Arrays are an essential part of programming and can be found in almost every programming language. They allow us to store a collection of elements in a single variable. In this blog post, we will explore how to merge arrays in Ruby, a widely-used and popular programming language.
Merging Arrays Using Concatenation
One of the simplest ways to merge arrays in Ruby is to use the concatenation operator +. This operator takes two arrays and combines them into a single array. Let’s take a look at an example:
array2 = [4, 5, 6]
merged_array = array1 + array2
puts merged_array.inspect
# Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Note that this method will create a new array that contains the elements of both input arrays. The original arrays will remain unchanged.
Merging Arrays Using the Concat Method
Another way to merge arrays in Ruby is to use the concat method. This method appends the elements of the second array to the first array. Here’s an example:
array2 = [4, 5, 6]
array1.concat(array2)
puts array1.inspect
# Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Unlike the concatenation operator, this method modifies the original array (in this case, array1). The second array remains unchanged.
Merging Arrays Using the push Method with the Splat Operator
You can also merge arrays in Ruby using the push method combined with the splat operator (*). The splat operator is used to pass the elements of an array as individual arguments to a method. Here’s how you can use this approach to merge arrays:
array2 = [4, 5, 6]
array1.push(*array2)
puts array1.inspect
# Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Like the concat method, this approach also modifies the first array (array1) while leaving the second array unchanged.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we’ve looked at three different ways to merge arrays in Ruby: using the concatenation operator, the concat method, and the push method with the splat operator. The choice of which method to use depends on whether you want to create a new array or modify an existing one, as well as your personal preference. Happy coding!