From: Robert Klemme <shortcutter@...>
Date: 2008-03-07T23:49:38+09:00
Subject: Re: duplicating characters in a string

2008/3/6, Sebastian Hungerecker <sepp2k@googlemail.com>:
> Robert Klemme wrote:
>  > You do not need groups:
>  >
>  > irb(main):003:0> "abc".gsub /./, '\\&\\&'
>  > => "aabbcc"
>
>
> You do not need double backslashes either:
>
>  >> "abc".gsub /./, '\&\&'
>  => "aabbcc"

I know but I prefer to have them in because it's clearer what happens.
 Sometimes a single backslash works and sometimes not.  IMHO some of
the recurring discussions about the number of backslashes needed for
replacement strings would not happen or be easier and shorter if there
was a clear rule that \x always results in a non escaped string or
error and in order to have a backslash in a string there must be two
in the source.  In other words, I would forbid '\1' and instead
require '\\1'.

Kind regards

robert

-- 
use.inject do |as, often| as.you_can - without end