A Struct is a convenient way to bundle a number of attributes together, using accessor methods, without having to write an explicit class.
The Struct class generates new subclasses that hold a set of members and their values. For each member a reader and writer method is created similar to Module#attr_accessor.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address) do def greeting "Hello #{name}!" end end dave = Customer.new("Dave", "123 Main") dave.name #=> "Dave" dave.greeting #=> "Hello Dave!"
See ::new for further examples of creating struct subclasses and instances.
In the method descriptions that follow, a “member” parameter refers to a
struct member which is either a quoted string
("name") or a Symbol
(:name).
The first two forms are used to create a new Struct subclass class_name that can
contain a value for each member_name. This subclass can be
used to create instances of the structure like any other Class.
If the class_name is omitted an anonymous structure class will
be created. Otherwise, the name of this struct will appear as a constant
in class Struct, so it must be unique for all
Structs in the system and must start with a capital letter. Assigning a
structure class to a constant also gives the class the name of the
constant.
# Create a structure with a name under Struct Struct.new("Customer", :name, :address) #=> Struct::Customer Struct::Customer.new("Dave", "123 Main") #=> #<struct Struct::Customer name="Dave", address="123 Main"> # Create a structure named by its constant Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address) #=> Customer Customer.new("Dave", "123 Main") #=> #<struct Customer name="Dave", address="123 Main">
If the optional keyword_init keyword argument is set to
true, .new takes keyword arguments instead of normal
arguments.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, keyword_init: true) Customer.new(name: "Dave", address: "123 Main") #=> #<struct Customer name="Dave", address="123 Main">
If a block is given it will be evaluated in the context of
StructClass, passing the created class as a parameter:
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address) do def greeting "Hello #{name}!" end end Customer.new("Dave", "123 Main").greeting #=> "Hello Dave!"
This is the recommended way to customize a struct. Subclassing an anonymous struct creates an extra anonymous class that will never be used.
The last two forms create a new instance of a struct subclass. The number
of value parameters must be less than or equal to the number
of attributes defined for the structure. Unset parameters default to
nil. Passing more parameters than number of attributes will
raise an ArgumentError.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address) Customer.new("Dave", "123 Main") #=> #<struct Customer name="Dave", address="123 Main"> Customer["Dave"] #=> #<struct Customer name="Dave", address=nil>
static VALUE
rb_struct_s_def(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE klass)
{
VALUE name, rest, keyword_init = Qfalse;
long i;
VALUE st;
st_table *tbl;
rb_check_arity(argc, 1, UNLIMITED_ARGUMENTS);
name = argv[0];
if (SYMBOL_P(name)) {
name = Qnil;
}
else {
--argc;
++argv;
}
if (RB_TYPE_P(argv[argc-1], T_HASH)) {
static ID keyword_ids[1];
if (!keyword_ids[0]) {
keyword_ids[0] = rb_intern("keyword_init");
}
rb_get_kwargs(argv[argc-1], keyword_ids, 0, 1, &keyword_init);
if (keyword_init == Qundef) {
keyword_init = Qfalse;
}
--argc;
}
rest = rb_ident_hash_new();
RBASIC_CLEAR_CLASS(rest);
OBJ_WB_UNPROTECT(rest);
tbl = RHASH_TBL_RAW(rest);
for (i=0; i<argc; i++) {
VALUE mem = rb_to_symbol(argv[i]);
if (rb_is_attrset_sym(mem)) {
rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "invalid struct member: %"PRIsVALUE, mem);
}
if (st_insert(tbl, mem, Qtrue)) {
rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "duplicate member: %"PRIsVALUE, mem);
}
}
rest = rb_hash_keys(rest);
st_clear(tbl);
RBASIC_CLEAR_CLASS(rest);
OBJ_FREEZE_RAW(rest);
if (NIL_P(name)) {
st = anonymous_struct(klass);
}
else {
st = new_struct(name, klass);
}
setup_struct(st, rest);
rb_ivar_set(st, id_keyword_init, keyword_init);
if (rb_block_given_p()) {
rb_mod_module_eval(0, 0, st);
}
return st;
}
Equality—Returns true if other has the same
struct subclass and has equal member values (according to Object#==).
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joejr = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) jane = Customer.new("Jane Doe", "456 Elm, Anytown NC", 12345) joe == joejr #=> true joe == jane #=> false
static VALUE
rb_struct_equal(VALUE s, VALUE s2)
{
if (s == s2) return Qtrue;
if (!RB_TYPE_P(s2, T_STRUCT)) return Qfalse;
if (rb_obj_class(s) != rb_obj_class(s2)) return Qfalse;
if (RSTRUCT_LEN(s) != RSTRUCT_LEN(s2)) {
rb_bug("inconsistent struct"); /* should never happen */
}
return rb_exec_recursive_paired(recursive_equal, s, s2, s2);
}
Attribute Reference—Returns the value of the given struct
member or the member at the given index. Raises
NameError if the member does not
exist and IndexError if the
index is out of range.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe["name"] #=> "Joe Smith" joe[:name] #=> "Joe Smith" joe[0] #=> "Joe Smith"
VALUE
rb_struct_aref(VALUE s, VALUE idx)
{
int i = rb_struct_pos(s, &idx);
if (i < 0) invalid_struct_pos(s, idx);
return RSTRUCT_GET(s, i);
}
Attribute Assignment—Sets the value of the given struct member
or the member at the given index. Raises NameError if the member does not
exist and IndexError if the
index is out of range.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe["name"] = "Luke" joe[:zip] = "90210" joe.name #=> "Luke" joe.zip #=> "90210"
VALUE
rb_struct_aset(VALUE s, VALUE idx, VALUE val)
{
int i = rb_struct_pos(s, &idx);
if (i < 0) invalid_struct_pos(s, idx);
rb_struct_modify(s);
RSTRUCT_SET(s, i, val);
return val;
}
Returns the values for this struct as an Array.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.to_a[1] #=> "123 Maple, Anytown NC"
static VALUE
rb_struct_to_a(VALUE s)
{
return rb_ary_new4(RSTRUCT_LEN(s), RSTRUCT_CONST_PTR(s));
}
static VALUE
rb_struct_deconstruct_keys(VALUE s, VALUE keys)
{
VALUE h;
long i;
if (NIL_P(keys)) {
return rb_struct_to_h(s);
}
if (UNLIKELY(!RB_TYPE_P(keys, T_ARRAY))) {
rb_raise(rb_eTypeError,
"wrong argument type %"PRIsVALUE" (expected Array or nil)",
rb_obj_class(keys));
}
if (RSTRUCT_LEN(s) < RARRAY_LEN(keys)) {
return rb_hash_new_with_size(0);
}
h = rb_hash_new_with_size(RARRAY_LEN(keys));
for (i=0; i<RARRAY_LEN(keys); i++) {
VALUE key = RARRAY_AREF(keys, i);
int i = rb_struct_pos(s, &key);
if (i < 0) {
return h;
}
rb_hash_aset(h, key, RSTRUCT_GET(s, i));
}
return h;
}
Finds and returns the object in nested objects that is specified by
key and identifiers. The nested objects may be
instances of various classes. See Dig
Methods.
Examples:
Foo = Struct.new(:a) f = Foo.new(Foo.new({b: [1, 2, 3]})) f.dig(:a) # => #<struct Foo a={:b=>[1, 2, 3]}> f.dig(:a, :a) # => {:b=>[1, 2, 3]} f.dig(:a, :a, :b) # => [1, 2, 3] f.dig(:a, :a, :b, 0) # => 1 f.dig(:b, 0) # => nil
static VALUE
rb_struct_dig(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE self)
{
rb_check_arity(argc, 1, UNLIMITED_ARGUMENTS);
self = rb_struct_lookup(self, *argv);
if (!--argc) return self;
++argv;
return rb_obj_dig(argc, argv, self, Qnil);
}
Yields the value of each struct member in order. If no block is given an enumerator is returned.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.each {|x| puts(x) }
Produces:
Joe Smith 123 Maple, Anytown NC 12345
static VALUE
rb_struct_each(VALUE s)
{
long i;
RETURN_SIZED_ENUMERATOR(s, 0, 0, struct_enum_size);
for (i=0; i<RSTRUCT_LEN(s); i++) {
rb_yield(RSTRUCT_GET(s, i));
}
return s;
}
Yields the name and value of each struct member in order. If no block is given an enumerator is returned.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.each_pair {|name, value| puts("#{name} => #{value}") }
Produces:
name => Joe Smith address => 123 Maple, Anytown NC zip => 12345
static VALUE
rb_struct_each_pair(VALUE s)
{
VALUE members;
long i;
RETURN_SIZED_ENUMERATOR(s, 0, 0, struct_enum_size);
members = rb_struct_members(s);
if (rb_block_pair_yield_optimizable()) {
for (i=0; i<RSTRUCT_LEN(s); i++) {
VALUE key = rb_ary_entry(members, i);
VALUE value = RSTRUCT_GET(s, i);
rb_yield_values(2, key, value);
}
}
else {
for (i=0; i<RSTRUCT_LEN(s); i++) {
VALUE key = rb_ary_entry(members, i);
VALUE value = RSTRUCT_GET(s, i);
rb_yield(rb_assoc_new(key, value));
}
}
return s;
}
Hash equality—other and
struct refer to the same hash key if they have the same struct
subclass and have equal member values (according to Object#eql?).
static VALUE
rb_struct_eql(VALUE s, VALUE s2)
{
if (s == s2) return Qtrue;
if (!RB_TYPE_P(s2, T_STRUCT)) return Qfalse;
if (rb_obj_class(s) != rb_obj_class(s2)) return Qfalse;
if (RSTRUCT_LEN(s) != RSTRUCT_LEN(s2)) {
rb_bug("inconsistent struct"); /* should never happen */
}
return rb_exec_recursive_paired(recursive_eql, s, s2, s2);
}
Yields each member value from the struct to the block and returns an Array containing the member values from the
struct for which the given block returns a true value
(equivalent to Enumerable#select).
Lots = Struct.new(:a, :b, :c, :d, :e, :f) l = Lots.new(11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66) l.select {|v| v.even? } #=> [22, 44, 66]
#filter is an alias for #select.
static VALUE
rb_struct_select(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE s)
{
VALUE result;
long i;
rb_check_arity(argc, 0, 0);
RETURN_SIZED_ENUMERATOR(s, 0, 0, struct_enum_size);
result = rb_ary_new();
for (i = 0; i < RSTRUCT_LEN(s); i++) {
if (RTEST(rb_yield(RSTRUCT_GET(s, i)))) {
rb_ary_push(result, RSTRUCT_GET(s, i));
}
}
return result;
}
Returns a hash value based on this struct's contents.
See also Object#hash.
static VALUE
rb_struct_hash(VALUE s)
{
long i, len;
st_index_t h;
VALUE n;
h = rb_hash_start(rb_hash(rb_obj_class(s)));
len = RSTRUCT_LEN(s);
for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
n = rb_hash(RSTRUCT_GET(s, i));
h = rb_hash_uint(h, NUM2LONG(n));
}
h = rb_hash_end(h);
return ST2FIX(h);
}
Returns a description of this struct as a string.
static VALUE
rb_struct_inspect(VALUE s)
{
return rb_exec_recursive(inspect_struct, s, 0);
}
Returns the number of struct members.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.length #=> 3
VALUE
rb_struct_size(VALUE s)
{
return LONG2FIX(RSTRUCT_LEN(s));
}
Returns the struct members as an array of symbols:
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.members #=> [:name, :address, :zip]
static VALUE
rb_struct_members_m(VALUE obj)
{
return rb_struct_s_members_m(rb_obj_class(obj));
}
Yields each member value from the struct to the block and returns an Array containing the member values from the
struct for which the given block returns a true value
(equivalent to Enumerable#select).
Lots = Struct.new(:a, :b, :c, :d, :e, :f) l = Lots.new(11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66) l.select {|v| v.even? } #=> [22, 44, 66]
#filter is an alias for #select.
static VALUE
rb_struct_select(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE s)
{
VALUE result;
long i;
rb_check_arity(argc, 0, 0);
RETURN_SIZED_ENUMERATOR(s, 0, 0, struct_enum_size);
result = rb_ary_new();
for (i = 0; i < RSTRUCT_LEN(s); i++) {
if (RTEST(rb_yield(RSTRUCT_GET(s, i)))) {
rb_ary_push(result, RSTRUCT_GET(s, i));
}
}
return result;
}
Returns the number of struct members.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.length #=> 3
VALUE
rb_struct_size(VALUE s)
{
return LONG2FIX(RSTRUCT_LEN(s));
}
Returns the values for this struct as an Array.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.to_a[1] #=> "123 Maple, Anytown NC"
static VALUE
rb_struct_to_a(VALUE s)
{
return rb_ary_new4(RSTRUCT_LEN(s), RSTRUCT_CONST_PTR(s));
}
Returns a Hash containing the names and values for the struct's members.
If a block is given, the results of the block on each pair of the receiver will be used as pairs.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.to_h[:address] #=> "123 Maple, Anytown NC" joe.to_h{|name, value| [name.upcase, value.to_s.upcase]}[:ADDRESS] #=> "123 MAPLE, ANYTOWN NC"
static VALUE
rb_struct_to_h(VALUE s)
{
VALUE h = rb_hash_new_with_size(RSTRUCT_LEN(s));
VALUE members = rb_struct_members(s);
long i;
int block_given = rb_block_given_p();
for (i=0; i<RSTRUCT_LEN(s); i++) {
VALUE k = rb_ary_entry(members, i), v = RSTRUCT_GET(s, i);
if (block_given)
rb_hash_set_pair(h, rb_yield_values(2, k, v));
else
rb_hash_aset(h, k, v);
}
return h;
}
Returns the values for this struct as an Array.
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.to_a[1] #=> "123 Maple, Anytown NC"
static VALUE
rb_struct_to_a(VALUE s)
{
return rb_ary_new4(RSTRUCT_LEN(s), RSTRUCT_CONST_PTR(s));
}
Returns the struct member values for each selector as an Array. A selector may be either an Integer offset or a Range
of offsets (as in Array#values_at).
Customer = Struct.new(:name, :address, :zip) joe = Customer.new("Joe Smith", "123 Maple, Anytown NC", 12345) joe.values_at(0, 2) #=> ["Joe Smith", 12345]
static VALUE
rb_struct_values_at(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE s)
{
return rb_get_values_at(s, RSTRUCT_LEN(s), argc, argv, struct_entry);
}