ruby dynamic class instance creation - ruby

Question

I'm programming a board game as part of an Ruby OOP learning exercise. I'm attempting to create a game board consisting of nine spaces arranged in three rows of three. Below is a snippet of the currently non-functioning code:
class Board
def initialize()
#dynamically creates instances of the Space class named #s1 through #s9 with #s 1-9 as the location parameter
9.times do |x|
x += 1
y = "#s" + x.to_s
instance_variable_set( y , x.to_s) = Space.new
end
end
def print_board
#prints a 3X3 grid containing each instance's location parameter
puts "\n\n#{#s1.location}|#{#s2.location}|#{#s3.location}\n-----\n#{#s4.location}|#{#s5.location}|#{#s6.location}\n-----\n#{#s7.location}|#{#s8.location}|#{#s9.location}\n\n\n"
end
end
class Space
attr_accessor :location
def initialize(location)
#location = location
end
end
board = Board.new
board.print_board
The desired output is:
X|X|X
-----
X|X|X
-----
X|X|X
...but I keep getting errors related to the creation of instances of the Space class. I've tried so many different things that I can't remember them all. I know there has to be a way to do it like this, but I'm new to Ruby, and it has me stumped. I know could just create 9 individual instances of the Space class, but that seems cheap and dirty.

Answer 1

Here's a slightly re-worked, more Ruby-style version of same:
class Board
def initialize
#board = Array.new(9) do
Space.new
end
end
def move(x,y,set)
#board[(x - 1) + (y - 1) * 3].location = set
end
def to_s
#board.each_slice(3).collect do |row|
row.join('|')
end.join("\n------\n") + "\n"
end
end
class Space
attr_accessor :location
def initialize(location = nil)
#location = location || ' '
end
def to_s
#location
end
end
board = Board.new
puts board.to_s
board.move(1,2,'x')
puts board.to_s
It's worth noting a few tricks:
Array.new takes an argument as to how many entries to pre-populate with.
An Array can be given a block to evaluate that supplies the value to be used for default entries.
each_slice pulls out groups of N entries to process.
collect transforms each row into a simple string.
join combines the rows with horizontal lines.
to_s is the default name for "show as string" and should be used unless it's otherwise confusing.
Space needed a default of nil for the initializer
Methods that do not take arguments do not need brackets, so initializer is preferable to initializer().
The approach you're pursuing with instance_variable_set is a lot harder to maintain and violates the Zero, One or Infinity Rule by having nine variables that represent the cells. What you need is one variable of theoretically infinite size, bounded only by constraints you impose if necessary. Having multiple variables makes things much more difficult to iterate, makes it inconvenient to pass through as an argument, and generally makes a mess of what should be simple.