On 4/30/07, Gary Wright <gwtmp01 / mac.com> wrote:
>
> On Apr 30, 2007, at 9:58 AM, Jano Svitok wrote:
> > This is kind of "hack" / implementation detail:
> >
> > this bit is a flag that distinguishes between immediate values and
> > full objects.
>
> This is another of my attempts to kill the 'immediate value' meme
> in Ruby.  Feel free to ignore.
>
>
> I think Ruby's semantics are clearer if you consider that the only
> 'values' in the language are references.  These values reference
> objects but the objects themselves are not manipulated as values
> by the language.
>
> Some references indicate implicit objects (nil, false, true,
> fixnums, and symbols) and some references indicate explicit objects
> (everything else).  This differentiation is mostly an
> implementation detail.
>
> This point of view makes assignment and parameter passing semantics
> consistent regardless of what objects are being referenced.
>
>
> Gary Wright

Thanks, your explanation seems clearer.