Ruby Structs

Introduction to Ruby Structs

Ruby Structs offer a convenient way to create simple classes without the boilerplate. They are particularly useful when you need a class with a few attributes and don’t require complex behavior or inheritance. Structs can behave like classes, allowing you to initialize objects with specific attributes.

Creating a Basic Ruby Struct

To define a struct in Ruby, you use the Struct.new method, passing a list of symbols representing the attribute names. This creates a new struct class that can be used to instantiate objects with those attributes.

Adding Methods to a Struct

Although structs are meant to be simple, you can add methods to them if needed. This allows you to encapsulate behavior related to the struct's attributes, similar to regular classes.

Inheritance and Structs

Structs in Ruby can inherit from other structs, but this is less common due to their lightweight nature. It's generally better to use structs for simple data containers and reserve inheritance for more complex class hierarchies.

Struct vs. OpenStruct

While both Struct and OpenStruct provide ways to create data structures, they have different use cases. Struct is more performant and should be used when attribute names are known at the time of coding. OpenStruct is more flexible and allows for dynamic attributes, though it comes with a performance cost.

Conclusion

Ruby Structs provide a powerful yet simple way to create classes with attributes, making them ideal for lightweight data structures. They strike a balance between convenience and performance, offering flexibility for small to medium-sized projects.