From: Ferenc Engard <engard@...>
Date: 2002-04-21T04:11:21+09:00
Subject: a newbie about local variables

Hi there,

First of all, I greet everybody on the list as this is my first post
here.

I am just getting to know ruby, and trying to understand variable scopes
and general encapsulation/hiding mechanisms. (I am also learning C++ at
the same time... :)

So, as I understand I can use all the local variables in do .. end
blocks, 'while', 'until', and 'for' loops which are defined outside of
these structures.

Why cannot I override this, to ensure that a new local variable I want
to use in the block _must_ be local, even if there is a same var in the
outer scope (like in C++, or (AFAIK) in perl with 'my' cmd)?

And only for the do .. end blocks: can I use them anywhere in my code
just to keep my variables' scope as small as it is possible?

Thank you, and sorry if I asked something stupid:
Circum