In this section we explain two operators that are used in
connection with calls to methods: the method-call operator and
the splice operator.
A method call, which we have seen many examples of, is actually a
use of the method-call operator. It is written with a pair of
parentheses according to this template:
method-expression ( argument-list )
First the method-expression is calculated, to find out which
method to call. The method-expression is often a single
identifier, such as write, but can be more complicated. Then
all the expressions in the comma-separated argument-list are
calculated. Finally, the method is executed, with the argument values
as parameters.
Some notes about the method-call operator:
-
If the value of the method-expression is an array,
Pike assumes that each element in the array is a method that can be
called. Pike will call each method in that array, with the given
arguments, and the result of all this is an array with the return
values from the calls.
-
If the value of the method-expression is a program
(that is, a class), Pike will create (or clone) a new
object from that class, and then call the method create in
that object, with the given arguments.
The splice operator, written with a commercial-at sign
(@), lets us use an array as an argument list. For
example,
array a = ({ 17, -0.3, "foo" });
koogle(@a);
is equivalent to
koogle(17, -0.3, "foo");
