From: Gavin Sinclair <gsinclair@...>
Date: 2002-10-24T00:51:54+09:00
Subject: Re: Things That Newcomers to Ruby Should Know (10/16/02)

From: "Mills Thomas (app1tam)" <app1tam@ups.com>

> But why does it really, REALLY mean that?  Was there a reason for doing
> this?  Is it non-trivial to have '+=' mean 'append()'?
>
> Drew

It's just the way it is.  In C++, the following are separate overloadable
operators: =, +, and +=.  In Ruby, = is not overloadable, + is, and += is not
even an operator.

I think Ruby's way makes sense.  In C++ it is possible for + and += to be
semantically incompatible.  Or for + to be valid and not +=.

If performance is what you're worried about, inlining += is not the place to
start.

Cheers,
Gavin

> > From: Hal E. Fulton [mailto:hal9000@hypermetrics.com]
> >
> > It's a feature. :) The notation a+=b really, REALLY
> > means a = a + b. There is a + operator, but never a
> > += operator, in Ruby (or any other assignment).
> >
> > Hal