From: daz <dooby@...10.karoo.co.uk>
Date: 2003-06-06T14:22:40+09:00
Subject: Re: Array = Hash.sort ... but sometimes not


"Anubis" <philippe.deschamps@sympatico.ca> wrote:

> (sorry for my poor English : I'm French)
>
> I created a little program in Ruby as an exercice to learn more
> about this fascinating language.
> The problem is that I can change the type of one of my variables
> without any problem for Ruby.
> A few lines from my program :
>
> mots_tries = Array.new
> mots_occur = Hash.new
>
> # I fill my Hash with some data and after that I sort it by values :
> mots_tries = mots_occur.sort {|a,b| a[1]<=>b[1]}
>
> My program works perfectly, ... even when I declare mots_tries as an Hash :
> mots_tries = Hash.new
>
> But I know that the result of an Hash sorting is a nested Array.
> For information I work with Ruby 1.6.8-8 and my program has nor Class nor
> Def (I used Ruby as a procedural programming language).
>
> Thanks for your answer if someone has ever heard of this problem with Ruby.
>
> - Teknophil -
>

Bienvenue.

  (sorry for my absent French : I'm English ;)

You don't need 'mots_tries = Array.new'.  Just ...

mots_occur = Hash.new

[... fill Hash with some data ...]

mots_tries = mots_occur.sort {|a,b| a[1]<=>b[1]}

A variable is just an alias (reference / label) to important stuff.
As you said, the result of an Hash sorting is a nested Array,
which is the real object referred to now as - mots_tries.

This is not a problem unless you are expecting something different.
(Maybe learned from a different PL.)

Use Ruby as a procedural PL if you like but, as you see examples,
you'll see you're missing most of 'le pouvoir'.


def indiq(*args)
  args.each do |arg|
    printf("%8s (%8d) ", arg.class, arg.id)
    p arg
  end
  puts '-' * 40
end

objet1 = ["sel"]
objet2 = "sucre"
objet3 = proc do
  puts "grand bien vous fasse!"
end
indiq(objet1, objet2, objet3)
objet1 = objet2
indiq(objet1, objet2, objet3)
objet3[]



#   Array (19659692) ["sel"]
#  String (19656212) "sucre"
#    Proc (19656176) #<Proc:0x0257dc10@C:/TEMP/rbF2A0.TMP:12>
#----------------------------------------
#  String (19656212) "sucre"
#  String (19656212) "sucre"
#    Proc (19656176) #<Proc:0x0257dc10@C:/TEMP/rbF2A0.TMP:12>
#----------------------------------------
#grand bien vous fasse!

("Much good it will do for you!")
Ruby will do you much good, though.


Bon chance,


daz