On Wed, 03 Apr 2002 00:15:10 GMT, "Chris Morris" <home / clabs.org> wrote:

>I seem to have an inherent distaste for eval, but I don't know why. I've
>heard it has performance concerns, but that seems to be the only pragmatic
>reason to not use it in cases where that matters. Are there any other
>pragmatic concerns with eval? Is its use a design red-flag? Is there
>something to my gut instinct, or is it a holdover from my strong-typing
>past?

In my experience and opinion, there are very few valid reasons to use eval.

I've used eval in Ruby once: to build a Ruby browser that let us type and save
single methods at a time, the way one does in Smalltalk. 

I believe that was a valid use. I can't think of another one. 

It's fun to play with. Most users of languages that have eval seem to play with
eval for a while. Then they get tired of killing their own programs, and move on
to something better. It's kind of a rite of passage.

Just don't try this at work. ;->

Ronald E Jeffries
http://www.XProgramming.com
http://www.objectmentor.com
I'm giving the best advice I have. You get to decide whether it's true for you.