Global Nerdy

# Time to establish my "old fart" credentials
classic_rock_bands = ["AC/DC", "Black Sabbath", "Queen", \
"Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes", "Scorpions", "Van Halen"]
=> ["AC/DC", "Black Sabbath", "Queen", "Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes",
"Scorpions", "Van Halen"]

# Of the bands in the array, which is the first one
# whose name is longer than 8 characters?
classic_rock_bands.find {|band| band.length > 8}
=> "Black Sabbath"

# Which is the first one whose name is exactly
# 5 characters long?
classic_rock_bands.find {|band| band.length == 5}
=> "AC/DC"

# The order of items in the array can affect "find"'s result.
# Let's put the array into reverse sorted order:
classic_rock_bands.sort!.reverse!
=> ["Van Halen", "Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes", "Scorpions", \
"Queen", "Black Sabbath", "AC/DC"]

# Again: which is the first band whose name
# is longer than 8 characters?
=> "Van Halen"

# Again: which is the first band whose name
# is exactly 5 characters?
=> "Queen"

# If no band in the array meets the criteria,
# "find" returns nil.
# There are no bands in the list with names shorter
# than 5 characters...
classic_rock_bands.find {|band| band.length < 5}
=> nil

years_founded = {"AC/DC" => 1973, \
                 "Black Sabbath" => 1968, \
                 "Queen" => 1970, \
                 "Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes" => 1967, \
                 "Scorpions" => 1965, \
                 "Van Halen" => 1972}
# Ruby 1.8 re-orders hashes in some mysterious way that is almost never
# the way you entered it. Here's what I got in Ruby 1.8:
=> {"Queen"=>1970, "AC/DC"=>1973, "Black Sabbath"=>1968, "Scorpions"=>1965,
"Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes"=>1967, "Van Halen"=>1972}

# Ruby 1.9 preserves hash order so that hashes keep the order in which
# you defined them. Here's what I got in Ruby 1.9:
=> {"AC/DC"=>1973, "Black Sabbath"=>1968, "Queen"=>1970,
"Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes"=>1967, "Scorpions"=>1965, "Van Halen"=>1972}

# Which band is the first in the hash to be founded
# in 1970 or later?
years_founded.find {|band| band[1] >= 1970}
# In Ruby 1.8, the result is:
=> ["Queen", 1970]
# In Ruby 1.9, the result is:
=> ["AC/DC", 1973]

# Here's another way of phrasing it:
years_founded.find {|band, year_founded| year_founded >= 1970}

# Once again, the array of classic rock bands
classic_rock_bands = ["AC/DC", "Black Sabbath", "Queen", \
"Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes", "Scorpions", "Van Halen"]

# Let's define a proc that will simply returns the band name
# "ABBA", who are most definitely not considered to be
# a classic rock band.
default_band = Proc.new {"ABBA"}

# Procs are objects, so using a proc's name alone isn't sufficient
to invoke its code -- doing so will simply return the proc object.
default_band
=> #<Proc:0x00553f34@(irb):31>
# (The actual value will be different for you, but you get the idea.)

# To call a proc, you have to use its "call" method:
default_band.call
=> "ABBA"

# What we want to do is use "default_band" as a proc that
# provides a default value in the event that detect/find doesn't
# find a value that matches the critera.

# detect/find calls the "call" method of the object you provide
# as the argument if no item in the collection matches the
# criteria in the block.

# There *is* a band in the array that comes after
# "Led Zeppelin" alphabetically: Queen.
classic_rock_bands.find(default_band) {|band| band > "Led Zeppelin"}
=> "Queen"

# The last band in the array, alphabetically speaking,
# is Van Halen. So if we ask detect/find to find a band that
# comes after Van Halen, it won't find one.
# Without the argument, detect/find returns nil,
# but *with* the argument, it will invoke the "call"
# method of the object you provide it.
classic_rock_bands.find(default_band) {|band| band > "Van Halen"}
=> "ABBA"

# Let's try something a little fancier. This time, we'll use a lambda.
# The differences between procs and lambdas are very fine -- I suggest
# you check Eli Bendersky's article for those differences.

# Let's create a lambda that when called,
# returns the name of a randomly-selected pop singer.
random_band = lambda do
    fallback_bands = ["Britney Spears", "Christina Aguilera", "Ashlee Simpson"]
    fallback_bands[rand(fallback_bands.size)]
end

# Let's give it a try...
classic_rock_bands.find(random_band) {|band| band > "Van Halen"}
=> "Britney Spears"

classic_rock_bands.find(random_band) {|band| band > "Van Halen"}
=> "Ashlee Simpson"

classic_rock_bands.find(random_band) {|band| band > "Van Halen"}
=> "Christina Aguilera"

classic_rock_bands.find(random_band) {|band| band > "Led Zeppelin"}
=> "Queen"