On May 9, 2007, at 2:40 PM, robninja / gmail.com wrote:
> Could someone explain whether this is convention or if there is
> another reason for this?

As the other responders have pointed out, you have to use :: when
you are accessing constants within modules.  And since classes
are modules, the same applies for classes.

While both :: and . work for calling methods, I prefer . because
it emphasizes the idea that a module (or a class) is *just*
another object and isn't 'special' with respect to method
invocation.

Gary Wright