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Ah, okay, I see what you mean. Yeah, you're absolutely right there. Point conceded. Mentally, I was separating Javascript and Lua from Ruby because while the c

by cheald 15y ago

Ah, okay, I see what you mean. Yeah, you're absolutely right there. Point conceded. Mentally, I was separating Javascript and Lua from Ruby because while the caller is explicitly passed in Javascript and Lua (either via call/apply, or as a parameter), Ruby methods are implicitly aware of their scope (and can't really be referentially passed around like Javascript or Lua methods). Lua "methods" aren't aware of their scope (though closures are.

premchai21 15y ago
Ruby methods bound to their objects can be passed around; it's just a bit more cumbersome, in the form of « m = obj.method(:foo) » followed by « m.call(…) ». You can even do « m = :foo.to_proc » in recent Ruby and be able to « m.call(obj, …) »; this is quite useful for things like « [1, 2, 3].inject(&:+) ». So we have that Python's dot always binds, Ruby's dot always calls, and Lua's dot is always a table lookup, with Lua's colon being a separate syntax for (always) the compound operation with injected self-argument. And then JavaScript is the schizophrenic one: « obj.foo(bar) » is not the same as « var y = obj.foo; y(bar) ». Property lookup and function call insert a hidden step between them when and only when directly composed, and a function call without an immediately adjacent property lookup in a way injects the opposite step of making « this » in the callee be the global object (I think). “Politicians lie in cast iron sinks.”