Bug #6132: Assignments don't happen correctly in "if" modifiers

• Status: Rejected
• Assignee: -
• Target version: -
• ruby -v: ruby 1.9.3p0 (2011-10-30 revision 33570) [x86_64-darwin11.0.0]

[ibrahimtencer (Ibrahim Tencer)]

This works:

if lo = 3
la = lo
end

but this does not:

(la = lo) if (lo = 3)

It raises "NameError: undefined local variable or method `lo' for main:Object." But if you look at the values afterwards you get lo -> 3, la -> nil.

[drbrain (Eric Hodel)]

• Status changed from Open to Rejected

This is a feature of ruby.

Ruby parses left to right, so it see "lo" on the assignment side of the if. Since no local variable "lo" has been encountered yet it must be a method. Ruby then encounters the assignment to lo and creates the local variable.