From: dblack@...
Date: 2002-12-01T22:18:44+09:00
Subject: Re: Cipher book for ruby

Hi --

On Sun, 1 Dec 2002, Shannon Fang wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> My feeling toward C++, and ruby, and any other language is that when you
> learn it more, it becomes more cryptic. Ruby is in deed very impressive,
> powerful, and easy to read. If I write my own program in ruby, I may not
> use anything like symbol in years, but when I try to read other's
> program, I will see it, and then I will try painfully to find out what
> does that mean, and miserablly failed.

I think that as you become more familiar with the learning resources
available, you'll start finding answers more quickly.  No one has
tried to mystify or conceal any of this :-)

> In fact, after some suggestion here, I read chap 18 "the ruby
> programming language" again, and found explanation of most cryptic
> historic symbols borrowed from perl. But it is still hard to lookup in
> an emergency. In the document it follows a printed format referring to
> page 202, for example. But HTML help file don't have page at all.

That's because it's an online version of a printed book, and the page
numbers aren't included.  Not that they couldn't be... but hey, this
was a pioneering effort in the area of putting an in-print trade book
on the Web for free, so there are a few things to work out :-)

> Hence, what I suggested is a proper index of every sytactic elements in
> the help file. Bill suggested that the printed version already have that.
> Why not the online version?

That's fine -- I was only suggesting not unnecessarily labeling Ruby
as "cryptic" or "mystifying".


David

-- 
David Alan Black
home: dblack@candle.superlink.net
work: blackdav@shu.edu
Web:  http://pirate.shu.edu/~blackdav