From: Sean Middleditch <elanthis@...>
Date: 2002-03-27T01:46:02+09:00
Subject: Re: Difference between 'do' and 'begin'

On Tue, 2002-03-26 at 11:27, Kent Dahl wrote:
> james@rubyxml.com wrote:
> > However, both Ruby in a Nutshell and the Pickaxe book refer to begin/end as
> > blocks.
> 
> Ouch... 
> 
> I've been thinking about this problem ever since I held a small
> introduction to Ruby earlier this month. I did my best to seperate the
> two concepts, but it seemed to confuse people nonetheless. We need a
> better name for the begin/end construct, and preferably something that
> helps us talk about "blocks of code" in contrast to Ruby blocks.

Well, the do and { are sorta kinda almost somewhat like a lambda in
other languages... would that be a way to refer to them?

> 
> Perhaps knowing the Japanese words for block in the Ruby-block sense and
> for block in the "compound-statement" sense would give some interesting
> options?

Ah, they'd probably get horribly mispronounced (hell, us Americans can't
even spell them right...)

> 
> (Can't hurt learning kids some more usable Japanese phrases than ninja
> weapons and Pokemon names ;-)

Teach your kids even the basics of Japanese, and you won't ever stop
hearing them yell 'Baka.'  Trust me.  Dumb American kids.  ~,^  Plus
they'll keep stealing your Rorouni Kenshin DVD's... (still can't find
two of them...)

> 
> 
> -- 
> <[ Kent Dahl ]>================<[ http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~kentda/ ]>
>   )__(stud.techn.;  ind. econ & management: computer technology)__( 
>  /"Opinions expressed are mine and not those of my Employer,      "\
> ( "the University, my girlfriend, stray cats, banana fruitflies,  " )
>  \"nor the frontal lobe of my left cerebral hemisphere.           "/