We want to give the “things” (objects) that our software works with names so that we can refer to them. Variables, a feature included in all functional programming languages, are used to do this. Essentially, this is the same idea you may be familiar with from arithmetic, although there are distinct variables in Ruby. Since the following chapter and the related activities already require that you understand this idea, we won’t spend much time on it. Don’t worry if any of this feels quite ethereal to you. Get Ruby assignment help, from BookMyEssay’s website. Once you work with variables while learning other things, it will become quite helpful, and you won’t even think much about it any longer. Let’s get started now:
Ruby’s so-called assignment operator = allows you to give something (an object) a name. To:
number = 1
That will give the “thing” (object) with the number 1 the name number. We may now use the name number to refer to this object. For instance, the code below would produce the number 1:
The object on the right side of the assignment operator = is given a name on the left.
number = 1
puts number
It’s crucial to remember that a variable is not an independent “thing” or object in this context. It is only the name of a real thing. In our example, the number 1 is an object, and the number is a name we gave it due to our assignment.
Imagine you had post-its on various items around your flat while you were studying Spanish:
You will refer to the thing and open its actual, physical door anytime you use one of these expressions. That is how Ruby handles variable assignments. Any time a variable is referred to by its previously stated name. For instance, in the code sample above, the number on the second line relates to the real thing, the number 1 given on the first line. Variable names are simply that—names, like post-it notes affixed to actual objects. You may choose whatever name you choose for them. Names are simply that. Therefore the examples below would function in the same way:
a = 1
puts a
large_number = 1
puts large_number
apples = 1
puts apples
But remember that it makes sense to use names that indicate your intentions. The section on this will be covered towards the book’s conclusion when we use the correct words. You are welcome to advance if you are interested. In other words, using an as a name in the first case would be discouraged since it would waste the chance to use a meaningful name. The terms used for the “thing” (the object, number 1) in the second and third cases are attempts at being foolish. BookMyEssay helps me Do My Homework for me.
Utilizing familiar variable names
Additionally, it’s critical to remember that a name is exclusive because we may only give it to one value at a time. In other words, if you give the same variable various values, subsequent assignments will overwrite the earlier ones. To:
number = 4
number = number * 3
puts number + 2
That, again, would output 14.
It is possible to reuse and assign new names to variables. We assigned the name number to the number four in the first line. We reassigned it to a different object in the second line. I am returning to the analogy of the post-it notes. That would include sticking a post-it note with the name and number on one item, taking it off later, and sticking it on another. Whenever I need to write an assignment, I get help from BookMyEssay. They help me Do My Assignment for me.
Let’s examine it in further detail:
- Ruby generates the number four on the first line.
- We then assigned the name number to it.
- Ruby first examines the items on the right side of the second line before evaluating the expression number * 3. In doing so, it will generate the number 3 and multiply it by the thing whose name is present, “number,” which is 4. The new number 12 is the consequence of this action.
- Ruby is now ready to add output 12’s name number. In other words, “number” now refers to a new thing, which is 12 instead.
- Ruby will once more start by examining the expression number + 2 on the right in the third line. It creates object two and adds it to the object with the name number that already exists. The new number (thing), as a consequence, is 14.
- Finally, puts receives this object 14 from Ruby and prints it on the screen.