From: Robert Klemme <shortcutter@...>
Date: 2012-01-23T21:35:02+09:00
Subject: Re: codepart - please explain!

On Sun, Jan 22, 2012 at 7:10 PM, Peter Vandenabeele
<peter@vandenabeele.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 22, 2012 at 6:54 PM, Blub Bla <susannepiehl@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hey everyone,
>>
>> I've found a code part that I don't understand:
>>
>>
>>
>> def runCode
>>  return <<STARTCODE
>>  (..)
>>  STARTCODE
>> end
>>
>>
>> Unfortunately the google search doesn't work because the << will be
>> ignored.
>> Could you explain what it's doing?
>>
>> Oh, and I can't try out what it's doing because I'll get the error that
>> STARTCODE can't be found until EOF...
>>
>
> The technique is called a "here doc".
>
> First match in Google
>
>  http://blog.jayfields.com/2006/12/ruby-multiline-strings-here-doc-or.html
>
> The specific issue in your code example is that you need to use either:
>
> def runCode
>  return <<STARTCODE
>  (..)
> STARTCODE  # NO margin left of STARTCODE
> end

Careful with comments on that line:

13:33:38 Temp$ ruby19 x.rb
x.rb:6: can't find string "STARTCODE" anywhere before EOF
x.rb:2: syntax error, unexpected $end, expecting tSTRING_CONTENT or
tSTRING_DBEG or tSTRING_DVAR or tSTRING_END
13:34:12 Temp$ cat -n x.rb
     1
     2  s=<<STARTCODE
     3  x
     4  STARTCODE # NO margin left of STARTCODE
     5
     6  p s
13:34:14 Temp$

Cheers

robert


-- 
remember.guy do |as, often| as.you_can - without end
http://blog.rubybestpractices.com/