Shorthand block syntax in Crystal

Question

Is it possible to use a shorthand for blocks in Crystal, e.g.

my_array.sort_by(&:size)

This attempt returns an error:

... expected a function type, not Symbol

Prothesis

Answer 1

You can use this syntax:

my_array = ["123", "22", "1"]
sorted = my_array.sort_by &.size
puts sorted
=> ["1", "22", "123"]

Forsyth

Check crystal-lang.org/2013/09/15/to-proc.html it explains some of the reasons &. plays nicer than &: – Rourke

@BrianJCardiff I wonder if this syntax is going to change because of the new lonely operator – Forsyth

@dimid, I don't see the &. going away any time soon. we like how it feels. – Rourke

@BrianJCardiff I feel like it's an unnecessary breaking change from ruby to crystal, both syntaxes could be supported – Floria