Re: a = Dog.new # a is not a pointer and not a reference?

On 9/30/07, SpringFlowers AutumnMoon <summercoolness@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

how about just a.set_value(3) vs a->set_value(3). what i mean is just
the "." and "->" difference. using a "." in Ruby and "->" in C or C++.
If I think of "a" as a pointer and "." as "->", will that get in trouble
and have any discrepancy for other things.
Yup 'cause '.' is not dereferencing period (pun intended). It is
sending a message

x.a is almost equivalent to
x.send :a.

Variables in Ruby are references, period again ;) but you cannot
dereference them.
I guess this was somehow lost in the discussion.

HTH
R.
--
what do I think about Ruby?
http://ruby-smalltalk.blogspot.com/

.

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