> i've been thinking about posting this as an RCR.

Interesting idea. Some comments...

> i would really like to see hash pairs (associations) become real
> objects. i think it would be a very powerful and useful construct. there
> are number of things one could then do. The simpliest obviosuly being:
>
>   x = 'a'=>1
>   y = 'b'=>2
>
>   hash = { x, y }

Hmm. This doesn't really accomplish anything except a simpler
syntax (for the last statement), does it? And what happens if 
you put something into the braces that isn't an Assoc object?

> ordered hashes also become a snap, implemented as arrays of these
> associations:
>
>   ordhash = [ x, y ]

Well, it's ordered, all right; but is it really a hash
any more? E.g., could you still get this to work?

  z = ordhash['a']     # equals 1

Not without changing the [] method of Array. And if you
change it in such a way, you're making Array into Hash.

> or, without the above x and y assignments, just
>
>   ordhash = [ 'a'=>1 , 'b'=>2 ]

Same comments.

I'm still open to being convinced this is useful,
though...


Hal