My First Hash

Objectives

1. Create hashes using the literal constructor.
2. Retrieve data from hashes using the bracket method.
3. Add data to hashes using the "bracket-equals" method.

Instructions

Challenge I: Instantiating Hashes

In the my_hash method, use the literal constructor to set a variable called your_hash equal to a hash with key/value pairs of your choice.

Note: The variable name you use within the my_hash method does not actually matter. All that matters is that the return value of my_hash is a valid hash. The return values of a method is always the last line of code a method executes.

Remember, key/value pairs are associative. It doesn't make sense to have a key/value pair of "my_name" => 78. It does make sense to have a key/value pair of "my_name" => "Herman Melville" (if you happen to be that author, of course).

Challenge II: Hash with Data

In the shipping_manifest method, set a variable called the_manifest equal to a hash.

Fill that hash with key/value pairs that describe the following information and then return the hash:

Inventory	Quantity
whale bone corsets	5
porcelain vases	2
oil paintings	3

Your hash should have the following key/value pairs:

"whale bone corsets" => 5
"porcelain vases" => 2
"oil paintings" => 3

Challenge III: Retrieving Data

In the retrieval method we've given you the shipping_manifest hash that you built out in the previous challenge. Use the [] hash method to look up and return the value of the "oil paintings" key of the shipping_manifest hash.

For example, if we have the following hash:

hash = {"key1" => "value1"}

We can look up and return the value of "key1" like this:

hash["key1"]

Challenge IV: Adding Data

In the adding method, we've once again given you the shipping_manifest hash. Use the []= method to add the following data to the hash:

Inventory	Quantity
muskets	2
gun powder	4

In the end your hash should have all of the following keys and values:

"whale bone corsets" => 5
"porcelain vases" => 2
"oil paintings" => 3
"muskets" => 2
"gun powder" => 4

This method must return the shipping_manifest hash. Make sure that the last line of the method is a reference to the variable shipping_manifest.

Remember that the return value of using the []= method is the value of the key/value pair you added. We need our adding method to return the shipping_manifest. Here's a refresher on the []= method:

hash = {"key1" => "value1"}
hash["key2"] = "value2"
#=> "value2"

hash
#=> {"key1" => "value1", "key2" => "value2"}

Hope you had fun hashing out the ship's inventory!