be very messy) why
>> using a default hash value would make any difference here. It's still
>> 5 || 10 on the rhs, and it's still just an assignment.
>
> I don't think it's a bug; the two examples are set forth on p. 276 of
> "The Ruby Way (2nd ed)".  However, no explanation is given for why the
> two examples work differently.

It seems very bug-like to me. I don't know what Hal's take on it is.
Paging Hal....


David

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