From: 7stud -- Date: 2011-07-25T16:51:52+09:00 Subject: Re: Please give simple example of when to use symbols > "good" and "good" and "bad" (3 strings) take up memory. Why > is that? Isn't the second "good" same as the first? Quotes are a shortcut for writing String.new--but not exactly. In other words, quotes tell ruby to create a new object, and if you tell ruby to create a new object, it will do your bidding. > When do you normally use a symbol instead of a string? The easiest thing to do is never use symbols--symbols aren't worth the waste of time trying to understand them. Although, the idiotic explanations I read are pretty hilarious. If you understand pointers, then symbols are easy to understand. If you don't know what a pointer is, then you won't ever understand symbol. You can rub all the crystals you want and mediate on "the essence" of the thing, but you won't have any idea what you are dealing with. Symbols also emit hydrocarbons, so they contribute to global warming. -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.