# Passing a hash of args **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [January 8, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896 "2006-01-08T23:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/1 "2006-01-08T23:57:34Z")
Is there a way to pass each item is a hash as a successive argument to a function? ie: time = { :year =\> 2003 :month =\> 03 :day =\> 24 } Time.local(time) (that wouldn’t work but you get the idea) Cheers ---
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/2 "2006-01-09T00:00:35Z")
On Mon, Jan 09, 2006 at 07:55:42AM +0900, Jonathan L. wrote: > Time.local(time) > > (that wouldn’t work but you get the idea) Hashes aren’t ordered. Otherwise you could just do Time.local(\*time.values). Time.local(\*[:year, :month, :day].map {|key| time[key]}) is DRYer but more typing than Time.local(time[:year], time[:month], time[:day]) I look forward to someone else coming up with something clever. marcel ---
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/3 "2006-01-09T00:03:36Z")
Jonathan L. wrote: > } Time.local(\*time.values.reverse) – Daniel ---
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/4 "2006-01-09T00:18:46Z")
On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 23:00:42 -0000, Daniel H. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > > :day =\> 24 > > } > > Time.local(time) > > > > (that wouldn’t work but you get the idea) > > Time.local(\*time.values.reverse) Pretty sure that’d only work with some hashes, and only if you had less than a bucketful of entries? Cheers, ---
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:36am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/5 "2006-01-09T00:36:55Z")
On Jan 9, 2006, at 12:18 AM, Ross B. wrote: > Yes, my mistake. (too late to be thinking here…) James’s suggestion seems to be the best. – Daniel ---
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/6 "2006-01-09T01:07:03Z")
On Mon, 2006-01-09 at 08:01 +0900, James Edward G. II wrote: > =\> Mon Mar 24 00:00:00 CST 2003 > Cool. Thanks everyone. I didn’t realise you could do \*myvar when calling > a method as well as when defining them. I was basically looking for a > way to do the following (which I’ve managed to solve without use of a > hash): class Time UNITS = [:year, :month, :day, :hour, :min, :sec, :usec] def to\_precision(unit) args = [] 0.upto(UNITS.index(unit)) { |unit| args \<\< method(UNITS[unit]).call } Time.local(\*args) end end Is that a sensible way to do it? Cheers ---
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/7 "2006-01-09T00:03:37Z")
On Jan 8, 2006, at 4:55 PM, Jonathan L. wrote: > } > Time.local(time) Well, Hashes are unordered by definition, but as long as we declare an order it’s doable: > > time = { > > ?\> :year =\> 2003, > > ?\> :month =\> 03, > > ?\> :day =\> 24 > > > } > > =\> {:month=\>3, :year=\>2003, :day=\>24} > > > Time.local(\*time.values\_at(:year, :month, :day)) > > =\> Mon Mar 24 00:00:00 CST 2003 Hope that helps. James Edward G. II ---
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/8 "2006-01-09T18:25:49Z")
On Mon, 2006-01-09 at 10:26 +0900, removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid wrote: > > Is that a sensible way to do it? > > I would do: > > send(UNITS[unit]) > > in preference to the method/call thing. Maybe: > > args = (0…UNITS.index(unit)).map { |unit| send(UNITS[unit]) } Awesome, thanks. I did feel the method/call bit was slightly ugly. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@johanatan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/johanatan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/passing-a-hash-of-args/51896/9 "2006-01-09T02:28:25Z")
Hi – On Mon, 9 Jan 2006, Jonathan L. wrote: > > > > Time.local(\*time.values\_at(:year, :month, :day)) > > > > def to\_precision(unit) > > > > args = [] > > > > 0.upto(UNITS.index(unit)) { |unit| args \<\< > > > > method(UNITS[unit]).call } > > > > Time.local(\*args) > > > > end > > > > end > > Is that a sensible way to do it? I would do: send(UNITS[unit]) in preference to the method/call thing. Maybe: args = (0…UNITS.index(unit)).map { |unit| send(UNITS[unit]) } David – David A. Black removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid “Ruby for Rails”, from Manning Publications, coming April 2006! > **[Ruby for Rails](https://www.manning.com/books/ruby-for-rails)** > > NEWER EDITION AVAILABLE > > The Well-Grounded Rubyist, Second Edition is now available. An eBook of the previous edition, The Well-Grounded Rubyist is included at no additional cost when you buy the revised edition! > > > Ruby for Rails helps Rails...