ruby function takes dictionary pointer as argument, why? -

def to_json(*opts)   {     'json_class'   => self.class.name,     'data' => { 'term' => @term,                 'command' => @command,                 'client' => client               }   }.to_json(*opts) end 

why ruby function takes dictionary pointer *opts argument, instead of opts? what's benefit here?

the asterisk * in *opts not pointer (as in c/c++). there's no such concept of pointer in ruby.

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when defining method, it's used splatting. example:

def foo(first, *rest)   "first=#{first}. rest=#{rest.inspect}" end  puts foo("1st", "2nd", "3rd") # => first=1st. rest=["2nd", "3rd"] 

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when calling method, it's used expand argument. example:

arr = ["2nd", "3rd"] bar("1st", *arr) 

is equivalent to:

bar("1st", "2nd", "3rd")