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=== No Cryptic Perlisms [[no-cryptic-perlisms]]
Avoid using Perl-style special variables (like `$:`, `$;`, etc).
They are quite cryptic and their use in anything but one-liner scripts is discouraged.
[source,ruby]
----
# bad
$:.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__)
# good
$LOAD_PATH.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__)
----
Use the human-friendly aliases provided by the `English` library if required.
[source,ruby]
----
# bad
print $', $$
# good
require 'English'
print $POSTMATCH, $PID
----
=== Use `require_relative` whenever possible
For all your internal dependencies, you should use `require_relative`.
Use of `require` should be reserved for external dependencies
[source,ruby]
----
# bad
require 'set'
require 'my_gem/spec/helper'
require 'my_gem/lib/something'
# good
require 'set'
require_relative 'helper'
require_relative '../lib/something'
----
This way is more expressive (making clear which dependency is internal or not) and more efficient (as `require_relative` doesn't have to try all of `$LOAD_PATH` contrary to `require`).
=== Always Warn [[always-warn]]
Write `ruby -w` safe code.
=== No Optional Hash Params [[no-optional-hash-params]]
Avoid hashes as optional parameters.
Does the method do too much? (Object initializers are exceptions for this rule).
=== Instance Vars [[instance-vars]]
Use module instance variables instead of global variables.
[source,ruby]
----
# bad
$foo_bar = 1
# good
module Foo
class << self
attr_accessor :bar
end
end
Foo.bar = 1
----
=== `OptionParser` [[optionparser]]
Use `OptionParser` for parsing complex command line options and `ruby -s` for trivial command line options.
=== No Param Mutations [[no-param-mutations]]
Do not mutate parameters unless that is the purpose of the method.
=== Three is the Number Thou Shalt Count [[three-is-the-number-thou-shalt-count]]
Avoid more than three levels of block nesting.
=== Functional Code [[functional-code]]
Code in a functional way, avoiding mutation when that makes sense.
[source,ruby]
----
a = []; [1, 2, 3].each { |i| a << i * 2 } # bad
a = [1, 2, 3].map { |i| i * 2 } # good
a = {}; [1, 2, 3].each { |i| a[i] = i * 17 } # bad
a = [1, 2, 3].reduce({}) { |h, i| h[i] = i * 17; h } # good
a = [1, 2, 3].each_with_object({}) { |i, h| h[i] = i * 17 } # good
----