What does :: do?

Question

I have some inherited code that I am modifying. However, I am seeing something strange(to me).

I see some code like this:

::User.find_by_email(params         


        

Answer 1

:: is a scope resolution operator, it effectively means "in the namespace", so ActiveRecord::Base means "Base, in the namespace of ActiveRecord"

A constant being resolved outside of any namespace means exactly what it sounds like - a constant not in any namespace at all.

It's used in places where code may be ambiguous without it:

module Document
  class Table # Represents a data table

    def setup
      Table # Refers to the Document::Table class
      ::Table # Refers to the furniture class
    end

  end
end

class Table # Represents furniture
end

Answer 2

Ruby uses (among other things) lexical scoping to find constant names. For example, if you have this code:

module Foo
  class Bar
  end

  def self.get_bar
    Bar.new
  end
end

class Bar
end

The Foo.get_bar returns an instance of Foo::Bar. But if we put :: in front of a constant name, it forces Ruby to only look in the top level for the constant. So ::Bar always refers the top-level Bar class.

You will run into situations in Ruby where the way your code is being run will force you to use these 'absolute' constant references to get to the class you want.

Answer 3

You might find a lead here: What is Ruby's double-colon `::`?

Answer 4

The "::" operator is used to access Classes inside modules. That way you can also indirectly access methods. Example:

module Mathematics
    class Adder
       def Adder.add(operand_one, operand_two)
           return operand_one + operand_two
       end
    end
end

You access this way:

puts “2 + 3 = “ + Mathematics::Adder.add(2, 3).to_s

Answer 5

It makes sure to load the User model in the global namespace.

Imagine you have a global User model and another User model in your current module (Foo::User). By Calling ::User you make sure to get the global one.