From: David Alan Black <dblack@...>
Date: 2001-11-29T23:50:49+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:26902] Re: short article draft for review

Hi --

On Thu, 29 Nov 2001, Tobias Reif wrote:

> I wrote:

> > Yeah, like that :-)  My advice would be to include an example that
> > involves an interator (without recursion), and then, if you think it's
> > important, a recursion example.
>
>
> But that's what I did:
> An iteration example: very simple, without blocks or recursion;
> then comes an example of recursion: with blocks passed around.
>
> Or did you mean
> 1. iterator with block
> 2. recursion
> ?
>
> I don't see the significant advantage there.

I'm just thinking that the "for" loop doesn't show off anything
unusual or (particularly) powerful about Ruby.  I guess I'd recommend
something like:

  def my_iterator
    i = 0
    while i < 10
      yield i * 2
      i += 1
    end
  end

  my_iterator do |result|
    print "Next result is: "
    puts result
  end

Combining the recursion example and the (what I'm calling :-) iterator
example might be overload.  Also recursion, like "for" loops, isn't a
particularly striking feature of Ruby -- not that it shouldn't be
mentioned, but I think it's good to isolate the
write-your-own-iterator facility so as to show it off to best
advantage.

> > One other thing: In method definitions, putting the arg list in parens
> > might be a good idea.  (Personally I dislike the non-paren look,
>
>
> me too
>
> > but
> > here I'm thinking of people who might like it ultimately but might be
> > confused by it initially.)
>
>
> I guess most people coming from other could like less parens.

Possibly, but I think with an arg list that's already got several
possibly unfamiliar idioms in it (namely var=default and &block), it
might be clearer to put the parens around it.  I think it's also a
majority practice in Ruby.  Whenever I see non-parens, I think, "Oh,
one of those people who don't put parens around arg lists in method
definitions" :-)


David

-- 
David Alan Black
home: dblack@candle.superlink.net
work: blackdav@shu.edu
Web:  http://pirate.shu.edu/~blackdav