This is the 3rd entry in the “Practical Computer Science in Ruby” series! Today we are going to talk about linked list. So what’s a linked list? Like the name says, a linked list is a way to store data in a list format (thanks, Captain Obvious!). The “linked” part comes from the fact that … Read more
Sorting an array in Ruby is easy! You don’t need to write any fancy algorithms to get the result you want. What’s needed, then? Understanding Ruby’s built-in sorting methods. These: sort sort_by sort! How do these methods work & why are they different? That’s what you’ll discover in this article. You’ll learn the different ways … Read more
What is a constant in Ruby? A constant is a type of variable which always starts with a capital letter. They can only be defined outside of methods, unless you use metaprogramming. Constants are used for values that aren’t supposed to change, but Ruby doesn’t prevent you from changing them. They look like this: Now: … Read more
Metaprogramming sounds like a very fancy word, but is it any good? It can be useful, but many people don’t realize that using metaprogramming has some costs. Just so we are on the same page… What is metaprogramming exactly? I define metaprogramming as using any method that: Alters the structure of your code (like define_method) … Read more
You may have heard (or even said yourself) that Rails / Ruby has too much magic… But where does that idea come from? What is Rails magic exactly? And what can you do to dispel that magic? Here’s what I think: When something feels like magic it’s because there is something you don’t know, there … Read more