From: Daniel Carrera <dcarrera@...>
Date: 2003-01-11T06:49:40+09:00
Subject: Re: dot-equals method?

> > However, there is no `split!' method, nor could there ever be, since `split'
> > is a string method returning an array.  That's what I like so much about the
> > `.=' idea.
>
> It doesn't make visual or semantic sense to me;
[snip]
> Well, yeah, changing the object itself is the point of the bang
> methods :-)  I don't think the thing you're talking about has a bearing
> on that; it seems to be more a kind of assignment shorthand.

I don't see how it's much worse than *=, +=, etc.
These don't change the method (like !) but are assignment shorthands.
Like you said, this is precisely what a '.=' would do.  That's also why it
would be acceptable for it to change the object type as in

something .= split /\s+/

I personally like the idea of '.=' very much.

Daniel Carrera
Graduate Teaching Assistant.  Math Dept.
University of Maryland.  (301) 405-5137