On Wed, 28 Dec 2005 20:00:13 -0000, James Edward Gray II  
<james / grayproductions.net> wrote:

> On Dec 28, 2005, at 1:47 PM, Steve Litt wrote:
>
>> On Wednesday 28 December 2005 02:32 pm, Alex Knaub wrote:
>>>
>>> http://onestepback.org/index.cgi/Tech/Ruby/ 
>>> SymbolsAreNotImmutableStrings.re
>>> d
>>
>> The preceding URL tells me unequivically that symbols aren't strings,  
>> but
>> really doesn't tell me too much about what they are, other than what,
>> names???
>
> As one of the people guilty of saying what that article says we  
> shouldn't, I better try to get back in Jim's good graces by answering  
> this one...  ;)
>

I still think it's a useful description, at least for those of us coming  
 from Java. In fact it was reading one of your 'priors' that set me on the  
road to understanding a bit more - I couldn't get away from the internal  
connotations of the word 'Symbol' until I read that.

I still really think of symbols as an immutable _representation of_ a  
string. Although it's not entirely accurate it suits me I think. I am  
liking the Object with name thing the more I think about it. Or 'a name  
referenced by name'. Or whatever. :)

-- 
Ross Bamford - rosco / roscopeco.remove.co.uk