Rails - Apr 2008 - Noob ? - Diff Between "action => :index" and "action => 'index'" ?

What is the difference between specifiying a link_to action with a ":"
vs. "''''" ?

Example:

<%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action => :index %>

vs.

<%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action =>
''index'' %>

Is there one?

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On 25 Apr 2008, at 17:48, RoRNoob wrote:
>
> What is the difference between specifiying a link_to action with a
":"
> vs. "''''" ?
>
> Example:
>
> <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action => :index %>
>
> vs.
>
> <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action =>
''index'' %>
>
> Is there one?
In one case you''re passing the string ''index'' and in
the other case a
symbol. rails doesn''t care though.

Fred

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Are there any benefits (from a programming perspective) of using one
convention over the other?

tnx

On Apr 25, 10:18 am, Frederick Cheung
<frederick.che...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
wrote:
> On 25 Apr 2008, at 17:48,RoRNoobwrote:
>
> > What is the difference between specifiying a link_to action with a
":"
> > vs. "''''" ?
>
> > Example:
>
> > <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action => :index
%>
>
> > vs.
>
> > <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action =>
''index'' %>
>
> > Is there one?
>
> In one case you''re passing the string ''index''
and in the other case a
> symbol. rails doesn''t care though.
>
> Fred
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Without getting into the details, symbols use less memory.

On Apr 25, 2:18 pm, RoRNoob
<rorn...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
wrote:
> Are there any benefits (from a programming perspective) of using one
> convention over the other?
>
> tnx
>
> On Apr 25, 10:18 am, Frederick Cheung
<frederick.che...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
> wrote:
>
> > On 25 Apr 2008, at 17:48,RoRNoobwrote:
>
> > > What is the difference between specifiying a link_to action with
a ":"
> > > vs. "''''" ?
>
> > > Example:
>
> > > <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action =>
:index %>
>
> > > vs.
>
> > > <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action =>
''index'' %>
>
> > > Is there one?
>
> > In one case you''re passing the string
''index'' and in the other case a
> > symbol. rails doesn''t care though.
>
> > Fred
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On 25 Apr 2008, at 21:03, AndyV wrote:
>
> Without getting into the details, symbols use less memory.
>
On the other hand they can''t be garbage collected. In practical terms,
I don''t think it makes much difference either way.

Fred
> On Apr 25, 2:18 pm, RoRNoob
<rorn...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:
>> Are there any benefits (from a programming perspective) of using one
>> convention over the other?
>>
>> tnx
>>
>> On Apr 25, 10:18 am, Frederick Cheung
<frederick.che...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 25 Apr 2008, at 17:48,RoRNoobwrote:
>>
>>>> What is the difference between specifiying a link_to action
with
>>>> a ":"
>>>> vs. "''''" ?
>>
>>>> Example:
>>
>>>> <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action =>
:index %>
>>
>>>> vs.
>>
>>>> <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action =>
''index'' %>
>>
>>>> Is there one?
>>
>>> In one case you''re passing the string
''index'' and in the other
>>> case a
>>> symbol. rails doesn''t care though.
>>
>>> Fred
> >

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But symbols never get GC''d. So use enough symbols, and you permanently
use more memory.

My rule of thumb for symbol use:
 - hash keys
 - config specifications (has_many :my_things)
 - State designators (:open, :closed)

If it''s a name of something , or something that gets displayed to the
user, in most cases I''ll use strings.

Jason

On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 4:03 PM, AndyV
<AndyVanasse-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
wrote:
>
>  Without getting into the details, symbols use less memory.
>
>
>
>  On Apr 25, 2:18 pm, RoRNoob
<rorn...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:
>  > Are there any benefits (from a programming perspective) of using one
>  > convention over the other?
>  >
>  > tnx
>  >
>  > On Apr 25, 10:18 am, Frederick Cheung
<frederick.che...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
>  > wrote:
>  >
>  > > On 25 Apr 2008, at 17:48,RoRNoobwrote:
>  >
>  > > > What is the difference between specifiying a link_to action
with a ":"
>  > > > vs. "''''" ?
>  >
>  > > > Example:
>  >
>  > > > <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action
=> :index %>
>  >
>  > > > vs.
>  >
>  > > > <%= link_to "Continue your spree", :action
=> ''index'' %>
>  >
>  > > > Is there one?
>  >
>  > > In one case you''re passing the string
''index'' and in the other case a
>  > > symbol. rails doesn''t care though.
>  >
>  > > Fred
>  >
>
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Jason Roelofs wrote:
> But symbols never get GC''d. So use enough symbols, and you
permanently
> use more memory.
> 
> My rule of thumb for symbol use:
>  - hash keys
>  - config specifications (has_many :my_things)
>  - State designators (:open, :closed)
> 
> If it''s a name of something , or something that gets displayed to
the
> user, in most cases I''ll use strings.
> 
> Jason
The memory argument is moot in Rails as it uses both.

See HashWithIndifferentAccess:
http://api.rubyonrails.com/classes/HashWithIndifferentAccess.html

Rails'' hashes use both.
-- 
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.

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On 26 Apr 2008, at 00:07, Daniel Waite wrote:
>
> Jason Roelofs wrote:
>> But symbols never get GC''d. So use enough symbols, and you  
>> permanently
>> use more memory.
>>
>> My rule of thumb for symbol use:
>> - hash keys
>> - config specifications (has_many :my_things)
>> - State designators (:open, :closed)
>>
>> If it''s a name of something , or something that gets displayed
to the
>> user, in most cases I''ll use strings.
>>
>> Jason
>
> The memory argument is moot in Rails as it uses both.
>
> See HashWithIndifferentAccess:
> http://api.rubyonrails.com/classes/HashWithIndifferentAccess.html
>
> Rails'' hashes use both.
Nearly nothing uses HashWithIndifferentAccess, (only the params hash I  
think). Deep down on the inside, it''s a hash with string keys, but if  
you give it a symbol key it will convert that to a string first (and  
some other niceties related to that).

Fred

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