Problem modifying captured regexp results

ruby-talk
1

So can someone elaborate on why the above split operation on
captured regexp results seems
to bugger up the other captured results? Does this issue
extend to *any* operation on
captured regexp results?

That's what you get for using the (thread-local) global variables that
change with each regexp operation.

Regexp.match returns a MatchData object that will allow you to save your
results from a previous operation and not have them changed by later
code.

See the $~ variable,
http://phrogz.net/ProgrammingRuby/tut_stdtypes.html#objectorientedregula
rexpressions
and
http://phrogz.net/ProgrammingRuby/ref_c_matchdata.html

···

From: Paul van Delst [mailto:Paul.vanDelst@noaa.gov]

2

Gavin Kistner wrote:

From: Paul van Delst [mailto:Paul.vanDelst@noaa.gov]

So can someone elaborate on why the above split operation on captured regexp results seems to bugger up the other captured results? Does this issue extend to *any* operation on captured regexp results?

That's what you get for using the (thread-local) global variables that
change with each regexp operation.

Regexp.match returns a MatchData object that will allow you to save your
results from a previous operation and not have them changed by later
code.

Hello,

I agree with what you're saying. I actually have already switched to MatchData objects rather than the $-variables -- for all the usual reasons.

So, while my initial question may be less interesting now (since I have working code), I'm still curious why in the statement

   arrayList<<{"type"=>$1,
               "param"=>$2,
               "dimlist"=>$3.split(/\s*,\s*/),
               "name"=>$4,
               "description"=>$5}

operation on $3 modifies $4 and $5? (And, similarly, operation on $1 would "clear" $2 to $5)

Based on your first sentence, I guess I have an updated question:

Does using the split method on a $-variable count as a "regexp operation"?

cheers,

paulv

···

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