From: Ammar Ali <ammarabuali@...>
Date: 2010-01-18T19:56:52+09:00
Subject: Re: what does this mean?

Robert Klemme wrote:
> 2010/1/18 Ammar Ali <ammarabuali@gmail.com>:
>   
>> Ruby Newbee wrote:
>>     
>>> For this statement:
>>>
>>> @speaks_english ||= @name.size > 6
>>>
>>> does it mean something like below?
>>>
>>> if @name.size > 6
>>>    @speaks_english ||= @name.size
>>> end
>>>
>>>
>>> Even if I guess that correctly, I'm still surprised why ruby can write
>>> like that way.
>>>       
>> More like:
>>
>> if @speaks_english.nil? or @speaks_english == false
>>  if @name > 6
>>   @speaks_english = true
>>  else
>>   @speaks_english = false
>>  end
>> end
>>     
>
> I'd shorten that to
>
> unless @speaks_english
>   @speaks_english = @name.size > 6
> end
>
> "@name.size > 6" is a boolean expression and it does return "true" or
> "false" already.
>
> Note that in this case this would probably a better solution because
> it does not reevaluate if @name.size <= 6:
>
> @speaks_english = @name.size > 6 if @speaks_english.nil?
>
> Kind regards
>
> robert
>
>   

I intentionally expanded || to nil? or false tests, and "unrolled" the 
assignment to @name.size > 6 to illustrate the boolean result. I hoped 
the painfully procedural rendering would get the point across quickly 
and maybe cause some head scratching (where did all that come from?)

I should have shown some of the other elegant ways to achieve this in 
ruby, like Robert did. Or at least pointed out that what I posted is not 
the way to do things. I guess I assumed that no one would actually type 
what I did once they figured out what the one liner does.

Thanks,
ammar