Ruby - Method call to object in array - ruby

Question

I'm working with a Ruby project for school, and have sadly not been able to find an answer to this question in my literature.
I have an array of camping lots, each containing a guest. I initialize the lots like this:
lots = Array.new
for i in (1..36)
lots[i] = Lot.new(i)
end
Further down I create a Guest object, initialize it, and now I want to add the Guest to my Lot. The method in the class Lot looks like this:
def AddGuest(guest)
#guest = guest
end
The problem comes when I want to call the method, as the Lot is in an Array.
lots[lotnumber].AddGuest(guest)
This call gives me the error:
undefined method `+#' for #<Guest:0x2c1ff14> (NoMethodError)
I have used require, so the classes know about each other. I've had quite a hard time understanding Ruby, could my error be that I try to access the AddGuest method in the Array class? I'm used to doing things like this in C++.
Below is the full source (the relevant parts at least).
Entire Lot class:
class Lot
def initialize(number)
#gauge = rand(2000) + 2000
#number = number
#guest = false
end
def Occupied()
return #guest
end
def AddGuest(guest)
#guest = guest
end
def RemoveGuest()
#guest = false
end
end
Parts of main.rb
#includes
require 'guest'
require 'lot'
#initiate comparison variables
userInput = "0"
numberOfGuests = 0
foundLot = false
guests = Array.new
lots = Array.new
#initialize lot list
for i in (1..36)
lots[i] = Lot.new(i)
end
Player input omitted
#make sure lot is not taken
while foundLot == false do
lotnumber = rand(35)+1
if lots[lotnumber].Occupied() == false then
foundLot = "true"
end
end
foundLot = false
guest = Guest.new(firstName, lastName, adress, phone, arrival, lotnumber)
guests.insert(numberOfGuests, guest)
numberOfGuests++
lots[lotnumber].AddGuest(guest) #this is where error hits
end
end
end

Answer 1

The error appears to be related to your use of the ++ operator, which is, quite naturally, supported in C++, but is not supported in Ruby.
The equivalent is:
numberOfGuests += 1

Answer 2

A couple little tips...
[1]
A slightly more idiomatic way to write this...
for i in (1..36)
lots[i] = Lot.new(i)
end
would be...
(1..36).each { |i| lots[i] << Lot.new(i) }
[2]
To remove a Guest from a Lot, you might want to set it to nil rather than false. This would be my suggestion...
class Lot
def initialize(number)
#gauge = rand(2000) + 2000
#number = number
# Don't need to set #guest -- it's nil by default.
end
# In Ruby, methods that return a boolean often have a "?".
# Makes it "read better" when you call the method. (See
# usage sample.)
def occupied?
! #guest.nil?
end
# There's a more commonplace way to do this. See below...
def add_guest(guest)
#guest = guest
end
def remove_guest()
#guest = nil
end
end
Example of usage:
>> lot = Lot.new(2)
=> #<Lot:0x1300920 #number=2, #gauge=3444>
>> lot.occupied
=> false
>> lot.add_guest('A guest')
=> "A guest"
>> lot.occupied?
=> true
>> lot.remove_guest
=> nil
>> lot.occupied?
=> false
Take two...
It's conventional to use attr_accessor methods in your class definition. They automatically add getter and setter methods to your class. You could do that instead of add_guest and remove_guest if you wanted to follow the common Ruby pattern...
class Lot
attr_accessor :number, :gauge, :guest
def initialize(number)
#gauge = rand(2000) + 2000
#number = number
end
def occupied?
! #guest.nil?
end
end
Usage...
irb(main):017:0> lot = Lot.new(3)
=> #<Lot:0xb7f7fca8 #gauge=3186, #number=3>
Set the Guest of a Lot (like add_guest)...
irb(main):019:0> lot.guest = 'A guest'
=> "A guest"
irb(main):020:0> lot.occupied?
=> true
Get the Guest for a Lot...
irb(main):025:0> lot.guest
=> "A guest"
Remove the Guest...
irb(main):021:0> lot.guest = nil
=> nil
irb(main):023:0> lot.occupied?
=> false

Answer 3

Generally Ruby method names are not capitalized. The convention are simply: ClassName, CONSTANT, method_name.
Since you have an Array of Lot objects, the following should be true:
lots.class # => Array
lots[1].class # => Lot
The method called should be defined for Lot.