Learner’s Destination

Overview of New Features and Enhancements in Ruby 2.7

Posted in Ruby By adminPosted on Tagged

Ruby 2.7 is packed with new features and enhancements that are sure to make the lives of developers easier and more efficient. In this guide, we’ll go through each of the major updates and provide code examples to help you get started using them in your own projects.

Enumerable#tally

One of the most exciting additions to Ruby 2.7 is the Enumerable#tally method, which allows you to quickly count the occurrences of each element in a collection. Here’s an example of how it works:

[1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3].tally # => {1=>2, 2=>1, 3=>3}

This is a great alternative to using a hash and manually incrementing the values, as it can be done in just one line of code.

Experimental Numbered Parameters for Blocks

Ruby 2.7 also introduces numbered parameters for blocks, which allows you to specify the names of block parameters directly in the block definition. This can make your code more readable and easier to understand. Here’s an example of how it works:

[1, 2, 3].each { |number| puts number }
# becomes:
[1, 2, 3].each { |number:| puts number }

This feature is currently marked as experimental, which means it could potentially change or be removed in future versions of Ruby. However, it is still worth checking out and experimenting with in your own projects.

Array#intersection

Another useful addition in Ruby 2.7 is the Array#intersection method, which returns a new array containing the common elements of two arrays. Here’s an example:

[1, 2, 3] & [2, 3, 4] # => [2, 3]

This is a more concise way of finding the intersection of two arrays, as it can be done in one line of code rather than using a loop or other more complex methods.

Enumerable#filter_map

The Enumerable#filter_map method is a combination of the Enumerable#filter and Enumerable#map methods, allowing you to filter and transform a collection in a single pass. Here’s an example of how it works:

[1, 2, 3].filter_map { |number| number * 2 if number > 1 } # => [4, 6]

This can be a more efficient way of filtering and transforming a collection, as it only requires one iteration rather than two.

Enumerator#produce

Ruby 2.7 also introduces the Enumerator#produce method, which allows you to create a new enumerator that generates a sequence of values. This can be useful for creating infinite loops or generating large amounts of data. Here’s an example of how it works:

numbers = Enumerator.produce(1) { |n| n + 1 }
numbers.take(5) # => [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

IRB Improvements

RB, the interactive Ruby shell, has also received some updates in Ruby 2.7. One of the most notable improvements is the ability to use the up and down arrow keys to navigate through your command history, which can save you time and effort when working in the shell. IRB also now supports colored output and syntax highlighting, making it easier to read and understand your code.

Experimental Ruby Pattern Matching

Ruby 2.7 introduces experimental pattern matching, which allows you to match data against patterns and extract values. This can be a more concise and expressive way of working with data, as it allows you to unpack complex data structures in a single line of code. Here’s an example of how it works:

case [1, 2, 3]
in [a, b, c]
  puts "a: #{a}, b: #{b}, c: #{c}"
end
# Output: "a: 1, b: 2, c: 3"

Keep in mind that this feature is currently marked as experimental and could potentially change or be removed in future versions of Ruby.

Additional Changes

There are also several other changes and improvements in Ruby 2.7, including:

  • The introduction of the Regexp#match? method, which allows you to check if a regex matches a string without returning a match object.
  • The inclusion of the Enumerable#slice_before method, which allows you to split a collection into slices based on a given criterion.
  • The addition of the Enumerable#tee method, which allows you to create multiple independent enumerators from a single collection.

Summary

Ruby 2.7 is full of new features and enhancements that will make your coding experience better and more efficient. From the Enumerable#tally method to experimental pattern matching, there are plenty of updates to explore and try out in your own projects. We hope this guide has provided a helpful overview of the new features in Ruby 2.7 and given you some ideas on how to use them in your own code.

Overview of New Features and Enhancements in Ruby 2.7
Scroll to top