From: Rick DeNatale <rick.denatale@...>
Date: 2009-02-13T02:56:25+09:00
Subject: Re: * before string

--00163646d97f570e850462bc75a4
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 12:22 PM, Bertram Scharpf
<lists@bertram-scharpf.de>wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Am Freitag, 13. Feb 2009, 01:51:24 +0900 schrieb Jonatas Paganini:
> > class NamedArg
> >     def initialize(s)
> >       @name, @type = *s.split(':')
> >     end
> > end
> >
> > Why and where use * before string?
>
> Actually, you use the asterisk in front of an array. The asterisk
> makes the array to a list of arguments. Examples:
>
>  ary.push [ :a, :b]     # pushes an array
>  ary.push *[ :a, :b]    # pushes two symbols
>
> You may even do this:
>
>  done = %(exit quit bye)
>  case str.downcase
>    when *done then return
>  end
>
> In your example, the conversion will be done automatically when
> the right side is an array. When I code, I write the asterisk
> explicitly every time to remind myself what I meant.


All true, except that in this case, it's in the context of a parallel
assignment statement rather than a method call.


-- 
Rick DeNatale

Blog: http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RickDeNatale

--00163646d97f570e850462bc75a4--