On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 19:00:55 +0900, Eustaquio Rangel de Oliveira Jr.
<eustaquiorangel / yahoo.com> wrote:
> I heard that immediate values holds the object, not a reference to
> it, is that right?
>
> I mean:
> 
> s1 = "test"     # a String located on for ex 0xCC53D5DF
> s2 = s1         # points to the same place as s1
> s3 = "test"     # ANOTHER String, locate on for ex 0xC0DD54D0
> n1 = 1          # Fixnum here, located on ... ?
> n2 = n1         # points to the same place as n1
> n3 = 1          # points to the same place as n1
> 
> So, Fixnum (as true, false and nil) objects uses the same object
> for all over the program, but Strings, for ex, does not, even if
> the value are the same there are distinct objects, right?
> 
> On the end, n1, n2 and n3 are not reference to this only one
> object allocated there, shared by all? Variables are not all
> references, even on the Fixnum case, pointing to an allocated
> single object there?

Up until this paragraph I was with you and completely agree.
Variables are all references, even to Fixnum and Symbol objects.
It's an implementation detail that all Fixnum and Symbol object
instances s are references to the same object, IMO.

-austin
-- 
Austin Ziegler * halostatue / gmail.com
               * Alternate: austin / halostatue.ca