Selecting multiple elements from an array in Ruby

Question

I would like to select from an array the four highest elements in descending order in terms of length.

I sorted the array in descending order, and picked the elements.

Is there a more elegant way to do this?

arr.max_by(n) {|i| #condition } in certain cases will work. — Sagar Pandya
– Sagar Pandya, Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 22:11
If you want to collect the first n objects that satisfy a condition then maybe use each_with_object or with_object with an array object and build it up until you collect n objects. — Sagar Pandya
– Sagar Pandya, Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 22:16
The thing: I want elements that are highest among all the other elements, not the ones that meet a specific condition. Would you please provide an example of how to accomplish it using each_with_object or with_object? — Arslan Ali
– Arslan Ali, Commented Jul 5, 2017 at 1:07
Then I would not recommend each_with_object or with_object. On another note be aware of behaviour when using max_by with duplicate elements i.e. [9,9,8].max_by(2, &:itself) #=> [9, 9]. And also note there is the corresponding min_by method too. — Sagar Pandya
– Sagar Pandya, Commented Jul 5, 2017 at 3:06

Ursus · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-04 22:25:06Z

3

%w(one two three four five size seven eight).max_by(3, &:length)
=> ["seven", "eight", "three"]

answered Jul 4, 2017 at 22:07

Ursus

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2 Comments

My bad. I have re-phrased my question.

max_by(3, &:length) :)