one-line case/when

[burke]

Use when x then ... for one-line cases. The alternative syntax when x; ... is deprecated in Ruby 1.9.

This is actually not true. The syntax that was deprecated was when x: ..., with a colon, to avoid collision with the new hash literal syntax (eg: when key: value then :result)

I prefer to use when x; ..., since horizontal space is at a premium, especially when assigning the result to variable. The then is also kind of line-noise-y too, as it's implied by the presence of a when.

Anyway, I'm not against suggesting use of then for one-liners, but when x; ... is not deprecated, and should maybe be the suggested method. Discuss?

EDIT:

Never use if x; ... - it is deprecated in Ruby 1.9. Use the ternary operator instead.

This is also inaccurate. Bad for other reasons, but not deprecated.

[bbatsov]

You're right of course. A double typo on my part. I don't like multiple statements on the same line separated with ; so I'm against recommending when x; ... I feel that the readability loss outweighs the gain of a few characters.