# Difference between ', " and : **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [December 28, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535 "2006-12-28T15:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eddie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535/1 "2006-12-28T15:12:31Z")
Hi, I’ve seen source like: params[:user] and params[‘user’], or also :action =\> ‘new’ and :action =\> :new, is it also possible write params[“user”]? So, which are the differences between ', " and : ? when use for example : instead of others? I’ve read that, for example, in a put(‘name: #{user.name}’) the output will be name: #{user.name} and with “” instead of ‘’ will be, for example, name: John is it right? can anyone explain me these differences? thanks 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eddie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535/2 "2006-12-28T16:36:55Z")
thanks 🙂 I’ve taken this: [http://www.sapphiresteel.com/The-Little-Book-Of-Ruby](http://www.sapphiresteel.com/The-Little-Book-Of-Ruby) I’m going immediately to study it… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eddie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535/3 "2006-12-28T16:28:16Z")
eddie wrote: > Hi, I’ve seen source like: params[:user] and params[‘user’], or also > :action =\> ‘new’ and :action =\> :new, is it also possible write > params[“user”]? Please read a book about Ruby itself. :yo is a symbol, ‘yo’ a string. A hash could contain :yo and ‘yo’ as distinct keys. But :‘yo’ and ‘yo’.to\_sym are the same as :yo. Rails prefers symbols because they are mildly more physically efficient, and they are much more cognitively efficient. > So, which are the differences between ', " and : ? when use for example > : instead of others? > I’ve read that, for example, in a put(‘name: #{user.name}’) the output > will be name: #{user.name} and with “” instead of ‘’ will be, for > example, name: John > is it right? That’s because #{} calls .to\_s, and :yo.to\_s is ‘yo’. “yo” is also a string, but “” markers can interpret advanced \ escapes and #{} marks. > can anyone explain me these differences? A book about Ruby may have come with your copy of it. Curl up with that for a few hours, and your own code - between the Rails code - will improve a lot. – Phlip [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand](http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand) ← NOT a blog!! ---
**Author:** ![eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eddie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535/4 "2006-12-28T17:36:38Z")
Look on the Ruby mailing list, I asked the same question and got a great answer. The Subject was “Symbols vs Strings” I won’t reproduce it here since this is a Rails list and not a Ruby list. but check it out, and I think it will more than answer your question. Matt ---
**Author:** ![eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eddie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535/5 "2006-12-28T17:14:30Z")
eddie wrote: > I’ve taken this: [http://www.sapphiresteel.com/The-Little-Book-Of-Ruby](http://www.sapphiresteel.com/The-Little-Book-Of-Ruby) > I’m going immediately to study it… 🙂 You might also like Why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby. > Why’s it poignant? That’s the author’s pen-name; Why. > But why is his guide poignant. Yes, I have heard Why’s guide is poignant like that. > But why is it… Yep; it’s his book. Why. – Phlip [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand](http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand) ← NOT a blog!! ---
**Author:** ![eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eddie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535/6 "2006-12-28T21:53:44Z")
eddie wrote: > thanks 🙂 > I’ve taken this: [http://www.sapphiresteel.com/The-Little-Book-Of-Ruby](http://www.sapphiresteel.com/The-Little-Book-Of-Ruby) > I’m going immediately to study it… 🙂 That will not take you very far. The first edition of “Programming Ruby” is available free, here: [http://www.ruby-doc.org/](http://www.ruby-doc.org/) along with a lot of other documentation. Learn to use irb to try examples interactively. regards Justin ---
**Author:** ![eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eddie)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 11:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535/7 "2006-12-31T11:28:12Z")
Eddie, ‘user’ != :user, but Rails uses HashWithIndifferentAccess instead of standard Hash i many places, so you can use params[:user] or params[‘user’] See: [http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/HashWithIndifferentAccess.html](http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/HashWithIndifferentAccess.html) [http://redcorundum.blogspot.com/2006/07/symbolickeyhash.html](http://redcorundum.blogspot.com/2006/07/symbolickeyhash.html) > **[FamUndo.com is for sale | HugeDomains](https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=famundo.com)** > > Great domain names provide SEO, branding, and a memorable experience for your users. Get a premium domain today. Alain ---
**Author:** ![eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@eddie](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/eddie)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/difference-between-and/80535/8 "2007-01-03T14:56:20Z")
I’d have to add that there’s a lot of new things Ruby’s learned to do between the two editions of the Pickaxe [the nickname readers have given to “Programming Ruby”]. Once you’ve made it through the first edition and feel like you and Ruby are a good fit you would do well to pick up a hard copy of the second edition. Everyone’s favorite method, Enumerable#inject, is a prime example of what you’re missing out on. RSL