Ruby is a widely popular programming language known for its elegant syntax and powerful features. However, beyond its mainstream usage, there are some hidden gems within Ruby that are lesser-known but can greatly enhance your coding experience. In this article, we will unveil some of these hidden gems and explore how they can elevate your Ruby programming skills.
First on the list is the "tap" method. This method allows you to perform operations on an object without having to assign it to a temporary variable. It comes in handy when you want to perform a chain of operations on an object without modifying it. Let's say you have an array of numbers and you want to find the sum of all the even numbers. With the tap method, you can do it in a single line of code:
```
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5].select(&:even?).tap { |arr| puts arr.sum }
```
The "tap" method yields the array to its block and then returns the original array, allowing us to perform operations on it without changing its state. This not only saves us from creating a temporary variable but also makes our code more concise and readable.
Next, we have the "prepend" method, which is the inverse of "push". While "push" adds an element to the end of an array, "prepend" adds an element to the beginning. This may seem like a trivial feature, but it can be quite useful in certain scenarios. For example, if you want to keep track of the last five elements that were added to an array, you can use "prepend" to add new elements to the beginning and then use "pop" to remove the oldest element from the end.
Another hidden gem in Ruby is the "tap" operator. This operator allows you to access the object on which it is called as a parameter in the block. This can be useful when you want to perform multiple operations on the same object without having to repeat the name of the object. For instance, if you want to assign the length of a string to a variable and then capitalize the string, you can do it in a single line of code using the "tap" operator:
```
name = 'ruby'.tap { |str| str.length }.capitalize
```
The "tap" operator passes the string as a parameter to the block and then returns the original string, which is assigned to the variable "name". This not only saves us from creating a temporary variable but also makes our code more concise and readable.
Moving on, let's talk about the "each_with_object" method. This method allows you to iterate over an enumerable object and perform operations on it while also keeping track of a separate object. This is especially useful when you want to transform an array into a hash. For example, let's say you have an array of names and you want to create a hash where the keys are the names and the values are their lengths. You can do it in a single line of code using the "each_with_object" method:
```
names = ['John', 'Jane', 'James'].each_with_object({}) { |name, hash| hash[name] = name.length }
```
The "each_with_object" method takes an empty hash as an argument and then adds each name and its length as a key-value pair to the hash. This not only saves us from creating a temporary variable but also makes our code more concise and readable.
Lastly, we have the "then" method, which is a new addition to Ruby 2.6. This method allows you to chain multiple operations on an object without having to use intermediate variables. It is similar to the "tap" method, but with a slight difference. Instead of returning the original object, it returns the result of the last operation. Let's say you want to capitalize a string and then reverse it. You can do it in a single line of code using the "then" method:
```
name = 'ruby'.then(&:capitalize).reverse
```
The "then" method takes the string as an argument, capitalizes it, and then reverses it, returning the result which is then assigned to the variable "name". This not only saves us from creating a temporary variable but also makes our code more concise and readable.
In conclusion, Ruby may have some hidden gems, but with a little exploration, you can uncover their potential and use them to improve your coding experience. The "tap" method, "prepend" method, "tap" operator, "each_with_object" method, and "then" method are just a few examples of these hidden gems. So don't be afraid to dig deeper and discover more of Ruby's hidden treasures.
