Using global variable to call function

Question

I wad told to use brackets. I get the following behaviour when using a variable to call a function. From what I've read in the documentation, brackets aren't supposed to make any difference.

I have this:

def pr (arg1, arg2)
  if arg2
    puts arg1
  end
end

This code results in unexpected ',' in front of the false, but without brackets, it works.

for i in 1...4
  pr (i,false)
end

This works:

for i in 1...4 
  pr i,false
end

In Ruby 2.3+ you should get an error of the form "syntax error, unexpected ',', expecting ')'" which would alert you to a problem. Are you using an older version of Ruby? I know older versions were a lot more permissive here, but the ambiguity caused a lot of problems like what you're seeing. — tadman
– tadman, Commented Feb 14, 2019 at 2:13
Another thing to note is while Ruby has a for, it doesn't normally get used. Instead, consider: 4.times do |i| (zero-indexed) or 1.upto(4) do |i| where you have a lot more control over how things iterate that way. — tadman
– tadman, Commented Feb 14, 2019 at 2:15
Your question is unclear. What does this have to do with global variables? There is not a single global variable in your code, what makes you think the problem is related to global variables? — Jörg W Mittag
– Jörg W Mittag, Commented Feb 14, 2019 at 21:42

Ivan Olshansky · Accepted Answer · 2019-02-14 01:58:09Z

4

You should remove space before brackets and your code will work fine:

#!/usr/bin/ruby

def pr(arg1, arg2)
  if arg2
    puts arg1
  end
end

for i in 1...4
  pr(i, false)
end

Use either space or brackets before arguments list, never both.

edited Feb 14, 2019 at 1:58

answered Feb 14, 2019 at 1:45

Ivan Olshansky

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1 Comment

Kai Stümer Over a year ago

Thats it. Thank you

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