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456 lines
12 KiB
Text
456 lines
12 KiB
Text
= Methods
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Methods implement the functionality of your program. Here is a simple method
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definition:
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def one_plus_one
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1 + 1
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end
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A method definition consists of the +def+ keyword, a method name, the body of
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the method, +return+ value and the +end+ keyword. When called the method will
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execute the body of the method. This method returns +2+.
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This section only covers defining methods. See also the {syntax documentation
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on calling methods}[rdoc-ref:syntax/calling_methods.rdoc].
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== Method Names
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Method names may be one of the operators or must start a letter or a character
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with the eight bit set. It may contain letters, numbers, an <code>_</code>
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(underscore or low line) or a character with the eight bit set. The convention
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is to use underscores to separate words in a multiword method name:
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def method_name
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puts "use underscores to separate words"
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end
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Ruby programs must be written in a US-ASCII-compatible character set such as
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UTF-8, ISO-8859-1 etc. In such character sets if the eight bit is set it
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indicates an extended character. Ruby allows method names and other identifiers
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to contain such characters. Ruby programs cannot contain some characters like
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ASCII NUL (<code>\x00<code>).
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The following are the examples of valid ruby methods:
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def hello
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"hello"
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end
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def こんにちは
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puts "means hello in Japanese"
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end
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Typically method names are US-ASCII compatible since the keys to type them
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exist on all keyboards.
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Method names may end with a <code>!</code> (bang or exclamation mark), a
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<code>?</code> (question mark) or <code>=</code> equals sign.
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The bang methods(<code>!</code> at the end of method name) are called and
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executed just like any other method. However, by convention, a method with an
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exclamation point or bang is considered dangerous. In ruby core library the
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dangerous method implies that when a method ends with a bang(<code>!</code>),
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it indicates that unlike its non-bang equivalent, permanently modifies its
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receiver. Almost always, Ruby core library will have a non-bang
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counterpart(method name which does NOT end with <code>!</code>) of every bang
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method (method name which does end with <code>!</code>) that has does not
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modify the receiver. This convention is typically true for ruby core libary but
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may/may not hold true for other ruby libraries.
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Methods that end with a question mark by convention return boolean. But they
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may not always return just +true+ or +false+. Often they will may return an
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object to indicate a true value (or "truthy" value).
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Methods that end with an equals sign indicate an assignment method. For
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assignment methods the return value is ignored, the arguments are returned
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instead.
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These are method names for the various ruby operators. Each of these
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operators accept only one argument. Following the operator is the typical
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use or name of the operator. Creating an alternate meaning for the operator
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may lead to confusion as the user expects plus to add things, minus to
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subtract things, etc. Additionally, you cannot alter the precedence of the
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operators.
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<code>+</code> :: add
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<code>-</code> :: subtract
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<code>*</code> :: multiply
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<code>**</code> :: power
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<code>/</code> :: divide
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<code>%</code> :: modulus division, String#%
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<code>&</code> :: AND
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<code>^</code> :: XOR (exclusive OR)
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<code>>></code> :: right-shift
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<code><<</code> :: left-shift, append
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<code>==</code> :: equal
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<code>!=</code> :: not equal
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<code>===</code> :: case equality. See Object#===
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<code>=~</code> :: pattern match. (Not just for regular expressions)
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<code>!~</code> :: does not match
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<code><=></code> :: comparison aka spaceship operator. See Comparable
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<code><</code> :: less-than
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<code><=</code> :: less-than or equal
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<code>></code> :: greater-than
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<code>>=</code> :: greater-than or equal
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To define unary methods minus, plus, tilde and not (<code>!</code>) follow the
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operator with an <code>@</code> as in <code>+@</code> or <code>!@</code>:
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class C
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def -@
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puts "you inverted this object"
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end
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end
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obj = C.new
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-obj # prints "you inverted this object"
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Unary methods accept zero arguments.
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Additionally, methods for element reference and assignment may be defined:
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<code>[]</code> and <code>[]=</code> respectively. Both can take one or more
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arguments, and element reference can take none.
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class C
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def [](a, b)
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puts a + b
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end
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def []=(a, b, c)
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puts a * b + c
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end
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end
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obj = C.new
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obj[2, 3] # prints "5"
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obj[2, 3] = 4 # prints "10"
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== Return Values
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By default, a method returns the last expression that was evaluated in the body
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of the method. In the example above, the last (and only) expression evaluated
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was the simple sum <code>1 + 1</code>. The +return+ keyword can be used to
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make it explicit that a method returns a value.
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def one_plus_one
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return 1 + 1
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end
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It can also be used to make a method return before the last expression is
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evaluated.
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def two_plus_two
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return 2 + 2
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1 + 1 # this expression is never evaluated
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end
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Note that for assignment methods the return value will always be ignored.
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Instead the argument will be returned:
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def a=(value)
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return 1 + value
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end
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p(a = 5) # prints 5
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== Scope
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The standard syntax to define a method:
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def my_method
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# ...
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end
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adds the method to a class. You can define an instance method on a specific
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class with the +class+ keyword:
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class C
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def my_method
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# ...
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end
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end
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A method may be defined on another object. You may define a "class method" (a
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method that is defined on the class, not an instance of the class) like this:
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class C
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def self.my_method
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# ...
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end
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end
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However, this is simply a special case of a greater syntactical power in Ruby,
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the ability to add methods to any object. Classes are objects, so adding
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class methods is simply adding methods to the Class object.
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The syntax for adding a method to an object is as follows:
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greeting = "Hello"
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def greeting.broaden
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self + ", world!"
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end
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greeting.broaden # returns "Hello, world!"
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+self+ is a keyword referring to the current object under consideration
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by the compiler, which might make the use of +self+ in defining a class
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method above a little clearer. Indeed, the example of adding a +hello+
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method to the class +String+ can be rewritten thus:
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def String.hello
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"Hello, world!"
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end
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A method defined like this is called a "singleton method". +broaden+ will only
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exist on the string instance +greeting+. Other strings will not have +broaden+.
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== Overriding
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When Ruby encounters the +def+ keyword, it doesn't consider it an error if the
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method already exists: it simply redefines it. This is called
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_overriding_. Rather like extending core classes, this is a potentially
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dangerous ability, and should be used sparingly because it can cause unexpected
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results. For example, consider this irb session:
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>> "43".to_i
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=> 43
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>> class String
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>> def to_i
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>> 42
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>> end
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>> end
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=> nil
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>> "43".to_i
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=> 42
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This will effectively sabotage any code which makes use of the method
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<code>String#to_i</code> to parse numbers from strings.
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== Arguments
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A method may accept arguments. The argument list follows the method name:
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def add_one(value)
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value + 1
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end
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When called, the user of the +add_one+ method must provide an argument. The
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argument is a local variable in the method body. The method will then add one
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to this argument and return the value. If given +1+ this method will
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return +2+.
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The parentheses around the arguments are optional:
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def add_one value
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value + 1
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end
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Multiple arguments are separated by a comma:
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def add_values(a, b)
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a + b
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end
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When called, the arguments must be provided in the exact order. In other
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words, the arguments are positional.
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=== Default Values
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Arguments may have default values:
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def add_values(a, b = 1)
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a + b
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end
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The default value does not need to appear first, but arguments with defaults
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must be grouped together. This is ok:
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def add_values(a = 1, b = 2, c)
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a + b + c
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end
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This will raise a SyntaxError:
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def add_values(a = 1, b, c = 1)
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a + b + c
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end
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=== Array Decomposition
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You can decompose (unpack or extract values from) an Array using extra
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parentheses in the arguments:
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def my_method((a, b))
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p a: a, b: b
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end
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my_method([1, 2])
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This prints:
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{:a=>1, :b=>2}
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If the argument has extra elements in the Array they will be ignored:
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def my_method((a, b))
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p a: a, b: b
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end
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my_method([1, 2, 3])
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This has the same output as above.
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You can use a <code>*</code> to collect the remaining arguments. This splits
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an Array into a first element and the rest:
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def my_method((a, *b))
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p a: a, b: b
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end
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my_method([1, 2, 3])
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This prints:
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{:a=>1, :b=>[2, 3]}
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The argument will be decomposed if it responds to #to_ary. You should only
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define #to_ary if you can use your object in place of an Array.
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Use of the inner parentheses only uses one of the sent arguments. If the
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argument is not an Array it will be assigned to the first argument in the
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decomposition and the remaining arguments in the decomposition will be +nil+:
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def my_method(a, (b, c), d)
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p a: a, b: b, c: c, d: d
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end
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my_method(1, 2, 3)
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This prints:
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{:a=>1, :b=>2, :c=>nil, :d=>3}
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You can nest decomposition arbitrarily:
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def my_method(((a, b), c))
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# ...
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end
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=== Array/Hash Argument
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Prefixing an argument with <code>*</code> causes any remaining arguments to be
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converted to an Array:
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def gather_arguments(*arguments)
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p arguments
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end
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gather_arguments 1, 2, 3 # prints [1, 2, 3]
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The array argument must be the last positional argument, it must appear before
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any keyword arguments.
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The array argument will capture a Hash as the last entry if a hash was sent by
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the caller after all positional arguments.
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gather_arguments 1, a: 2 # prints [1, {:a=>2}]
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However, this only occurs if the method does not declare any keyword arguments.
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def gather_arguments_keyword(*positional, keyword: nil)
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p positional: positional, keyword: keyword
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end
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gather_arguments_keyword 1, 2, three: 3
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#=> raises: unknown keyword: three (ArgumentError)
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Also, note that a bare <code>*</code> can be used to ignore arguments:
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def ignore_arguments(*)
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end
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=== Keyword Arguments
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Keyword arguments are similar to positional arguments with default values:
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def add_values(first: 1, second: 2)
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first + second
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end
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Arbitrary keyword arguments will be accepted with <code>**</code>:
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def gather_arguments(first: nil, **rest)
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p first, rest
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end
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gather_arguments first: 1, second: 2, third: 3
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# prints 1 then {:second=>2, :third=>3}
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When calling a method with keyword arguments the arguments may appear in any
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order. If an unknown keyword argument is sent by the caller an ArgumentError
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is raised.
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When mixing keyword arguments and positional arguments, all positional
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arguments must appear before any keyword arguments.
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== Block Argument
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The block argument is indicated by <code>&</code> and must come last:
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def my_method(&my_block)
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my_block.call(self)
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end
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Most frequently the block argument is used to pass a block to another method:
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def each_item(&block)
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@items.each(&block)
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end
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If you are only going to call the block and will not otherwise manipulate it
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or send it to another method using <code>yield</code> without an explicit
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block parameter is preferred. This method is equivalent to the first method
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in this section:
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def my_method
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yield self
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end
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There is also a performance benefit to using yield over a calling a block
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parameter. When a block argument is assigned to a variable a Proc object is
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created which holds the block. When using yield this Proc object is not
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created.
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If you only need to use the block sometimes you can use Proc.new to create a
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proc from the block that was passed to your method. See Proc.new for further
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details.
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== Exception Handling
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Methods have an implied exception handling block so you do not need to use
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+begin+ or +end+ to handle exceptions. This:
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def my_method
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begin
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# code that may raise an exception
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rescue
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# handle exception
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end
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end
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May be written as:
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def my_method
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# code that may raise an exception
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rescue
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# handle exception
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end
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If you wish to rescue an exception for only part of your method use +begin+ and
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+end+. For more details see the page on {exception
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handling}[rdoc-ref:syntax/exceptions.rdoc].
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