Hi, I'm switching from C++ to Ruby, I have a few questions.
1. How come there isn't any "method prototype" feature like the function
prototypes in C++? Like, in c++ I declared just the name of a funcion at
the beginning of a block of code and then I could put the function
anywhere in the program, so it could be called wherever, without
worrying if it had been fully declared or not. Is this possible?
2. I find it awesome that you needn't compile to view the results of
your code; still, i would like to be able to compile my programs to an
executable file for distribution. Is it possible?
3. I still don't get how this whole "gems" thing work. In C++ I used to
load libraries, it seems that in Ruby most of the libraries are loaded
by themselves when needed. When exactly do I need to include other
libraries?
Hi, I'm switching from C++ to Ruby, I have a few questions.
1. How come there isn't any "method prototype" feature like the function
prototypes in C++? Like, in c++ I declared just the name of a funcion at
the beginning of a block of code and then I could put the function
anywhere in the program, so it could be called wherever, without
worrying if it had been fully declared or not. Is this possible?
Sure just do it! Methods only need to exist when then are "called" and even then you can use the method_missing hook to define them on the fly if you need to.
2. I find it awesome that you needn't compile to view the results of
your code; still, i would like to be able to compile my programs to an
executable file for distribution. Is it possible?
Look at JRuby's ability to create .class files for the JVM, but you might want to keep an open mind about whether you *really* need to compile.
3. I still don't get how this whole "gems" thing work. In C++ I used to
load libraries, it seems that in Ruby most of the libraries are loaded
by themselves when needed. When exactly do I need to include other
libraries?
It's a way to have multiple versions of libraries on your system. You'll know you need more because something doesn't exist. For example, there are some useful methods on Date that are only available if you "require 'date'" in your code. (Not the best example because that's not a gem, but a standard library, i.e., it comes as part of Ruby.)
Sure just do it! Methods only need to exist when then are "called"
and even then you can use the method_missing hook to define them on
the fly if you need to.
Wait, I explain my problem.
In C++ I would have been able to to this:
void function();
function();
void function() {
cout<<"The function has been executed"
}
And it would still print "The function has been executed"
In ruby instead if I do this:
def method; end
method
def method
print ('The method has been executed')
end
it just prints me nothing; I think it has something to do with ruby's
dynamic definitions.
Just how to achieve the same thing in ruby? (summoning a function that
is declared later in the code)
What Rob wanted to say is that you don't need to declare a function
(method). You just call it, and it has to have been defined before the
call. But be aware that the code inside a method is not executed when
it's parsed, only when the method is called, so you can have this:
irb(main):001:0> def caller
irb(main):002:1> method("a")
irb(main):003:1> end
=> nil
irb(main):004:0> def method(s)
irb(main):005:1> puts s
irb(main):006:1> end
=> nil
irb(main):007:0> caller
a
You can have the definition of caller before the definition of method.
What you can't do is call caller before defining method.
Hope this clears up a bit,
Jesus.
···
On Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 6:28 PM, Claudio Freda <ferdil.kiwi@gmail.com> wrote:
Rob Biedenharn wrote:
Sure just do it! Methods only need to exist when then are "called"
and even then you can use the method_missing hook to define them on
the fly if you need to.
Wait, I explain my problem.
In C++ I would have been able to to this:
void function();
function();
void function() {
cout<<"The function has been executed"
}
And it would still print "The function has been executed"
In ruby instead if I do this:
def method; end
method
def method
print ('The method has been executed')
end
it just prints me nothing; I think it has something to do with ruby's
dynamic definitions.
Just how to achieve the same thing in ruby? (summoning a function that
is declared later in the code)
Sure just do it! Methods only need to exist when then are "called"
and even then you can use the method_missing hook to define them on
the fly if you need to.
Wait, I explain my problem.
In C++ I would have been able to to this:
void function();
function();
void function() {
cout<<"The function has been executed"
}
And it would still print "The function has been executed"
You need that in C / C++ only because implementations are split to
header and source files. We don't do that in Ruby. Instead, we
implement whatever functionality we need and place it in one or more
.rb files. Those are then read by using "require".
In ruby instead if I do this:
def method; end
method
def method
print ('The method has been executed')
end
it just prints me nothing; I think it has something to do with ruby's
dynamic definitions.
Just how to achieve the same thing in ruby? (summoning a function that
is declared later in the code)
That's not a problem as long as execution starts later:
def foo
method
end
def method
puts 'It works!'
end
foo
This is typically the case if your required files contain declarations only.