From: Robert Klemme <shortcutter@...>
Date: 2008-08-15T21:57:18+09:00
Subject: Re: Idiom of removing a particular character from a String?

2008/8/14 Lorenzo E. Danielsson <danielsson.lorenzo@gmail.com>:
> On Thu, 2008-08-14 at 23:52 +0900, Michael Libby wrote:
>> On Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 9:21 AM, Lorenzo E. Danielsson

> The "problem" is that slice does not return the resulting string but
> rather the sliced portion. This is of course not a problem in itself, it
> is rather the expected behavior of slice. But, in my particular case
> that *still* leads to:
>
> str = "hello"
> rem = str.clone
> rem.slice!(2)
> rem # => "helo"
>
> Whereas I would have wanted:
>
> str = "hello"
> rem = str.slice_and_return_everything_but_the_sliced_part(2)
>
> This is partly a matter of laziness on my part, that I prefer to type
> two lines instead of four. But, it is also a matter that it kind of
> breaks the POLS, at least for me. I have grown accustomed to being able
> to perform:
>
> result = original.some_method(args)
>
> and have the result be some mutilated form of original, with original
> being left intact. So when String#delete_at(index) doesn't work, it
> feels like it *should* have worked..
>
> Anyways, nothing worth losing sleep over..

If you want to do it on one line you could do this:

irb(main):011:0> s = "abcdef"
=> "abcdef"
irb(main):012:0> 5.times {|i| puts s.sub /\A(.{#{i}})./, '\\1' }
bcdef
acdef
abdef
abcef
abcdf
=> 5
irb(main):013:0>

Granted, it's not too idiomatic...

Kind regards

robert

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