Ruby is an object-oriented programming language that is general-purpose, dynamic, and reflective. Except for blocks, which have replacements in the form of procs and lambda, everything in Ruby is an object. The goal of Ruby's development it was to create a user interface between human programmers and the computational machinery that underpins them.
Ruby's syntax is similar to that of many other programming languages, including C and Java, making learning easy for Java and C programmers. It runs on various operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Let's talk about what are constants in ruby and how to do it in Ruby.
Constants in Ruby
An uppercase letter is used to start a constant. Constants defined within a class or module can be accessed only from within that class or module, while those defined outside of it can be accessed globally.
For example-
VAR1 = "hello world"
#Output
=> "hello world"
It is not possible to define constants within methods. When you refer to an uninitialized constant, you get an error. You get a warning when you assign to a constant that has already been initialized.
Unless you use metaprogramming, Constants can only be defined outside of methods.
Constants are used for values that should not change, but Ruby allows you to change them.
Ruby Classes as Constants
Since the first letter is uppercase, the variables are constants. When you define a class, you create a Class object and assign it to a constant. The constant takes on the role of the class name.
For example: String, Hash, Array
How to Define Constants
Declaring a constant does not necessitate using any special symbols or syntax. Now, you have to change the first letter to an uppercase letter.
ANIMAL = " Lion"
puts ANIMAL
Bird = “Sparrow”
You can also try this code with Online Ruby Compiler
Constants in ruby can change. Variables in Ruby are not containers but pointers to objects, there is no way to prevent a constant from changing. If you prefer, you can use labels. Here we can use immutable objects.
For example:
VAR1 = 1
VAR1 = 2
puts VAR1
You can also try this code with Online Ruby Compiler
main.rb:8: warning: previous definition of VAR1 was here
2
Explanation- Your program will continue to function normally, but you must avoid the errors coming in the program.
Constant Method
A few methods are working with constants:
constants
Return a symbol array that represents the constants defined class
const_get
Takes symbol string as a parameter and return value for constant in ruby
const_defined?
If the given constant is defined, it returns true
const_set
Takes two parameters, one is a constant value, the second is a constant name(symbol), and set the value for a constant.
remove_const
Used to remove a constant
private_constant
Class::VAR syntax makes a constant private, so it can't be accessed outside the class.
Frequently Asked Questions
In Ruby, how do you write constants?
A capital letter is used to start a constant. Constants defined within a class or module can be accessed only from within that class or module, while those defined outside of it can be accessed globally. It is not possible to define constants within methods.
What is a global constant in Ruby?
The environment variable for the entire program is an example of a global constant. Let's look at some examples of Ruby constant lists: We'll look at constants defined at the top of the program and how to use them both inside and outside of it in this example.
What is the definition of a class constant in Ruby?
Class constants can be useful if you need to define some constant data within a class.
Constants of the class, the name of a constant begins with an uppercase letter. It should only be given a value once. Reassignment of a constant generates a warning but not an error in the current Ruby implementation (the non-ANSI version of eval .rb does not report the warning).
Why are Ruby classes constant, and why is it important?
You're getting an " uninitialized constant " error because you most likely forgot to require a file or gem that defines the constant, you're getting an "uninitialized constant" error.
Conclusion
This blog covered the details on Constants in Ruby. We learned how to define constants, learned that constants can change, and also looked at a constant method example.
If you want to learn more, check out our articles/blogs on ruby and refer to Ruby Documentation for more information. You can also learn more about ruby from:
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