From: Mark Hubbart <discord@...>
Date: 2004-05-02T06:33:21+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby Newbie (ooh, that rhymes!) - When do I use do/end, when {}?


On May 1, 2004, at 1:54 PM, Glenn wrote:

> I've read the User Guide and other docs on the net, but I'm a little
> unsure as to whether I can ALWAYS substitute the DO/END with curly
> brackets for a block?  For example, I've only ever seen referenced to
> hash definitions using curlies.  What's the rule here?  Is it purely
> down to preference?

While there is some amount of preference involved, there is a general 
rule that most Ruby programmers (and matz, I believe) agree on: 
brackets for one-line blocks, do...end for longer blocks. ie:

   5.times {|n| puts n }

   5.times do |n|
     print "bingo! " if n == 3
     puts n
   end

There are skirmishes sometimes between people who like to use all 
brackets all the time, and those who use the above method. :) But this 
is the most common way, and you'll find it mostly like that in the 
standard library.

HTH,
--Mark