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11,042 PointsAdding a space causes an error!
HI! I noticed that in the add_transaction method definition, if I add a space between push and the parenthesis (see below)
def add_transaction(description, amount)
@transactions.push ( description: description, amount: amount )
end
it causes this error:
bank_account.rb:11: syntax error, unexpected tLABEL @transactions.push ( description: description, amount: amount ) ^ bank_account.rb:36: syntax error, unexpected end-of-input, expecting keyword_end puts bank_account.balance
instead if I remove the space between push and the parenthesis:
def add_transaction(description, amount)
@transactions.push( description: description, amount: amount )
end
It goes without errors! Could someone explain me why? :-)
1 Answer
Jason Anders
Treehouse Moderator 145,860 PointsHey Francesco,
Besides convention and syntax of Ruby, I think it's because Ruby is a interpreted language and .push
is a method call. But, when you have a space, the interpreter is unsure if you mean push
as a method call with is parameters or maybe a key word
with some invocations. So, it may not error out all the time, but in some situations (where there may be ambiguity), it could error out. So, it's just best to always not have a space.
When you don't have a space, there will be no doubts that what is in the parenthesis is attached to a method call and should be treated as such.
Sorry it's not more technical, this is just how I see the reasoning. Hope that helps.